The last time Matt Rezendes and Ryan Hemingway cashed in stops on the New England 9-Ball Series, they both finished in third place; Hemingway in August and Rezendes, a month later. On Saturday, November 24, at a $500-added event (Stop #7), that drew 46 entrants to Stix & Stones in Abington, MA, they moved up a notch. Matt Rezendes claimed the official title by going undefeated, although he and Hemingway opted out of a final match, choosing to let the double hill hot seat match stand as the defining contest between them.

 

Coming out of the upper bracket, Rezendes (FargoRate – 543) advanced through George Morgan, Ryan Stevens, Jim Prather and Bill Gallagher, to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal match against Andy Maynard (513). Hemingway (484), working initially in the lower bracket with an opening round bye, defeated Kyle Downey, Cameo Moy and Mark Pulsifer to face Mike Nigrelli (438) in the other winners’ side semifinal.

 

In a straight-up race to 5, Rezendes shut Maynard out to get into the hot seat match. Hemingway joined him with a double hill (4-2) victory over Nigrelli. With Hemingway starting with a single game ‘on the wire,’ the hot seat match went double hill before Rezendes won what proved to be his last match 5-3.

 

On the loss side, Maynard picked up Ben Savoie, who’d gotten by Jim Prather 4-1 (Prather racing to 6), and, in a straight-up race to 5, Bill Gallagher 5-2. Nigrelli drew Mark Pulsifer, who’d eliminated Dave Morrison, double hill, in a straight-up race to 4 and Bob Lucas 4-2 in another straight-up race to 4. Savoie downed Maynard 5-3, as Nigrelli and Pulsifer locked up in a double hill fight that eventually sent Nigrelli to join Savoie in the quarterfinals (3-3).

 

Racing to 6 (Nigrelli starting with three ‘on the wire’), Nigrelli advanced to the semifinals 3-4. Nigrelli started the semifinals with a single rack ‘on the wire’ and battled Hemingway to double hill, before Hemingway concluded the event’s final match. Rezendes and Hemingway made the decision to forego a final match and opted to split the top two prizes, while the undefeated Rezendes claimed the official event title. 

Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff at Stix and Stones, as well as sponsors Predator Cues, USAPL New England, Fargo Rate, Bert Kinister, AZBilliards, Inside English, Professor Q-ball’s National Pool and 3 Cushion News, Delta 13 Racks, MJS Construction, Bob Campbell, Bourgeois Farms and OTLVISE Billiard Mechanics of America. The next stop (#8) on the New England 9-Ball Series, scheduled for this weekend (Dec. 1-2), will be the $3,000-added Bangor Bash, hosted by Rack City in Bangor, ME.

A total of 68 players signed on to compete in the last regular season event of the New England 9-Ball Series (Stop #29), prior to the season-ending Tour Championships, scheduled for September 8-9. The numbers impacted the results in that when it came time for the semifinals, the three players left opted out of further play and split the top three prizes. As the hot seat occupant at the time, Matt Eline was awarded the official event title. Jon Leandro, who’d been sent to the semifinals by Eline in that hot seat match, took the official second place slot, while Ryan Hemingway, who’d won the last loss-side match that was played (the quarterfinals), took third. The event, which was held on Sunday, August 12, was hosted by Snooker’s in Providence, RI.

 

Coming out of the upper bracket, Leandro advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against Jim Prather. From the lower bracket, Eline and Hemingway battled in the other winners’ side semifinal. Leandro (a B player) sent Prather (an A) to the loss side 5-2 (Prather racing to 7), while Eline (C+) defeated Hemingway (C) 6-3. With Leandro racing to 6 for possession of the hot seat, Eline claimed it 5-2, in what proved to be the final match for both of them.

 

On the loss side, Prather picked up Lukas Fracasso-Verner, who’d defeated Keith Platt, double hill and Open player Joe Dupuis 6-4 to reach him (Dupuis racing to 8). Hemingway drew Bill Phillips, who’d recently eliminated Leo Chenard 5-2 and Gary Quaranta, double hill.

 

Fracasso-Verner (A+) and Prather (A) fought to double hill, but it was the lower-ranked Prather, racing to 6 who prevailed 6-6 to move in to what proved to be the last match of the night (or early morning, as it happened). Hemingway & Phillips, who, like Fracasso-Verner and Prather, may have seen the ‘end of the night’ writing on the wall, played seven games, with Hemingway prevailing 3-4 (Prather racing to 7).

