Jia Li, Kevin West and Annie Flores (Photos courtesy of Erwin Dionisio)
Day two is complete at the Turning Stone Classic XXXI, and what day one might have lacked in surprising results, day two more than made up for.
One player who has drawn her share of attention is Jia Li (top). Li opened her day with a match against Sean Morgan that saw her race to an early lead. At 7-0 though, the wheels seemed to come off and Morgan won seven racks of his own to tie things at 7-7. Li dug down from there and won the next two games for the 9-7 win. There was no problems at all in Li's late match, as she ran over Eric Cloutier 9-2. She will face Tommy Tokoph on Saturday afternoon.
Fresh off of her win last weekend in the NAPL championship, Annie Flores (bottom right) is proving that she belongs here. Flores won a hill-hill battle over The Queen of the Hill Loree Jon Hasson in her early match, but fell to Canadian champion Erik Hjorleifson in her evening match. Flores will either face Hendrick Drost or Brent Boemmels in an Afternoon match.
Kevin West (bottom left) started her tournament on Thursday with 9-2 win over Paul Dryden, but he looked to a tougher hill to climb on Friday when he faced World Champion Thorsten Hohmann. It turned out that match wasn't a problem at all for West, as he cruised over Hohmann 9-4. West then finished off his Friday with a 9-5 win over Jay Goyer. West will face Zion Zvi (fresh off sending Johnny Archer to the one loss side) on Saturday.
AzBilliards has online brackets and real time scoring for the duration of the event, and Upstate Al is streaming the event on Facebook. All of the links are available on our live page.
Mike Zuglan, Jeremy Sossei, Alex Kazakis and Steve Goulding (room owner)
For the first time in six years, the annual Ocean State 9-Ball Championship has been won by someone not named Shaw or Dechaine. On the weekend of November 11-12, the title went, for the third straight time, to a European – Alexandros (Alex) Kazakis. In the absence of the two-time defending champion (Shaw), and three-time champion Dechaine (’12, ’13 & ’14), Kazakis went undefeated through a field of 87 entrants at the $5,000-added, 29th Annual Ocean State Championship, held under the auspices of the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour, and hosted by Snooker's in Providence, RI.
Though well known in European circles, dating back to his days as a European Junior Champion in 2009, and subsequent appearances on the International Billiard Promotion Foundation (IBPF) and European Pocket Billiard Federation’s (EPBF) EuroTour, Kazakis entered the Ocean State Championship without a US title on his resumé. He’d come close, though. In January of this year (his best recorded earnings year, to date), he was runner-up to Jayson Shaw in the Derby City Bigfoot 10-Ball Challenge, and the week before the Ocean State ‘challenge,’ he’d been runner-up to Jorge Rodriguez in the Grand Masters division of the NYC 8-Ball Championships.
At the very start, it seemed as though Kazakis and Albanian teenager Eklent (Klenti) Kaci were destined to knock heads. Kaci, who, in the past year, had already won the Aramith Masters Division and Predator Grand Finale of the 8-Ball World Pool Series (April and November, respectively), two stops on the Joss Tour, one on the Predator Tour and was runner-up to Shaw in the US Open, was poised to add a sixth US title to his growing list. In back-to-back matches, Kazakis and Jeremy Sossei kept the youngster out of the Ocean State Championship winners’ circle.
Kazakis and Kaci met first, predictably, in the hot seat match. Kazakis had sent Sossei to the loss side 9-7 in one winners’ side semifinal, as Kaci was busy shutting out Tom D’Alfonso (winner of the Ocean State title in 2011). Kazakis prevailed in the hot seat match 9-7, sending Kaci to the semifinals from which he would not return.
On the loss side, a number of potential ‘threats’ lay in wait. Sossei picked up one of them; Jorge Rodriguez, who’d been sent to the loss side by Kaci in a winners’ side quarterfinal, and defeated Stevie Mack 7-4 and Zion Zvi 7-3. In a battle of Joss Tour veterans, D’Alfonso drew Ron Casanzio (recent winner of the Al Conte Memorial earlier this month), who’d most recently defeated Rich Kravetz 7-5 and Paul Dryden, double hill.
Sossei gave up only one rack to Rodriguez and advanced to the quarterfinals. He was joined by D’Alfonso, who’d eliminated Casanzio 7-5. Sossei moved on to defeat D’Alfonso 7-4, and then, in what had to have come as a surprise to many (except Sossei), Sossei dashed Kaci’s hopes for a sixth US title with a 7-5 win in the semifinals.
In the finals that followed, Kazakis, in pursuit of his first US title, was facing an opponent, Sossei, who was vying for his 39th US title in 10 years. The two came within a game of having to play a single, deciding game, but in the end, Kazakis pulled out in front 9-7 to win the 29th Annual Ocean State 9-Ball Championship.
Tour director Mike Zuglan thanked Steve Goulding and his Snooker’s staff for their hospitality, as well as regular tour sponsors Joss Cues, Turning Stone Resort & Casino, Simonis Cloth, Poolonthenet.com, AZBilliards, Aramith, Billiards Press and World Class Cue Care. Stop #6 on the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for November 18-19, will be a $1,500-added main event with a $500 added second chance event on Sunday, hosted by Union Station Billiards in Portland, ME. That event will be the last reguilar season event before the Turning Stone Classic XXIX at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, Ny on January 4th – 7th.
