(l to r): Phil Walton, Brian Tierney & Shiekh Ahmed
Three of the four matches that Shiekh Ahmed played to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal during the 4th stop on the New England 9-Ball Series on the weekend of October 19-20, went double hill. Working from the event’s lower (Fargo Rate) bracket, in straight-up races to 5, he gave up four racks to all but one opponent. He was sent to the loss side in the winners’ side semifinal match, won three on that side of the bracket and then, double-dipped hot seat occupant Brian Tierney to claim his first recorded event title. The $500-added event drew 42 entrants to Yale Billiards in Wallingford, CT.
Looking for your first regional title, getting locked up in two straight double hill fights right out of the gate can’t be encouraging. Ahmed survived his opener against Mark Menillo and his second match against John Porto, before he caught a bit of break and was able to down Sarah Archer 5-2. He was right back in the soup for the winners’ side quarterfinal, where once again, he had to play a single, deciding game. He won that game versus Mike Zingarella and advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against Phil Walton.
Meanwhile, in the upper bracket neighborhood, Brian Tierney, following a bye, was working his way toward the hot seat with victories over Dennis Brewer 6-4, Ryan Cullen 4-4 (Cullen racing to 7) and Tom D’Alfonso 4-5 (D’Alfonso racing to 8) to arrive at his winners’ side semifinal against Brett Cavazos.
Tierney sent Cavazos to the loss side, double hill (6-5) and in the hot seat match faced Walton, who’d sent Ahmed over 4-3 (Ahmed racing to 5). Tierney claimed the hot seat 7-1 over Walton and waited on the return of Ahmed.
Ahmed moved over and picked up Kevin Brule, who was in the midst of a roller-coaster, five-match, loss-side winning streak, in which he’d shut out two opponents (Liana Pitre and Mike Zingarella), gave up a single rack to two more (Aundria Reynolds and Mark Menillo) and survived a double hill match against a fifth (Justin Bertrand). Brett Cavazos picked up Lukas Fracasso-Verner, who was working on a six-match, loss-side streak that had most recently eliminated Frank Porto 6-1 and shut out Tom D’Alfonso.
Ahmed advanced to the quarterfinals by recording his fourth double hill win, over Brule. He was joined by Fracasso-Verner, who won his seventh loss-side match 6-2 over Cavazos (racing to 4).
With Fracasso-Verner racing to 7, Ahmed advanced 4-7 to his semifinal rematch against Walton. With Walton racing to 4, Ahmed earned his shot at Tierney in the hot seat with a 5-2 semifinal victory.
With Tierney racing to 6 in the first set, Ahmed won it 5-4. The second set, technically a loss-side match, featured a different dynamic, as the two squared off in a straight-up race to 5. Ahmed took that match 5-2 to claim his first event title.
Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff at Yale Billiards, as well as sponsors Predator Cues, BCAPL, USAPL New England, Fargo Rate, Bert Kinister, AZBilliards, Inside English, Professor Q-ball’s National Pool and 3-Cushion News, Delta 13 Racks, MJS Construction, Bob Campbell with Lease Fundings, Master Billiards and OTLVISE Billiard Mechanics of America. The next stop on the New England 9-Ball Series (#5), scheduled for Saturday, October 26, will be a $500-added event, hosted by Legends Billiards in Lewiston, ME.
Joann Cobbett, Kevin Brule, Michael Mathieu, & Ali Raza
Michael Mathieu and Kevin Brule played three times to determine the winner of the February 17 stop (#16) on the New England 9-Ball Series. In each of the three matches, the winner gave up only a single rack. Mathieu won two of the three, including the critical second set of a true double elimination final to claim the event title. The $500-added event drew 47 entrants to Yale Billiards in Wallingford, CT.
They met first in the hot seat match. Mathieu had defeated fellow B player, Ryan Urso 6-2, as Brule was downing fellow C Player, Joann Cobbett, in a match that went double hill. Mathieu gave up the single rack to Brule in this first encounter and sat in the hot seat, waiting for rounds two and three.
On the loss side, Urso picked up Ali Raza, who’d defeated Mike Langley, double hill, and Ryan McQuade 6-2 to reach him. Cobbett drew Marc Murphy, who’d eliminated Ed Murray, double hill and Darryl Helm, 5-1. In a straight-up race to 6, Raza advanced to the quarterfinals over Urso 6-2. By the same score, Cobbett (racing to 6) downed Murphy (racing to 5) 6-2.
Raza then eliminated Cobbett 6-3 in those quarterfinals. Raza then had his loss-side streak ended by Brule in the semifinals, in a match that went double hill.
With Mathieu (B) racing to 6, and Brule (C+) racing to 5, Brule took the double elimination final’s opening set, giving up a single rack. Mathieu returned the favor in the second set, giving up a single rack in a 6-1 win that earned him the event title.
Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff at Yale Billiards, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Molinari, Bert Kinister, AZBilliards, Inside English, Professor Q-Ball’s National Pool and 3-Cushion News, Delta 13 racks, MJS Construction, Bob Campbell, Championship Cloth, and OTLVISE Billiard Mechanics of America. The next stop on the New England 9-Ball Series (#17), scheduled for February 24, will be the $500-added Joe Brown Memorial Tournament, hosted by Buster’s Billiards in Somersworth, NH.
