by InsidePOOL Staff

Daniel Dagotdot survived a late loss in the August 21 Tri-State Tour event to come back and take the title from Allen Wong in the finals. The $750-added 9-ball event was hosted by Sandcastle Billiards in Edison, NJ, and featured 36 players.

Daniel Dagotdot survived a late loss in the August 21 Tri-State Tour event to come back and take the title from Allen Wong in the finals.

Once on the one-loss side of the chart, Murgia suffered his second loss to Dan Cintron 7-4, but Ng rebounded and was able to deal a hill-hill defeat to George Osipovitch 6-5. Cintron went on to face Ng in the quarterfinal match and eliminated him 9-7. Fresh from the winners’ side of the brackets, Dagotdot was Cintron’s next opponent, but Dagotdot wanted revenge and showed it with his 7-3 victory over Cintron to reach Wong again. In the finals, Wong took an early lead, but soon Dagotdot overtook him and kept the lead throughout to claim a 9-7 victory.

Results:
1st Daniel Dagotdot $600
2nd Allen Wong $390
3rd Dan Cintron $240
4th Richard Ng $150
5th Gary Murgia $90
George Osipovitch
7th Rajesh Vannala $70
Nick Verducci

by InsidePOOL Staff

George Osipovitch went unchallenged through the Tri-State Tour’s July 24 event to take top honors over Mark Alicea in the final match. The tour’s 24-player field was hosted by Edison Billiards in Edison, NJ, who vied for a piece of the $750-added purse.

Osipovitch sent Rick Shellhouse to the one-loss side after their 7-5 match in the winners’ side final four, while Duane Toney delivered Gary Murgia there as well 7-2. In the following hot seat match, it was a close call, but Osipovitch overcame Toney 7-5 and rested while he waited for his finals opponent.

Once on the west side, both Shellhouse and Murgia were eliminated quickly. Ken DeBroske ousted Shellhouse 7-5, and Alicea took care of Murgia 7-4. DeBroske and Alicea then faced each other in the quarterfinal match, which turned into a hill-hill nail-biter before Alicea edged out DeBroske 6-5. Alicea had fewer troubles with Toney, defeating him in third place 7-3. But he could not conquer Osipovitch, who won their final match by a decisive 6-2 score.

George Osipovitch went unchallenged through the Tri-State Tour’s July 24 event to take top honors over Mark Alicea in the final match.

by InsidePOOL Staff

Rikki Ragoonanan went undefeated through field at the Tri-State Tour’s June 19 stop, defeating Raphael DaBreo to take the title. Hosted by Sandcastle Billiards in Edison, NJ, this $750-added stop attracted 26 players.

Pat DiBuono made it through the winners’ side final four without a scratch, defeating George Osipovitch 7-2 to reach the hot seat match. Meeting him there was Ragoonanan, who had just bested Troy Deocharran 8-6. The hill-hill battle saw Ragoonanan take the hot seat 7-6, while DiBuono went west.

On the left side, Raphael DaBreo, a recent winner on the Ozone Billiards Predator Tour, ousted Osipovitch 7-6 at fifth place, while Allen Wong tied with Osipovitch after a 6-4 loss to Deocharran. The quarterfinal match was a close one, with DaBreo the one to advance after a 7-5 victory over Deocharran. DaBreo kept the momentum going with a hill-hill victory over DiBuono in the semifinals 7-6. But in the finals, another nail-biter, it was Ragoonanan who took the last rack and the victory 7-6.

Rikki Ragoonanan went undefeated through field at the Tri-State Tour’s June 19 stop, defeating Raphael DaBreo to take the title.

by InsidePOOL Staff

Stewart “The Scottish Lion” Warnock came back from a hill-hill defeat in the final four of the winners’ side to win the April 17 installment of the Tri-State Tour. This $750-added event attracted 39 players to Sandcastle Billiards in Edison, NJ.

Warnock was tripped up in the winners’ side final four when he faced off against Randy Schwager, who sent Warnock to the one-loss side of the chart after their hill-hill match. Meeting Schwager in the hot seat match was George Osipovitch, who had just bested William Zazor 7-4. It was a long battle, but Schwager went on to a 9-6 victory.

