They'd dodged each other in the winners' side semifinals; Jose Liz Domeneche, moving to the loss side, while Paul Spaanstra moved on to the hot seat match. Domeneche won three in a row on the loss side and then, came back to meet and defeat Spaanstra in the finals of the $750-added, A-D handicapped event, hosted by Clifton Billiards in Clifton, NJ on Saturday, June 22.
Domeneche had been downed by Kyle Bubet among the winners' side final four 6-4, as Spaanstra was busy surviving a double hill match against Mike Zimny. Spaanstra got into the hot seat 7-5 over Bubet and waited on Domeneche.
Luis Jimenez, winner of the tour's June 1 stop, was the man waiting on Domeneche on the loss side. He'd gotten by Jay Choi 6-4 and Lawrence Chandler 6-5 to reach him. Zimny drew Dave Ascolese, who'd defeated Steve Kaminov and Rhys Chen, both 7-5. Domeneche and Zimny moved on to the quarterfinals; Domeneche having eliminated Jimenez 6-3, Zimny defeating Ascolese 7-3.
Domeneche took the quarterfinal match 7-5 over Zimny, which set him up for a re-match against Bubet in the semifinals. He successfully negotiated that final, loss-side step with a 6-3 victory over Bubet and moved on to the finals.
Domeneche opened the final match against Spaanstra with three straight racks. Spaanstra would get close, but never lead. He closed the gap to within one at 4-3, and 5-4, before knotting things at 5-5. They traded racks to 6-6 before Domeneche put up his second three in a row to claim the event title.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Clifton Billiards, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Poison Cues, Ron Tarr Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour will be its annual Invitational Event on July 6-7, hosted by Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ. The top 16 contenders for Player of the Year honors, in each of the tour's six ranking divisions, will be invited to compete.
For the second time in as many weeks, Luis Jimenez has gone undefeated to win a stop on the Tri-State Tour. He did it in the opening weekend of June at Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ and on Saturday, June 15 at Steinway Billiards in Astoria; a $1,000-added event that drew 52 entrants.
In the earlier event, Jimenez faced different opponents in the hot seat and finals. In this latest win, he faced the same opponent – Rhio Anne Flores. After wins over Gail Glazebrook, Chris DeCaprio, and Michael Aro, he moved into a winners' side semifinal matchup against Ambi Estevez. Flores, in the meantime, faced Emerson Verano. Jimenez downed Estevez 6-2, as Flores was busy surviving a double hill match against Verano. Jimenez took the first of two against Flores 7-4, and waited on her return from the semifinals.
On the loss side, Verano picked up Lidio Ramirez, who'd been sent west by Flores and was in the midst of an eight-match, loss-side streak that would set up a semifinal re-match. With four down and four to go, Ramirez faced and won two, back-to-back, double hill challenges from Manny Stamatakis and Bogie Uzdejczyk, which set him up to face Verano. Estevez, in the meantime, drew the youngster, 14-year-old Thomas Rice, who'd defeated DeCaprio, double hill, and Shivam Gupta 6-3 to reach him.
It was Ramirez and Rice who advanced to the quarterfinals; Ramirez, 7-4 over Verano and Rice, 6-2 over Estevez. Ramirez then ended Rice's day 8-4 to earn his re-match shot against Flores. Flores, though, took him down a second time 7-5 and earned her own re-match versus Jimenez.
Jimenez took a quick 2-0 lead in the finals, but Flores came right back with two racks of her own to tie it. They proved to be her last. Jimenez chalked up the requisite five in a row to claim his second June victory on the Tri-State.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Steinway Billiards, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Poison Cues, Ron Tarr Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. The next Tri-State Tour stop, a $750-added, A-D handicapped event, is scheduled for June 22, at Clifton Billiards in Clifton, NJ.
Juan Guzman chalked up his fourth Tri-State area victory in as many months with an undefeated run on the Tri-State Tour on the weekend of June 8-9. He was undefeated on Tri-State events in March and April, and in May, on the Predator Tour, won nine on the loss side to meet and defeat hot seat occupant, Darwin Vergara. This most recent event, a $2,750-added, A-D handicapped tournament, hosted by Gotham Billiards in Brooklyn, drew the largest field of all of them (62). Though it hasn't happened yet, this third Tri-State victory is likely to advance him out of his current B++ class, and have him competing as an A player, real soon.
