l to r: Luis Carrasco, Rainer Oraa, Debra Pritchett, Akiko Taniyama, Juan Guzman & Jim Conn
Juan Guzman is, as they say, tearin’ ‘em up at the tables these days. As mentioned in a report on a Tri-State Tour stop he won in November, he’s not likely to catch up to his best earnings year to date (2016), when he won two events on the Tri-State, two on the Predator Pro Am tour, and was runner-up that year in the George “Ginky” Sansouci Memorial run by both tours, but he’s making a late year run at getting closer. He won a stop on the Predator in April, seemed to take a mini-break and has since recorded two victories on the Tri-State (Oct. & Nov.) and just this past weekend, Nov.30-Dec. 1, added a Predator Pro Am Tour stop to the 2019 resume. Though he was challenged in the finals by long-time Predator competitor, Jim Conn, who won seven on the loss side to reach him, Guzman prevailed to go undefeated at the $1,000-added event which drew 60 entrants to Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.
With Conn already at work on the loss side, following a defeat at the hands of Abel Barriento, Guzman advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against Rainer Oraa. Luis Carrasco and Akiko Taniyama squared off in the other one. Carrasco got into the hot seat match with a 7-4 victory over Taniyama, as Guzman was busy sending Oraa west 8-6. Guzman claimed the hot seat 9-7 over Carrasco and waited for Conn to finish his loss-side run.
It was Oora who drew Conn, four matches into his loss-side streak, which had recently included a successful rematch against Barriento 8-6 and a 7-4 win over the tour’s #1 B+ player Matt Klein. Taniyama, a C player, drew Debra Pritchett (D+), who, going into the event, was 12 rungs above Taniyama on the tour’s top female list (#7 – #19), primarily because Pritchett had competed in about three times as many events on this year’s tour; 11 versus Taniyama’s 4.5 appearances. Pritchett had recently knocked out the tour’s #1 female player, Suzzie Wong (C) 6-4 and Euryel Castillo 7-4.
Taniyama defeated Pritchett 6-3 and in the quarterfinals, faced Conn, who’d eliminated Oraa 8-5. Conn ended Taniyama’s bid 10-5 in those quarterfinals.
Conn then defeated Carrasco 9-6 in the semifinals for a shot at Guzman in the hot seat. In the extended-race-to-9 finals, Guzman reached his target 7 racks ahead of Conn to claim the event title.
In a 15-entrant, single elimination Second Chance event, Chulo Castro and Ambi Estevez battled to a deciding 13th game. Castro prevailed to claim the Second Chance title. Julian Tierney and Marisol Palacios tied for third place.
Tour director Tony Robles thanked Manny Stamatakis and his Steinway Billiards staff for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Predator Cues, Ozone Billiards, PlayNAPT.com, The DeVito Team, Poolonthenet.com, Capelle (BilliardsPress.com), AZBilliards, Pool & Billiard Magazine, Billiards Digest and his own Predator Pro Am team, to include his lovely wife, Gail. The next stop on the Predator Pro Am Tour, scheduled for the weekend of December 13-14, will be the tour’s final event of the year, its 2019 Tour Championships. The $4,000+-added event will, as usual, be hosted by Raxx Billiards in West Hempstead, NY.
(l to r): Rene Villalobos, Elvis Rodriguez, Amy Yu & Paul Carpenter
When Rene Villalobos stepped to the tables during the Oct. 27-28 stop on the Predator Pro Am Tour, he hadn’t cashed in a Predator event in over two and half years. In his last previous outing (March, 2016), he finished as runner-up to Arturo Reyes, who came within two matches of meeting him in this most recent semifinal. He had also yet to win a stop on the tour since he began competing in 2009. Villalobos’ battle for the hot seat in this most recent event was spoiled by the tour’s #2-ranked female and #2-ranked C+ player, Amy Yu. He returned from the semifinals to down Yu in the finals and claim the title. The $1,000-added event drew 76 entrants to Spin City Billiards in Queens, NY.
Villalobos and Yu advanced to the winners’ side semifinals, with Villalobos pitted against Elvis Rodriguez, and Yu facing Paul Carpenter. Yu sent Carpenter to the loss side 7-5, as Villalobos sent Rodriguez over 8-2. Yu claimed the hot seat 7-2 and waited on Villalobos’ return.
On the loss side, Carpenter and Rodriguez met up with Paul Lyons and Arturo Reyes, respectively. Lyons had downed Bob Toomey 7-4 and Ryan Dayrit 7-3 to reach Carpenter. Reyes had eliminated last week’s tour stop winner, Matthew Harricharan 7-4 and in a double hill battle, Bryan Toolsee.
