Three years ago, during Miguel Laboy’s best earnings year at the tables, he won four stops on the Tri-State Tour, and was among the top 10 finishers in 12 of the 13 events in which he competed on both the Tri-State and Predator Pro Am Tours. Since that time, he’s continued to chalk up wins on both tours, and has maintained that ‘top ten finisher’ pace every year. On Sunday, December 10, he added another victory on the Tri-State Tour to his growing list of accomplishments, coming from the loss side to meet and defeat Kapriel Delimelkonoglu in the finals of a $1,000-added event that drew 34 entrants to Cue Bar Lounge and Billiards in Bayside (Queens), NY.
Laboy and Delimelkonoglu met twice in this event, first, in a winners’ side semifinal, won by Delimelkonoglu 7-5 that sent Laboy to the loss side, and later, in the finals. In the hot seat match, Delimelkonoglu faced Juan Melendez, who’d sent Luis LaPuente over 6-3 in the other winners’ side semifinal. Delimelkonoglu claimed the hot seat with a 9-7 win over Melendez and waited on Laboy’s return.
On the loss side, Laboy opened his trip back to the finals against Jimmy Martinez, who’d defeated Thomas Schreiber 7-2 and Carl Yusuf Khan 7-3 to reach him. LaPuente drew Matt Klein, recent winner over Mac Jankov 6-3 and Ilija Trajeski 6-4.
Laboy advanced to the quarterfinals 8-5 over Martinez and was joined by LaPuente, who’d eliminated Klein 6-4. Laboy moved on to defeat LaPuente 10-6 in the quarterfinals, and Melendez 11-8 in the semifinals.
Laboy reversed his hot seat fortunes in the finals. He defeated Delimelkonoglu 9-4 to claim his first Tri-State title of the year.
Tri-State representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Cue Bar for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling Billiards, John Bender Custom Cues, Kamui, Digicue, Billiards Digest, Human Kinetics, Blue Book Publishing, Joe Romer Trophies and Phil Capelle Publications. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, the last of 2017, is scheduled for Sunday, December 17, and will be hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.
(l to r): Raphael DaBreo, Suzzie Wong, & Jose Mendez
On average, Raphael Dabreo wins an event on the Predator Pro Am Tour about once a year, and has been doing so since 2009. In that same time frame, he’s won, on average, exactly one event on the Tri-State Tour every year. In the only year since 2009 that he failed to record a victory on either tour, he was runner-up in the Empire State 10-Ball Championships (won by Jorge Rodriguez) and the Mixed Masters division of the NYC 8-Ball Championships (won by Koka Davladze). On the weekend of October 28-29, DaBreo chalked up a second victory on the 2017 Predator Pro Am Tour, which he’d won in June. It was the first time in almost four years that DaBreo had recorded two wins on either or both of the tours. The $1,000-added Predator Pro Am event drew 59 entrants to Spin City Café Billiards in Woodside (Queens), NY.
Unlike his effort in June, when he won seven matches on the loss side to meet and defeat hot seat occupant, Koka Davladze, DaBreo took the undefeated route in this one. DaBreo was challenged by Jose Mendez in one of the winners’ side semifinals, while Suzzie Wong (about to record Predator Pro Am history) faced veteran Tony Ignomirello.
DaBreo got into the hot seat match with a 7-4 win over Mendez, as Wong was sending “Tony Iggy” to the loss side 8-5. Wong became the first D-class player to get into a hot seat match in the history of the tour. Though she battled mightily, and forced a deciding game, she did not become the first D-class player to sit in a Predator Pro Am hot seat, because DaBreo sent her to the semifinals 11-10.
As Wong had done versus DaBreo in the hot seat match, Yu put up a double hill fight against Ignomirello, but he prevailed to advance to the quarterfinals. He was joined by Mendez, who’d eliminated Hosang 7-4.
Mendez ended Ignomirello’s bid for a win with a 9-7 win in those quarterfinals. In the semifinals, with both players looking for a re-match against DaBreo, Mendez ended Wong’s bid to become the first D-class player in a Predator Pro Am final by defeating her 11-8. DaBreo closed it out with a 7-5 win over Mendez in the finals.
A concurrently-run Second Chance event drew eight entrants, and was won by Pascal Dufresne. Dufresne pocketed $100 with a victory over Duc Lam ($50) in the finals.
