Sullivan and Scalzitti split top prizes in upper-bracket event
Splitting the competitors into upper and lower brackets of this past weekend’s (May 4-5) stop on the Garden State Pool Tour yielded 17 (lower) and 15 (upper) entrants that could have been 32 in a single bracket. Vincent Chang went undefeated through the lower bracket, while Hunter Sullivan and Kevin Scalzitti split the top two prizes in the upper-bracket prize pool. The event was hosted by Shooter’s Family Billiards in Wayne, NJ.
Chang opened his undefeated run with two 6-4 victories, over Justin Chang and Brook Villa to draw Nick Mendoza in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Victoria Amparo, from the other end of the bracket, got by Mark Watt 4-5 (Watt racing to 7) and Vicki Moore 4-1 to face Joshua Droz in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Amparo and Druz fought to double-hill for advancement to the hot seat match. Amparo prevailed. Chang downed Mendoza 6-3 to join her and then, claimed the hot seat 7-2.
In the only opening-round match, designed to bring the winners’ side of the bracket down to 16, Rashid Muhammad fought and lost a double-hill battle versus Marc Lamberti. Muhammad moved over and played in the only match of the loss-side’s opening round against Orion Woodard, defeating him 5-2 and launching himself on a four-match winning streak that shut out Brook Villa and defeated Matthew Wrobel 4-3 (Wrobel racing to 6) to draw Joshua Druz.
Mendoza came over and squared off for a rematch against Marc Lamberti, who, after defeating Muhammad in the opening round, lost to Mendoza in the second round 3-6. He followed that on the loss side with two straight, double-hill wins, over Andrew Croft and Vicki Moore, ahead of defeating Mike Strassberg 5-1, to draw the rematch.
Druz downed Muhammad 5-2 and was joined in the quarterfinals by Mendoza who defeated Lamberti a second time, 5-1. Druz defeated Mendoza 4-4 in those quarterfinals (Mendoza racing to 6) and in a handicap reversal, was defeated 4-3 by Amparo in the semifinals (Amparo racing to 6).
Chang won what turned out to be the only set necessary in what might have been a true double-elimination final. He gave up only a single rack and claimed the event title 7-1.
Kevin Scalzitti and Hunter Sullivan
Sullivan defeats Scalzitti once and they opt out of a final rematch
They met first in a winners’ side semifinal; Hunter Sullivan, having defeated David Marchant 6-2 and Maurice Acuna 8-3 to get there, as Scalzitti sent Naldo Troncoso (6-2) and Pascal Dufresne (5-3) to the loss side to meet up with him. Bud Robideau, in the meantime, got by Fernando Ruiz 6-2 and Michelle Brotons 7-2 to arrive at the other winners’ side semifinal for a match against Jason Hugh Sam.
Sullivan shut Scalzitti out and was joined in the hot seat match by Robideau, who’d defeated Sam 7-3. Sullivan and Robideau battled to double hill before Sullivan pocketed the last 9-ball and claimed the hot seat.
On the loss side, Scalzitti picked up a rematch against Troncoso, who’d followed his loss with victories over Rachel Lang (3), Giovanna Napolitano (3) and David Marchant (4). Sam picked up Ronnie Xu, who’d lost his opening match to Napolitano and then defeated Eduardo Cordova (2), Pascal Dufresne (4), and Maurice Acuna (3).
Scalzitti downed Troncoso 6-4 and advanced to the quarterfinals. Xu and Sam battled to double hill, with Xu hanging on to advance to face Scalzitti. Scalzitti took the quarterfinal match 6-2 and then, defeated Robideau 6-3 in the semifinals.
Negotiations were initiated to split the top two prizes. Sullivan, as the undefeated occupant of the hot seat, became the event’s official winner.
Tour director Dave Fitzpatrick thanked Kris Kemp and her staff at Shooter’s Family Billiards for their hospitality, along with sponsors Outsville, In the Box Apparel, Billiard Engineering, JFlowers Cues & Cases, Off the Rail Apparel, Brutal Game Gear, John Bender Custom Cues, and World Beaters Apparel.
The next stop on the Garden State Pool Tour, scheduled for Sunday, June 30, will be a 510 and lower Fargo Rate stop, hosted by Whiskey Hideaway on Staten Island.
Lampaan and Halpin split top prizes in upper-bracket tournament
In an increasingly regular format for regional tours, the Garden State Pool Tour split its entrants to create separate, paying events at a stop in Wayne, NJ this past weekend (Sat., April 20). Mark Antonetti went undefeated to win the lower bracket event for Fargo Rates of 510 or lower, while Levien Lampaan and Jason Halpin split the top two prizes in the upper bracket for Fargo Rates between 511 and 660. The upper bracket drew 20 entrants and the lower bracket drew 19 at the event hosted by Shooter’s Family Billiards in Wayne, NJ.
