(l to r): Nick Croce, Sherwin Robinson, Eric Toledo & Ron Bernardo
Between them, the winner, runner-up and third-place finisher in this past weekend’s (Feb. 8-9) stop on the Predator Pro Am Tour at Steinway Billiards, had only 10 recorded cash finishes in any regional tour events anywhere. Nick Croce, who finished third, had half of those. Eventual hot seat occupant and runner-up Erick Toledo had four, one per year, all on the Predator Tour dating back to 2008 (’19, ’10, ’09 & ’08). His best, before this past weekend, was his third-place finish in ’08. The eventual winner, Sherwin Robinson, had only one recorded cash finish anywhere, that occurred two years ago on the Predator Pro Am, when he made it as far as a winners’ side semifinal, before forfeiting out of that match and finishing in the tie for 5th place.
Robinson, Toledo and Croce earned their top cash finishes by navigating through a relatively large field that included some of the tour’s more recognizable competitors. Robinson, for example, in his first loss-side match, eliminated B+ player Pascal Dufresne, who’s fresh off his best recorded earnings year (2019), in which he won two stops each on the Predator Pro Am and Tri-State tours and whose recorded cash finishes last year alone were three short of the total for Robinson, Toledo and Croce over the last 10 years. The $1,000-added event drew 87 entrants to Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.
Toledo and Robinson met first in a winners’ side semifinal, as Croce and Ray Feliciano squared off in the other one. Toledo got into the hot seat match with a 7-4 win over Robinson. Croce joined him after defeating Feliciano 7-1. Toledo moved into his first (recorded) hot seat match and won it 9-5 over Croce, assuring himself his best (recorded) finish ever, regardless of what happened in the finals.
On the loss side, Robinson launched his three-match, loss-side journey against Dufresne, who was in the midst of an eight-match, loss-side winning streak that had recently included a double hill win over Arturo Reyes and a 7-1 victory over Duc Lam. Feliciano picked up Ron Bernardo, fresh off of two straight, double hill matches versus DeMain Patrick and Kanami Chau.
Identical 7-4 scores sent Robinson and Bernardo to the quarterfinals, over Dufresne and Feliciano. Robinson went on to defeat Bernardo in those quarterfinals 8-6 and Croce, in the semifinals 8-5.
It was going to be either Robinson or Toledo walking away with his first (recorded) regional tour win. It was Robinson, edging out in front of Toledo at the end and winning the match 9-7, who chalked up the event title.
A Second Chance, single-elimination event that drew 15 entrants saw Jason Goberdhan down Mikhail Kim 7-3 in the finals to claim the $160 first-place prize. Kim pocketed $100 as runner-up, while Dave Callaghan, who’d been defeated by Kim, and Julian Tierney, who’d been defeated by Goberdhan, each took home $30. An 11-entrant, single elimination Third Chance event was won by Jose Mendes, who downed Juan Guzman, double hill, in the finals. Mendes pocketed $130. Guzman took home $90.
Tour director Tony Robles thanked Manny Stamatakis and his Steinway Billiards staff for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Predator Cues, Ozone Billiards, PlayNAPL.com, The DeVito Team, PoolOnTheNet.com, Cappelle (BilliardsPress.com), AZBilliards, Pool & Billiard Magazine and Billiards Digest. He also thanked his own Predator Pro Am staff to include his lovely wife, Gail. The next stop on the Predator Pro Am Tour, scheduled for this coming weekend (Feb. 15-16), will be hosted by Raxx Billiards in West Hempstead, NY.
Ko Ping-Han, Fu Che-Wei, Tony Robles and Hsu Kai-Lun
Dayrit wins Amateur event
Four of the final five players competing in the Open/Pro event of the November 2-3 stop on the Predator Pro Am Tour had drifted north from participating in the International 9-Ball Open in Norfolk, VA. Can you guess which four, among Hsu Kai-Lun, Fu Che-Wei, Liu Cheng-Chieh, Ko Ping-Han and Tony Robles?
Hsu Kai-Lun and about half a dozen fellow Taiwanese players signed on to the $500-added event, with Kai-Lun going undefeated through the field of 19, hosted by The Spot in Nanuet, NY. Kai-Lun defeated separate opponents in the hot seat (Robles) and finals (Fu Che-Wei) to claim the title.
