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Castillo and Melendez split top prizes on second-to-last 2018/2019 Tri-State Tour stop

(l to r): Euryel Castillo & Juan Melendez

When the Tri-State Tour stop held on Sunday, June 9 got down to its last 12 players (from 41 entrants), 10 of them were competitors who will likely be invited to the tour’s annual invitational tournament, restricted to the top 16 players in each of the tour’s six ranking divisions (not including either the Open or Pro class) and scheduled for June 29-30. The player who got into the hot seat and won (*) the tournament, Euryel Castillo (#29 among the tour’s C+ players) is not likely to be among the invitees, unless over a dozen invited players from the C+ division can’t make it. The man he would have played in the final, Juan Melendez, is a likely invitee in the C division, having entered the tournament as #12 on that list. Also likely to be invited will be the 3rd place finisher, Yomaylin Feliz-Forman (#15 on the B List), who gave up only one rack in her first five matches before being sent to the loss side by Castillo in the battle for the hot seat. She was defeated by Melendez in the semifinals (she’d sent him to the loss side originally). The $1,000-added event was hosted by Cue Bar in Bayside (Queens), NY.

Following victories over Thomas Schreiber (#7 among B players), Joe Mazzeo, and a double hill win over Tony Kuo, Castillo advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against the tour’s #2-ranked B+ player, Matt Klein. Two of the tour’s top-ranked women squared off against each other in the other winners’ side semifinal; Yomaylin Feliz-Forman (better known as “Smiley”) versus Shweta Zaveri, the tour’s top-ranked female and its #1 competitor in the D+ division.

Castillo sent Klein to the loss side 7-3, as “Smiley” got the best of Zaveri 9-5. Castillo and Feliz locked up in a double hill fight for possession of the hot seat, eventually claimed (7-6) by Castillo.

On the loss side, Klein picked up Thomas Schreiber (#7 among B players), who’d defeated Tony Kuo 7-3 and eliminated Max Watanabe (#2 among the A/A+ players) in a double hill battle. Shweta Zaveri drew Juan Melendez, who’d been sent to the loss side by “Smiley” 7-2 in a winners’ side quarterfinal and then, defeated Bob Toomey (#1 C+) 6-4 and Bianca Martinez (#8 D+), double hill.

Schreiber downed Klein 7-5 to get into the quarterfinals. He was joined by Melendez, who’d defeated Zaveri in his second straight double hill win. Melendez more or less solidified the likelihood of joining the invitational tournament with a 7-5 victory over Schreiber in those quarterfinals.

Melendez turned for a re-match against Feliz and in his third, loss-side double hill match, defeated her 8-7 for a shot at Castillo in the hot seat; a shot not taken, as it were. The two agreed to a split, with Castillo as the undefeated occupant of the hot seat claiming 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 last regular tour stop of the 2018/2019 Tri-State Tour season, scheduled for Saturday, June 15, will be hosted by Clifton Billiards in Clifton, NJ. Two weeks later, on the weekend of June 29-30, the Annual Tri-State Invitational Tournament will be hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.

Lang goes undefeated to join growing ranks of female winners on the Tri-State Tour

Rachel Lang

Given the number of years that the Tri-State Tour has existed, the number of female competitors to have won a stop on the tour is relatively small, and includes the names of Kim Meyer-Gabia, Rhio Anne Flores, Yomaylin Feliz, Borana Andoni, and Sandie Paterino (to name just a few). Rachel Lang joined their ranks on Saturday, March 4, with an undefeated run through a field of 20 entrants, on-hand for a $1,000-added event, hosted by Shooter's Family Billiards in Wayne, NJ. 
 
Lang was one of two females among the event's final 12 competitors (Allison LaFleur was the other). Lang squared off against Mike Strassberg in one winners' side semifinal, as Brian Jeziorski met up with Brian Cap in the other. Lang got into the hot seat match with a 6-2 win over Strassberg. Jeziorski joined her for the first of two, following his 7-5 win over Cap. Lang claimed the hot seat 8-5 over Jeziorski and waited on his return.
 
On the loss side, Strassberg picked up Erick Carrasco, who'd defeated LaFleur 7-6, and Frank Sieczka 6-4 to reach him. Cap drew "The Warrior" (Carl Yusuf Khan), who'd gotten by Jan Mierzwa and Kevin Scalzitti, both double hill. It was Khan and Carrasco who advanced to the quarterfinals; Khan 7-5 over Cap, and Carrasco 7-6 over Strassberg.
 