Antonetti, in the lower bracket, faced three women in a row to reach the hot seat match. Two of those three matches went double hill. After a bye, he chalked up a double-hill win over Jennifer Pedutem, defeated Susan Durling 7-1 and in one of the winners’ side semifinals downed Allison Honeymar, double hill, to reach the hot seat match. Rick Rodriguez, in the meantime (also with a bye), downed Tracey Muller 7-2 and Bryan Arrao 5-1, before battling to double hill and winning the other semifinal against Mike Strassberg. Antonetti claimed the hot seat over Rodriguez 5-2.
Strassberg shuffled on over to the loss side, defeated Nicole Adams 5-2 and advanced to the quarterfinals. Honeymar came over and lost a double-hill battle against Yuchen “Laura” Zie, who joined Strassberg in the quarterfinal match. Zie eliminated Strassberg 4-1 in those quarterfinals.
Xie began the semifinals with two ‘beads on the wire’ in a race to 6 against Rick Rodriguez. She got three of the four she needed to win, but Rodriguez earned a second shot against Antonetti with a 6-3 win.
In their second, straight-up race to 5, Antonetti and Rodriguez mirrored their battle for the hot seat. Antonetti completed his undefeated run with another 5-2 win over Rodriguez.
Jason Halpin and Levie Lampaan
Lampaan and Halpin let their winners’ side semifinal match define the upper bracket result
The two competitors who negotiated a split of the upper bracket’s top two prizes faced each other once, in a winners’ side semifinal. Both Levie Lampaan and Jason Halpin met in that match, having survived a double-hill battle in earlier rounds.
Lampaan, awarded a bye, opened his campaign with that double-hill battle, versus Ryan Buczkowski. He survived it to meet and defeat Jimmy Kardias 7-2, before coming into the winners’ side semifinal. Halpin, without a bye, started out with a 7-1 victory over Mike Johnson before running into his double-hill battle, against Mark Halverson, who started their match with four ‘beads on the wire’ in a race to 8. Halpin prevailed 8-3, and then defeated Gregory Meehan 7-2 to draw Lampaan. Meanwhile, from the lower end of the bracket, Gary McDonnell (after a bye) downed Jason Nicholson 7-3 and George Latko, Jr. 6-4 to draw Naldo Troncoso in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Lampaan defeated Halpin in the final-that-might-have-been 6-2, as McDonnell sent Troncoso to the loss side 6-2. Lampaan and McDonnell (with two ‘beads on the wire’ in a race to 7) battled to double hill in the hot seat match, with Lampaan claiming it in rack #11.
On the loss side, Halpin advanced to the quarterfinal with a 7-1 victory over Jerry Cerchia, as Troncoso got by Jimmy Kardias 6-2. Halpin took the quarterfinal 7-3 over Troncoso and gave up just a single rack to McDonnell in the semifinals. Negotiations got underway to split the top two prizes and with Lampaan, undefeated in the hot seat, he became the event’s official winner.
Tournament director Dave Fitzpatrick thanked Kris Kemp “and her amazing staff” at Shooter’s Family Billiards for their hospitality, along with sponsors Outsville, In The Box Apparel, Billiard Engineering, JFlowers Cues & Cases, Kamui, Off the Rail apparel, Brutal Game Gear, John Bender Custom Cues, and World Beaters Apparel.
The Garden State Pool Tour will return to Shooter’s Family Billiards and engage in the same split-bracket format on the weekend of May 4-5.
Yomaylin ‘Smiley’ Feliz, playing in the Amateur event of the November 29-30 stop on the Predator Tour, came back from a loss to Naldo Troncoso among the winners’ side final eight to meet and defeat him in the finals. The $500-added Amateur event drew 72 entrants to Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.
A concurrently-run, $500-added Open/Pro event drew 20. Spanky Kava went undefeated in this one, knocking off, in order at the end, Jayson Shaw, Zion Zvi and Frankie Hernandez.
With Feliz out of the way in the amateur tourney, Troncoso moved on to face George Poltorak, as Kapriel Delimelkonoglu squared off against ChristIan Smith in the two winners’ side semifinals. Troncoso defeated Poltorak 7-4, and in the battle for the hot seat met Delimelkonoglu, who’d sent Smith to the loss side 7-5. Troncoso won his last match, defeating Delimelkonoglu 7-3 and waited in the hot seat for vengeance to come at him from the loss side.
Feliz wasted no time getting back on track, opening her five-match, loss-side trek to the finals with a shutout over Judd Parker. She then downed Dennis Lake 7-3 and drew Poltorak. There to meet Smith was Koka Davladze, who’d defeated room owner Manny Stamatakis 7-5 and survived a double hill match against Keith Adamik.
The two battles to determine the amateur event’s quarterfinalists were just that; battles. Feliz survived, double hill, over Poltorak, while Davladze just did avoid a double hill deciding game by downing Smith 7-5.
Feliz moved on and avoided a double hill deciding game in the quarterfinals by defeating Davladze 8-6. She had a smoother run in the semifinal match against Delimelkonoglu, downing him 7-2 for a second shot against Troncoso. She completed her run with a 9-5 victory over Troncoso to claim her first Predator title.
