In the early morning hours of Monday, June 10, Rich Britt found himself battling in the second set of a true double elimination final against Mike Keith. Sitting in the hot seat, having defeated Keith 6-3 to get there, Britt was shut out in the opening set and was down 3-1 in the second set.
Sitting nearby, watching Britt play, was his best friend, from the age of 12, Jarrod Clowery. The tournament, which had drawn 68 players to Snooker's in Providence, RI, was a benefit for Clowery, who had been injured, severely, in the Boston Marathon bombing. The impetus for the tournament came out of Snooker's where a picture of Clowery hangs, recognizing his induction into the New England Pool Hall of Fame in 2012. House pro Ray McNamara is reported to have been the first to discuss the notion of a benefit tournament. The 'ball' of talk about it was picked up by Marc Dionne, tournament director of the New England 9-Ball Tour, and with enthusiastic support from the owners of the pool hall (Steve and Regina Goulding), and countless members of the New England pool community, including Mike Dechaine, it quickly became a reality, scheduled for June 9.
A collection jar was established immediately, and by the time the tournament was over, through raffles, entry fees and donations from a variety of sources, the event had raised nearly $7,000 to offset a combination of medical and living expenses, incurred by Clowery during his hospitalization and rehabilitation, following the Boston Marathon bombing on April 15.
Clowery is still facing surgery for the removal of shrapnel that had entered his body from (as he put it) his "ass to his ankles." He'd dropped like a stone, a victim of the second bomb, and been assisted immediately by two off-duty Connecticut police officers, who'd come to town to see the Red Sox play. These two – Karen Morehead and Jeff Menino – stayed with Clowery until an ambulance arrived. Rich Britt was at his side, pretty much from that point on
So there they were, the two of them, as the Sunday event turned into a Monday event. Britt wanting to win the tournament for his best friend. Clowery in the viewing area, still recuperating from his injuries, determined to watch his best friend do it.
With Britt in the hot seat, Keith had moved over to face the owner of Snooker's, Steve Goulding. They fought to double hill in those semifinals; Keith, anxious for a second crack at Britt, Goulding wanting a chance just as badly. Keith prevailed and in short order, took the opening set of the finals 6-0. Down 3-1 in the second set, Britt took command and won five straight to claim the top prize, a 32", LCD TV, which he promptly gave to Clowery.
"Richie's been my friend since we were kids," said Clowery, "and he stayed by my side the whole time. So then he turns around, wins the tournament, gives me the TV and won't take no for answer."
Britt, as it turned out, was just the tip of the benevolent iceberg. Mike Dechaine, who's known Clowery "since forever," too, and was 10 minutes away from the bombing sight when it occurred, organized the raffle of a Predator Cue that added over $2,000 to the coffers. He also added the entry fee to participate in the tournament and didn't play. Snookers raised over $500. MD (Marc Dionne) Promotions raised over $1,500, and there was that collection jar that had been gathering money since the idea for the benefit tournament was first proposed.
"It's the first time I've seen this pool community come together like this," said David Livesey, Snooker's general manager. "The fact that someone we knew had been injured brought (the bombing) home to everybody.
"The tournament filled a need everybody had to do something," he added, "whether it was time or money."
"It was a wonderful event," said Marc Dionne, who's also known Clowery for a long time. "It was different from any other tournament, because everybody just had fun. It didn't matter whether you won or lost, it was all about just helping Jarrod get through this ordeal."
And it ended, in those early Monday morning hours, on a note of poetic justice, as the two best friends returned each other's favors; Britt winning it for Clowery, and Clowery there in the stands to root him on.
Home field advantage proved to be helpful at the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour’s 3rd Annual New England Pool & Billiards Hall Of Fame Ray Desell Memorial 9-Ball Open held on March 3rd and 4th at Snooker’s Billiards in Providence, RI as housepro Mike Dechaine held off a late charge to win the event.
Dechaine made his way through the field of 71 players and it looked like it would be another easy tournament for “The Fireball” when he defeated Hunter Lombardo 9-3 for the hot-seat.