Khan chalked up his third double hill win over his last four matches with a win over Carrasco in those quarterfinals. He then had his loss-side run ended by Jeziorski 7-4 in the semifinals. Lang completed her undefeated run with an 8-6 second victory over Jeziorski in the finals to claim the event title.
 
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Shooter's Billiards, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Kamui Tips, Ron Vitello, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics, and Bloodworth Ball Cleaners. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for Sunday, March 12, will be a $1,000-added, 'double points' event, hosted by Rockaway Billiards in Rockaway, NJ. 
 

Tony Liang wins the 2014-2015 Tri-State Tour Invitational

Overall Grand Champion Tony Liang

The eighteenth annual Tri-State Tour Invitational Tournament took place June 27 & 28, 2015, at Steinway Café and  Billiards in Astoria, NY. The weekend was a huge success for the tour with 14 A & A+ Players, 30 B & B+ Players, 32 C & C+ Players and 16 D & D+ Players who earned their way in to compete in their respective classes and play for their chance to be named the Tri-State Tour Invitational Grand Champion. Steinway Café and Billiards hosted the event for the first time and the players could not be happier about the venue. Steinway Café and Billiards owner Manny Stamatakis and the staff including Anna and George were very professional, helpful and gracious. Manny donated the room and all the table time. Their generosity and support to the players and the event were exemplary. The staff and everyone at the room assured the events success. Steinway Café and Billiards is an excellent venue for the event with professionally maintained tables, a clean a fresh atmosphere and some of the best food in NYC.  
 
As each day began, organizers John Leyman, Todd Fleitman & Rick Shellhouse congratulated the players on reaching the top of their classes for the season and handed out awards to the top players of the year in each class. The Tri-State Tour added $4000 in cash prizes and the sponsors Ozone Billiards, Fury Cues, Kamui Tips, Sterling Gaming, Cue-Sight, Capelle’s Pool Books, Billiards Digest, Pool & Billiards, Professor-Q-Ball’s News, Blue Book Publications, Steinway Café and Billiards, Amsterdam Billiards, and Romer’s Trophies went out of their way to provide the event with excellent equipment and prizes. The sponsors as the Tri-State has always maintained are owed a debt a gratitude for their dedication to the game and the players, their efforts and generosity are what always make the event so special and such a great success and without their continued support of the sport and the players this event could not happen. 
 
Awards were presented to the top 3 players in each class, the Most Improved Player of the Year, and Sportsman of the Year. The most improved player went to Chumreon Sutcharitakul. He has grown into an extremely good and competent player over the past year dominating events and raising from a lower B level player to a strong A level player. Each year the tour awards one player the “Sportsperson of the Year” award. It is awarded to someone the tour believes exemplifies what a player should be and how they should act and this year’s award went to Mike Strassberg. Mike is always there to lend a helping hand, has nothing but positive things to say about the other players and never complains. His great attitude is what other players should strive to emulate. 
 
The top players of the year in the their respective classes were Chris Derewonski taking down the Open Class, Miguel Laboy winning the A+/A class, Arturo Reyes B+ player, Chumreon Sutcharitakul B player, Ramon Feliciano C+ player, Mike Strassberg returning again this yeat as the C player and Mike Davie D+/D class player of the year and returning again as the Ladies Player of the Year was Ada Lio. For a full list of winners for all the classes and events, please see the web site www.thetristatetour.com
 
The action in the tournament got going around eleven on Saturday morning, June 27 with the B+ and B class players along with the D+/D players kicking off the event.  The B+ class saw two players dominate the event and meet each other in the hot seat match, B+ player of the year Arturo Reyes and Alberto Estevez. Both players played very strong all day defeating their opponents handily but Arturo could not be stopped, beating Alberto 7-3 in both the hot seat match and the finals. The B Class event for the second year in a row was dominated by Yomaylin Feliz-Forman even sending the most improved player Chumreon Suctharitakul to the one loss side beating him 7-1 all while being 6 months pregnant. Dave Shlemperis who lost his second match of the day to Eddie Medina 7-5 battled back on the one loss side of the chart winning 5 matches in a row against such strong players as Meshak Daniel, Jamiyl Adams, Chumreon Suctharitakul, Eddie Medina this time 7-6 in Dave’s favor and Luis Jimenez to get to the finals. In the finals Yomaylin took an early lead but Dave battled back and went ahead and then won the set 9-7.
 
