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Sossei takes two out of three over Kiamco to win Joss NE 9-Ball Tour stop on Long Island

Warren Kiamco, Raxx Owner Holden Chin and Jeremy Sossei

It was Jeremy Sossei’s third, and second straight, win in four attempts on the 2021-22 Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour this past weekend (May 14-15). It was Warren Kiamco’s first appearance on the tour this year, and with it being a long way from the man’s ‘first rodeo,’ he got as close to winning it as possible; facing Sossei three times, battling to double hill twice, but winning only the first set of the true double elimination final. The $1,500-added event drew 42 entrants to Raxx Pool Room, Sports Bar & Grill in West Hempstead, NY.

Going into Stop #14, Bucky Souvanthong and Ron Casanzio were the tour’s top two points leaders (#1 & #2), way out in front of the field, based on the number of times they’ve competed in the 2021-22 season and on their finish positions each time they did so. They didn’t compete in Stop #14, which left a door open for Sossei, who obligingly walked in, won his second straight stop on the tour and promptly moved himself into third place in the tour-point standings. Kiamco was probably a ‘wild card’ that Sossei had not expected in the deck.

Sossei ran into some immediate trouble when he opened his run in a double hill battle against Ron Piontkowski. Once over that hurdle, he downed Chuck Allie 9-5 and shut out Chris Lazaravitch, before facing Mhet Vergara in a match that came within a game of double hill. He survived that to draw John Francisco in one of the winners’ side semifinals. Kiamco drew a bye in his opening round and went on to send Troy Deocharran (4), Alex Osipov (2) and Ray Lee (2) to the loss side, picking up Mike Renshaw in the other winners’ side semifinal.

Kiamco got into the hot seat match with a shutout over Renshaw, while Sossei sent Francisco to the loss side 9-4. In his first of three versus Kiamco and the first of two straight double hill matches, Sossei claimed the hot seat.

On the loss side, Francisco drew a rematch against Yesid Garibello, whom he’d sent to the loss side in a third-round, double hill fight. Garibello moved over to engage in a four-match winning streak that had recently eliminated Lazaravitch 7-2 and Caroline Pao, double hill. Renshaw drew Mhet Vergara, who’d followed his winners’ side quarterfinal loss to Sossei with wins over Jay Plonski and Mike Salerno, both 7-4.

Garibello wreaked his vengeance on Francisco 7-5, while Vergara was eliminating Renshaw by the same score, and, as it turned out, by the same score that Vergara eliminated Garibello in the subsequent quarterfinals.

Vergara was one step away from a rematch against Sossei, who’d sent him to the loss side, five matches ago. Unfortunately, for him, it was Warren Kiamco who was in his way in the semifinals that followed. Kiamco was the one who earned the rematch, downing Vergara 7-4.

For the second time, Sossei and Kiamco locked themselves up in a double hill fight, in the opening set of the true double elimination final. This time, though, it was Kiamco who won. The ‘wild card’ was on the table and very much in play. Sossei, though, had his own hand to play and did so in the second set, defeating Kiamco 7-3 to claim title to the 14th stop on the 2021-22 Joss NE 9-Ball Tour.

A $500-added Second Chance tournament drew eight entrants and was won by Raxx Pool Room, Sports Bar & Grill’s owner, Holden Chin. Chin shut out Sly Vachiro in the hot seat match and in the true double-elimination final, faced Mike Callaghan, who’d lost his opening match to Vachiro, won two straight double hill matches to begin his four-match trip back to the finals and then shut out Vachiro in their semifinal rematch. He then took the opening set of the true double elimination final, before Chin came back to shut him out in the second set. 

The next stop on the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for the weekend of June 4-5, will be a $1,500-added event, hosted by Snookers Sports Billiards, Bar & Grill in Providence, RI. The season finale of the 2021-22 season – Turning Stone Classic XXXV 9-Ball Open – is scheduled for September 1-4 at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, NY.

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Joey Cicero Undefeated for Kevin Ketz Memorial Win

Bruce Nagle, Trick Shots Owner Julie Berlin and Joey Cicero

Joey Cicero went undefeated and beat Bruce Nagle twice to win the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour’s “Kevin Ketz Memorial Open” over the March 10th-11th weekend at Trick Shot Billiards in Clifton Park, NY.
 
Cicero’s path to the final four on the winner’s side included wins over Bruce Carroll, Nick Coppola and Dave Grau. Cicero was joined on the winner’s side Sunday morning by Jorge Teixeira, Matt Tetreault and Bruce Nagle. Cicero then defeated Teixeira while Nagle sent Tetreault to the one loss side. 
 
On the one loss side, both Teixeira and Tetreault kept their tournament hopes alive with wins over Yesid Garibello and Bucky Souvanthong respectively. They then met up to determine 4th place, with Teixeira scoring the hill-hill win. Teixeira quickly joined Tetreault in the seats after a 7-4 loss to Nagle in the semi-final match. 
 
The finals only went one set, and although Nagle gave Cicero his toughest test of the weekend, he still lost 9-7 to finish in second place. 
 
