Annie Flores, Abel Rosario, Tommy Schreiber and Arturo Reyes
Fifty-four of the Tri-State New York area's best amateur players descended on Steinway Billiards in Astoria, Queens on the weekend of October 22-23. Nestled in time between the recently-concluded US Open 9-Ball Championships and the 5th Annual Steinway Classic, which kicked off on April 24th, the Predator Tour's $1,000-added, A/D handicapped event saw Arturo Reyes and Tommy Schreiber battle twice, with Reyes winning both to claim the event title.
Advancing through the field to a winners' side semifinal, Reyes faced Rhio Anne ("Annie") Flores, as Schreiber battled Bob Toomey. Reyes downed Flores 7-5. Schreiber sent Toomey to the loss side 7-3. In their first of two, Reyes claimed the hot seat 8-3.
When he got to the loss side, Toomey had the misfortune of running into Abel Rosario right off the bat. Rosario, in a double hill loss, had been sent over by Schreiber and was in the midst of a six-match, loss-side winning streak that would eventually earn him a rematch in the semifinals. He'd gotten by Juan Melendez 7-3, and squeaked by George Poltorak, double hill, to draw Toomey. Annie Flores picked up Juan Guzman, who'd eliminated Rob Tole 7-3 and Ron Mason 7-5.
Rosario advanced to the quarterfinals, double hill, over Toomey. Annie joined him with a 7-3 win over Guzman. Rosario won his last match of the event, defeating Flores 7-3, and earning his semifinal rematch against Schreiber.
Schreiber wanted no part of another double hill scene with Rosario in the semifinals, and downed him 7-2. In the finals, Schreiber squeezed in one more rack than he'd chalked up in the hot seat match, but Reyes wrapped up his undefeated run with an 8-4 win and claimed the event title.
Runner-up three times in 2015, the last time (November) against Earl Strickland, Lee Kang chalked up his first win on the Predator Tour's Open/Pro event on the weekend of May 21-22. Kang went undefeated in the $500-added event that drew 14 entrants to Raxx Billiards in West Hempstead, NY.
His finals opponent on this recent event was Tour Director Tony Robles, whom he defeated twice to claim the title. The final four on the winners' side of the bracket became the event's top four finishers. Robles had sent Jorge Rodriguez to the loss side 7-2 in one winners' side semifinal, as Kang was busy sending Frankie Hernandez over in a double hill fight in the other. Kang claimed his first win over Robles 7-3 and waited in the hot seat for his return.
On the loss side, Rodriguez and Hernandez picked up Zion Zvi and Del Sim, respectively. Zvi had eliminated Ron Mason 7-2 and Holden Chin 7-4 to draw Rodriguez. Sim had survived two straight double hill matches against Mike Wong and Dave Schlemperis to pick up Hernandez.
Rodriguez and Hernandez advanced to the quarterfinals, both 7-4 against Zvi and Sim. In what was the event's first money round, Rodriguez defeated Hernandez 7-4 to face Robles in the semifinals. A double hill fight there eventually advanced Robles to a re-match against Kang in the finals.
The finals were all Kang. He opened up with seven in a row, establishing a lead that was two shy of a shutout. Robles spoiled that shutout bid with a single win in the eighth game, and received appreciative, though ironic applause for preventing that shutout. Kang closed it out with two wins to claim the event title.
"He was playing like a monster," said Robles afterwards. "It was the best pool I'd ever seen him play."
Robles thanked the ownership and staff at Raxx Billiards, as well as sponsors Predator Cues, National Amateur Pool League, Ozone Billiards, Delta-13 racks, Gotham City Technologies, PoolOnTheNet.com, The DeVito Team, Billiards Press, AZ Billiards, Billiards Digest, and Pool & Billiard Magazine. He also thanked William Finnegan, Mandy Wu, and Irene Kim for their assistance with the tournament, as well as his wife, Gail Robles.
Greg Matos, Rhio Anne Flores, Brooke Meyer and Alison Fischer
On the weekend of April 9-10, Brooke Meyer found himself battling Alison Fischer twice during an amateur stop on the Predator Tour. Fischer's work as reporter and photographer with NYCGrind, along with her improving work as a player (she was the Predator Tour's 'C' Player of the Year last year), made her advancement to the hot seat match and eventually, the finals, a cause for celebration and support in what, regardless of the outcome, would be her best finish ever on the Predator Tour (she did finish as runner-up at a stop on the Tri-State Tour last year). Meyer spoiled the party by defeating her twice and claiming the title. The $1,000-added event drew 66 entrants to Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.