(l to r): George Morgan, David Soule, Kevin Bauccio and TD Marc Dionne
For many amateur competitors, non-handicapped events can be a good news/bad news situation. It’s good news for the higher-ranked players, who don’t have to think about the possibility of being defeated by someone who’s chalked up fewer racks in a match. For the lower-ranked players, their safety net of a rack or two (or more) is gone, and they’re faced with a mano a mano battle against someone who, on paper at least, is considered to be better than they are.
In a way, George Morgan, a C+ Player, split that difference on Stop #13 on the New England 9-Ball Series tour, held on Sunday, January 20. The event drew 42 entrants to Stix and Stones in Abington, MA. It was not handicapped and restricted to players B+ and below. Morgan spent most of his time in the lower bracket (C+ and below) where he downed three fellow C+ opponents to move into an overall winners’ side semifinal. He would go on to defeat a C player and a B+ player (twice) to finish undefeated.
First up for Morgan in the winners’ side semifinal of the now-combined brackets was Tim Schroeder (C). David Soule and Keith Platt (both B+) squared off in the other winners’ side semifinal. Soule downed Platt 6-2, and in the hot seat match, faced Morgan, who’d sent Schroeder to the loss side 5-3. Morgan got into the hot seat with a first (of two) wins over Soule 5-3.
On the loss side, Schroeder and Platt walked right into their second straight loss. Platt was eliminated 5-3 by fellow B+ shooter Kevin Bauccio, who’d been defeated by Paul Laverdiere in his second, upper bracket match, and was in the midst of a five-match, loss-side winning streak that would take him to the event semifinals. Schroeder, a C player, battled to double hill before giving way to Adam Blair (C+), who’d defeated Kevin Brule 4-1 and Jiten Patel, double hill, to reach him.
Bauccio gave up only a single rack to Blair in the race-to-4 quarterfinals that followed. The semifinals – a straight-up race to 4 against the two B+ players – saw Soule earn a second shot against Morgan in the hot seat with a 4-2 win.
Morgan improved on his 5-3 hot seat performance with a 5-2 win in the finals against Soule.
Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff at Stix and Stones, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Molinari, Bert Kinister, AZBilliards, Inside English, Professor Q Ball’s National Pool and 3-Cushion News, Delta 13 racks, MJS Construction, Bob Campbell, Championship Cloth and OTLVISE Billiard Mechanics of America. The next stop on the New England 9-Ball Series Tour (#14), scheduled for January 27-28, will be the annual $5,000-added Winter Classic, hosted by Snooker’s in Providence, RI.
(l to r): Patrick O’Connor, Rob Pina & Kevin Brule
They had to be some anxious moments for Patrick O'Connor there at the end of the sixth stop on the New England 9-Ball Series tour, held on Saturday, November 18. Having successfully dispatched Rob Pina to the loss side in a winners’ side quarterfinal, O’Connor’s anxious moments would likely have come at the end of the first set in the double elimination finals, after Pina had defeated him, forcing a second and deciding set. O’Connor weathered the anxiety storm, and won the second set to claim the event title. The $500-added event drew 43 entrants to Straight Shooters in Fall River, MA.
With Pina already at work on his five-match, loss-side march back to the finals, O’Connor advanced to meet Dennis Levesque in a winners’ side semifinal. Kevin Brule, in the meantime, faced Adam Blair in the other winners’ side semifinal. With Levesque racing to 5, O’Connor got into the hot seat match with a 3-3 victory, as Brule, in a straight-up race to 3, survived a double hill fight against Blair to join him. O’Connor defeated Brule 4-3 to claim the hot seat, and wait on Pina.
On the loss side, Pina opened his trek to the finals with two straight double hill wins; over Paul Laverdiere and Mark Young (4-4 both times, LaVerdiere and Young racing to 5), which set Pina up to face Levesque. Blair drew Scott Reynolds, who’d shut out Rob Rogan and downed Todd Yarborough 3-1 to reach him.
Pina eliminated Levesque 3-3 (Levesque racing to 5), and in the quarterfinals, faced Blair, who’d defeated Reynolds, double hill. Pina chalked up loss-side win #4 against Blair 4-1, and completed his trip to the finals with a shutout over Brule in the semifinals.
Pina took the opening set of the finals 4-1, and although the total game score over the two-set, straight-up race to 4 final, was 6-5, in favor of Pina, O’Connor won the game-set-match-deciding second set 4-2 to claim the event title.
Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff at Straight Shooters, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Molinari, Bert Kinister, AZBilliards, Inside English, Professor Q-Ball’s National Pool and 3-Cushion News, Delta 13 Racks, MJS Construction, Bob Campbell. Championship Cloth and OTLVISE Billiard Mechanics of America.
Stop #7 on the New England 9-Ball Series is scheduled for this coming Thanksgiving Day weekend, on Sunday, November 26. The $500-added event will be hosted by Maxamillians Billiards in Tyngsboro, MA.
