Looking for his first win on the New England 9-Ball Series (according to our records) and his first cash payout in 2020, Beau Powers got both. The first came with an asterisk, when he and Alex Bausch opted out of a final match and Powers, as the undefeated occupant of the hot seat, was declared the official winner, while the second had to be split (by an undisclosed amount) with Bausch. The $500-added event, Stop #4 on the NE 9-Ball Series, drew 41 entrants to Amazin’ Billiards in Malden, MA.
Working in the upper bracket, Powers opened up his campaign with a double hill fight against Ricardo Diaz. He prevailed and went on to send Daniel Simmons (6-4), Tom Comerford (6-1) and Brian Tierney (6-4) to the loss side, drawing Suad Kantarevic in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Bausch, in the meantime, in the lower bracket, worked his way through Justin Cunningham 5-3, Ed Murray 7-1, Alvin Lam 5-2 and Robert Lucas 5-1 to arrive at his winners’ side semifinal match versus Curtis Wright.
With Kantarevic racing to 8, Powers advanced to the hot seat match, double hill (4-7). Bausch joined him after shutting Wright out. With the lower Fargo Rate (528), Bausch started the hot seat match with a single bead on the wire in a race to 6 against Powers (595). Powers claimed the hot seat and, as it turned out, the only match he’d play against Bausch 6-2.
On the loss side, Kantarevic and Wright stepped right into their second straight loss. Kantarevic drew Rich Minichello, Jr., who’d lost his opening round match against Brian Tierney, double hill, and embarked on an eight-match, loss-side winning streak that would end with some controversy in the semifinals. He’d recently been the beneficiary of a forfeit by his brother, Michael and eliminated Clyde Matta 6-2. Wright picked up William Aley, who’d been defeated in his second winners’ side round and went on a six-match winning streak that would take him to the quarterfinals. He’d just defeated Robert Lucas 5-1 and Alvin Lam 5-3.
With Kantarevic racing to 6, against his 5, Minichello, Jr. advanced to the quarterfinals 5-2. Aley joined him with a 5-3 win over Wright. Minchello chalked up win #8, downing Aley 8-2 in those quarterfinals (Aley racing to 4).
The semifinal between Bausch and Minichello, Jr. was a close one that was live-streamed. At the end of their 10th game, with Bausch racing to 4 and Minichello racing to 8, Minichello was acting on the assumption that they had just reached double hill at 3-7. What was assumed to be the match’s 11th rack was assembled and when it was done, broken and played out, Bausch had won with what was assumed to be a 4-7 score. However, Bausch knew and the live stream confirmed that somewhere along the line, Minichello had failed to move a bead on the wire, and at what Minichello assumed was the match’s deciding 11th rack, he’d already won 8-3. It was the 12th rack that Bausch won and claimed the win. Minichello agreed that the $200+ mistake (depending on how the finalists split the top two prizes) and responsibility for it was his and Bausch advanced to the semifinals.
Bausch did not play again. He and Powers agreed to the split and the 4th stop on the NE 9-Ball Series was, as they say, in the books.
Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff at Strokers Billiards, as well as Predator, Poison, Arcos II, BCAPL, USAPL New England, Fargo Rate, AZBilliards, Inside English, Professor Q-Ball’s National Pool and 3-Cushion News, Bob Campbell, MJS Construction, Master Billiards, OTLVISE Billiard Mechanics of America, Piku Tips and Just the Tip Cue Repair and Custom Accessories.
The next stop on the NE 9-Ball Series (#5), scheduled for this weekend (Oct. 24-25), will be a $750-added event, hosted by American Pool & Billiards (formerly Union Station Billiards) in Portland, ME.
By the time that the field of 126 entrants competing for the New England 9-Ball Series’ Winter Classic had whittled down to its final 12, there was only one “Open” player left – Joey Dupuis. In one of the vagaries of a double bracket format (upper and lower brackets employed for higher and lower handicapped players), Dupuis had been sent to the loss side by Dennis Levesque in an upper bracket winners’ side semifinal, which is a winners’ side quarterfinal in the overall event. Bobby Hooker, in the meantime, a C+ player, advanced through the lower bracket and eventually claimed the overall event hot seat; last player without a loss, still standing. Though Dupuis would navigate his way through five loss-side matches and win the opening set of a true double elimination final versus Hooker, Hooker fought back in the second set, and won it to claim the event title. Held on the weekend of January 27-28, the $5,000-added Winter Classic was hosted by Snookers in Providence, RI.
Levesque’s 6-5 victory over Dupuis (Dupuis racing to 9) put Levesque in an overall winners’ side semifinal (two from the upper bracket) against Mike Pettit. From the lower bracket, Hooker and Adam Blair met in the other winners’ side semifinal. Levesque and Pettit (both A players), in a straight-up race to 7, went to double hill before Levesque won it to advance to the hot seat match. Hooker and Blair (both C+ players), in a straight-up race to 5, went double hill, as well, with Hooker advancing to the hot seat match. With Levesque racing to 8, and Hooker to 5, Hooker claimed the hot seat 5-6 and waited for Dupuis to complete his loss-side run.
Pettit’s first match on the loss side was against Dupuis, who, following his defeat at the hands of Levesque, had eliminated Rich Minichello, double hill (7-5), and Francisco Cabral 9-3. Blair drew Rob Diehl, who’d defeated Josh Ceasar, double hill, and Justin Grant 5-1.