Tour director Tony Robles thanked the ownership and staff at Spin City for their hospitality, as well as title sponsor Predator Cues, the NAPL, Ozone Billiards, PoolOnTheNet.Com, Cappelle Publishing, and Delta-13 Racks. The next stop on the Predator Tour, scheduled for November 18-19, will be hosted by Cue Bar in Bayside, Queens.
Juan Melendez has had a few cracks at entering the winners’ circle on the Tri-State and Predator tours. Most recently, he finished in the tie for 9th at a September stop on the Predator Tour and 7th on the Tri-State earlier this month (October 1). His other notable effort was at last year’s NYC 8-Ball Championships (Men’s Leisure Division), where he finished 3rd. On Sunday, October 22, Melendez broke through, chalking up an undefeated run through a field of 47, on-hand for a $1,000-added stop on the Tri-State Tour, hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.
Melendez had to get by John Francisco twice to complete his run. They met first in the hot seat match, after Melendez had sent Luis Jimenez to the loss side 8-6 in one winners’ side semifinal, and Francisco had defeated Basdeo “Shawn” Sookhai 7-2 in the other. Melendez grabbed the hot seat (his first) over Francisco 8-5 and pondered the possibility of his first tour win, while Francisco moved to the semifinals.
On the loss side, Sookhai picked up the competitor known as “The Warrior,” aka Carl Yusuf Khan, who’d defeated Lidio Ramirez 7-4 and Adam Miller 8-6. Jimenez drew Ambi Estevez, who used a shutout over Amy Yu and double hill win over Allison LaFleur to reach him.
Sookhai downed Khan 7-5, as Jimenez dropped the final 9-ball in a double hill match against Estevez. Sookhai chalked up the quarterfinal win 7-4 over Jimenez, and moved on to his re-match against Francisco in the semifinals. Sookhai put up a better fight the second time around, forcing a deciding game, but Francisco held on to win it. Francisco, too, put up a better fight the second time. As Sookhai had done to him, Francisco battled Melendez to double hill in the finals, before Melendez finished it to claim the event title.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Steinway Billiards, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics, Pool & Billiards, Professor Q Ball, Bender Cues, Joe Romer Trophies and DIGICUE OB. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for Sunday, October 29, will be hosted by Clifton Billiards in Clifton, NJ.
It’s become something of a long-standing tradition on the Tri-State Tour that no matter how many familiar names pop up in a tour stop’s winners’ circle, there is always someone new who shows up and adds their name to a growing, very long list. The ratio is hard to determine, but for every familiar name that chalks up a win on the Tri-State, there are usually quite a few in the course of the tour’s season who add their name to the ongoing list of winners.
On Sunday, October 1, Zouraiz Ellahi added his name to the list of first-time winners on the tour with an undefeated run through a field of 38. The $1,000-added event was hosted by BQE Billiards in Jackson Heights (Queens), NY.
Ellahi’s run through the field included victories over quite a few familiar names, like Junior Singh, Alberto Estevez, Lidio Ramirez and Carl Yusuf Khan, whom he defeated in a winners’ side quarterfinal, which set him up to face John Morrison in a winners’ side semifinal. In the other winners’ side semifinal, Suzzie Wong, who was in the midst of an impressive performance that would ultimately net her a fourth place finish, squared off against Dementhris Hudson, another new name, who’d finished fourth on his only other payout appearance on the Tri-State back in May.
Ellahi defeated Morrison, who’d come back to face him in the finals, 7-4, as Hudson sent Wong to the loss side 6-3. Ellahi claimed his first Tri-State hot seat 7-5 over Hudson, who was also looking to occupy that seat for the first time.
Morrison and Wong advanced to the quarterfinals; Morrison 8-2 over Khan, and Wong, surprisingly shutting out Tri-State veteran ‘Tony Iggy.’ Wong and Morrison battled to double hill in those quarterfinals, but Wong’s run came to an end. Morrison went on to give up only a single rack in his semifinal battle against Hudson.
Morrison, who’d won a Tri-State event back in 2015, ended up winning two more racks in the final than he had in his winners’ side semifinal against Ellahi. But it wasn’t enough. Ellahi won it 7-4 to claim his first Tri-State title.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at BQE 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, Joe Romer Trophies and DIGICUE OB. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for Sunday, October 15, will be hosted by Rockaway Billiards in Rockaway, NJ.
