Yomaylin “Smiley” Feliz-Forman’s first and most recent appearance in the AZBilliards database came as the result of winning a stop on the Tri-State Tour. Her first came in October of 2009, when she defeated Paul Everton in the finals of a stop at Master Billiards in Queens, NY. Her latest happened this past weekend (Sat., May 11), as she went undefeated (*) at a $1,000-added event that drew 46 entrants to Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY. This most recent victory is her first victory on the Tri-State Tour since 2012, although in the interim, she did win stops on the Predator Pro Am Tour in 2014 & 2015.
She’s cashed in two other events this year, marking the end of an extended, four-year ‘leave of absence’ from the tables, undertaken to get married to Brian Forman and have two children. Just to stay in touch (so to speak), her second child shares a birthday with Predator Pro Am Tour director Tony Robles. She is, more or less, back, although she continues to coordinate child-care activities. She practices on an 8-ft. table in her building during the hour or so she gets to herself when the two children nap.
“I shoot until they wake up,” she said, leaving open the question of how she was lucky enough to have two children under the age of four, who nap at the same time, for the same amount of time.
She has found, like others before her have found, that while children certainly bring disruption and a reduction in TAT (time-at-table), they also have a way of grounding a player in a way that eventually improves their game.
“It does change your mind-set,” she said. “You go into this Mama Bear mode.”
“Coming back,” she added, “I felt braver, (had) more heart; something in me ignited.”
In this most recent event, she and Jimmy Acosta played a double hill, winners’ side semifinal match that sent Acosta to the loss side. The suggestion that they might opt out of playing a final match was discussed early-on in the process, though the decision was not actually made until Acosta had defeated Ryan Dayrit in the event semifinals. At that point, dawn was creeping up over the East River, and both “Smiley” and her friend, Acosta were very tired, and “Smiley,” in particular, wanted to get home to her children. Though glad to accept the ‘asterisk’ title as the undefeated occupant of the hot seat, she is also aware that her ‘return’ to former form, may take a little while.
“My brain is strong,” she said, “but my game hasn’t really come back from the absence yet.”
She opened her undefeated run with a 7-5 victory over Greg Matos and followed it up with wins over Amy Yu 7-0, and Ed Medina 7-5, before running into Acosta for the aforementioned double-hill winners’ side semifinal that sent Acosta to the losers’ bracket. Dayrit, in the meantime, faced and defeated Stewart Warnock, Sr. 6-3 in the other winners’ side semifinal. “Smiley” and Dayrit played a double hill hot seat match that eventually sent Dayrit to the semifinals.
On the loss side, Acosta picked up Eddie Medina, who, after his loss to “Smiley,” had chalked up two straight double hill wins over Amy Yu and Amir Rashad Uddin. Warnock, Sr. drew Joe Mazzeo, who’d shut out John Durr and defeated Jim Gutierrez 7-5 to reach him.
Medina’s third straight double hill match proved not to be the ‘charm’ he was hoping for, as Acosta, double hill, eliminated him. Mazzeo and Warnock, Sr. battled to double hill as well, with Mazzeo advancing to join Acosta in the quarterfinals.
Acosta eliminated Mazzeo 7-4 and then, locked up in a battle against Dayrit in the semifinals, which came within a game of double hill (9-7). Acosta and Feliz-Forman agreed to the split and left to greet the dawn.
Tour representatives thanked Manny Stamatakis and his Steinway Billiards staff for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling Gaming, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics, Pool & Billiards, Professor Q Ball, Bender Cues, and DIGICUE OB. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for Sunday, May 19, will be hosted by Cue Bar in Bayside (Queens), NY.
Matt Klein is the Tri-State Tour’s fourth highest-ranked player on its 56-entrant “B” player list, behind Mike Mele, Nathaniel Raimondo and Tri Chau. He’s risen to that level on the basis of 11 appearances on the 2018-2019 tour, which began last summer. Mele has appeared 23 times, while Raimondo and Chau have made 14 appearances each. Klein has already exceeded his previous best earnings year (2018) and it’s only April. In February, after winning a stop on the Tri-State Tour, he chalked up a runner-up finish at the Empire State 9-Ball Championships. Klein added his second victory on the Tri-State in the current season, coming back from a hot seat loss to fellow B player, Russell Masciotti to down him in the finals. The $1,000-added event drew 30 entrants to Cue Bar in Bayside (Queens), NY on Sunday, April 14.