Kai-Lun had to defeat Fu Che-Wei twice; the first time in a winners’ side semifinal, as Tony Robles squared off against Liu Cheng-Chieh in the other one. Kai-Lun downed Che-Wei 7-4 and was joined in the hot seat match by Robles, who’d sent Cheng-Chieh to the loss side 7-3. Kai-Lun claimed the hot seat 7-3 over Robles.
On the loss side, Che-Wei picked up Lin Ta-Li, who’d defeated Mike “Fingers” Badsteubner 7-2, and Max Watanabe 7-4. Liu Cheng-Chieh drew Ko Ping-Han, who’d eliminated Chang Yu-Lung 7-4 and Joey Korsiak 7-3.
Ping-Han downed Cheng-Chieh 7-2, and in the quarterfinals, faced Che-Wei, who’d eliminated Ta-Li 7-4. Che-Wei then defeated Ping-Han to face Robles in the semifinals.
Che-Wei got a second shot at Kai-Lun in the hot seat, with a 7-4 win over Robles in the semifinals. The second meeting between Kai-Lun and Che-Wei was a double hill battle for the event title. Kai-Lun won it 7-6 to claim that title.
Dayrit goes undefeated through field of 62
Ryan Dayrit and Keith Guenzel battled twice to claim the $1,000-added Amateur event title that drew 62 entrants. They met twice, hot seat and finals, to claim the title.
They advanced to their respective winners’ side semifinals; Dayrit, facing Carlos Duque and Guenzel, squaring off against Levie Lampaan. Dayrit moved into the hot seat match with a 7-4 victory over Duque. Guenzel joined him after downing Lampaan 7-2. Dayrit took the first of two against Guenzel 8-4 and waited in the hot seat for the second to happen.
Zaveri advanced to the quarterfinals 7-4 over Lampaan and was joined by Duque, who’d defeated Croce, double hill. Duque took the quarterfinal match that followed 8-4.
Duque started the semifinals against Keith Guenzel with ‘4 on the wire’ in a race to 9. He managed to chalk up the four he needed to force a single deciding game, which Guenzel won for a second shot at Dayrit in the hot seat.
Dayrit and Guenzel then locked up in a double hill final, which Dayrit finally won to claim the event title.
A Second Chance drew nine entrants and was won by Julie Ha. She took home $110 for her efforts, which included her final 7-5 victory over Mike Harrington ($70).
Tour director Tony Robles thanked Rhys Chen and his staff at The Spot 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 November 16-17, will be a Double Points, $1,000-added event, hosted by Cue Bar in Bayside (Queens), NY.
(l to r): Lidio Ramirez, Shawn Sookhai, Jason Goberdhan & Jim Gutierrez
Whether defined by Fargo ratings or individual tour formulas, handicapped match play is designed to level the playing field so that lower-ranked players can be encouraged to participate. Without handicaps, and a few tours don’t use them (the Action Pool Tour, the J. Pechauer Northeast Women’s Tour, and the Midwest 9-Ball Tour, among others), lower-ranked competitors would have little or no incentive to drop their hard-earned money into competition against obviously superior players. By the same token, players are often encouraged to enter non-handicapped tournaments (to play ‘without a net,’ so to speak), because exposure to straight-up races against superior opponents is one of the many ways that players improve their own game.
According to our records, Jason Goberdhan has cashed in a total of 10 events in the Tri-State New York city area; three on the Tri-State Tour and the other seven on the Predator Pro Am Tour. Until this past weekend (April 6-7), he’d finished as high as 3rd place in both, once. Going into the 6th stop on the 2019 Predator Pro Am Tour, he was rated 6th among the tour’s “C” players. Goberdhan ended up going undefeated through a field of 93 entrants, defeating a B+ player (Shawn Sookhai) to claim the hot seat and an A+ player (Lidio Ramirez) in the finals to claim his first event title. The $1,000-added event was hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.
Goberdhan and Ramirez almost met in the hot seat match. Goberdhan faced off against Nick Croce in one of the winners’ side semifinals, as Ramirez met up with Sookhai in the other one. Goberdhan sent Croce to the loss side 7-2, while Sookhai and Ramirez locked up in a double hill fight, eventually won by Sookhai 7-6 (handicap advantages are figured into the score). Goberdhan then sent Sookhai to the semifinals 8-5 to claim the hot seat.