The 19 player second chance tournament on Sunday saw Tom Acciavatti recover from his hot-seat loss to Mark Creamer, only to come back and defeat Creamer twice in the finals. 
 
Tour players are reminded that the March 17th – 18th event that was originally scheduled at King Smiley Billiards is now being held at Hippo’s House of Billiards in Utica, NY.
 
Players are also reminded that the Turning Stone Classic XXX on August 23rd – 26th is over halfway full. This event always fills up, with a waiting list of players who missed out on signing up. Contact Mike Zuglan to assure your spot in the event. 

DaBreo and Fracasso-Verner win Open/Pro, Amateur events on Predator Pro Am Tour

Joey Korsiak, Zion Zvi, Raphael DaBreo & Jimmy Rivera

It is a significant rite of passage; moving from the top ranks of Amateur status to the loftier competitive environment where the Open/Pro players do battle. On the weekend of March 3-4, at a $250-added Open/Pro event on the Predator Pro Am Tour, Raphael Dabreo took that step, winning his first-ever Open/Pro event, and according to tour director Tony Robles, was “super happy about it.”
 
“Like a kid in a candy store,” said Robles.
 
DaBreo, working as a B player, first showed up on the AZBilliards’ radar 10 years ago, when he won his first stop on the Tri-State Tour. A year later (2009), he won two more on that tour. He won his first stop on the Predator Pro Am in 2010. Over the next eight years, he chalked up a baker’s dozen (13) more on the two tours, as he climbed the rankings ladder. On average, we reported here last October, he’d won an average of one event per year on both tours, dating back to those initial victories.
 
In a concurrently-run, $750-added Amateur event over the weekend, Lukas Fracasso-Verner went undefeated through a field of 53 entrants to claim that title (more on this a little later in this report). Both events were hosted by The Spot in Nanuet, NY.
 
DaBreo had a crack at a Predator Open/Pro event about three weeks ago, (Feb. 10-11), when he made it to the semifinals (downing Robles on the loss side along the way), before being eliminated by the event’s winner, Kudlik Marek. His first Open/Pro victory followed the same script, with the significant difference of coming back from the loss side to win it. He advanced to a winners’ side semifinal versus Jimmy Rivera in this most recent event, while Joey Korsiak and Zion Zvi squared off in the other one.
 
Korsiak got by Zvi 7-4. DaBreo battled Rivera to a deciding game, before Rivera sent him to the loss side. Korsiak claimed the hot seat 7-4 over Rivera and waited on DaBreo’s return.
 
On the loss side, DaBreo picked up Robles (whom he’d met in the quarterfinals of the Feb. 10-11 event), who’d defeated Victor Nau 7-3 and Mike Salerno 7-2 to reach him this time. Zvi drew Jorge Teixeira, who’d gotten by Yesid Garibello 7-3 and Dave Shlemperis 7-1. DaBreo got by Robles again; this time, 7-4, as Zvi eliminated Teixeira 7-2.
 
DaBreo, apparently very motivated to collect his first Open/Pro title, chalked up two straight double hill wins to get a shot at Korsiak in the hot seat. He downed Zvi in the quarterfinals, and then, Rivera in the semifinals. A 9-5 win over Korsiak in those finals secured DaBreo’s first Open/Pro win.
 
[photo id=48780|align=right]Fracasso-Verner goes undefeated to take Amateur division
 
Last February, at the age of 15, Lukas Fracasso-Verner became the second-youngest player to ever win a stop on the Predator Pro Am Tour; the first, being Thomas Rice, who, at 14 won a stop on the tour in 2013. What was particularly significant about Fracasso-Verner’s victory at the time was that he’d won 13 loss-side matches to meet and defeat the hot seat occupant, Atif Khan.
 
At this most recent stop on the Predator Pro Am Tour, Fracasso-Verner, now 16, chalked up another victory, this time going undefeated through a field of 53. He advanced through the field to a winners’ side semifinal against Rhio Anne “Annie” Flores, while Adam Miller met up with Feng Zhao in the other winners’ side semifinal. Miller downed Zhao 7-3, while Fracasso-Verner and Flores locked up in a double hill battle that did eventually send Flores to the loss side. Fracasso-Verner then downed Miller 9-5 to claim the hot seat.
 
On the loss side, Zhao picked up Suzzie Wong, who’d gotten by Greg Matos 6-3 and won a double hill match against Matthias Gutzmann. Flores drew Mark Zamora, recent double hill winner over Ocheign Carlos and Max Watanabe 7-5. The ladies advanced to the quarterfinals; Wong, over Zhao 7-2, and Flores over Zamora 7-4.
 
The ladies then locked up in a double hill fight, won by Wong. Miller took the semifinal 6-3 over Wong. Fracasso-Verner completed his undefeated run with a double hill 9-8 win over Miller in the finals.
 
A Second Chance event drew eight entrants. It was won by Wax Watanabe, who defeated Rich Hourihan in a double hill final. Watanabe pocketed  $100, while Hourihan took home $50.
 
