Qi Liu defeated Andrew Cleary twice, once in the battle for the hot seat and again in the finals, to take top honors in the Predator Tour’s A-B handicapped event on the weekend of June 2-3. The $500-added event drew 52 entrants to Raxx Pool Room in West Hempstead, NY.
In the winners’ side semifinals, Liu sent Raj Vannala west 7-6, as Cleary was busy defeating John Greslik 7-5. Liu took the hot seat match 10-8 and waited for Cleary to come back.
On the loss-side, Vannala met up with Giovanni Hosang, who’d defeated Shawn Sookhai and Lionel Rivera, both 7-5, to reach him. Greslik drew Charles Young, who’d gotten by Tony Ignomirello, double hill, and Steve Wade 7-3. Young made Greslik’s loss-side trip short with a 7-3 victory, as Vannala downed Hosang 7-5. In the quarterfinals that followed, Young ended Vannala’s weekend 8-6.
Cleary, though, finished Young’s loss-side streak with a 7-4 victory that gave him a second crack at Liu. Cleary battled in the single set finals, but Liu prevailed 10-9 to capture the event title.
Robb Saez got by Zion Zvi twice – once among the winners’ side final four and again, in the finals – to take top honors in the Predator Tour’s Open/Pro event on Sunday, March 18. Run concurrently with an Amateur event (see related report), the $500-added Open/Pro event drew 13 entrants to Steinway Billiards in Astoria, NY.
In their first of two, Saez sent Zvi west 7-4 and turned to face Tony Robles in the battle for the hot seat. Robles had sent Greg McAndrews to the loss side 7-3. Saez got into the hot seat with a 7-4 win over Robles.
Zvi moved to the loss side where he picked up Sean Morgan, who’d defeated Jerry Tarantola 7-1 and survived a double hill battle against Frankie Hernandez. McAndrews drew Jennifer Barretta, who’d gotten by Mhet Vergara double hill and Lionel Rivera 7-1. By identical 7-4 scores, Zvi and Barretta defeated Morgan and McAndrews and squared off against each other in the quarterfinals.
Zvi then defeated both Barretta in the quarterfinals and Robles in the semifinals by a score of 7-2.
The re-match in the finals saw Zvi and Saez battle to double hill before Saez sunk the final ball to secure the event title.
Thanks were extended to the ownership and staff of Steinway Billiards, as well as sponsors Predator Cues, The National Amateur Pool League, Delta-13 racks, Poison Cues, PoolOnTheNet.com, and NYCGrind.
Brian Hunter was sent to the loss-side early in the January 14-15 stop of the Predator Tour and clawed his way back through 11 matches to get into the finals, where he first, forced an extension to 10 games and then prevailed over hot seat occupant, Ray Feliciano to capture the event title. The $500-added, A-D handicapped event drew 81 entrants to Steinway Billiards in Astoria, NY. A concurrently running, Open/Pro event was still underway, when the handicapped event came to a conclusion after midnight Sunday.
As Hunter was battling his way through the loss-bracket, Feliciano was moving among the winners’ side final four to face Junior Singh. Joining them were Dave Ascolese and Wellington Reyes. Feliciano downed Singh 7-5 to get into the hot seat match versus Ascolese, who’d defeated Reyes by the same score. Feliciano got into the hot seat with an 8-3 victory over Ascolese.
Hunter, in the meantime, who would not be afforded the opportunity to face the player who’d sent him to the loss side (Ricky Ragoonanan), was in the midst of his 11-match winning streak. With six behind him, Hunter defeated Steve Wright, double hill, and Lionel Rivera 7-2 to draw Reyes. Singh picked up Bob Schlott, who’d defeated Mike Fisher 7-3 and Brian Russell 7-2 to reach him. Hunter and Schlott advanced to the quarterfinals with identical 7-5 victories over Reyes and Singh.
Hunter then survived a double hill battle versus Schlott to get into the semifinals against Ascolese. A 7-4 victory over Ascolese put him into the single, potentially extended-race finals, where he would first need to reach eight games ahead of Feliciano, and then win two more to secure the event title. He did both, reaching eight games, ahead by two already. Feliciano, though, fought back to win three of the next four and knot things at double hill. Hunter won the final game to bring home the top prize.
Tour director Tony Robles thanked Manny Steinway and his staff at Steinway Billiards, as well as sponsors Predator Cues, The National Amateur Pool League, Delta-13 racks, Poison Cues, PoolOnTheNet.com, and NYCGrind.
The Predator Pro-Am Tour’s $1,000 added last stop of the regular 2011 season took place at Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ on November 5-6.
“Castle”, as most players in the area call it, is known for their famous sizzling steak and friendly atmosphere, as well as catering to some of the best pool players in New Jersey.
Forty-five players from around the tri-state area came out to compete in the Amateur 9-ball Event, all looking to end the season on a positive note… and potentially raise their standing in the tour’s end of the year rankings.
Several players played strong throughout the two-day tournament, but one player showed the most dominance overall. Florida player Steve Knoll is known as being a top amateur player, and proved to be too strong for the competition throughout this weekend.
Steve’s road through the winner’s bracket included wins over Guy Ignonicello 7-5, Christian Smith 7-6, Ed Culhane 7-2, Mike Hertz 8-7, Jack Smith 7-4, Rene Villalobos 10-8 to take the hot seat, and Michael Toohig 10-5 in the finals.
A number of other players also showed a lot of grit in this event, including Jack Smith, Rhio Anne Flores, Gary Murgia, and Rene Villalobos… who were all playing good enough to win, and left it all on the table during their late-event losses.
Michael Toohig was also playing with more swagger and more confidence that I have seen to date on tour. It was a pleasure to watch him dig deep, and come with several wins en route to his strong second place finish.
The Open/Pro 10-Ball Division featured pro division points leader and Tour Owner Tony Robles and Jeremy Sossei, as well as several up-and-coming players.
New York player Raphael Dabreo, who was ranked #3 in the B+ Class standings prior to this event, was impressive in making a statement with a solid 3rd place finish… but one player was head and shoulders above the rest.
Connecticut pro Jeremy “The Giant Killer” Sossei played superb all day en route to an undefeated win. Jeremy defeated Brian Tierney 8-2, Joe Landi 8-4, Tony Robles 8-1, Raphael DaBreo 8-6 for the hot seat, and Tony Robles 9-8 in the finals.
Both Amateur and Open/Pro tour players will be looking forward to the Predator Tour’s 2011 Finale, which will take place at Raxx Pool Room, Bar & Grill on December 10-11. http://www.raxxpoolroom.com/