The twentieth annual Tri-State Tour Invitational Tournament took place June 24 & 25, 2017, at Steinway Café and Billiards in Astoria, NY. The weekend was another 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 third year and once again provided a great atmosphere and playing environment for the players. Steinway Café and Billiards owner Manny Stamatakis and the staff including Anna and George were as always very professional, helpful and gracious. Manny donated the room and all the table time. Their generosity and support to the players and the event as always were exemplary. The staff and everyone at the room assured the events success. Steinway Café and Billiards, home of the World Pool Series, is an excellent venue for any event, it has professionally maintained tables, a clean fresh atmosphere and some of the most scrumptious food in NYC.
As each day began, organizers John Leyman, Todd Fleitman, Rick Shellhouse & Daniel Cintron 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 John Bender Custom Cues, Ozone Billiards, Kamui Tips, Sterling Gaming, Capelle’s Pool Books, OB Cues and the DIGICUE, 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 Max Watanabe. Max has been a good B level player for years but his game leveled out and he appeared to have reached the top of his game but over the last year Max shattered the ceiling on his game making great strides in his consistency and abilities to become a very strong A class player. His game is still improving at an accelerated pace and it would not surprise the tour if he was back again next year as the most improved again. 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. This is Mikes second time winning the award which goes a long way in proving just how much of a true sportsman he is. His exemplary attitude at events no matter what is happening, from players with bad attitudes, to rooms with AC problems, to whatever comes up, proves time and time again what other players should strive to emulate.
The top players of the year in their respective classes were Atif Khan in the A+/A class, Carl Yusuf Khan B+ player, last year’s Grand Champion Jaydev Zaveri winning the B class, the last 3 classes the C+, C and D+/D classes were all won by players who won for the second year in a row. Those players were Tony Ignomirello winning the C+, Bob Toomey in the C player and Jim Gutierrez in the D+/D class. This year saw some new ladies rise to the top of the leader board with the Ladies Player of the Year being Allison LaFleur. 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 ten on Saturday morning, June 24 with the B+ and B class players along with the D+/D players kicking off the event. The B+ class was won by some very strong play from Basdeo Sookhai, a former Grand Champion of the event. Basdeo got to the hot seat match against Kirill Safromov and lost to Kirill 7-2. On the one loss side, Basdeo played an exhausted Carl Yusuf Khan who had lost his first match of the day to Basdeo and then fought his way up the one loss side to once again challenge Basdeo. In the semi-final match Carl just could not keep up the pace and Basdeo beat him 7-4. This set up another rematch for Basdeo in the finals against Kirill where Basdeo played above his game and won the match 7-4.
In the B-Class Kevin Scalzitti played extremely well all day and bested all comers to win the B-Class undefeated. In the hot seat match, Kevin Scalzitti beat Kevin Shin on the hill to send him to the one loss side where he met up with Thomas Schreiber, whom he had beaten in the first match of the day 7-5. Thomas played 5 matches on the one loss side to get back to the semi-finals and another shot at Kevin Shin. In the semi-finals Thomas won 7-5 and proceeded to the finals but Kevin Scalzitti was on a roll and beat Thomas 7-4 in the finals.
Kevin and Basdeo squared off in the B+ – B Class playoff and Basdeo continued to play well and sent Kevin home by beating him 7-5.
The D+/D class saw Carlos Serrano play well all day and he cruised to the finals. Carlos played Nancy Chung in the hot seat match and won impressively 6-2. Allison LaFleur, the Ladies player of the year, played her first two matches well but in the third match she came up against Carlos who got a good roll and won the set 5-4. Allison moved to the one loss side and won her next 3 matches to get to the finals and a rematch against Carlos. The rematch was a lot like the first match with each player trading games but ultimately Carlos came out on top for the win.
On Sunday, play resumed at 10 AM with the A+/A players and the C+ class and C class arriving to do battle. In the A+/A class, Jimmy Acosta dominated all day never letting his opponents get more than 3 wins against him and he arrived in the finals undefeated. In the hot seat match he crushed his opponent Elvis Rodriquez 7-1. Mike Panzarella who had lost his second match of the day to Atif Khan 7-3 fought his way up the one loss side getting stronger as the day went on. In the semi-final match he faced a tough opponent in Elvis and won a tight battle on the hill. Mike continued to get stronger and faced off against the dominating Jimmy and Mike fought hard and won the match 9-5.
In the C+ class Nathaniel Raimondo sent Dany Recinos to the one loss side in the hot seat match with a score of 6-1. Dany then battled back for a rematch with Nathaniel beating Kevin Chong on the hill. In the finals, Dany continued to play well and handed the undefeated Nathanial a loss and second place by beating him 8-6.