Their initial meeting in the hot seat match followed a 7-4 victory by Fischer over Greg Matos and a 7-2 victory by Meyer, over Stewart Warnock in the winners' side semifinals. Fischer battled Meyer to double hill before he sunk the last ball and claimed the hot seat.
Matos moved over and picked up Abel Rosario, who'd defeated Troy Deocharran and Jose Quilan, both 7-4, to reach him. Warnock drew Annie Flores, who'd eliminated Ron Mason 7-3 and Lidio Ramirez 7-5. By identical 7-4 scores, Matos and Flores advanced to the quarterfinals over Rosario and Warnock.
Matos took that quarterfinal match 8-3 over Flores, but ran into an obviously well-motivated Fischer, who downed him 7-4 for a second shot at Meyer. For a second time, Fischer pushed Meyer to the brink, before he sunk the final ball in game 15 to claim the event title.
Stephen Dempsey entered the Predator Tour's season finale in second place among the tour's A+-ranked players, just behind Tony Liang. When it was over, following a five-match, loss-side winning streak and a victory in the finals over Manny Stamatakis, Dempsey moved into the #1, A+ slot in the tour rankings. The $5,500-added season finale for the tour, held on the weekend of December 12-13, drew 80 entrants to Raxx Billiards in West Hempstead, NY. A $1,500-added Open/Pro event (separate story) drew 24 entrants, and was still ongoing as this report was filed.
Dempsey's trip on the winners' side of the Amateur bracket came to an end during the winners' side quarterfinals, at the hands of Rhys Chen, who advanced to a winners' side semifinal versus Manny Stamatakis, owner of Steinway Billiards. Todd Trent, in the meantime, squared off against Mike Figueroa. Two double hill matches advanced Stamatakis and Trent to the hot seat match, where Stamatakis prevailed 7-3 to sit in the hot seat.
On the loss side, Dempsey downed Ron Mason 8-5 and Scott Murphy 8-6, earning a re-match versus Chen. Figueroa drew Bob Toomey, who entered the tournament in second place among the tour's C players, and had defeated Luis Jimenez 7-4 and Judd Parker, double hill, to face Figueroa. Dempsey and Toomey advanced to the quarterfinals; Dempsey successfully wreaking his vengeance on Chen, and Toomey, downing Figueroa, both 7-3.
Dempsey took the quarterfinal match 11-7 over Toomey, whose finish in fourth place advanced him into first place among the tour's C players. Dempsey moved on and picked up a forfeit win over Trent in the semifinals. Dempsey completed the event win, with a 9-6 victory over Stamatakis in the finals.
On the weekend of November 28-29, warming up for the Predator Tour's season finale, a $7,000-added event, scheduled for December 12-13 at Raxx Billiards in West Hempstead, NY, Earl Strickland and Steve Dempsey went undefeated through their respective Open/Pro and Amateur fields. The $500-added Open/Pro event drew 10 entrants to Steinway Billiards in Astoria, Queens, NY. The Amateur event drew 58 to the same location.
Strickland's path to the winners' circle went through Lee Kang twice; once in the hot seat match and again, in the finals. Strickland had sent Zion Zvi (the tour's top-ranked Pro class player) to the loss side 7-5, as Kang sent Sean Morgan over 7-4. Strickland gave up a single rack in the battle for the hot seat, and waited on Kang's return.
On the loss side, Zvi drew Ron Mason, who'd picked up a loss-side bye and defeated Ryan Boursse 7-4. Morgan drew the tour's top-ranked Open class player, Jorge Rodriguez, who'd defeated tour director Tony Robles 7-1 and Mike Wong 7-5. Zvi downed Mason 7-2, as Rodriguez was eliminating Morgan 7-4.
Rodriguez took the quarterfinal match 7-5 over Zvi, and was then eliminated 7-4 by Kang. In their second of two, Strickland claimed the Open/Pro title over Kang 7-4.