On the loss side, Ramirez picked up Russell Masciotti, who recorded a forfeit win over John Stiles and downed Jimmy Acosta 7-3 to reach him. Croce drew Jim Guttierez, who’d chalked up two straight double hill wins over Ryan Dayrit and Romero Tanglao.
Gutierrez eliminated Croce 7-3 to advance to the quarterfinals. Ramirez joined him after defeating Masciotti 8-6. Ramirez took that quarterfinal match 11-8 for a second shot against Sookhai in the semifinals.
A 7-4 win in that rematch gave Ramirez a first shot at Goberdhan. A somewhat predictable double hill fight ensued, eventually won by Goberdhan 10-9 to claim his first event title.
A Second Chance event drew 13 entrants and was won Jose Kuilan ($130), who survived a double-hill fight against Ashley Burrows ($90) in the finals. Naoko Saiki and Duc Lam pocketed $20 each for their 3rd place tie.
Tour director Tony Robles thanked Manny Stamatakis and his Steinway Billiards staff, as well as title sponsor Predator Cues, Ozone Billiards, PlayNAPL.com, The DeVito Team, PoolOnTheNet.com, Cappelle (Billiards Press), AZBilliards, Pool & Billiards Magazine, and Billiards Digest. The Predator Pro Am Tour will return to Steinway Billiards for its next stop (#7), this coming weekend (April 13-14), with a $1,000-added ABCD event.
(l to r): Nick Croce, Tony Ignomirello, Pascal Dufresne & Dave Shlemperis
Though he’d been runner-up on the Tri-State Tour twice and cashed in a number of tri-state New York area tournaments over the past couple of years, Pascal Dufresne came to the March 2-3 stop on the Predator Pro Am Tour in search of his first event title. He found it. He came back from a winners’ side semifinal loss to down the man, Dave Shlemperis, who sent him to the loss side and claim his first title. The $1,000-added event drew 55 entrants to The Spot in Nanuet, NY.
Dufresne advanced to the winners’ side semifinal against Shlemperis, while Nick Croce squared off against Naoko Faiki, a relative newcomer to the ranks of female Predator Pro Am competitors. Shlemperis sent Dufresne off 7-2 to a three-match trip on the loss side. Croce joined him in the hot seat match after sending Faiki over 7-5. Shlemperis and Croce fought back and forth to a double hill, deciding game, which eventually sent Croce off to the semifinals.
Three straight double hill matches (and almost a fourth) ensued. Tony Iggy and Dufresne forced deciding games against Faiki and Schreiber, respectively, and won them both to advance to the quarterfinals. Then they locked up in a double hill quarterfinal that eventually sent Dufresne to the semifinals.
Dufresne and Croce came within a single game of a fourth straight double hill match on the loss side. Dufresne, though, edged out in front at the end to win it 7-5 to earn a second shot against Shlemperis, sitting in the hot seat waiting for him.
In spite of what Heinz Ketchup tried to tell us in a campaign advertising slogan from the 1980s and Guinness Stout tried to tell us in their own advertisements a decade later, good things don’t always come to those who wait. Just ask Dave Shlemperis, waiting to chalk up his first win on the Predator Pro Am Tour since February of 2017. Pascal Dufresne denied him that title with a 9-6 win in the finals that gave him his first title.
Tour director Tony Robles thanked the ownership and staff at The Spot, as well as title sponsor Predator Cues, Predator Cues, Ozone Billiards, NAPL, The DeVito Team, PoolontheNet.com, Billiards Digest, AZBilliards, Pool & Billiards Magazine and his entire staff, including his lovely wife, Gail. The next stop on the Predator Pro Am Tour, scheduled for the weekend of March 16-17 will be an ABCD, Double Points Amateur event, hosted by Cue Bar in Bayside (Queens), NY.