Following victories over Marco Costello, Rajesh Vannala, Jimmy Acosta, and a double hill win over the Tri-State Tour's current top-ranked B player, Gary Murgia, Guzman moved among the winners' side final four to face Geoffrey Bauer. Raymond Lee and Dennis Kennedy squared off in the other winners' side semifinal. Guzman defeated Bauer 7-5, and in the hot seat match, faced Lee, who'd dispatched Kennedy to the loss side 6-3. For the third time since March, Guzman was in the Tri-State hot seat, awaiting a finals opponent.
Bauer moved west to pick up Steve Wright, who'd handed Murgia his second straight loss 7-1 and gone on to survive a double hill match against Meshak Daniel. Kennedy faced Ambi Estevez, who'd defeated Bredon Hollack 6-5 and Luis Jimenez 6-3. Two double hill battles ensued, with Bauer and Estevez winning them and moving on to face each other in the quarterfinals.
Bauer downed Estevez 9-6, leaving only the semifinals against Lee between him and a re-match versus Guzman. Lee spoiled that reunion with an 8-4 win in those semifinals to earn his own re-match.
Lee took a quick, three-rack lead in the finals, only to have Guzman come right back to tie things up. From there it was back and forth, one rack at a time, to a 6-6 tie, at which point, Guzman took final command, and completed the 8-6 win that gave him his third Tri-State victory.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Gotham Billiards, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Poison Cues, Ron Tarr Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. The next Tri-State stop, an A-D handicapped, $1,000-added event is scheduled for June 15 at Steinway Billiards in Astoria.
After placing seventh and fifth twice on the Tri-State Tour since January, Luis Jimenez broke through on the weekend of June 1-2, completing an undefeated run through a field of 37. The $780-added, A-D handicapped event was hosted by Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ.
Jimenez didn't get the chance in this one to play the same opponent twice. He downed Eddie Perez, in a straight-up, C+, race to six 6-3 among the winners' side final four and was met in the hot seat battle by Geoffrey Bauer, who'd sent John Trobiano west 7-3. Jimenez got into the hot seat with an 8-4 win over Bauer, and waited for Shinichi Sikine, a B-ranked player, who was in the midst of a five-match, loss-side winning streak.
Sikine had been sent to the loss side by Trobiano in the third round, and got by Scott Simonetti 7-5 and Ken Debroske 7-4 before facing Trobiano a second time. Perez drew Ray Marisette, who'd defeated Cassandra Corbin 7-4 and Steven Protzo 6-2. Sekine successfully wreaked vengeance on Trobiano 7-4, and in the quarterfinals, faced Perez, who'd eliminated Marisette 6-4.
Sekine then defeated Perez 7-4 in those quarterfinals and survived a double hill match against Bauer in the semifinals. Jimenez, though, was not to be denied. He took the final match 7-5 to take home top honors.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Castle Billiards for their hospitality and continuing support, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Poison Cues, Ron Tarr Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour will be a $2,500-added, A-D handicapped event, scheduled for June 8-9 at Gotham City Billiards in Brooklyn, NY.
"Come early," says the tour's notice of this event on their Facebook page, "because the field will fill up quickly. Practice starts at 10 a.m." Visit the tour's Web site – thetristatetour.com – for further information and updates.
Bernie Isaacowitz, Basdeo Sookhai and Jimmy Acosta
Basdeo "Shawn" Sookhai advanced through six opponents to get into the hot seat during the May 25-26 stop on the Tri-State Tour. One of those opponents, Jimmy Acosta, came back to haunt him; challenging him in the double elimination finals and taking the first of the two sets. Sookhai came back to win the second and claim title to the $1,000-added, B-D handicapped event that drew 41 entrants to Amsterdam Billiards & Bar in lower Manhattan, NY.