Klein ran a rogue’s gallery gauntlet of top-notch Tri-State talent to claim the title, beginning with Mike Strassberg (the tour’s current #2 C player) 7-5, Thomas Schreiber (one spot below Klein on the B list) 7-2, and Jason Goberdhan (#7 on the C+ list, and winner of the April 6-7 stop on the Predator Pro Am Tour) 7-3, before running into Bob Toomey (#1 on the C+ list) in a winners’ side semifinal. Masciotti, in the meantime (#26 in the B class), squared off against Keith Adamik.
Klein defeated Toomey 7-5 and in the hot seat match, faced Masciotti, who’d sent Adamik to the loss side 7-4. Masciotti won the ‘battle of the Bs’ hot seat match 7-3 and waited on Klein’s return.
On the loss side, Adamik picked up Luis Jimenez, who’d eliminated Nathaniel Raimondo 7-2 and Tri Chau 7-3, which could, dependent on how the numbers play out, elevate Klein above Raimondo and Chau on the B player list. Toomey drew a re-match against Shane Torres, whom he’d defeated in an earlier round, and who was on a six-match, loss-side winning streak that would take him as far as the semifinals against Klein. He’d most recently defeated Stewart Warnock, Sr. 7-3 and Goberdhan 6-3.
Adamik and Jimenez battled to double hill before Adamik advanced to the quarterfinals. He was joined by Torres, who’d successfully wreaked vengeance on Toomey 6-4. Torres then downed Adamik 8-6 in those quarterfinals, before having his loss-side streak ended 7-5 by Klein in the semifinals.
In an extended-race-to-9 final, Klein reached the ‘7’ threshold first to extend the race to 9 games. He advanced two more to down Masciotti 9-5 and claim the event title.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Cue Bar, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics, Pool & Billiards, Professor Q Ball, Bender Cues, DIGICUE OB and Hustlin USA. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for Saturday, April 20, will be hosted by Clifton Billiards in Clifton, NJ.
Appearing for only the 7th time on the Tri-State Tour’s 2018/2019 season, Sabrina Sherman (as a C player; 7th among women and 17th in the C class overall) went undefeated through a field of 34 entrants, on hand for the Sunday, February 24 stop on the tour. Sherman, who finished in the money twice during the 2017/2018 tour season (4th & 5th) and runner-up Mac Jankov (the tour’s top-ranked C player; 17 appearances) opted out of a final match, leaving Sherman, in the hot seat, as the event’s official winner. The $1,000-added event was hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.
Sherman downed Monahan, double hill, and in the hot seat match faced Jankov, who’d sent Warnock, Sr. to the loss side 7-4. Already guaranteed her best finish on the tour, Sherman claimed the hot seat 6-4 in what proved to be her last match.
On the loss side, Monahan picked up Joshua Joseph, who was in the midst of a six-match, loss-side winning streak that would take him as far as the semifinals. He’d defeated Amanda Andries 6-4 and Corey Avallone 6-1 to reach Monahan. Warnock, Sr. drew Andrew Ciccoria, who’d most recently eliminated Junko Rummel and Dejan Kocev, both 6-3.
Warnick, Sr. shut Ciccoria out and in the quarterfinals, faced Joseph, who’d defeated Monahan 7-3. Joseph advanced one more step, downing Warnock, Sr. 6-4 in those quarterfinals.
In the event’s final match, Jankov earned himself a second shot at Sherman by stopping Joseph’s loss-side run 6-4 in the semifinals. Jankov and Sherman made the decision not to play a final and Sherman went home with her first official title.
Tour representatives thanked Manny Stamatakis and his Steinway Billiards staff for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics, Pool & Billiards, Professor Q Ball, Bender Cues, DIGICUE OB, and Hustlin USA. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for March 10, will once again be hosted by Steinway Billiards.
Both of the finalists on the Tri-State Tour’s Sunday, February 17 stop came into 2019, having chalked up their best recorded earnings year in 2018. Mac Jankov, who went undefeated at the event, recorded his first victory on the tour, albeit with a “finals didn’t happen” asterisk. Abel Rosario, who won two stops on the Predator Pro Am tour and one on the Tri-State Tour last year, recorded his first cash finish (runner-up) of the Tri-State’s 2018/2019 season, which began last July (his victory on the Tri-State Tour last year came in March, during the 2017-2018 season). The $1,000-added event drew 49 entrants to Cue Bar in Bayside (Queens), NY.
