Until this past weekend, it had been one week shy of three years since Geovani Hosang had won a stop on the Tri-State Tour. It was, according to our records, Hosang’s best earnings year at the tables (2013), with an undefeated win on the Tri-State Tour, a fifth on the Predator Tour and a 13th place finish in the Ginky Memorial’s Amateur tournament. Hosang chalked up his second victory on the Tri-State Tour on Sunday, November 5, once again, going undefeated, this time in a $1,000-added event that drew 20 entrants to Cue Bar Lounge & Billiards in Bayside (Queens), NY.

 

Hosang was challenged by separate opponents in the hot seat and finals in this one. He’d advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against John Francisco, as Mike Strassberg faced Bob Toomey in the other one. Hosang’s hot seat challenger proved to be Strassberg, who defeated Toomey 6-2, as Hosang sent Francisco west, double hill. In his second straight double hill match, Hosang sent Strassberg to the semifinals, where he’d run into the event’s runner-up, Eugene Ok, who’d end up winning eight on the loss side to meet Hosang in the finals.

 

On the loss side, it was Francisco who ran into Ok, who’d defeated Tony Cosenza and Jaydev Zaveri, both 7-5, to reach him. Toomey drew Esteban Morrell, Jr., who’d eliminated Irene Kim 7-2 and Allison LaFleur 7-3. Once Ok had defeated Francisco 7-4 and Morrell had downed Toomey 6-3, it was Ok and Morrell, who’d both lost in the event’s opening round, duking it out in the double hill quarterfinals that followed.

 

Ok advanced to the semifinals, where a 7-5 win over Strassberg gave him a shot at Hosang in the finals. Ok’s eight-match, loss-side winning streak came to an end with a double hill win by Hosang in those finals.

 

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, November 12, will be a $1,000-added, Double Points event, hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.

Dave Shlemperis came back from a defeat among the winners' side final four to meet and defeat hot seat occupant, Trevor Heal in the finals of the Predator Tour's Amateur event on the weekend of July 13-14. The $500-added Amateur event, stop # 9 on the tour, drew 64 entrants to Amsterdam Billiards in Manhattan. 

 

Shlemperis was sent to the loss side by Alex Osipov 7-3, while Heal was busy surviving a double hill battle versus Romeo Singh. Heal then won a second straight, double hill battle that sent Osipov to the semifinals, and left Heal in the hot seat.

 

On the loss side, Shlemperis picked up Rhys Chen, who'd gotten by Tony Cosenza 7-2 and Gary O'Callaghan, double hill, to reach him. Singh drew Jimmy Acosta, who'd defeated Raphael Dabreo 7-4 and Carl Yusuf Khan 7-5. Shlemperis got right back to work, defeating Chen, double hill, as Acosta was handing Singh his second straight loss 7-4.

 

Shlemperis then downed Acosta in the quarterfinals 7-4, and went on to take down Osipov in the semifinals 7-2. Shlemperis, who's sponsored by Focused Apparel and RJH Custom Cues, reached seven racks first, extending the race to nine games, and closed it out, ahead by six, 9-3 to claim the amateur event title.