 

The three-way split was negotiated and the NE 9-Ball Series began its preparations for the qualified-players-only Tour Championships next month. Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff at Snooker’s, 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.

 

As noted, the upcoming $10,000-added Tour Championships, scheduled for September 8-9 at Bo’s Billiards in Warwick, RI will be for previously qualified players only. Entrants must pre-pay.

 

Lazar (father) and Alex (teenage son) Gurevich split the two sets of a double elimination final, taking the all-important last match against Ryan Hemingway and Matt Rezendes, to win the December 10 stop (#9; a partners event) on the New England 9-Ball Series. The event drew 66 entrants (33 teams of two) to Crow’s Nest in Plaistow, NH.

 

The father/son Gurevich team faced separate opponents in the hot seat and finals. They’d defeated Dan Simoneau and Ricky Bergevin 4-3 (Simoneau/Bergevin racing to 6) in one winners’ side semifinal, while John Collier and Paul Coorey shut out their eventual finals’ opponents, Hemingway and Rezendes. The Gureviches claimed the hot seat with a 6-3 win over Collier and Coorey.

 

On the loss side, Hemingway and Rezendes picked up Josh Grzasko and Peter Copland, who’d gotten by Amanda McDonald/Tyler Campbell 5-2, and George Morgan/Bill Phillips 4-3 (Morgan/Phillips, racing to 5). Simoneau/Bergevin drew “Fireball” Mike Dechaine and Matt Rezendes’ wife, Heidi, who’d defeated Dave Ty/Jeff Felix 7-3, and Jay (father) and Justin (son) Cunningham 7-2.

 

Both teams that were playing their first loss-side match downed the two teams that weren’t; Hemingway/Rezendes defeating Grzasko/Copland and Simoneau/Bergevin eliminating Dechaine and Heidi Rezendes, both 5-2.

 

In the quarterfinal match that followed, with Simoneau/Bergevin racing to 8, Hemingway and Rezendes defeated them 4-2. In the straight-up race to 5 in the semifinals against Collier and Coorey that followed that, Hemingway/Rezendes advanced again 5-1.

 

The intangible ‘momentum’ factor worked for Hemingway and Rezendes in the opening set of the true double elimination final, which they won over hot seat occupants Lazar and Alex Gurevich 4-2 (the Gurevich team racing to 6). In the second set, the Gurevich family gave up only a single rack, winning it 6-1 to claim the partners event title.

 

Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff at Crow’s Nest for their hospitality, 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.

 

The next stop (#10) on the 2017-2018 NE 9-Ball Series will be the Randy Marcotte Memorial. Scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 16, the $500-added event will be hosted by Buster’s Billiards in Somersworth, NH.

Robert Piersa chalked up his first win on the New England 9-Ball Series, going undefeated on the tour’s fourth stop. Piersa was challenged by Michael Mathieu twice; once in the hot seat match and again in the finals. The $500-added event, held on Sunday, October 21, drew 42 entrants Yale Billiards in Wallingford, CT.

 

Piersa (A+) was the winner of the event’s upper bracket, while Mathieu (C+) picked up the lower bracket win. Piersa had downed Nick Bousquet (B) 8-1 in the finals of the upper bracket, while Mathieu was busy sending Anthony Petruzzelli (C+) to the loss side 5-3 in the winners’ side final of the lower bracket. Piersa claimed the hot seat with a 9-1 victory over Mathieu and waited on his return.

 

On the loss side, Petruzzelli picked up Ryan Hemingway, recent winner over Eddie Estep and, in the first money round, Bruce Evens, both 5-3. Bousquet drew William Gibbs, who’d gotten by Lazar Gurevich 6-1 and Tim Lavigne 6-3.

 

Hemingway advanced to the quarterfinals 5-2 over Petruzzelli, and was met by Bousquet, who’d eliminated Gibbs 6-2. Bousquet won the quarterfinal 7-3, but had his three-match, loss-side winning streak stopped by Mathieu, who, racing to 5 against Bousquet’s 6, gave up only a single rack in the semifinals.

 

Mathieu double his hot seat score, but it wasn’t nearly enough. Piersa chalked up his requisite 9 to win the match and claim the event title.

 

Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff at Yale Billiards, 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.

 

The next stop (#5) on the New England 9-Ball Series will be the Don Clemons Memorial Tournament. Scheduled for November 4, the $500-added event will be hosted by Buster’s Billiards in Somersworth, NH.