Like the concurrently-run Empire State Open Championships (see separate story), the 6th Annual Empire State Amateur Championships saw a player (Marco Dy) come back from the semifinals to defeat the hot seat occupant (Mike Hertz). Unlike the Open event, none of the Amateur event's final 12 players were among the final 12 in 2013. Like the Open event, the $1,500-added Amateur tournament drew the exact number of entrants it had drawn in 2013 (104), to the same location, Raxx Billiards in West Hempstead, NY.

 

Advancing to the winners' side semifinals this year were Roberto Mendoza, who faced Dy, and Chris Brooks, who met up with Hertz. Hertz and Dy moved into the hot seat match with identical 7-2 wins over Brooks and Mendoza. Hertz claimed the hot seat with a 7-4 win and waited for Dy to come back.

 

On the loss side, Brooks met up with Randy Fisher, who'd defeated John Lazo 7-3 and survived a double hill fight versus Omar Alli, to reach him. Mendoza drew Romeo Singh, who'd defeated both Dave Shlemperis and Jimmy Acosta 7-5. Brooks and Mendoza got right back to work; Brooks downing Fisher in a double hill match, while Mendoza was busy eliminating Singh 7-2.

 

Two straight double hill matches followed, with Mendoza defeating Brooks in the quarterfinals, and Dy ending Mendoza's day in the semifinals. In the finals, Dy doubled the lead by which Hertz had defeated him in the hot seat (7-4), claiming the Empire State Amateur Championship title with a decisive 9-3 win.

Thomas Rice, at 14 years of age, followed a May victory on the Tri-State Tour with a September 7-8 victory on the Predator Tour. He became the youngest player to ever win a stop on the tour, and according to tour director Tony Robles, "he was ecstatic about it." The youngster has figured in the money in eight stops on the Tri-State Tour this year, and three on the Predator Tour. This most recent, $500-added amateur event, drew 37 entrants to Mr. Cue's Billiards in Lindenhurst, NY.

 

On Sunday, a short field of players (8) signed on to a $500-added Open event, which was won by Dennis Hatch. Hatch, who'd finished second in the George "Ginky" Sansouci Memorial Tournament the previous week, got by Predator Tour Director Tony Robles twice to capture the event title.

 

From among the winners' side final four in the amateur event, with a bye and three winning matches behind him, Rice faced Asa Shaw. Victor Nau and Billy Santiago met in the other winners' side semifinal. Rice got into the hot seat match with an 8-5 victory over Shaw, and was met by Nau, who'd sent Santiago over with a double hill win.  Rice, a C+ player (soon to be a B), defeated the A+ Nau 9-7 (Rice had four beads on the wire at the start) and sat in the hot seat, awaiting the return of what turned out to be Pete Tascarella, Jr.

 

Tascarella, who'd been defeated by Nau in an early round, would win seven to get back to the finals. He got by Robert Gipp 7-3 and won a double hill match against Eric Grassman to draw Santiago. Shaw, coming over, met up with Keith K.llo, who'd gotten by Romeo Singh 7-4 and picked up a forfeit victory over Shawn Sookhai. 

 

Tascarella and Kallo advanced to the quarterfinals with 7-1 victories over Santiago and Shaw. Tascarella downed Kallo 7-5 and then, picked up a forfeit semifinal win over Nau. Rice, though, put an end to Tascarella's loss-side winning streak with a 9-7 win in the finals.

 

Hatch goes undefeated through four to win Open event

 

Victories in their opening match, put Dennis Hatch, Frankie Hernandez, Mark Gerel and Tony Robles among the winners' side final four in the Open event. Hatch and Robles defeated Hernandez and Gerel, respectively, both 8-3, and moved into the hot seat match. Hatch took that one 8-4 and waited for Robles to get back from the semifinals.

 

On the loss side, Jerry Tarantola, following an 8-2 win over Carl Yusuf Khan, picked up Gerel. Nigel Francis, who'd defeated Scott Murphy 8-5, met up with Hernandez. It was Tarantola and Hernandez meeting up in the quarterfinals, once Tarantola had eliminated Gerel 8-6 and Hernandez had downed Francis 8-5. 

 

Hernandez took the quarterfinal match over Tarantola 8-2, but was stopped by Robles 8-5 in the semifinals. Hatch completed his four-match run through the field of eight with an 8-3 win over Robles in the finals.

Dave Shlemperis came back from a defeat among the winners' side final four to meet and defeat hot seat occupant, Trevor Heal in the finals of the Predator Tour's Amateur event on the weekend of July 13-14. The $500-added Amateur event, stop # 9 on the tour, drew 64 entrants to Amsterdam Billiards in Manhattan. 

 

Shlemperis was sent to the loss side by Alex Osipov 7-3, while Heal was busy surviving a double hill battle versus Romeo Singh. Heal then won a second straight, double hill battle that sent Osipov to the semifinals, and left Heal in the hot seat.

 

On the loss side, Shlemperis picked up Rhys Chen, who'd gotten by Tony Cosenza 7-2 and Gary O'Callaghan, double hill, to reach him. Singh drew Jimmy Acosta, who'd defeated Raphael Dabreo 7-4 and Carl Yusuf Khan 7-5. Shlemperis got right back to work, defeating Chen, double hill, as Acosta was handing Singh his second straight loss 7-4.

 

Shlemperis then downed Acosta in the quarterfinals 7-4, and went on to take down Osipov in the semifinals 7-2. Shlemperis, who's sponsored by Focused Apparel and RJH Custom Cues, reached seven racks first, extending the race to nine games, and closed it out, ahead by six, 9-3 to claim the amateur event title.

 

Carl Yusuf Khan, known in the Tri-State area as "The Warrior," lived up to his billing by stopping Roberto Mendoza in the finals of the June 1-2 Amateur segment of the Predator Tour stop. Mendoza had been defeated in the opening round of play in the $750-added, A-D handicapped event that drew 51 entrants to Raxx Billiards, Sports Bar & Grill in West Hempstead, NY, and won nine on the loss side to face Khan in those finals.

 

With Mendoza already at work on the loss side after an opening round defeat at the hands of Gail Glazebrook, Khan advanced among the winners' side final four and a matchup against Romeo Singh. Bogie Uzdejczyk, in the meantime, faced Tommy Hagen. Khan and Uzdejczyk defeated Singh and Hagen, both 7-3, and met in the battle for the hot seat. Khan prevailed there 7-4 and waited on Mendoza. 

 

With four down and five to go, Mendoza defeated Junior Sanchez 7-4, and Adrian Daniel 9-7 to pick up Hagen. Singh drew Dave Shlemperis, who'd gotten by Chris Lazovitch and Shawn Sookhai, both 7-5. Mendoza and Shlemperis handed Hagen and Singh their second straight defeat; Mendoza 7-5 over Hagen and Shlemperis 7-1 versus Hagen.

 

Mendoza prevailed over Shlemperis in the quarterfinals 8-4, and completed his loss-side trip with a 7-3 victory over Uzdejczyk in the semifinals. The ninth, loss-side victory was one shy of a tour record for loss-side victories, held by Bill Finnegan. Khan, though, took the final match 7-4 over Mendoza to claim the event title.