In the Amateur event, Steve Dempsey faced separate opponents in the hot seat match and finals; Ramilo Tanglao in the former, Juan Guzman (whom he'd sent to the loss side) in the latter. Dempsey sent Raphael DaBreo to the loss side 7-2 in a winners' side semifinal, as Tanglao sent Paul Wilkens over, double hill. Dempsey claimed the hot seat 9-6 and waited on Guzman's return.
On the loss side, Guzman got by Tony Liang and Shawn Sookhai, both 7-5, to pick up DaBreo. Wilkens drew Mike Figueroa, who'd eliminated Lukas Srancasso-Verner 7-5 and Erick Carrasco 7-4. Guzman downed DaBreo 7-2, and in the quarterfinals, faced Wilkens, who'd defeated Figueroa 7-5.
Guzman won two straight double hill matches for a shot at Dempsey in the hot seat. he got by Wilkens in the quarterfinals, and Tanglao in the semifinals. Dempsey, though, shut Guzman down in the finals, allowing him only a single rack to claim the event title.
Davladze, Sookhai, Schreiber, Kwak and Emil chalk up separate event victories
The 2nd Annual NYC 8-Ball Championships, held on the weekend of November 7-8, under the auspices of Tony Robles' Silent Assassin Productions, and functioning as the BCAPL's regional tour championships, experienced a modest increase in attendance over its debut last June. With the addition of a sixth event – a Mixed Masters tournament – the championships averaged 18 entrants, an increase of just over two entrants per event. The Mixed Advanced event saw the largest increase (13 to 23), with the Mixed Open event close on its heels (23 to 32). The Women's Leisure event saw a decrease from 16 to 10 entrants, while the Men's Leisure event added one entrant to last year's total of 15. The $3,500-added (total) championships drew 108 entrants to Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.
Shaw goes undefeated a second time
The fixed-entrant, signature event – The Men's Grandmasters – with its full field of 16 saw Jayson Shaw successfully defend the title he'd won last year, going undefeated for a second time. Though Sean Morgan, last year's runner-up, was among the event's final eight, he ended up in the tie for 5th/6th, which left the door open for Jorge Rodriguez to battle Shaw twice; in the hot seat match and finals. Shaw defeated Nick Ekonomopoulos 8-7 to get into the hot seat match, while Rodriguez sent Mike Wong to the loss side 8-5. Shaw claimed the hot seat 8-5 and waited for Rodriguez to get back from the semifinals.
Those semifinals were set up when Morgan and Jeremy Sossei emerged from the 7th/8th matches over Frankie Hernandez and Hunter Lombardo. Morgan drew Ekonomopoulos, and Sossei picked up Wong. Ekonomopoulos ended Morgan's bid to be in the title match 8-4, while Sossei eliminated Wong by the same score. Sossei dropped Ekonomopoulos into fourth place 8-5, before having his bid ended by Rodriguez in the semifinals. Shaw punctuated his title defense with a commanding 8-2 victory over Rodriguez in the finals.
Emil and Kwak go undefeated to capture Men's/Women's Leisure titles
Andrew Emil and Carolina Kwak emerged from the 16- and 10-entrant fields of the Men's and Women's Leisure events and went undefeated to capture their respective titles. Emil shut out Jim Gutierrez to get into the hot seat match of the Men's Leisure tournament. He was joined by Mark Ogawa, who'd sent Rolando Rodriguez west 5-2. Emil claimed the hot seat 5-3 over Ogawa.
On the loss side, Rodriguez won three straight double hill matches for a shot at Emil in the hot seat. He got by Brad McDuffie, then Gutierrez in the quarterfinals, and finally, Ogawa in the semifinals. Emil, though, punctuated his undefeated run with a shutout over Rodriguez in the finals.
Kwak got into the Women's Leisure hot seat with, first, a double hill win over Bianca Martinez in a winners' side semifinal. Latonia Taylor, in the meantime, sent May Ng to the loss side 5-2. By that same score, Kwak sent Taylor to the semifinals to claim the hot seat. On the loss side, Martinez got into the quarterfinals, following a double hill win over Erika Zan. She was met by the woman she'd sent to the loss side, Deborah Pritchett, who'd eliminated Ng 5-2. Pritchett gave Martinez her come-uppance in a double hill quarterfinal and got a shot at Kwak with a 5-3 win over Taylor in the semifinals. Kwak claimed the Women's Leisure title with a 5-2 victory over Pritchett in the finals.