The D+/D class saw Jim Gutierrez and Jessica Herpel battle their way to the hot seat match where Jim played well and did everything right and won the set 7-1. Irene Kim, Jim’s significant other after losing to Jessica Herpel fought back on the one loss side to meet Jessica again in the semifinal match. But the rolls by this time of the event were favoring Jessica and she won the match 7-5. In the finals the games at first were traded back and forth with Jim getting on the hill first but the rolls kept going in Jessica’s favor and she battled on to force an extended race final and finished the set with a ball in hand and a 7/9 combo for the win.
 
On Sunday, play resumed at 11 AM with the A+/A players and the C+ class and C class arriving to do battle. The A+/A Class saw one player in the finals undefeated while his opponent had lost his first match of the day. This was an almost exact replay of how the event went from the year before except instead of being in the hot seat undefeated Juan Guzman had to battle back from a first round loss to get to the finals. This year Tony Liang who won on the hill 7-6 in the first round then two 7-1 matches and then another 7-6 match found himself in the finals where he went on to beat last years A class champion Juan Guzman 7-3.
 
In the C+ class Chris DeCaprio sent Ambi Estevez to the one loss side in the third round with a score of 6-2 and then beat Frankie Scanlon 6-3 to get into the hot seat. Ambi Estevez who fell one match short of the finals the year before would not be deterred this year and won against Dennis Kennedy, Mike Esposito and Frankie Scanlon to get to the finals. In a match that could have went either way Ambi prevailed and won the match 8-5. The C class was totally taken over by Robert Jew who bested all opponents including his buddy and the player who he came to the event with Eddie Perez in the finals. Eddie last year’s sportsman of the year played very good all day but lost to Raul Calderon in the third round and then beat Raul in the semifinals 6-4.
 
This left our 6 class champions to do battle for the Grand Champion title. Robert Jew continued his dominating ways and beat Ambi Estevez 6-3 to win the C+/C playoff and then Jessica Herpel in the C/D playoff 6-0. In the B+/B class playoff Dave Shlemperis executed well very well and bested Arturo Reyes in the match 7-3. But in the A/B playoffs Dave just could not get going right away and fell behind. He caught some wind and started to battle back but by that time it was just too late and Tony Liang went on to win the match 7-3. With the overall finals of the event set, the 2 most dominate players of the event matched up to do battle. And both players played well and traded games with Tony Liang pulling ahead in the middle of the match, never to look back. He won the set 9-6 to become that 2014-2015 Tri-State Tour Invitational Grand Champion.

Shea downs Park twice to win JPNEWT Tour stop

The ladies of the JPNEWT Tour

Linda Shea hasn't been competing as much this year as she did last year, when she won three stops on her J. Pechauer Northeast Women's Tour, and finished second in five more. With two stops behind her (finishing 7th in April and 3rd in May), she came into the July 27-28 stop in fourth place in the tour standings (behind Yomaylin Feliz, Brianna Miller and Siming Chen). In the absence of Feliz, Miller, and Chen on this weekend, her undefeated run through a field of 18 moved her to the top of those rankings. The $1,250-added event ($500 of it distributed among the top three finishers by Coins of the Realm), was hosted by First Break Cafe in Sterling, VA.
 
It was a five-match march to the winners' circle for Shea, who began with a 7-4 victory over Kathy Friend, a 7-1 win over Nicole Fleming and a 7-2 outing against Pauline Mattes. Kia Sidbury joined her in one of the winners' side semifinals, while Ji Hyuen Park and Nicole Nester squared off in the other. Shea defeated Sidbury 7-5, and in the hot seat battle faced Park, who'd survived a double hill match against Nester. Shea sent Park to the semifinals 7-2 and settled into the hot seat.
 
It was Nester advancing on the loss side who ended up facing Park in the semifinals. She started out with a match against Dawn Fox, who'd gotten by Suzanne Sellet 7-2 and Mattes 7-5. Siidbury drew Tricia Tennant, who'd defeated Susan Shin and Judy Wilson, both 7-5. Nester and Tennant advanced to the quarterfinals with 7-2 victories over Fox and Sidbury. 
 