Hunter then fell to Nelson Oliveira on the one loss side 9-5. Oliveira had lost a match to Jeremy Sossei on Saturday and had battled his way to the finals via the long route.
The first set of the double elimination finals was a close one and the players found themselves tied at 7-7 when Dechaine got the chance he was waiting for. An Oliveira scratch on the break let Dechaine to the table with the chance to get to the hill first, but Dechaine was unable to take advantage and clear the rack. Oliveira ended up winning that game and the next to win the first set 9-7.
Dechaine came out strong in the second set and lead 3-0 and 4-1, but Oliveira came back and again tied the match at 7-7. This time, the tables were turned, and it was Dechaine winning the final two games for the 9-7 win and first place in the tournament.
The second chance tournament on Sunday drew 25 players and Rich Britt defeated Stacie Bourbeau for the hot-seat and again in the finals to earn first place.
The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour will be back in action at Trick Shot Billiards in Clifton Park, NY in two weeks (March 17-18) for their next event.
Zuglan is now taking entries for the season finale at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, NY on August 23 – 26. These always fill up and players are turned away. Get your entries in now to avoid missing out.
Cody Francis put up a fight in the finals of the Lucasi Hybrid New England 9-Ball Series stop on Sunday, January 29, but in the ‘double hill’ end, it was Mike Levett who chalked up the undefeated win. The handicapped event, with a total purse of $845, drew 36 entrants to Racks Billiards in Portland, ME.
They met first in the battle for the hot seat. Francis had sent Kristine Brown to the west bracket 7-2, as Levett was doing likewise to Jason D’Angelo 6-1. Levett came out strong again in the hot seat battle that followed. With Francis needing to reach seven games, Levett gave up only two racks in the 5-2 victory that left him in the hot seat.
Brown and D’Angelo moved to the loss side to pick up two opponents with stronger handicaps, and downed them both to advance to the quarterfinals. Brown took out Rich Britt 4-5, as D’Angelo was busy putting an end to Gareth Steele‘s day 4-7. It was Brown, with a 5-1 victory over D’Angelo, who advanced to the semifinals versus Francis.
Francis ended Brown’s bid to get into the finals with a 7-2 victory and the finals re-match against Levett was on. Francis tripled his hot seat effort and at 4-6, forced an eleventh and final game. Levett prevailed to capture the event title.
Alex Popov went undefeated to become champion of the 6th Annual Robert Dionne Memorial Tournament, held under the auspices of the Lucasi Hybrid New England 9-Ball Series, on Sunday, January 22. The $1,140-added event, which drew 41 entrants to Legends Billiards in Portsmouth, NH, was organized to memorialize Tour Director Marc Dionne‘s father, who passed away the day before the first event in 2007. A portion of the proceeds are slated for the St. Jude Research Hospital in Memphis, TN.
From among the winners’ side final four, Popov had to first get by his eventual finals opponent, Corey Tapley, and then, last year’s champion, Choneyi Tenzin. Popov sent Tapley over in a 5-5 (handicapped) victory, and was met, in the battle for the hot seat, by Tenzin, who’d sent Joey Meuse west 7-2. Popov prevailed again in a handicapped match 4-6 to sit in the hot seat, awaiting Tapley’s return.
First up for Tapley was Laddie Mills, fresh off a 5-5 victory over Rich Britt. Meuse drew Will McDonald, who’d just defeated Mark Holmes 5-1. Tapley advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-4 victory over Mills, and was joined by Meuse, who’d defeated McDonald 7-2. Tapley gave up only a single rack in his quarterfinal victory over Meuse and turned to face Tenzin, looking to repeat as event champion. Tenzin battled him to double hill, but Tapley had a two-game, handicap advantage and advanced to the finals with a 5-6 win.
It was a straight-up race to five in the true double elimination finals. Popov took the opening set to secure to become the 6th Robert Dionne Memorial champion.
