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.

 

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.