Schreiber, Davladze, and 'The Warrior' claim Mixed Titles.
Tommy Schreiber, competing in the largest-field (32) Mixed Open event, was the only other competitor to go undefeated in the six-event championships. He got into the hot seat match, following a 6-4 victory over Ambi Estevez, and was met by Cristobal Tiru, who'd defeated Joe Wilson Torres 6-4. Schreiber claimed the hot seat 6-3 over Tiru.
It was Estevez and Abel Rosario who emerged from the loss-side scuffles to meet in the quarterfinals. Rosario survived a double hill match versus Omar Chavez to face Torres, whom he then defeated 6-2. Estevez defeated John Morrison 6-3 to join him. Estevez won the quarterfinal match, double hill, over Rosario, before Tiru eliminated him 6-2 in the semifinals. Schreiber then defeated Tiru a second time to claim the title, though not before Tiru battled him to to double hill, forcing a case game.
Shawn "The Warrior" Sookhai and Koka Davladze came back from losses in the winners' side semifinals of the Mixed Advanced and Mixed Masters fields to win those events. Sookhai, sent west by Max Watanabe 7-5 in the Mixed Advanced tourney, came back through Noah Vogelman (7-4), Ehmunrao Toocaram (7-5) and successfully wreaked vengeance on Watanabe 7-5, before downing hot seat occupant Matthew Harricharam 9-6 to claim the Mixed Advanced title.
Davladze was sent to the loss side by Raphael Dabreo, 7-4, in a winners' side semifinal of the Mixed Masters event. DaBreo went on to defeat Juan Guzman 7-5 in the hot seat match. Elvis Rodriguez, who'd been sent west in the other winners' side semifinal, 7-4, by Guzman, ran into Davladze in the quarterfinals and was eliminated 7-3. Davladze finished Guzman in the semifinals 7-5 and went on to defeat DaBreo 9-7 in the Mixed Masters finals.
Tour organizer Tony Robles thanked added-money contributors Manny Stamatakis (owner of Steinway Billiards), and Michael Fedak, as well as tour director John Leyman. He also thanked Stamatakis' staff for their hospitality, and sponsors Marc Griffin and the BCA Pool League, Cue Sports International, Predator Cues, GothamCityTechnologies.com, PoolOnTheNet.com, NAPL. com, Delta 13, Ozone Billiards, Irene Kin, Ron Mason, Mandy Wu, Dan Faraguna, Allison Fisher, and (his) "amazing wife, Gail."
Drawing on a strong field of players, many of whom had recently competed in the 40th Annual US Open 9-Ball Championships in Virginia, including winner Yu-Hsuan Cheng, and world champion Pin-Yi Ko, the 4th Annual Steinway Classic in New York drew the largest field of competitors, 92, in its history. Yu-Lung Chang defeated Ko Pin Chung twice to go undefeated and claim title to the $7,000-added event, hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY, from November 1-3.
"It was our largest field, and the most competitive," said event director Tony Robles, "because it was truly an international event."
Though Yu-Hsuan Cheng, Pin-Yi Ko and four-time US Open champion Shane Van Boening entered the tournament among the highly favored competitors, all were eliminated early. Cheng went two and out, Ko finished in the tie for 9th place and Van Boening finished out of the money.
Chang and Ko Pin Chung advanced to the winners' side semifinals; Chang, against Warren Kiamco and Ko, squaring off against Jayson Shaw. Chang and Kiamco battled to double hill before Chang advanced to the hot seat match. He was joined by Ko, who'd sent Shaw to the loss side 9-6. Chang took the first of two against Ko 9-7 and waited in the hot seat for his return.
Awaiting Shaw and Kiamco on the loss side were Nick Van Den Berg and Darren Appleton. Nick Van Den Berg had eliminated world champion Pin-Yi Ko 9-6 and Rodney Morris 9-4 to draw Shaw. Appleton had won two straight double hill matches, against Alex Kazakis and Francisco Felicilda, for the right to face Kiamco. Appleton had been down 2-7 to Felicilda, before rallying to win that match. Appleton and Shaw downed Kiamco and Van Den Berg, both 9-7, and advanced to the quarterfinals.