They met first in the third round. Sookhai had defeated Mike Zimny and Wanlop Chantarakolkit, before sending Acosta west 7-2. Sookhai then downed Jamie Poush by the same score to move among the winners' side final four and a match against the previous week's winner, 14-year-old Thomas Rice. Bernie Isaacowitz and Edward Lum met in the other winners' side semifinal. Sookhai defeated Rice 7-3, and in the battle for the hot seat, faced Isaacowitz, who'd sent Lum over, 6-2. Sookhai survived a double hill battle against Isaacowitz to sit in the hot seat, waiting for Acosta.
Acosta, in the meantime, was in the midst of the seven-match, loss-side winning streak that would take him all the way back to the finals. He got by Eddie Medina and Kim Meyer-Gabia, before being challenged, double hill, by Michael Fedak. Acosta prevailed and then defeated Ron Mason 7-1, to pick up Rice. Lum drew Kirill Safronov, who'd gotten by King Victoree and Poush, both 6-2.
Acosta eliminated Rice 7-2, and was met in the quarterfinal match by Lum, who'd defeated Safronov 6-1. Acosta completed his loss-side march with an 8-6 victory in those quarterfinals, and a 7-5 win over Isaacowitz in the semifinals.
Acosta made it eight in a row with a 7-4 win in the opening set of the finals against Sookhai. Sookhai, though, rallied to shut Acosta down in the second set, allowing him only a single rack on his way to a 7-1 victory that earned him top honors.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Amsterdam Billiards for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Poison Cues, Ron Tarr Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for June 1, will be a $1,000-added, A-D handicapped event, hosted by Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ.
Kyle Bubet, room owner Kevin Buckley, Thomas Rice and twin sister Kristin Rice
He's been going at it steadily since January. Through five stops on the Tri-State Tour and one on the Predator Tour, 14-year-old Thomas Rice has been finishing closer and closer to the top. He placed 9th on the Predator Tour in April, 7th on the Tri-State two weeks later, 5th twice (January and last weekend), 3rd once (March), 2nd once (May 4), and on Saturday, May 18, he won seven games on the loss side to meet and defeat Kyle Bubet in the finals of a Tri-State stop to capture his first event title. The $1,500-added, A-D handicapped event drew 43 entrants to Gotham Billiards in Brooklyn, NY.
Rice won his opening match on this stop, shutting out Kim Meyer-Gabia, and then ran into Bubet, who sent him west 6-4. As Rice embarked on his seven-match, loss-side winning streak, Bubet advanced among the winners' side final four to face Joshua Morancie. Gary O'Callaghan and Bredan Ince squared off in the other winners' side semifinal. Bubet downed Morancie 6-2, and in the hot seat match, faced O'Callaghan, who'd defeated Ince 7-4. Bubet got into the hot seat with an 8-3 victory over O'Callaghan and waited on the fateful return of Rice.
Following victories over Eddie Perez and Nicholas Chan, Rice shut out Luis Jimenez, and defeated Brendon Hollock 6-3 to pick up Morancie. Ince drew Alex Osipov, who'd gotten by Jimmy Acosta 7-1, and Koka Davladze 7-3. Rice and Osipov handed Morancie and Ince their second straight loss – Rice 6-3, Osipov double hill – and met in the quarterfinals.
Rice then ended Osipov's day with a 6-4 win and earned a forfeit victory over O'Callaghan in the semifinals. Rice came out gunning in the finals. He took the opening three racks, and after allowing Bubet a single win, chalked up four more to reach the hill. Bubet, took the next two, but Rice closed it out 8-3 to take top honors.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff of Gotham City Billiards, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Poison Cues, Ron Tarr Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. The next Tri-State stop will be a $1,000-added, A-D event, scheduled for May 25-26 at Amsterdam Billiards in New York City.
The clock worked against players on the Tri-State Tour again on Saturday, August 25, when a field of 40 signed on for the $750-added, A-D handicapped event at Port Richmond Billiards Club on Staten Island, NY. Robert Veit chalked up his first victory on the tour, and his last victory in the event, by getting into the hot seat. Later, he opted to split the top two prizes with Tony Ignomirello, who had already split the second and third place prize with Gary Murgia, when the semifinals didn’t happen, either.