Carpenter and Lyons locked up in double hill fight that eventually sent Carpenter to the quarterfinals. Rodriguez downed Reyes 7-2 to join him. At the start of those quarterfinals, a handicap advantage for Rodriguez gave Carpenter ‘five on the wire’ in a race to 10. Carpenter added two to his initial five, while Rodriguez chalked up the 10 he needed to advance to the semifinals.
Villalobos duplicated his effort against Rodriguez in the winners’ side semifinal and defeated him again 8-2. Villalobos, in a potentially extended race-to-11 final, chalked up the nine he needed to defeat Yu 9-4 and claim the event title.
A Second Chance event drew 11 entrants and saw Max Watanabe down Duc Lam in the finals to claim that title. Matthew Klein downed Marisol Palacios in the finals of a Third Chance event that drew eight entrants.
Tour director Tony Robles thanked the ownership and staff of Spin City Billiards for hosting the event, as well as title sponsor Predator Cues, Ozone Billiards, PlayNAPL.com, The DeVito Team, PoolOnTheNet.com, Cappelle (BilliardsPress.com), AZBilliards, Pool & Billiard Magazine, Billiards Digest and offered special thanks, as well, to tour assistants Thomas Schreiber, Marisol Palacios and Ambi Estevez.
Though not an official stop on the Predator Pro Am Tour, Robles’ Silent Assassin Productions will present the $12,000-added, 5th Annual NYC 8-Ball Championships, sponsored by Michael Fedak on the weekend of Nov. 3-4. The event will feature five divisions of play – Men’s Leisure, Women’s Leisure, Mixed Open, Mixed Advanced, Mixed Masters and Grand Masters (Pro). The $12,000-added will be divided proportionately among the five divisions. The next regular stop on the Predator Pro Am Tour, scheduled for the weekend of Nov. 17-18, will be hosted by Cue Bar in Bayside, Queens.
Ambi Estevez has been playing on the Tri-State and Predator Tours for about six years now; perhaps more, if he played in events prior to 2012 in which he failed to earn a payout. The winless streak came to an end on Sunday, August 12, when he went undefeated through a field of 23 entrants to chalk up (acording to our records) his first event title. So, too, with Andrew Cicoria, who faced him in the finals. Cicoria hasn’t been playing as long (records for him go back only two years), but his runner-up finish in the event was (again, as best as we can determine with existing records) his best finish, to date. The $1,000-added event drew its 23 entrants to Cue Bar in Bayside (Queens), NY.
Estevez’ path to his first appearance in the winners’ circle went through Sung Lee, Stewart Warnock, Sr. (a double hill win), and Suzzie Wong, to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal matchup against Joe Romeo (who’d just sent Cicoria to the loss side, double hill). Bob Toomey, in the meantime, squared off against one of the tour’s top female competitors, Allison LaFleur, in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Estevez advanced to the hot seat match with a 6-3 win over Romeo. Toomey and LaFleur battled to a single deciding game that eventually sent Toomey to battle Estevez. Estevez then downed Toomey 5-3 to claim the hot seat.
On the loss side, LaFleur picked up Cicoria, who, following his defeat by Romeo, had eliminated Arthur Trzeciak 5-1 and Wong 5-3. Romeo drew Ryan Dayrit, who’d gotten by Shweta Zaveri and Marisol Palacios, both 6-4.
Cicoria downed LaFleur 5-2, and was denied a re-match against Romeo, when Dayrit shut him out to advance to the quarterfinals. Cicoria defeated Dayrit 5-3 in those quarterfinals, and completed his loss-side run back to the finals with a 5-1 victory over Toomey in the semifinals.
It’s hard to know in a final match in which both players are looking for their first tour win whether the victory is a matter of superior skills or the simple fact that one player wanted it more than the other. In either case, Estevez won 5-3 to claim his first Tri-State title.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Cue Bar, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling Gaming, Kamui Tips, Phil Cappelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics, Pool & Billiards, Professor Q-Ball, Bender Cues and DIGICUE OB. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for August 19, will be hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.
Ambi Estevez, Matt Klein, Matt Harricharan and Troy Deocharran
Troy Deocharran and Matt Klein battled twice during the Predator Pro Am Tour’s stop on the weekend of January 19-20. Both matches were determined by a last, single game; one in the hot seat and one again, in the finals. The $1,000-added event drew 45 entrants to The Spot in Nanuet, NY.
They met first, once Deocharran had sent Carlos Ocheign to the loss side 7-2 in one winners’ side semifinal, and Klein had defeated Marisol Palacios 8-4 in the other one. In their first of two, racing to 7, Deocharran claimed the hot seat 7-6, and waited for Klein to return from the semifinals.
On the loss side, Palacios ran into Ambi Estevez, who was facing his third straight female opponent, after downing Suzzie Wong and Erin Bechner, both 7-4. Ocheign drew Matt Harricharan, who’d eliminated Abel Rosario 7-6 and Gary O’Callaghan 7-4. That segment of the loss-side bracket was running a little long, and it would cause a few delays leading up to the quarterfinals.