Jankov’s path to the finish line went through Juan Melendez, Mike Strassberg, KC Clayton and Jason Goberdhan, before coming up to a winners’ side semifinal matchup against Suzzie Wong, the tour’s #4-ranked female competitor and #6-ranked ‘C’ player, overall. Abel Rosario, in the meantime, had worked his way through the field to a winners side semifinal against Paul Spaanstra.
Spaanstra sent Rosario on a three-match trip to the loss side 6-2. Jankov joined him in the hot seat match after a 5-3 victory over Wong. Jankov claimed the hot seat 8-3 over Spaanstra.
On the loss side, Rosario picked up Nathaniel Raimondo, who’d shut out Jimmy Acosta and defeated Matt Klein 6-3 to reach him. Wong drew Harry Singh, who’d picked up a forfeit win over Goberdhan and won a double hill fight against Stewart Warnock, Sr.
Rosario downed Raimondo 6-2, as Singh eliminated Wong 5-2. Rosario took the quarterfinal match that followed 6-3 over Singh and then shut out Spaanstra 6-0 in the semifinals. The decision to opt out of the final was reached, leaving the undefeated Jankov as the event’s official winner.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Cue Bar, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics, Pool & Billiards, Professor Q Ball, Bender Cues, and DIGICUE OB. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for Sunday, February 24, will be a C-D 9-Ball event, hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.
As far as we can tell, Patrick Meyers has been competing on tri-state New York pool tables for about eight years now. It may be more than that, but showing up on our database requires that a player cash in an event before he or she is entered. The first time Meyers did that, according to our records, was back in 2010, when he cashed (tied for 5th place) at a stop on what was then known as the Ozone Billiards Predator Tour at the 1st Annual Reverend Clarence Keaton Memorial Tournament; Amateur Division. He went on to place 9th twice in the 2012 Predator Pro Am season, and then, the following year, 25th in the Amateur division of the 3rd Annual Ginky Memorial (from a field of 128). He finished 9th again, twice, in 2014 and 2015, moved up to a 7th place finish on the Predator Pro Am Tour in 2017, and then, last year, had himself a breakthrough performance on the Tri-State Tour, when he finished as the runner-up in a tournament, officially won by Joe Romeo (they split the top two prizes).
On Sunday, January 27, Meyers chalked up his first event victory, an undefeated run during a C-D event on the Tri-State Tour. He got by a total of six opponents and faced different opponents in the hot seat (Jason Goberdhan) and finals (Greg Matos). The $1,000-added event drew 26 entrants to Cue Bar in Bayside (Queens), NY.
Meyers got by Brian Schell, Ralph Ramos, Sr., and Terry Mohabir to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal match against Ralph Ramos, Sr.’s son (Junior). Jason Goberdhan, in the meantime, squared off against Brenda Martinez. Meyers squeaked by Ramos, Jr. 7-6, and in the hot seat match, faced Goberdhan, who’d sent Martinez off to the loss side 8-6. Meyers chalked up a second straight, double hill win with a 6-5 victory over Goberdhan, and sat in the hot seat, waiting on the return of Greg Matos, who’d lost a double hill match to Martinez in a winners’ side quarterfinal and was embarked on a five-match, loss-side streak that would earn him a shot at Meyers in the finals.
On the loss side, Ramos, Jr. picked up Clint Pires, who’d defeated Nishant Narang 6-3 and Mohabir 6-2 to reach him. Martinez drew Matos, who’d opened his loss-side campaign with a double hill win over Stewart Warnock, Sr. and then eliminated a potential father/son match by downing Ramos, Sr. 6-1.
Ramos, Jr. eliminated Pires 7-2 and in the quarterfinals, faced Matos, who’d chalked up his second loss-side, double hill win over Martinez. Matos sent Ramos, Jr. home 6-2 in those quarterfinals, and then, by the same score, sent Goberdhan ‘to the showers’ in the semifinals.