The C Class was taken over by Qian Chen who kept all opponents to 4 wins or less to win the division undefeated. In the how seat match Qian beat Pashk Gjini 6-3, Pashk went to the one loss side where he lost to David Grant 6-4. David arrived in the finals with his only loss of to the day to Qian 6-4 but Qian was just as good the second time and won 6-3
This left 2 winners from Saturday and 3 winners from Sunday to do battle for the Grand Champion title. The C+ versus C class final saw Dany Recinos continue to win as he bested Qian Chen 6-3. That set up the 2 overall semi-final matches. The first to be played was the A class versus the B class and both players played very well but Mike Panzarella was not going to be beaten no matter how well Basdeo Soohai was playing and Mike won the match 7-4. The C class versus the D class was almost a mirror image of the other semi-final match with the higher level player, Dany Recinos, playing stronger and the lower level player, Carlos Serrano just not able to keep up and he lost 7-5. This setup the finals of the event between A class Mike Panzarella and C+ Dany Recinos. Both players played well but the long day and tough matches obviously took its toll on both players as they traded games. As the set went on both players made some crucial mistakes by over rolling some positions and not making some game wining shots but then would come back and do exemplary runs to win games. In the end Dany Recinos would be the one to sink the final 9 and win the event to be crowned the 2016-2017 Tri-State Tour Invitational Grand Champion.
In the absence of Amir Uddin, Steve Kaminow further solidified his spot on the Tri-State Tour's B+ player list with an undefeated win on Sunday, June 11. Kaminow, who picked up a tour win last July and most recently, in March, has now moved into second place in that class behind Carl Yusuf Khan. The $500-added event drew 24 entrants to Cue Bar in Bayside (Queens), NY.
Following victories over Lidio Ramirez 7-2, Eugene Ok 7-6, and Thomas Schreiber 7-3, Kaminow advanced to a winners' side semifinal against David Leggat. Esteban Morrell, Jr., in the meantime, squared off against Adrian Daniel. Kaminow moved into the hot seat match 7-3 over Leggat, and was joined by Morrell, Jr., who'd shut Daniel out. Kaminow claimed the hot seat 7-5 and waited on Morrell, Jr.'s return.
On the loss side, Leggat picked up Kapriel Delimelkonoglu, who'd gotten by David Shlemperis, double hill, and Lidio Ramirez 7-5. Daniel drew Zouraiz Ellahi, who'd eliminated Alberto Sanchez 7-4 and Erick Carrasco 6-3.
Delimelkonoglu downed Leggat 7-2, as Daniel squeaked by Ellahi 6-5. Daniel took the subsequent quarterfinal match 7-5 over Delimelkonoglu, before having his short, loss-side trip terminated by Morrell, Jr. in the semifinals 6-4.
Morrell, Jr. came into the finals with two on the wire, and Kaminow took the opening match to half that handicap lead. Morrell, Jr. came back with two racks to go ahead by three, before Kaminow chalked up a pair to draw within one at 4-3. Morrell, Jr. won the next two to reach the hill for a possible extension to nine games. Kaminow put a stop to that with four in a row to win it.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Cue Bar for their hospitality, 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 Saturday, June 17, will be hosted by Rockaway Billiards in Rockaway, NJ.
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.
Dave Shlemperis backed up a seven-on-the-loss-side win on the Predator Tour on the weekend of February 11-12, with another come-from-the-loss-side win on the Tri-State Tour, on Sunday, February 19. He spent a lot less time on the loss side of the Tri-State bracket, having been defeated by Lionel Oliver in the battle for the hot seat, and needing only the one loss-side win to return, challenge and defeat Oliver in the finals. The $625-added event drew 30 entrants to the Cue Bar in Bayside (Queens), NY.
Following victories over Ray Feliciano, and Luis Jimenez, Shlemperis advanced to a winners' side semifinal against Kevin Shin. Oliver, in the meantime, squared off against Vijay Patel. Shlemperis downed Shin 6-4, as Oliver sent Patel west 5-3. Oliver claimed the hot seat 7-2 over Shlemperis and waited for him to get back.
On the loss side, Shin picked up Luis Jimenez, who'd gotten by Carl Yusuf Khan 6-1, and Jaydev Zaveri 6-3. Patel drew Andrew Cicoria, who'd eliminated Bob Toomey 5-1, and Jim Gutierrez 4-2. The loss-side combatants in the battle to determine the tie for 5th place defeated the newcomers from the winners' side semifinals. Jimenez ended Shin's day 6-3, while Cicoria was busy sending Patel home 5-3.