In the Open/Pro event, Spanky Kava took the undefeated route, facing separate opponents in the hot seat and finals. He and Zion Zvi prevented a marquee hot seat match by defeating Jayson Shaw 7-4 and Earl Strickland 7-3, respectively. Kava then defeated Zvi 7-4 and sat in the hot seat, waiting on Frankie Hernandez.
On the loss side, Hernandez got by Lee Kang 7-5, gave up only a single rack to Rob Omen and faced Shaw. Strickland picked up Kevin Guimond, who’d defeated Jamiyl Adams 7-2, and survived a double hill fight against Mhet Vergara. Hernandez and Strickland eliminated Shaw and Guimond, both 7-3 and met in the quarterfinals.
Hernandez ended Strickland’s day 7-4, and then, double hill, defeated Zvi for a shot at Kava in the hot seat. To no avail, as Kava completed his undefeated run with a 7-5 win over Hernandez to claim the Open/Pro title.
Juan Guzman, Roberto Mendoza, Joei Huang & Dan Faraguna
Roberto Mendoza went undefeated to capture the Amateur title on the November 8-9 stop on the Predator Tour, while Spanky Kaba took first in the concurrently-run Open/Pro event. The $500-added Open/Pro tournament drew 10 entrants to the Cue Bar in Bayside, Queens, NY. The $500-added Amateur event drew 42.
It was Mendoza and Joei Huang who ended up squaring off in the battle for the hot seat in the Amateur event. Mendoza had defeated Efrain Torres 7-3, while Huang sent Naldo Troncoso to the losers' bracket 7-4. Mendoza then sent Huang to the semifinals and waited on his return.
On the loss side, Juan Guzman was working on an eight-match winning streak that would get him to the semifinals. His fifth against Nigel Francis, double hill, and sixth, versus Annie Flores 7-4, set him up to face Torres. Troncoso picked up Dan Faraguna, who'd defeated Joe Wilson Torres, double hill, and Ray Feliciano 7-4 to reach him.
Guzman picked up a forfeit victory over Torres and in the quarterfinals, faced Faraguna, who'd eliminated Trancoso 7-5. Guzman completed his loss-side run with an 8-3 win over Faraguna, and was eliminated by Huang in the semifinals 8-6. Mendoza completed his undefeated run with a double hill win over Huang in the finals.
In the short field Open/Pro event, Spanky Kaba came from the loss side to down Frankie Hernandez in the finals. Kaba had come within a game of advancing to the hot seat match against Hernandez, but it was Ray Lee prevailing, while Hernandez was busy downing Hunter Lombardo 7-5. Hernandez took the hot seat match 7-3 over Lee.
On the loss side, Kaba drew Lee Kang who'd survived two straight double hill matches, against Mhet Vergara and Michael Yednak. Lombardo drew Tony Robles, who'd picked up a bye and defeated Eugene Ok, 7-1. Kaba finished Kang's day 7-5, and in the quarterfinals, met up with Robles, who'd eliminated Lombardo 7-3.
Kaba gave up only a single rack defeating Robles in the quarterfinals, and then, in the semifinals, locked up in his second double hill fight against Ray Lee. This time, though, Kaba came out on top and then won yet another double hill match, defeating Hernandez in the finals to capture the event title.
Alex Osipov, who plays on both the Predator and Tri-State Tours, won his first of either on the weekend of March 3-4. He went undefeated through a field of 39 entrants, on hand for the $500-added, A-D handicapped event of the Predator Tour, hosted by Mr. Cue in Lindenhurst, NY.
From among the winners’ side final four, Osipov won two straight double hill matches to get into the hot seat. He sent Rich Turner west and then faced Naldo Troncoso, who’d defeated Billy Santiago 7-5. His second double hill win left him in the hot seat and sent Troncoso to the semifinals, where he met up with Roberto Mendoza, who was in the midst of a seven game, loss-side winning streak.
Mendoza, who’d been sent west by Tony Liang, defeated Juan Guzman and Frank Rapisarda to move into the money rounds. He then downed Victor Nau, double hill, and Steve Wright 7-2 for the right to face Santiago. Turner moved over from the winners’ side final four to face Rich Lang, who’d defeated Boris Manzhelky 7-4 and Kevin Falco 7-5.
It was Mendoza and Turner advancing to the quarterfinals; Mendoza with a 7-5 victory over Santiago and Turner ending Lang’s day 7-3. Mendoza went on to win his final match of the day, defeating Turner 10-7 in the quarterfinals, and advancing to the semifinals, where Troncoso prevailed 7-3. Osipov completed his undefeated run with a 10-8 victory over Troncoso in a single, extended-race match in the finals.
Tour director Tony Robles thanked the owners and staff of Mr. Cue, as well as sponsors Predator Cues, The National Amateur Pool League, Delta-13 racks, Poison Cues, PoolOnTheNet.com, and NYCGrind.