Shaw opened those quarterfinals with five straight racks, and though Appleton would split the final eight games with Shaw evenly, Shaw won it 9-4. Shaw's loss-side run came to end in the semifinals, with Ko eliminating him 9-5 for a second shot against countryman Chang. Chang punctuated his undefeated run with a 13-11 victory over Ko in the finals.
Predator Tour director Tony Robles thanked the ownership and staff at Steinway Billiards for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Predator Cues, The National Amateur Pool League (PlayNAPL.com), Ozone Billiards, Delta-13 racks, Gothamcitytechnologies.com, PoolontheNet.com, Phil Cappelle of Billiards Press, and TheDevitoTeam.com. Special thanks went out to event photographers Eli Ceballos, Karl Kantrowitz and to Robles' tour staff – William Finnegan, Mandy Wu, Ron Mason, Rob Omen, Irene Kim, Upstate AL of AZBTV (which streamed the event throughout the weekend), Dan Faraguna, Jim Gutierrez, Joe Wilson Torres, and (his) "amazing wife, Gail Robles."
Four of those 14 advanced to the winners' side semifinals, which pitted Rodriguez against Dechaine, as Kiamco faced Klatt. Dechaine downed Rodriguez 10-4 and in the battle for the hot seat, faced Klatt, who'd sent Kiamco to the loss side 10-7. Dechaine claimed the hot seat 10-4 over Klatt.
By the time Kiamco and Rodriguez came to the loss side, nine of the 14 mentioned had been eliminated. Kiamco drew Orcollo, who'd just defeated Davis 10-4, and Mazon 10-7; Mazon having previously ended Shaw's weekend 10-4. Rodriguez picked up Francisco Sanchez Ruiz who'd ousted Immonen 10-8 and Biado, double hill; Biado having previously stopped Appleton's bid 10-7. Gone before all of this were Strickland, Hohmann and Boyes, who, along with Alex Kazakis, finished in the last money round, tied for 13th place.
Ruiz defeated Rodriguez 10-6, as Kiamco was busy dropping Orcollo 10-8. Kiamco then took the quarterfinal match versus Ruiz 10-5 to earn himself a re-match versus Klatt in the semifinals. Kiamco successfully wreaked his vengeance on Klatt 10-6 and turned his attention to Dechaine in the hot seat.
In the modified race to 13, Kiamco, coming from the loss side, needed to reach that figure first, to extend the match to 15 games. Though he kept it relatively close, and got to 10, Dechaine got out in front to reach 13 first and claim the event title.
Predator Tour director Tony Robles thanked Gotham City Billiard Club owners, Kevin and Isabel Buckley, for their hospitality and the money added to the tournament. Thanks were also extended to sponsors Predator Cues, The National Amateur Pool League (PlayNAPL.com), Ozone Billiards, Delta-13 racks, Gothamcitytechnologies.com, PoolontheNet.com, Phil Cappelle of Billiards Press, and TheDevitoTeam.com. Special thanks went out to event photographers Eli Ceballos, Laye Kaba, Karl Kantrowitz and to Robles' tour staff – William Finnegan, Mandy Wu, Ron Mason, Rob Omen, Irene Kim, Upstate AL of AZBTV (which streamed the event throughout the weekend), Brad McDuffie, Joe Wilson Torres, and (his) "amazing wife, Gail Robles."
Next on tap, moving from one Classic to the next, will be the $7,000-added, 4th Annual Steinway Classic, set for November 1-3 at Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY. Coming on the heels of the US Open 9-Ball Championships, the Steinway Classic has already signed up many of the players who competed in the Gotham City Billiards Pro 9-Ball Classic, including the Steinway Classic's defending champion, Warren Kiamco. The event's 2013 champion, Shane Van Boening, will be competing as well, along with (among others) Ralf Souquet, Alex Pagulayan, Johnny Archer, Rodney Morris, Justin Bergman, Dennis Hatch, Jeremy Sossei, and Brandon Shuff. According to contributing AZBilliards writer, Geoff Conway, the field will be the largest turnout for this event in the four years that it has been held.