Jimenez won the quarterfinal match that followed, 6-3 over Cicoria. He put up a fight against Shlemperis in the semifinals, but Shlemperis took the final game and got himself a second shot against Oliver. Like Jimenez before him, Oliver put up a fight to claim the title, but it wasn't enough. Shlemperis pulled ahead to win it by two 8-6 and claim his second title in as many weeks.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at the Cue Bar, 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, February 26, will be a C/D, Double Points, 8-ball event, hosted by Steinway Billiards, in Astoria (Queens), NY.
Atif Khan entered the last stop on the 2016 leg of the Tri-State Tour on Sunday, December 18, looking for his second win on the 2016-2017 schedule. Erick Carrasco showed up, looking for his first, ever. They met twice in the $1,000-added event that drew 42 entrants to Steinway Billiards, in Astoria (Queens), NY. Khan won them both to claim the event title, but not before Carrasco had won 13 of the 29 games they played against each other.
They met first in the hot seat match. Khan had arrived following victories over Juan Guzman, Kapriel Delimelkonoglu, Philip Pearce, and, in a winners' side semifinal, Akbar Karmoeddien 7-6. In the other winners' side semifinal, Carrasco downed David Grant 6-3. Khan stepped into the hot seat with a double hill win, leaving Carrasco to await his return.
On the loss side, Karmoeddien picked up Elvis Rodriguez, who'd defeated The Warrior (Carl Yusuf Khan) 7-1, and Philip Pearce 7-3, to reach him. Grant drew Ben Holcome, who'd eliminated Adrian Daniel 6-4 and Zouraiz Ellahi 6-4.
Two double hill matches decided advancement to the quarterfinals; Grant over Holcome, and Rodriguez over Karmoeddien. Rodriguez downed Grant 9-5 in those quarterfinals, and then, had his loss-side streak stopped 8-3 by Carrasco in the semifinals.
Carrasco jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the finals against Khan, before Khan fought right back to tie. Carrasco took the lead through the rack trading that led to a 6-6 tie. Khan took his first lead of the match at 7-6, and backed it up with a second win to claim the title.
Tour representatives thanked Manny Stamatakis and his staff at Steinway Billiards, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Kamui Tips, Ron Vitello, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics, and Bloodworth Ball Cleaners. With best holiday wishes to everyone who made the 2016 leg of the Tri-State Tour possible, from players to tour staff to room owners and sponsors, the Tri-State announced it will open the 2017 portion of its schedule on January 7, at Shooter's Family Billiards in Wayne, NJ.
Over the past five years, according to our records, Paul Spaanstra has chalked up five runner-up finishes on the Tri-State Tour, though until this past weekend (Sunday, Nov. 20), he had yet to chalk up an event victory. He broke that 'bridesmaid' streak with a come-from-the-loss side win at a $1,000-added Tri-State event that drew 23 entrants to Rockaway Billiards in Rockaway, NJ.
Following victories over Paul Murphy and Fred Garcia, Spaanstra faced William Donofrio in one of the winners' side semifinals, while Mike Guevera squared off against Erick Carrasco in the other one. Spaanstra sent Donofrio west 7-4, and in the hot seat match faced Guevera, who'd sent Carrasco over, double hill. It was Guevera sending Spaanstra to the semifinals, double hill, and waiting in the hot seat for what would prove to be something of a nail-biter against him in the finals.
On the loss side, Donofrio picked up Carl Yusuf Khan (known as The Warrior), who'd defeated Gary Fuller 7-5 and Garcia 7-2 to reach him. Carrasco drew Allison LaFleur, who'd won two straight double hill matches against Jim Gutierrez and Suzie Wong to face him.
Khan made short work of Donofrio 7-1, and in the quarterfinals, faced Carrasco, who'd eliminated LaFleur 8-5. In the event's first money round, Khan downed Carrasco 7-5.
Spaanstra, looking for the sixth time in five years, to make it to the finals, downed Khan in the semifinals 7-2. The final match between Spaanstra and Guevera, racing to 10, was tied six times. Guevera broke out to an early 3-0 lead, but Spaanstra came right back to tie it for the first time. They tied it again at 4-4, and 6-6, and then traded games back and forth to the ultimate tie at double hill 9-9. Shooting at the 5-ball in the deciding game, Spaanstra used it to sink the 9-ball and win his first (as far as we can determine) Tri-State title.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Rockaway 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, November 27, will be hosted by Clifton Billiards in Clifton, NJ.