Nester took that quarterfinal match against Tennant in another 7-2 win, and then ran into Park. Park stopped Nester's two-match, loss-side run 7-4 and earned her second shot at Shea. In the extended race-to-9 format final match, they battled to double hill before Shea closed it out to capture her first 2013 title on her own tour.
 
"She did very well, "said Shea of Park's effort. "It was the best I ever saw her play."
 
Shea thanked the ownership and staff of First Break Cafe ("They always treat us like royalty," she said of their hospitality), as well as Coins of the Realm for the money they added for the first three finishers. The next stop on the JPNEWT, at a date to be determined, is scheduled to be hosted by Atlantic City Billiards in Egg Harbor Township, NJ.

John Trobiano wins his second Tri-State Tour Invitational

John Trobiano

The sixteenth annual Tri-State Tour Invitational Tournament took place July 6 & 7, 2013, at Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ. The weekend was a huge success for the tour with 16 A & A+ Players, 32 B & B+ Players, 32 C & C+ Players and 16 D & D+ Players who earned their way in to compete in their respective classes and play for their chance to be named the Tri-State Tour Invitational Grand Champion. Castle Billiards hosted the event for the fourth year. Castle Billiards owners John & Minnie Trobiano were again very professional, helpful and gracious. They donated their room and all the table time. Their generosity and support to the players and the event never dwindles and is always done with the players in mind. They are people who are genuinely into the game and the players; enough positive and complimentary things cannot be said about John, Minnie, and their staff.
 
As each day began, organizers John Leyman, Todd Fleitman & Rick Shellhouse congratulated the players on reaching the top of their classes for the season and handed out awards to the top players of the year in each class. The Tri-State Tour added $4000 in cash prizes and the sponsors QPOD, Dunkel Custom Cues, KH Custom Cues, Ozone Billiards, Fury Cues, Kamui Tips, Sterling Gaming, Capelle’s Pool Books, Billiards Digest, Pool & Billiards, Inside Pool, Professor-Q-Ball’s News, Blue Book Publications, Castle Billiards, Amsterdam Billiards, NYCGrind and Romer’s Trophies went out of their way to provide the event with some great equipment and prizes. The sponsors are owed a debt a gratitude for their dedication to the game and the players, their efforts and generosity are what made the event so special and such a great success and without their continued support of the sport and the players this event could not happen. 
 
Awards were presented to the top 3 players in each class, to the Most Improved Player of the Year, and Sportsman of the Year. The the most improved player went to Thomas Rice whose game gets stronger each day with the help of lessons from such legendary players as Earl Stickland. Thomas is only 15 and is improving every day, one day soon he will be playing with the best in the world.  Each year the tour awards one player the “Sportsperson of the Year” award. It is awarded to someone the tour believes exemplifies what a player should be and how they should act and this year’s award went to Dave Shlemperis. This year the Tri-State Tour announced that they would be starting a virtual Hall of Fame that will become part of their website. The new Hall of Fame page is still under construction and plans are in effect to debut it this fall. At the Invitational two players were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Dawn Hopkins who started it all back in the late 80’s as the “All About Pool Tour” and Daniel Cintron for his accomplishments on the tour, dedication and help to the tour throughout the years. Plans are also in effect to induct two more players who during the history of the tour their names and accomplishments became synonymous with the tour and they will be revealed in the near future.
 
The top players of the year in the their respective classes were Koka Davladze winning the A+/A class, Gary Murgia B+ player, Dave Shlemperis B player, Thomas Rice C player and Mike Davie returning to once again be crowned D+/D class player of the year. The Ladies Player of the Year was Yomaylin Feliz. In one of our most heated battles for player of the year Eddie Perez came in first only slightly edging out runner up and 2 time C class winner Tony Ignomirello by 10 points for the C+ player of the year. For a full list of winners for all the classes and events, please see the web site www.thetristatetour.com. 
The action in the tournament got going around eleven on Saturday morning, July 6 with the B+ and B class players along with the D+/D players kicking off the event.  The B+ class saw two players dominate the event and meet each other in the hot seat match, room owner John Trobiano and Ricardo Mejia.  Ricardo played strong and won the match on the hill. John moved to the one loss side where he played Steve Kaminow. John even though working 21 hours the day before preparing the room for the event could not be denied and won the match 7-0 and went on to the finals for a rematch with Ricardo. In the finals, the two combatants again played very well but John came out on top at 9-6. The B Class event paralleled the B+ class with Chris Peralta sending Mike Zimny to the one loss side after winning the hot seat match 7-1. Mike then beat Paul Spaanstra 7-5 and moved on to the finals. Playing a much different match this time against Chris, Mike won the match 7-4.
 