Tour director Tony Robles thanked the ownership and staff at The Spot for their hospitality, as well as special thanks to title sponsor Predator Cues, NAPL, Ozone Billiards, The DeVito Team, PoolOnTheNet.com, BilliardsPress.com, AZBilliards, Billiards Digest and PoolMag.com. Robles also extended thanks to his entire Predator Staff, including his wife, Gail Robles, Mandy Wu, William Finnegan, Irene Kim, and Rob Omen. The next stop on the Predator Pro Am Tour, scheduled for the weekend of March 17-18, will be an A/B/C/D event hosted by Cue Bar in Bayside (Queens), NY.

Wilkie wins NE 9-Ball Open 28

Shaun Wilkie

Shaun Wilkie proved that he can dominate multiple tours, as he took a break from his current six tournament winning streak on the Action Pool Tour, to win the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour's NE 9-Ball Open XXVIII at Golden Cue Billiards in Albany, NY on March 28th – 29th.

 

Wilkie made his way through the field of fifty three players and captured the hot-seat with a 9-4 win over Ron Casanzio.

 

Casanzio then fell to Yesid Garibello on the one loss side 9-6. Garibello was on a roll, after a second round loss to Rick Sleeper early on Saturday afternoon. Eight matches later, Garibello was gearing up to play Wilkie in the finals.

 

Just prior to the finals getting underway, the drawing was held to see who would win the $1200 Joss Custom Cue at this event. Sure enough, that winner would be Garibello. Wilkie must have thought the pool gods had it in for him as Garibello went on to win the first set of the double elimination finals 9-5. Wilkie finally cooled off Garibello and scored a 9-5 win of his own in the second set of the finals.

 

The second chance event on Sunday drew a field of thirty one players looking for their share of over $1000 in prize money. Bruce Carroll would earn the lion's share of that prize money with an undefeated run through the field. Carroll defeated Brent Boemmels 3-1 for the hot-seat, and then defeated Angelo Hilton 3-1 in the first set of the finals.

 

Joss NE 9-Ball Tour director Mike Zuglan mentioned that he still has spots open for August's Turning Stone Classic XXIV. Interested players should contact Zuglan as soon as possible.

Hewitt double dips Fernandez to win second consecutive Joss NE Tour stop

Canadian Danny Hewitt chalked up his second consecutive and third overall win on the current Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour with a come-from-the-loss-side win on the weekend of February 22-23. He defeated Ron Casanzio in the finals of the third stop on the tour, back in October, and two weeks ago, defeated Jeremy Sossei in the finals of the February 8-9 stop in Amsterdam, NY. Hewitt played three matches against Dave Fernandez, winning the last two to claim the $1,500-added event title that had drawn 43 entrants to Trick Shots Billiards and Sports Club in Clifton Park, NY. 
 
They met first in a heated battle to claim the hot seat. In the winners' side semifinals, Hewitt had sent Greg Antonakos to the losers' bracket 9-3, as Fernandez was busy sending Keith Lauer over 9-5. Fernandez prevailed in the double hill hot seat match, and waited for Hewitt to come back.
 
On the loss side, Antonakos met up with Jeff Smolen, who'd survived a double hill fight against Yesid Garibello and eliminated Matt Tetreault 9-5. Lauer drew Esbon Worden, who, after being sent to the loss side by Hewitt, had defeated Jed Jecen 9-8 and Angelo Hilton 9-4. Antonakos defeated Smolen 9-6, and in the quarterfinals, met Worden, who'd shut out Lauer.
 
Antonakos took the quarterfinal match 9-7, but was stopped by Hewitt in the semifinals 9-2. In all, Hewitt gave up only three racks in the two-set final; two in the opening to force the second set, and only one in the second set to claim his second consecutive Joss Northeast 9-Ball title.

Immonen over Moore for Joss Tour Win

Mika Immonen

With Dennis Hatch relinquishing his stranglehold on the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour, more and more players are coming out to take their shot at continuing the new tradition of a different winner every week. This week, it was Mika Immonen and Stevie Moore setting themselves as the players to beat in the field of 38 players at Raxx Billiards in West Hempstead.

While the meeting between Immonen and Moore could have easily been for the hot-seat, the tournament board fated them to meet up first thing on Sunday morning where Immonen scored a 9-2 win to send Moore to the left side of the board. Immonen followed that win up with a 9-5 win over Holden Chin for the hot-seat.

Moore bounced back from his loss to Immonen with three wins on the left side of the board. 9-6 over Jorge Rodriguez, 9-5 over Yesid Garibello and hill-hill over Holden Chin. Those three wins setup the rematch between Immonen and Moore in the finals.

If two matches between these two competitors was good, then three would be even better as Moore defeated Immonen 9-4 in the first set of the double elimination finals. The second set of the finals was close, but Immonen won it 9-6 for first place and $1100 in prize money. 

The second chance event on Sunday saw Oscar Bonilla go undefeated with a 3-1 win over Steve Wright for the hot-seat and a 3-2 win over Paul Rozonewski in the finals. Bonilla pocketed $300 for the win.

As usual, players who are interested in playing at the upcoming Turning Stone Classic XVIII are urged to contact Mike Zuglan as quickly as possible. This event always fills up and there is always a waiting list.

Open Event Results | Second Chance Results