Steve Goulding, Jorge Rodriguez, Mike Dechaine and Mike Zuglan
Corr is among inductees to Hall of Fame
It was almost a storybook ending. The Joss Northeast 9-Ball's 6th Annual New England Pool & Billiards Hall of Fame/Ray Desell Memorial 9-Ball Open, held on the weekend of February 27-March 1, included, on Friday, the induction of nine candidates into the New England Hall of Fame. Among them were Karen Corr, who made it to the semifinals of the $2,500-added 9-ball event that drew 88 entrants to Snookers in Providence, RI. She was defeated in those semifinals by Mike Dechaine, who won five on the loss side to meet and twice defeat hot seat occupant, Jorge Rodriguez, and reclaim the title he'd last won in 2013. It was Dechaine's third win on the tour, dating back to October.
Dechaine's victory carried echoes of the 5th annual event, in which Joey Dupuis came from the loss side and defeated Dechaine in the finals. This time, it was Dechaine on the loss side, after a 9-6 loss to Nelson Oliveira in a winners' side quarterfinal. Oliveira advanced to meet Corr, while Rodriguez and Jeremy Sossei, looking for his third Joss win of the 2014-2015 season, met in the other winners' side semifinal.
Rodriguez and Sossei battled to double hill before Rodriguez prevailed for a spot in the hot seat match. He was joined by Corr, who'd dispatched Oliveira 9-6. Rodriguez sent Corr to the semifinals 9-3 and waited in the hot seat for Dechaine.
Over on the loss side, Dechaine was at work. He defeated Pete Bowman and Cleiton Rocha 9-6 to draw Sossei; they'd met last in the finals of the Ocean State 9-Ball Championship in November. Oliveira picked up Ryan Lineham, who'd gotten by Mark Creamer 9-5 and Paul Dryden 9-7.
Lineham brought Oliveira within a game of double hill, but it was Oliveira advancing to the quarterfinals. Dechaine had somewhat of an easier time against Sossei, defeating him 9-2 for a shot against the man who'd sent him to the loss side. Dechaine chalked up another 9-2 win, dropping Oliveira into fourth place, and turned to face Corr in the semifinals.
Having given up three or less racks during his four loss-side matches, Corr proved to be a little more resilient. She battled Dechaine and chalked up seven, before Dechaine pulled ahead to win it.
It was clear from the outset in the double elimination finals that Dechaine was on a mission. While both players exhibited signs of fatigue as Sunday, March 1, turned into Monday, March 2, Dechaine jumped out of the gate and claimed the opening set 9-5. Rodriguez came out just as determined in the second set, taking an early 4-0 lead. Rodriguez would continue to creep forward, but by rack #12, Dechaine had tied things up. He would go on to win the next two and stood on the brink of claiming the title. Rodriguez, though, battled back to tie things, double hill, and then, just as he stood on the brink of claiming the title, he scratched on the final break. Dechaine closed it out around 2 a.m. to claim the 6th Annual New England Pool & Billiard Hall of Fame/Ray Desell Memorial title.
A $500-added Second Chance tournament, saw Justin Muller go undefeated, downing Bob Madenjian in the finals. Ed Loring finished in third place, after defeating Phil Davis, who finished fourth. Tim Perry and Clyde Matta tied for fifth place.
In addition to Karen Corr, the New England Pool & Billiard Hall of Fame inducted Grace Nakamura, “Upstate Al” Leon, Shayne Cote, Philip Capelle, Steve and Tammy Reynolds, Bart Rivezzi, and Nick Scofield at the ceremonies on Friday evening, February 27. The next stop on the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for March 28-29, will be the Northeast 9-Ball Open XXVIII, and will be hosted by Golden Cue Billiards in Albany.
Eric Tang returned from a winners' side semifinal defeat at the hands of Dennis Levesque to defeat him in the finals of the newly-revived Eastern States Amateur Championship, held on Labor Day weekend. The $2,000-added event drew 75 entrants to Snooker's Billiards in Providence, RI. A concurrently-run, $3,000-added Pro event (separate story) drew 30 entrants.
Tang (an "A" player) and Levesque (a "B+") met first in the winners' side semifinal, as Dan Faraguna (B) and Mark Small (C) met up in the other. Levesque took the first (and last) of two against Tang 7-3 and in the hot seat match, met up with Small, who'd sent Faraguna west 7-4. Levesque gained the hot seat 8-7 over Small and waited on Tang.
Tang moved over and picked up Paul Dryden, who'd defeated Ryan Cullen and Victor Nau, both 7-5, to reach him. Faraguna drew Josh Gormly, who'd eliminated Chris Amaral 7-4 and Mike Demarco 7-5. Tang got by Dryden 7-2, and after Gormly had defeated Faraguna 7-3, Tang defeated him 7-2 in the quarterfinals.
Tang chalked up the third straight loss-side match in which he'd given up only two racks by defeating Small in the semifinals 9-2. Levesque, in the finals, challenged that streak, as he and Tang battled to double hill (8-7). Tang chalked up game #16 to snatch the title away from Levesque.
Tour Director Tony Robles thanked Steve and Regina Goulding, owners of Snookers, and their staff, as well as "(his) lovely wife, Gail," NYCGrind, NAPL, AZBTV, New England 9-Ball Series, Gloria Jean's Ride the NineTour, Poolonthenet.com, Gotham City Technologies, Ozone Billiards.com, Delta-13 racks and ("the Big Kahuna," said Robles) Predator Cues.