The D+/D class saw the 2 players who finished first and third in the points race the class for the year, fight their way to the hot seat match. Mike Davie and Ada Lio played a hard fought match but Mike came out on top 5-2. Ada then battled back by beating Amy Yu Yue on the one loss side to return to her second D+/D finals. But Mike could not be stopped and he beat Ada 5-2 again sending Ada home in second place for the second year in a row. Although Mike has been playing on the tour for a decade and has multiple Player of the year awards to his credit, he has never won a Tri-State tour tournament and so with this win Mike crowns his year on the tour with a major accomplishment.
 
On Sunday, play started again at 11 AM with the A+/A players and the C+ class and C class arriving to do battle. As the day progressed each event was dominated by one player, Raphael Dabreo in the A’s, Rene Villalobos in the C+’s and Umit Yolcu in the C’s. And all three would win their respective classes. In the A+/A class Raphael beat Geoffrey Bauer 7-5 sending Geoffrey to the one loss side and a match with home room favorite Scott Simonetti. But breaking strong and playing very strong Geoffrey came out on top against Scott at 7-5 and returned to the finals against Raphael. In one of the best matches of the entire event both players played exceptionally well with the lead going back and forth. Taking the match to hill/hill both players had opportunities in the final game but an unfortunate scratch late in the game by Geoffrey left Raphael with an out and the win. In the C+ class Rene dominated all the way thru winning the hot seat match against Keith Diaz 6-4. After losing to Rene in his second match of the day Robert Veit fought back on the one loss side to get to the finals only to lose again to Rene but this time at the score of 6-2. In the C class the scenario from the C+ class just about mirrored what was happening in the C Class. Umit Yolcu went undefeated beating Dave Danchak in the hot seat match 6-3 and then Ray Marisette in the finals 6-3. Ray just like Robert had lost his second match of the day and fought back to get to the finals.
 
This left our 6 class champions to do battle for the Grand Champion title. Rene Villalobos beat Umit Yolco 6-4 to win the C+/C playoff.  Rene then went on to beat Mike Davie in the C/D class playoff winning on the hill 7-6. John Trobiano after working the kitchen and room all day beat Mike Zimny on the hill in the B+/B class playoff and then went on to Raphael DaBreo 7-4 in the A/B class playoff.  This left the event with two players still standing; Rene Villalobos and John Trobiano. John feeling very relaxed event though working very hard over the weekend played extremely confidently and precise and won the final match of the event 7-4. This is John’s second win as Tri-State Tour Invitational Grand Champion. His first win was back in 2010.

Feliz chalks up another female win on the Tri-State

Yomaylin Feliz

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.

Baer comes from the loss-side to win Tri-State Tour stop

Arturo Reyes, Beau Baer and Tony Ignomirello

While the battle for the hot seat was a replay of the February 26 Tri-State semifinals at the same location – Tony Ignomirello versus Arturo Reyes – the finals of the April 22 Tri-State stop saw Beau Baer complete a seven-match trip on the loss side to meet and defeat Tony Ignomirello, who finished third in that earlier match. The $1,000-added, A-D handicapped event drew 22 entrants to the Cue Bar in Bayside, NY.

Baer survived a double hill battle against Joe Palone in the opening round of play, before being sent west by Stewart Warnock 7-4. Reyes and Ignomirello, in the meantime, moved among the winners’ side final four; Reyes, facing Keith Adamik and Ignomirello, squaring off against Ben Cataneros. Reyes downed Adamik 7-5, as Ignomirello was busy sending Cataneros west, double hill. Ignomirello sent Reyes to the semifinals versus Baer 7-5, and sat in the hot seat, waiting for his return.

Baer began his seven-match trip back to the finals with victories over Carl Yusuf Khan and Bogie Uzdecjzyk, before running into Warnock a second time. He then wreaked his vengeance on Warnock 7-5, and defeated Gary Murgia by the same score to meet up with Adamik. Castaneros drew Kim Meyer-Gabia, who’d gotten by Robert Jew 6-1 and battled to double hill, before prevailing in a match versus Yomaylin Feliz.