2nd place - Randy Schwager, 1st place - Stewart Warnock, 3rd place - George Osipovitch

From the west side, Warnock rallied, eliminating his next opponent, Serrafin Serrano, 7-5. Ron Mason tied with Serrano after he was ousted by Zazor 7-5. In the quarterfinal match, Warnock delivered a sound 8-5 defeat to Mason, sending him home in fourth place. Warnock seemed to pick up speed as he went, and sailed through his semifinal match against Osipovitch 8-5. In the finals, a rematch between Schwager and Warnock, both players traded rack for rack until the score reached 6-all. At that point, Warnock surged ahead and took the next three racks to win 9-6.

Results:
1st Stewart Warnock $660
2nd Randy Schwager $430
3rd George Osipovitch $265
4th Ron Mason $160
5th Serrafin Serrano $100
William Zazor
7th John Alicea $80
Scott Abramowitz

by InsidePOOL Staff

Alex Popov cut through the field at the March 27 Tri-State Tour stop and went undefeated to the finals. This $750-added stop was hosted by Sandcastle Billiards in Edison, NJ, and attracted a field of 30 players.

After besting Ken Debroske in the winners’ side final four 6-4, Popov went on to the hot seat match. There he faced off against Randy Mackin, who had just sent Joe Varvaro to the one-loss side 6-3. Their match went hill-hill, but it was Popov who prevailed 6-5.

Debroske rebounded on the west side of the chart, besting Qian Chen 7-3 and sending him home in fifth place. Tying with Chen was Varvaro, who suffered his second loss of the event to Richard Ng 6-4. Debroske and Ng collided in the quarterfinals, with Ng managing to stay alive after a hill-hill battle 6-5.

Ng advanced to the semifinal match against Mackin, who had been cooling his heels since the hot seat match. It was a close call, but Ng sent Mackin home with a third-place finish and moved on. In the finals, it was another hill-hill nail-biter that saw Popov remain undefeated to take the title.

Alex Popov cut through the field at the March 27 Tri-State Tour stop and went undefeated to the finals.

by InsidePOOL Staff

Justin Muller and 23 others braved the Northeast’s storm February 27 to come out for the Tri-State Tour’s event, won by Muller. The $750-added 9-ball tournament was hosted by Edison Billiards in Edison, NJ.

Muller made it to the final four on the undefeated side but then fell to Roy Allan 7-3 and went west. Allan moved on to the hot seat match against Carl Sallo, who had just bested Robert Perkins 7-2. The following hot seat match was a close one, but Allan pulled off the win 7-5.

From the one-loss side, Muller faced down Gary Murgia 7-4, while Perkins eliminated Antonio Navarro 7-5. Going on to the quarterfinals, Muller sent Perkins home in fourth place with a 7-4 victory and went on to the semifinal match. There he met Sallo, and in this lopsided match, Muller advanced to the finals 7-1. Muller was more than ready for his rematch with Allan and bested his opponent with a 9-5 victory.

Justin Muller and 23 others braved the Northeast’s storm February 27 to come out for the Tri-State Tour’s event, won by Muller.

by InsidePOOL Staff

Ed Manlulu topped the 30-player field that showed up for the January 16 stop on the Tri-State Tour, besting Chris Luethi in the finals. The event was hosted by Sandcastle Billiards in Edison, NJ, and boasted a $750-added prize fund.

Manlulu went unchallenged to the finals, besting George Osipovitch 7-5 in the winners’ side final four to reach the hot seat match. Meeting him there was Luethi, fresh off a 7-5 defeat of Gary Murgia. In the lopsided winners’ side final that followed, Manlulu sent Luethi packing 7-1.

Once on the one-loss side, Murgia and Osipovitch were ousted quickly. Raul Reyes Jr. eliminated Murgia 7-4, while Scott Abramowitz sent Osipovitch home 6-1. In the ensuing quarterfinal match, Abramowitz dealt a 6-3 blow to Reyes and advanced to the semifinals. With a rematch with Manlulu in his sights, Luethi raced past Abramowitz 8-4 in the semis but could not get a toehold against Manlulu, who ended up winning the final match 7-5.

Ed Manlulu topped the 30-player field that showed up for the January 16 stop on the Tri-State Tour, besting Chris Luethi in the finals.

by InsidePOOL Staff

Dan Cintron took home first place and the lion’s share of the $750-added purse at the December 19 stop on the Tri-State Tour. Hosted by Sandcastle Billiards in Edison, NJ, this stop attracted 19 players during the major storm pounding the Northeast.