(l to r): Raphael Dabreo & Joey Korsiak (Photo courtesy of Erwin Dionisio)
Three days after downing their share of Thanksgiving cheer in whatever form it took for them, Max Watanabe and Raphael Dabreo had cause to give further thanks for their respective victories on the Predator Pro Am Tour. During the tour’s annual Thanksgiving Day weekend get-together, Watanabe navigated his way through a 76-entrant field, in the $750-added Amateur event, winning five on the loss side to meet and defeat Jose Estevez in the finals. Raphael DaBreo in the 14-entrant, $250-added Open/Pro event, recovered from a double hill loss in the hot seat match and returned to defeat Joey Korsiak. Both events, as well as a Second and a Third Chance event were hosted, as they are every year, by Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.
In the Amateur division, Watanabe, who pretty much evenly splits his time between the Predator and Tri-State Tours, was looking for his first victory in five attempts on the 2018 Predator Pro Am Tour. He’d been defeated in the finals of an Open/Pro event by Tour Director Tony Robles in September and had chalked up a win on the Tri-State Tour back in June. In this event, he worked his way through to a winners’ side quarterfinal before running into Eddie Kunz, who sent him to the loss side 7-5. Kunz advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against Estevez. Jonathan Martinez, in the meantime, squared off against Joe Morace. Estevez sent Kunz to an immediate re-match against Watanabe with a 7-4 win, as Martinez downed Morace 7-4. Estevez claimed the hot seat 8-5 and waited on Watanabe’s return.
On the loss side, Watanabe had survived a double hill match against Marco Dy and one game shy of double hill, defeated Jaydev Zaveri 7-5 to earn his re-match against Kunz. Morace picked up Erick Carrasco, who’d eliminated Nick Croce 7-5 and Debra Pritchett, double hill, to reach him.
Carrasco got through a second straight double hill match, downing Morace, and advanced to the quarterfinals. Watanabe joined him after giving up only a single rack to Kunz in their re-match. Watanabe then leap-frogged over the quarterfinals when work-related commitments forced Carrasco to forfeit.
Watanabe had his hands full in the semifinals, as Martinez put up a double hill fight for a second shot against Estevez. Watanabe prevailed, and then, in the finals, won the extended race to 9 to claim the event title.
DaBreo and Korsiak replay March matchup with the same result
Squaring off in the finals of the Open/Pro event, Raphael DaBreo and Joey Korsiak replayed a scene that had played out for the both of them in March. In that event, DaBreo had to win three on the loss side, two of which went double hill, to face Korsiak in the finals. He did so to chalk up his first Open/Pro victory on the tour. This time, they battled in the hot seat and finals.
Korsiak had downed Tony Robles 7-4 to get in to the hot seat match, while DaBreo had sent Alfredo Albay over 7-3. They battled to double hill in the hot seat match, until Korsiak prevailed.
On the loss side, Robles picked up Gary O’Callaghan, who’d defeated Jud Parker 7-2 and benefited from a double hill, deciding-game miss at the 10-ball by Joe Torres to advance. Albay drew Frankie Hernandez, who’d eliminated Zion Zvi 7-3 and Stephen Motilal 7-4.
Robles had sent O’Callaghan to the loss side in an earlier double hill match, but it was O’Callaghan who came out on top 7-4 in their re-match. Hernandez shut Albay out to advance to the quarterfinals against O’Callaghan. Hernandez then eliminated O’Callaghan 7-4.
In the semifinals, Hernandez and DaBreo battled to double hill before DaBreo three-fouled Hernandez to earn his second shot against Korsiak. In another modified race-to-9 final, DaBreo claimed the event title over Korsiak 9-3.
A 15-entrant Second Chance event was won Abel Rosario, with Jose Kuilan as runner-up. Duc Lam and Nick Croce finished in the tie for 3rd place. An 8-entrant Third Chance event, saw Miguel Laboy take home the top prize with Julia Ha in second place.
Tour director Tony Robles thanked Manny Stamatakis and his Steinway staff for their Thanksgiving Day weekend hospitality, as well as his own Predator Pro Am staff and sponsors Predator Cues, Ozone Billiards, PlayNAPL.com, The DeVito Team, PoolontheNet.com, Cappelle (Billiards Press), AZBilliards, Pool & Billiard Magazine and Billiards Digest. The final stop of the Predator Pro Am Tour’s 2018 season will be its annual Tour Championships. Open to players who’ve participated in a minimum of five events during the year, the potentially $11,000-added, 2018 Predator Tour Championships will be hosted by Raxx Sports Bar & Grille in West Hempstead, NY.