Following victories over James Stern, Mike Davie, Luis Jimenez and Antonio Navarro, Veit advanced among the winners’ side final four and met up with Ben Castaneros, who’d just sent Ignomirello to the loss side. Murgia, in the meantime, squared off against Geoff Bauer. Murgia and Veit got into the hot seat battle, once Murgia had sent Bauer west 7-3, and Veit dispatched Castaneros 6-2. In what proved to be the last match for both of them, Veit sent Murgia to the semifinals 7-6.
Ignomirello got back to work on the loss side with a 6-3 victory over Keith Diaz, and followed that up with a 7-3 win over Thomas Rice, which set him up for a re-match against Castaneros. Bauer drew Bryan Jeziorski, who’d defeated Keith Adamik and Abdullah Howard, both 7-3, to reach him. Jeziorski advanced to the quarterfinals with a 7-3 win over Bauer, and was met by Ignomirello, who wreaked his vengeance on Castaneros 7-2.
The last match of the night saw Ignomirello survive a double hill battle versus Jeziorski. Ignomirello and Murgia then opted out of the semifinals, and shortly thereafter, Ignomirello and Veit exercised the same option in regards to the finals. Prizes were split, and as the hot seat occupant, Veit took possession of the event title.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Port Richmond Billiard Club, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Poison Cues, Ron Tarr Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. Next up for the Tri-State Tour is their annual collaboration with the Mezz Pro-Am and Predator Tours, for the second annual George “Ginky” Sansouci Memorial Tournament, set for September 1-3 at Amsterdam Billiards in New York City. The next regularly scheduled stop on the Tri-State Tour is a $500-added, A-D handicapped event, scheduled for September 8, at Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ.
Given the fact that as of this past weekend, two women have chalked up back to back wins, it’ll be a long time before anyone reports on a lengthy gap between female victories on the Tri-State Tour. In the 2011-2012 season finale, held on the weekend of June 23-24, Yomaylin Feliz, a C+ player, battled Alex Osipov, a B player, twice; once in the battle for the hot seat, and again, in the opening set of a true double elimination final. Feliz took the first match, and Osipov took the second. They opted to split the prize and not play a second set in the finals. By mutual agreement, Feliz was declared the winner. The $1,000-added A-D handicapped event drew 49 entrants to Amsterdam Billiards in Manhattan.
From among the winners’ side final four, in a straight-up, C-race to 6, Feliz sent Dave Weinstein to the loss side, double hill. Osipov, in the meantime, sent Keith Adamik (an A player) west 7-3. Feliz prevailed in her first of two against Osipov 7-4, and waited in the hot seat for his return.
Weinstein moved over and picked up Ben Castaneros, who’d shut out Luis Jimenez, and defeated Matt McMillen 6-3 to reach him. Adamik, battling for end-of-season bragging rights in his A class from his # 2 position in the rankings, drew Daniel Dagotdot, who entered the tournament at # 1 in the same A-class ratings, and had gotten by Raphael DaBreo 7-5 and Emily Duddy 7-3.
Adamik prevailed over Dagotdot 7-4, and in the quarterfinals squared off against Castaneros, who’d downed Weinstein 6-3.
Adamik moved into the semifinals with an 8-5 victory over Castaneros, but fell short in his re-match against Osipov. Osipov’s 7-6 win in those semifinals kept Adamik just shy of passing Dagotdot for the # 1 ranking among the tour’s A/A+ players. Osipov took the opening set of the true double elimination final against Feliz, at which point, the two mutually agreed to split the prize, and declare Feliz, as occupant of the hot seat, the winner.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff of Amsterdam Billiards, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Ron Tarr Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour will be the tour’s annual invitational meet, restricted to the top-players in each of six ranked divisions. Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ will host the event, scheduled for the weekend of July 14-15.
Tri-State Tour representatives couldn’t remember the last time that a female player won a stop on the tour, and were only comfortable noting that it hadn’t happened in at least 10 years. There’ve been a lot who finished second (Emily Duddy and Annie Flores, as examples), and while Jeanette Lee played on the tour back in the 90s, and might well have chalked up a victory back then, record-keeping from that time wasn’t very precise.