Cintron went undefeated to the finals, making it to the hot seat match with a 7-6 victory over Paul Everton. His opponent was Raul Reyes, fresh off a 6-4 win over Richard Ng. It was a closely contested battle, but Cintron prevailed hill-hill over Reyes, sending him to the one-loss side of the chart.

Jerry Tarantola was fighting his way through the left side of the chart, besting Ed Medina 8-3 and then Joe Landi 7-5 to face Everton. After eliminating Everton 7-6, Tarantola met Ng in the quarterfinals. Ng had earlier sent Diana Rojas home with a fifth-place finish 6-4. Ng put up a good fight against Tarantola but fell short 10-6.

Dan Cintron took home first place and the lion’s share of the $750-added purse at the December 19 stop on the Tri-State Tour.

With his momentum going, Tarantola went on to face Reyes in the semifinals and eliminated him 9-6 on his way to the finals. The final match between Tarantola and Cintron was as close as it could be, but it was Cintron who won the hill-hill bout to take the title.

Results:
1st Dan Cintron $635
2nd Jerry Tarantola $240
3rd Raul Reyes $120
4th Richard Ng $70

by InsidePOOL Staff

The Blaze 9-Ball Tour is known for attracting strong players throughout the Northeast to their one-day events, but no one expected the field that showed up at Sandcastle Billiards in Edison, NJ, to compete December 6. Stop, made their first visit to Sandcastle Billiards in Edison NJ. George “Ginky” Sansouci, Joey Testa, Matt Krah, Dave Grau, and Danny “Kid Delicious” Basavich were among the 26-player field, and it was Shaun “Get Some” Wilkie who walked away with top honors.

Top regional player Mike Miller was in dead punch, defeating Erin McManus 7-2, Shaun Winters 7-5, Sansouci 7-5, and John Alicea 7-6 to line up the hot seat match with Joey Landi. On the bottom half of the winners’ bracket, Joey Landi went through Duane Toney 7-6, Derek Schwager 7-3, Ben Sadowski 7-0, and Randy Schwager 7-2. In the hot seat match that followed, Miller jumped quickly out to a 5-2 lead, which proved to be too much for Landi to handle on this day as Miller won 7-4.

Wilkie had a tough, well-played battled with Grau 7-3 before losing to top Northeast player Randy Schwager 7-5. After that Wilkie shifted into a higher gear, eliminating Winters 7-2 and overcame an impressive performance by Basavich 7-6. He then ousted Alicea 7-2 and Schwager 7-3. In the semifinals he lined up with Landi and played nearly flawlessly to defeat him 7-3.

Pictured Left to Right - Shaun Wilkie, Mike Miller, Joey Landi, Owner Ed Liddawi

by InsidePOOL Staff

Paul Everton scored a repeat victory when he won the Thanksgiving weekend stop on the Tri-State Tour, winning two tournaments in a row. The B-D handicapped event was hosted by Sand Castle Billiards in Edison, NJ, and featured a plummy $750 prize purse that attracted 36 contestants.

Everton went unscathed to the final match, defeating Christian Smith 7-5 to reach the hot seat match. There he was faced with Eric Tang, who was just off a strong hill-hill win over Rajesh Vannala. The hot seat match was little contest, as Everton was able to send Tang packing to the one-loss side with a 7-3 win.

Smith exhibited more than a little determination in working his way through the west side of the chart. He survived a hill-hill bout against Tom McCloud, depositing McCloud in fifth place, and then went on to play Vannala in the quarterfinal match. A smooth 7-3 victory later, Smith advanced to the semifinals to face Tang, over from the hot seat match. Smith eliminated Tang 7-4 to earn his rematch with Everton in the finals. But Everton, though he had just undergone surgery four weeks prior, was unstoppable, surging ahead to win the final match 7-4.

Paul Everton scored a repeat victory when he won the Thanksgiving weekend stop on the Tri-State Tour, winning two tournaments in a row.

Results:
1st Paul Everton $790
2nd Christian Smith $430
3rd Eric Tang $250
4th Rajesh Vannala $140
5th Tom McCloud $85
Robert Hanna
7th Dave Fitzpatrick $65
Scott Abramowitz