Since the winners’ side quarterfinals, Meyers and Matos had survived two double hill matches, on opposite sides of the bracket. It was fitting, somehow, that their final match would be a third double hill battle for both of them. Meyers won it (6-5) to claim his first event title.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Cue Bar, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics, Pool & Billiards, Professor Q Ball, Bender Cues, and DIGICUE OB. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for this Saturday, Feb. 2, will be an A-B-C-D event, hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.
Working on the loss side of the bracket, Leo Birdman used two straight double hill wins in his final two loss-side matches to earn a spot in the finals of a Tri-State Tour stop on Sunday, Oct. 21. He chalked up a third straight double hill win against the opponent who’d sent him to the loss side, Thomas Schreiber, to claim the title. The $1,000-added event drew 29 entrants to Cue Bar in Bayside (Queens), NY.
Following victories over Joe Romeo, Daniel Feliciano and Stewart Warnock, Sr., Birdman moved into a winners’ side semifinal match against Schreiber. Eugene Ok, in the meantime, squared off against Nathaniel Raimondo in the other winners’ side semifinal. Schreiber sent Birdman to the loss side 7-3 and in the hot seat match, faced Ok, who’d sent Raimondo west 7-5. Schreiber survived a double hill hot seat match against Ok, and waited for Birdman to get back from his three-match, loss-side winning streak.
Birdman began his trek back to the finals with a re-match against Romeo, who’d defeated Warnock, Sr. 7-3 and won a double hill match over Ricky Motilal 7-6 to reach him. Raimondo faced Mike Garetta, who’d recently eliminated Shane Torres 7-5 and Max Watanabe 7-4.
Birdman and Raimondo went back to work and advanced to the quarterfinals; Birdman with a second win over Romeo 6-2 and Raimondo 7-2 over Garetta. In the first of his three straight double hill wins, Birdman sent Raimondo home 7-6.
His next double hill victim was Ok in the semifinals 8-7, which earned him his re-match against Schreiber in the finals. Birdman completed his title run with a cliffhanger, third double hill win 9-8 over Schreiber.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Cue Bar, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling Gaming, Kamui Tips, Phil Cappelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics, Pool & Billiards, Professor Q Ball, Bender Cues and DIGICUE OB. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 28, will be hosted by Shooter’s Family Billiards in Wayne, NJ.
(l to r): Nathaniel Raimondo & Stewart Warnock, Sr.
Before Sunday, August 19, Nathaniel Raimondo had cashed in only two Tri-State Tour events; one last June (7th) in the 2016-2017 season, and one this past June (5th) in the closing weeks of the 2017-2018 season. On Sunday, he pocketed more than three times what he’d made in both of those events by winning his first stop on the Tri-State Tour. He came from the loss side, winning three, to do it, downing Stewart Warnock, Sr. in the finals. The $1,000-added event drew 43 entrants to Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.
Four of Raimondo’s nine matches were against two opponents. He opened his bid for his first Tri-State win with a victory over Greg Matos, and would face him a second time on the loss side. Once past Matos, he defeated Luis LaPuente, Mike Mele and Phil Pearce before coming up against Warnock, Sr. for the first time in a winners’ side semifinal. Adam Miller, in the meantime, squared off against Rhio Annie Flores in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Warnock sent Raimondo to the loss side 9-7 and in the hot seat match, faced Miller, who’d defeated Flores 8-6. Warnock claimed the hot seat 7-5 over Miller and waited on Raimondo’s return.
On the loss side, Raimondo drew his second match against Matos, who’d defeated Pearce 7-2 and Chris Rudy 7-3 to reach him. Flores picked up Amir Rashad Uddin, who’d eliminated Jaydev Zaveri 7-4 and Ryan Dayrit, double hill.
Raimondo won his second match against Matos 7-4, and in the quarterfinals faced Uddin, who’d defeated Flores 7-5. Raimondo then eliminated Uddin 7-4.
Raimondo faced and defeated Miller in the semifinals 7-5 to earn himself a second shot at Warnock in the hot seat. In an extended race to 11, Raimondo chalked up his first Tri-State win with an 11-8 victory over Warnock.
Tour representatives thanked Manny Stamatakis and his Steinway Billiards staff, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics, Pool & Billiards, Professor Q Ball, Bender Cues, and DIGICUE OB. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for the weekend of August 25-26, will be hosted by Amsterdam Billiards in Manhattan.