We do know this: Kim Meyer-Gabia, who, at present, is the number-one ranked female on the tour won her first Tri-State event ever, and though it’s recorded with an asterisk, because no final match was played, it will go down in Tri-State history as the first female victory in a long time. Meyer-Gabia went undefeated in the $1,000-added A-D handicapped event on June 16, that was hosted by Carom Cafe in Flushing, NY and drew 37 entrants.
Following victories over Ron Mason, Mashak Daniel and Tony Ignomirello, Meyer-Gabia moved among the winners’ side final four to face Pat Mareno. Stewart Warnock, in the meantime, squared off against Meyer-Gabia’s eventual finals opponent, Chris Karp. Two double hill victories sent Meyer-Gabia and Warnock to the hot seat match, where Meyer-Gabia prevailed 8-5 to sit in the hot seat.
Karp moved over and picked up Basdeo Sookhai, who’d advanced through Arturo Reyes 7-3 and Daniel Dagotdot 8-5 to reach him. Mareno drew Mason, who’d defeated Ignomirello 6-3 and Ben Castaneros 6-4. Karp got back on track with a 7-4 victory over Sookhai, but it was Mason prevailing over Mareno 7-2.
Karp won the quarterfinal match versus Mason 7-4, and then completed his three-match, loss-side journey with a 7-2 victory over Warnock in the semifinals. Karp and Meyer-Gabia consulted with each other, and given the lateness of the hour, decided not to play a final match, leaving Meyer-Gabia, undefeated in the hot seat, as the official winner.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Carom Cafe, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Ron Tarr Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour is a $1,000-added, A-D handicapped event, scheduled for June 23-24 at Amsterdam Billiards & Bar in New York City.
Mike Harrington, Richard Ng and room owner Isabel Buckley
Richard Ng, a B-Class player on the Tri-State Tour, hadn’t chalked up an event victory since last June, at the tail end of the 2010/2011 season. In spite of that, he entered the weekend of June 9-10, ranked at #10 in the B-class standings for the 2011/2012 season, 80 points behind Dave Shlemperis and 45 points ahead of Borana Andoni. He assured himself a strong move up the ladder with an undefeated weekend in a $2,500-added, B-D handicapped Tri-State event that drew 64 entrants to Gotham City Billiards, in Brooklyn, NY.
Following victories over Edward Ng (not related), Raul Reyes (a fellow B player, ranked # 6), Paul Raval (a shutout) and Alex Osipov, Ng moved among the winners’ side final four, where he faced his toughest challenges; two straight double hill matches that left him in the hot seat. He defeated Scott Bannon, and was joined in the battle for the hot seat by Mike Harrington, who’d sent Mike Strassberg west, also double hill. In their first of two, Ng defeated Harrington and waited on his return.
On the loss side, Bannon picked up Carl Yusuf Khan, who’d defeated Annie Flores 7-2 and Osipov, 7-6. Strassberg drew Mesdhak Daniel, who’d gotten by Rick Shellhouse 6-2 and Lou Loria 6-3. Bannon and Strassberg got right back on track; Bannon downing Khan 7-2, and Strassberg defeating Daniel 7-3.
It was Bannon advancing to meet Harrington in the semifinals with a 9-5 win over Strassberg in the quarterfinals. Bannon put up a fight to get a second crack at Ng, but Harrington prevailed, double hill, to earn the second chance. Harrington and Ng battled back and forth to a 3-3 tie in the finals, before Ng took command, winning four straight to secure the event title.
In addition to the regular Tri-State event, Gotham City Billiards, in conjunction with Bill Hoffman, conducted two Mid-Atlantic qualifiers for the Billiards Educational Foundation’s Junior National Championships, set for July 11-12 at Romine’s High Pockets in Greenfield WI. Thomas Price won the 14-and-under tournament, with a victory over Robert Buckley. In the 15-to-18 group, it was Brendon Hallock over Sam Hoffman. The winners will join over 150 young pool players in the national event, competing for prizes and the chance to represent the US in the World Pool-Billiard Association World Junior 9-Ball Championships.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Gotham City Billiards for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Ron Tarr Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. Next stop on the Tri-State Tour is a $1000-Added, A/D handicapped event, scheduled for June 16 at Carom Cafe & Billiards in Flushing, NY.