In two diametrically opposite ways, Harricharan and Estevez advanced to the quarterfinals. Harricharan survived a double hill fight against Ocheign, while Estevez was chalking them up, one right after another, on his way to a shutout over Palacios; the last woman standing.
Harricharan and Estevez then locked up in a double hill, quarterfinal battle, eventually won by Harricharan. Klein put a stop to Harricharan’s loss-side run with an 8-5 win in the semifinals.
The Deocharran/Klein re-match was on in a battle to claim the event title. For the second time, they fought back and forth to double hill; this time, racing just a little further, to 9. Deocharran closed it out to complete his undefeated run through the field.
A Second Chance tournament drew 8 entrants, with Max Watanabe defeating Rich Hourihan 7-4 in the finals.
Tour director Tony Robles (and yours truly, the author of this piece) thanked Rhys and Lenore Chen, owners of The Spot and their staff for their hospitality. The next stop on the Predator Pro Am Tour will be the 8th Annual George “Ginky” Sansouci Memorial Tournament, scheduled for this coming Memorial Day weekend (May 26-28). The Predator Tour will share production responsibilities for the “Ginky” Memorial with the Tri-State and Mezz Tours. The event will feature both an Amateur and Pro Tournament, each with $2,000-added.
Tony Ignomirello and Thomas Schreiber came to the Sunday, May 6 stop on the Tri-State Tour, looking for their second 2018 Tri-State win. Schreiber had won in January and Tony “Iggy” had chalked one up in March. Schreiber was actually looking for his third win on the 2017-2018 tour schedule, which begins and ends mid-summer in each year. Ignomirello made it to the hot seat, as Schreiber was at work on a five-match loss side streak that would afford him the opportunity to challenge Ignomirello in the finals. The two opted out of a final match, which gave Ignomirello, in the hot seat, the official match title and his second win of the year. The $1,000-added event drew 36 entrants to BQE Billiards in Jackson Heights (Queens), NY.
Following victories over Dementhriss Hudson and Ambi Estevez, Ignomirello played his first, and what proved to be, only match against Schreiber, defeating him 7-5 and advancing to a winners’ side semifinal against Shweta Zaveri. Amy Yu, in the meantime, squared off against Tri V Chau in the other one. Ignomirello downed Zaveri 8-6 and was joined in the hot seat match by Yu, who’d sent Chau west 7-3. Ignomirello won what proved to be his last match, getting into the hot seat, double hill, over Yu.
On the loss side, Schreiber opened his trek back to the finals with a 7-4 win over Iilia Trajceski, and followed it with a 9-4 victory over Marisol Palacios, which set him up to face Zaveri. Chau drew Max Watanabe, who’d defeated Dave Shlemperis (official winner of the previous week’s Tri-State stop) 7-3 and Matt Klein 8-6.
Both battles for advancement to the quarterfinals went double hill, with Watanabe downing Chau and Schreiber eliminating Zaveri. A third double hill match in those quarterfinals advanced Schreiber over Watanabe into the semifinals.
Schreiber completed his loss-side run with a 7-4 victory over Yu. He and Ignomirello made the choice not to play a final, and it was over, with Ignomirello claiming the official event title.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at BQE Billiards, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics, Pool & Billiards, Professor Q Ball, Bender Cues, and DIGICUE OB. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, a $1,000-added event, scheduled for Saturday, May 12, will be hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.
According to our database records, Elvis Rodriguez made more money shooting pool last year than he has in the previous dozen years his name has been showing up on the payout lists of varied tours from Florida to (more recently) the Tri-State and Predator Tours. He opened his 2017 campaign with a come-from-the-loss-side win on the Tri-State Tour, on Sunday, February 5. The $693-added event drew 33 entrants to Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.
Rodriguez' loss-side trip began, following a 7-4 defeat at the hands of Henry Hernandez, who moved on to a winners' side semifinal match against the event's eventual runner-up, Lidio Ramirez. Qian Chen and Ryan Dayrit squared off in the other winners' side semifinal. Ramirez survived a double hill fight against Hernandez, and in the hot seat match, faced Chen, who'd downed Dayrit 6-4. Ramirez claimed the hot seat 10-6 and waited on Rodriguez.
On the loss side, Rodriguez got by Mike Pruitt 7-4 and Kapriel Delimelkonoglu 7-3 to earn himself a re-match against Hernandez. Dayrit drew Tony Ignomirello, who'd eliminated Mike Montalbano 6-4, and Marisol Palacios 8-5.
In a slightly tighter match than their previous encounter, Rodriguez downed Hernandez 7-5. Ignomirello survived a double hill match against Dayrit to face Rodriguez in the quarterfinals. Ignomirello came out on the losing side of his second straight double hill match, advancing Rodriguez to the semifinals against Chen.