Dupuis gave up only one rack to Pettit in advancing to the quarterfinals. He was joined by Blair, who’d survived a straight-up race to 5, double hill, over Diehl. The subsequent battle between the Open player (Dupuis) and the C+ player (Blair) was a 10-4 race, won by Dupuis 10-2.
The semifinal rematch between Dupuis and Levesque was a 9-6 race, won by Dupuis 9-3. Dupuis took the opening set of the true double elimination final 10-2 over Hooker (Hooker racing to 4). In the second set, Dupuis got halfway to his 10-rack goal, but Hooker made it to his 4 first to win the second set and claim the event title.
Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff for their hospitality during the Winter Classic, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Molinari, Bert Kinister, AZBilliards, Inside English, Professor Q-ball’s National Pool and 3-Cushion News, Delta 13 Racks, MJS Construction, Bob Campbell, Championship Cloth, and OTLVISE Billiard Mechanics of America. Next week’s scheduled event at Workmen’s Hall in Norwood, MA has been cancelled. The next stop (#15) on the New England 9-Ball Series, scheduled for Saturday, February 17, will be a $500-added event, hosted by Yale Billiards in Wallingford, CT.
The New England 9-Ball Series has announced that it is currently taking entries for the Tour Championship, scheduled for September 8-9 at Bo’s Billiards in Warwick, RI. The field will be limited to 128 players, all of whom must have played in at least four events to be eligible.
Rich Minichello chalked up his second victory on the current Rack ‘Em Up Tour on Sunday, December 18. It was his fourth victory on the tour, in overlapping seasons, since February. As he’d done in the 2011-2012 season opener back in September, Minichello went undefeated in the Open, A, B, C event that drew 40 entrants to Snookers, in Providence, RI.
From among the winners’ side final four, Minichello shut out Rich Senna, while Joey Dupuis was sending Dan Tankerly west 6-2. Minichello got into the hot seat with a 6-2 win over Dupuis, who would return from the semifinals to face him a second time.
On the loss-side, Senna picked up Larry DeThomas, who’d defeated Chris Arnold, double hill, and Dave Norton 4-1 to reach him. Tankerly drew Stacie Bourbeau, who’d been sent west from among the winners’ side final eight by Minichello and then won two straight double hill battles against D.J. Hopkins and Dave Wright.
Tankerly and Dethomas took advantage of their handicaps to defeat Bourbeau and Senna, both 3-2 (Bourbeau needed to reach four games, Senna needed five). In the straight-up, race-to-four quarterfinals that followed, Tankerly downed DeThomas 4-1, setting up a re-match against Dupuis in the semifinals. The second verse, as it turned out, was identical to the first. Once again, Dupuis defeated Tankerly 7-2, and got his own second chance against Minichello.
Dupuis’ effort in the finals was three games stronger than it had been in the battle for the hot seat. Minichello, though, needing to win only six games to Dupuis’ seven, prevailed 6-5 to capture the event title. Minichello would end up winning more in the event’s Break and Run contest than he did in the 9-ball tournament.
Dave Norton, who finished in the tie for seventh place in the main event, had his name drawn first for the Break and Run contest, but won only $29 when he failed to make a ball. He was consoled by the fact that in addition to his 7th place winnings, he won the door prize raffle and went home with a 24″ LED Toshiba Flatscreen TV. Minichello’s name was drawn second. He promptly broke and ran the table to collect $640 and a Sneaky Pete Predator Cue.
It’s been a familiar scene, the finals of the Rack ‘Em Up 9-Ball Tour coming down to a match between Nelson Oliviera and Rich Minichello. In May, Minichello double dipped Oliviera to win the season’s A Division Point standings, and in the first event of the 2011/2012 season, Minichello hung on in the finals to win a double hill battle. On Sunday, November 13, it was Oliviera, hanging on to win after giving up his first match in the opening set of a true double elimination final. The Open, A, B, C event drew 43 entrants to Westgate Billiards in Brockton, MA.
They met first among the winners’ side final eight, when Oliviera advanced to the final four winners with a 6-3 win to face Rick Gatta. Joining Oliviera and Gatta were Anthony Disegna and Kevin Bauccio. Oliviera got into the hot seat match with a 6-2, double hill win over Gatta, and was met by Bauccio, who’d defeated Disegna 4-1. Oliviera shut out Bauccio to get into the hot seat, where he waited for his familiar foe.
Disegna moved over and ran right into Minichello, who, after being sent west by Oliviera, defeated Pete Bowman and Bill Cote, both 6-2. Gatta drew D.J. Hopkins, who’d gotten by Dan Tankerly double hill and Choneyi Tenzin 5-3. Minichello and Hopkins advanced to the quarterfinals; Minichello with a 6-1 win over Disegna and Hopkins, double hill over Gatta. In a straight-up race to 4, Minichello defeated Hopkins and turned to face Bauccio in the semifinals.
Minichello made short work of Bauccio, defeating him 5-1, in a 5-4 race, and turned for a second crack (on this weekend) at Oliviera. He took the opening set 5-4 (Oliviera needing 6), but gave way in the second set 6-3.
Jason D’Angelo’s name was drawn in the first Break and Run contest and took home $28 for the one ball he sank. Mike Santoro followed and failed to sink a ball.
