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Strickland Takes Turning Stone XXI

Earl Strickland

Earl Strickland has emerged victorious at Turning Stone XXI by defeating Jeremy Sossei 13-7 in the finals. Strickland only tasted defeat once at the hands of Brandon Shuff (9-4), a loss he avenged on the final day by relegating Shuff to fourth place with a 9-3 score line.

No one else could hang with the Pearl. He defeated Ron Cosanzio (9-2) and Jason Klatt (9-8) before Shuff sent him left and once over there he rolled over Mike Dechaine (9-6) in a match where both players challenged one another to a series of mind games over the rack and cue ball break position, Karen Corr (9-6), Joey Dupuis (9-5) and Dany Normandin (9-3) before entering the finals against Sossei who had been undefeated coming into the last match.

Sossei had quite the week. He had a tough row to hoe but he took down Robb Saez (9-8), Chris Bartram (9-7), Thorsten Hohmann (9-8), Joey Dupuis (9-6) and Dany Normandin (9-5) before finding his only loss of the event to Strickland in the finals.

You may find complete brackets and results of this event HERE

AzBilliards wishes to thank Mike Zuglan of the Joss Northeast Tour, Turning Stone Casino and resort, Pat and Pete Fleming of Accu-Stats, Al Leon, Eddie Culhane, Lucasi Hybrid Cues, the TAP League System, and Master Chalk for making our live stream and scoring as well as the brackets possible.

Strickland Going Strong at Turning Stone

Earl Strickland

 

If anyone had been doubting the resurgence of Earl Strickland, the mighty Pearl has put the quit on those doubts this week at Turning Stone XXI. In his first three matches his opponents have scored a TOTAL of 3 racks against him. He is playing fast and deadly pool with the cue ball totally under his control and the shots just keep coming. His match last night was against a very strong Ron Cosanzio.
 
Cosanzio had shown his speed by defeating Mike Dechaine in the first round but against Strickland he was just a helpless spectator. Strickland put him down 9-2. Today Mr. Strickland faces a tough challenge when he faces Jason Klatt. Klatt has been displaying fine form (as usual) and has dispatched Larry Nevel and Randy Labonte to the left of the charts already this week, but Strickland Is a taller hill this week and the fans should be in for a great match when these two face off today.
 
One of the more dramatic races of the week happened Friday night when Karen Corr took down Dennis Hatch 9-8. The match was close throughout and had its tense moments as when Hatch requested, counter to the rules, a second bathroom break. Corr stood firm and refused the request and went on to win the match after Hatch came back from 8-6 down to tie things at 8-8.
 
Other names still alive with both bullets left include Chris Bartram, Jeremy Sossei, Martin Daigle, Greg Antonakos, Dave Fernandez and Brandon Shuff. Shuff defeated Karen Corr in the last round Friday night 9-3 so he is certainly one who bears close watching.
 
World number 1 player Thorsten Hohmann is moving undisturbed through the field. Like Strickland, no one has been a serious threat to his prowess and there are already murmurings of what will happen when he winds up facing Strickland. Both men are supremely confidant and this could be an historic match-up if and when it occurs.
 
Play continues today and you may find the Live Stream from Accu-Stats, brackets and live scoring HERE.