Baer eliminated Adamik 7-3, and in the quarterfinals, faced Meyer-Gabia, who’d survived a double hill battle over Castaneros. Baer defeated Meyer-Gabia 8-6 and completed his loss-side journey with a 7-5 victory over Reyes in the semifinals. 

Ignomirello jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the finals, but Baer then chalked up 10 straight to reach the hill ahead of him. Ignomirello won the 15th rack, but Baer finished it immediately afterwards to capture the event title. 

Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at the Cue Bar 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 will be a $1,500-added, A-D handicapped event, scheduled for April 28, at Gotham City Billiards in Brooklyn, NY.

Diaz goes undefeated to win his first Tri-State event

Rajesh Vannala, Keith Diaz and Koka Davladze

Keith Diaz avoided a loss-side challenge from Rajesh Vannala to win his first Tri-State Tour stop on the weekend of April 14-15. The $1,000-added, A-D handicapped event drew 53 entrants to Eastside Billiards in Manhattan, NY. 

Diaz’ path took him through Jim Ireland, Javier Colayco, Yomaylin Feliz, and Luis Lopez, before facing Pat Mareno, among the winners’ side final four. Vannala, in the meantime, had been sent west early, 7-4, by Varum Janeja, and was working on a seven-match, loss-side streak that would advance him to the finals. Joining Diaz and Mareno among the winners’ side final four were Ron Gabia and Koka Davladze. Diaz got into the hot seat match with a double hill win over Mareno, as Davladze was busy sending Gabia to the loss side 7-4. Diaz, playing what would prove to be his final match, got into the hot seat with a 7-3 victory over Davladze.

Mareno moved over to face Chris DeCaprio, who’d defeated Luis Lopez 6-4, and Luis Jimenez 6-3 to reach him. Gabia ran into the streaking Vannala, who’d already chalked up four on the loss side, including victories over Annie Flores 7-4 and a re-match, 7-4 victory over Janeja. It was Mareno and Vannala advancing to the quarterfinals; Vannala with a 7-5 victory over Gabia, and Mareno, 6-4 over DeCaprio.

Vannala downed Mareno 9-6, and then survived a double hill semifinal versus Davladze. The clock worked against the finalists, who were unable to play a final match. With Diaz in the hot seat, and Vannala coming from the loss side, Diaz was declared the winner, and the top two prizes were split between them.

Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Eastside Billiards, 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 $1,000-added, A-D handicapped event, scheduled for Sunday, April 22 at  Cue Bar  & Billiards  in Bayside, NY.  

Rack Starz Calendar Achieves International Success

On Friday, November 18th, well over two hundred professional and amateur billiards players, celebrity VIP’s, New York City media, and fans gathered at Union Square’s upscale billiards club, Amsterdam Billiards to celebrate the release of the Rack Starz 2012-2013 Limited Edition Collector Series 18-month Calendar.  Since its inception, the calendar has not only been a great success here in the United States, but has hit international waters making it a world-wide victory.
 
“As my first time being involved with a professional calendar production, I was honored to work with such a creative and talented team… the final product does a beautiful job of showcasing each player’s unique personality in a stylish & cutting-edge way,” says Alison Fisher. “It was an unbelievable experience to work with Photographer Larry Busacca.  He makes such a connection with you while shooting; you almost forget you are standing half naked in a room full of people”, confirmed Liz Ford.
 
The Rack Starz ladies not only launched a very successful calendar, but had a lot of fun behind the scenes while doing so. “Throughout my entire shoot, my shoes were taped to the floor so that I would stay inside the frame. It was difficult trying to pose, but I still managed to work some nice photos”, states Yomaylin Feliz. “I don’t know how, but Larry pulled a very different side out of me every time I stepped onto that shooting canvas. There were things said and done there that should never be repeated ever!” declared Supadra Geronimo, laughing.
 
This glossy full-color calendar measures a serious 12″ wide by 17″ high and was shot completely in New York City in the summer of 2010. Not only does the calendar showcase each lady’s individual rock star style, but also includes six bonus months to help ring in 2013. With only 3,000 calendars in circulation, this limited-edition collector series calendar is on its way to being a sold out sensation. If you are one of the lucky 3,000, visit their web site or Facebook page to find out where the Rack Starz will be next to personally autograph your calendar!
 
CREDITS
Photography: Larry Busacca of Larry Busacca Photography
Design: Chris Galardi & Will Thresher of SharkShark Design & Media Solutions
Digital Imaging: Ben Peterson of NYC Retoucher