There was a lot going on in the New York Tri-State area on the weekend of April 25-26. There were stops on the Tri-State, Predator and Mezz Tours, as well as an independent event at Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ. All were fairly well-attended, which, if nothing else, is a 'for now' answer to the question of how well the sport is doing, at least in the competitor-rich Tri-State area. On the Predator Tour, 51 entrants showed up to compete in the $500-added Amateur tournament, hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY. Stephen Dempsey, chalking up his first win on the Predator Tour, went undefeated (Zion Zvi went undefeated in the concurrently-run Open/Pro tournament; see separate story).
Dempsey's undefeated run went through Marvin This, twice. They met first in the hot seat match, after Dempsey had sent Ron Mason to the loss side 7-5, and This had survived a double hill match against Eddie Medina. Dempsey claimed the hot seat 10-8 over This and waited on his return.
On the loss side, Mason picked up Billy Santiago, recent winner of over Peter Cornell 7-3 and Mike Panzarella 7-5. Medina ran into George Poltorak, who'd defeated Tommy Schreiber 7-5 and Wanlop Chantarakolkit 7-3. Mason moved on, defeating Santiago 7-5, and was met, in the quarterfinals, by Poltorak, who'd eliminatEd Medina 7-3.
Poltorak took the quarterfinals 7-4 over Mason, and then, by the same score, fell to This in the semifinals. Dempsey took his second against This 10-5 to claim his first Predator title.
In addition to victories at the pool table, Jeffrey Ignacio has been chalking up some Frequent Flyer Miles. He began the year with a victory in the Predator Tour's season opener, defeating Earl Strickland twice to claim the title. He flew to California, where he defeated Oscar Dominguez in the finals of the Chuck Markulis Memorial Tournament, and a day later, opened a campaign that resulted in a finals victory over Skyler Woodward in the US Bar Box 10-Ball Championships in Reno, NV. He came back to New York to compete in the Predator Tour's $500-added Open/Pro event again on the weekend of February 28-March 1, and went undefeated through a short field of seven entrants to claim his second Predator Tour Open/Pro title.
In a concurrently-run, $500-added Amateur event that drew 41 entrants, Bud Robideau came back from a defeat in the hot seat match to defeat Carl Yusuf Khan. The events were hosted by the Cue Bar in Bayside (Queens), NY.
In the Open/Pro event, Ignacio got into the hot seat match against Tour Director Tony Robles. Ignacio had defeated Eugene Ok 7-2, while Robles was sending Lee Kang to the losers' bracket 7-5. Ignacio claimed the hot seat in a double hill battle against Robles.
On the loss side, Kang picked up Michael Wong, who'd been awarded a loss-side bye. Ok drew Elvis Rodriguez, who'd eliminated Bob Schlott 7-2. Kang, down 6-3 against Wong, came back to tie it and win, while Rodriguez was busy defeating Ok 7-4. Kang took the quarterfinal match against Rodriguez by the same score and then smoked Robles 7-1 in the semifinals. Ignacio, though, ended Kang's loss-side streak with a 9-6 win in the finals.
In the Amateur event, Robideau and the "Warrior" (Khan) met first in the hot seat, once Robideau had defeated Joe Gibbons 7-5 and Khan had sent Ron Mason west 7-3. Khan took the first of two against Robideau 7-2.
On the loss side, Gibbons picked up Chris Brooks, who'd defeated Darren Schmidt 8-5 and Jamiyl Adams 7-5. Mason drew Steve Wright, who'd gotten by Vinnie Santiago 7-3 and Dave Shlemperis 7-2. Brooks eliminated Gibbons 7-2 and Mason survived a double hill battle versus Wright.
Brooks then eliminated Mason 7-4 in the quarterfinals, before himself being eliminated by Robideau in the semifinals, double hill. Robideau came out gunning in the finals against Khan and reached the hill, five games ahead. Khan battle to tie things up and force a case game, but Robideau won that last battle to claim the Amateur title.
Tour director Tony Robles thanked the ownership and staff of the Cue Bar, as well as sponsors Predator Cues, Ozone Billiards, TheDeVito Team.com, PlayNAPL.com, Gotham City Technologies, NYCGrind, PoolontheNet.com, and Delta-13.com.