Rodriguez ended Chen's day 9-6 to face Ramirez in the finals. In the extended-race-to-9 finals, Ramirez reached 7 first, forcing the extension, and added two more to defeat Ramirez 9-2 and claim the event title.
Tour representatives thanked Manny Stamatakis and his staff at Steinway Billiards, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Kamui Tips, Ron Vitello, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics, and Bloodworth Ball Cleaners. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for Sunday, February 12, will be hosted by Rockaway Billiards in Rockaway, NJ.
Unbeknownst to Dan Praport, when he won the Sunday, January 29 stop on the Tri-State Tour, he also earned himself a spot in the AZBilliards database, which up to that point, had not included his name. He's likely to show up at the top of the ninth page of pool players named "Dan" or "Danny." The $620-added event which afforded him this opportunity, not to mention $500 in cash, drew 30 entrants to Clifton Billiards in Clifton, NJ.
Praport came from the loss side to seal the victory, having been sent there by Dennis Quinn in a winners' side quarterfinal match. Quinn advanced to meet Plummer Walker in a winners' side semifinal, as Rich Boschulte prepared to square off in the other. Walker downed Quinn, double hill and in the hot seat match, faced Boschulte, beneficiary of a forfeit by Triolo. Walker claimed the hot seat 7-4, and waited on Praport.
Praport opened his loss side campaign with a 6-3 win over Marco Daniel, and followed it with a 7-3 win over Marisol Palacios. This, due to the forfeit by Triolo, sent Praport directly to the quarterfinals. Quinn picked up Adrian Daniel (no relation to Marco), who'd defeated Pashk Gjini and Frank Scanlon, both 6-4, to reach him.
Adrian Daniel kept a Praport/Quinn re-match out of the quarterfinals equation by defeating Quinn 6-3. Praport went on to defeat Daniel 6-4 in those quarterfinals, and, in the semifinals by the same score, Rich Buschulte.
Praport completed his run with an 8-6 victory over Walker in the finals. He chalked up his first Tri-State win and a spot on the AZBilliards database at the same time.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Clifton Billiards for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Kamui Tips, Ron Vitello, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics, and Bloodworth Ball Cleaners. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 4, will be a $1,000-added, A-B/C-D handicapped event, hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.
Stewart Warnock Jr., Dan Faraguna, Tony Ignomirello and Jaydev Zaveri
When they faced each other in the finals of the November 19-20 stop on the Predator Tour, Stewart Warnock, Jr. and Tony Ignomirello occupied the same spaces in their respective ranking categories; Warnock was the #11-ranked player among the tour's "A" players, Ignomirello was in the same position among the tour's "C+" players. The opponent they both defeated, Dan Faraguna (Warnock defeated him twice), was the tour's #1-ranked "B+" player. Warnock came back from a loss to Faraguna to win three on the loss side (including a re-match against Faraguna) to claim the title. The $1,000-added event drew 66 entrants to Cue Bar in Bayside (Queens), NY.
Warnock and Faraguna squared off against each other, first, in a winners' side semifinal, as Ignomirello met up with Dave Callaghan in the other. Faraguna sent Warnock on his merry loss-side way by shutting him out. Ignomirello defeated Callaghan 7-3 to join Faraguna in the hot seat match. Ignomirello claimed the hot seat 7-4.
On the loss side, Warnock drew Arturo Reyes, who'd picked up a win on the Tri-State Tour the week before, and at this event had worked his loss-side way through Amir Uddin and Shawn Sookhai, both 7-5, to reach Warnock. Callaghan picked up Jaydev Zaveri, another recent winner on the Tri-State (Oct. 16), who'd defeated Marisol Palacios 9-6 and Akiko Taniyama 7-2.
Warnock and Zaveri advanced to the quarterfinals; Warnock 7-5 over Reyes, and Zaveri 7-6 over Callaghan. Warnock took the quarterfinal match over Zaveri 7-4 for the right to a re-match against Faraguna in the semifinals. Though their overall game totals would favor Faraguna (10-7), Warnock won the semifinal re-match 7-3 for a shot at Ignomirello in the finals.
Warnock took advantage of the opportunity he'd been granted. He downed Ignomirello 11-7 in the finals to claim the title. A Second Chance tournament that drew 12 entrants saw Eugene Ok defeat Dany Recinos in the finals 7-6 to claim the $160 first-place prize. Recinos pocketed $100.
Tour director Tony Robles thanked the ownership and staff at Cue Bar, as well as title sponsor Predator Cues, the NAPL, Ozone Billiards, PoolOnTheNet.Com, Cappelle Publishing, Delta-13 Racks, Mandy Wu (ass't TD), Irene Kim, and his "lovely wife," Gail Robles.
