by InsidePOOL Staff

Matt McMillan overcame a case of nerves to withstand a run from the one-loss side by Yomaylin Feliz to take the Tri-State Tour’s August 6 event. The 9-ball tournament boasted a $1,000-added prize purse and attracted a field of 36 nine-ball players.

Matt McMillan overcame a case of nerves to withstand a run from the one-loss side by Yomaylin Feliz to take the Tri-State Tour’s August 6 event.

McMillan went the easy route to the finals—going undefeated. He faced off against Luis Jimenez in the winners’ side final four and sent him to the left side 6-3, as Trevor Heal defeated Raj Vannala in the other winners’ side match. McMillan was on a roll and went through Heal in the hot seat match 7-3 to await a finals opponent.

Feliz suffered an early loss and was faced with a long slog through the west side of the chart. She eliminated Paul Everton 7-5 and Charles Darwin Vergara, son of Mhet Vergara, 6-4 to reach Vannala, who had won the Ginky SanSouci memorial tournament the month prior. Feliz ousted Vannala unceremoniously 7-3 in fifth place, while Stuart Mickle, playing in his first Tri-State event, sent Jimenez in the same spot with a 7-2 win.

Feliz and Mickle squared off in the quarterfinal match, with Feliz coming out on top 7-4 as Mickle took home fourth place. Heal, a favorite in the event, was waiting in the semifinals but fell short against Feliz, who easily handled him 7-3. In the final match against McMillan, though, Feliz found her opponent too much to handle and McMillan took the title 6-3.

Results:
1st Matt McMillan $700
2nd Yomaylin Feliz $400
3rd Trevor Heal $300
4th Stuart Mickle $200
5th Raj Vannala $120
Luis Jimenez
7th Charles Darwin Vergara $90
Raphael DaBreo
9th Paul Everton $60
Ronald Gabia
Alex Berszinn
Bernard Isaacowitz

by InsidePOOL Staff

Trevor Heal went undefeated at the October 9 stop on the Tri-State Tour, besting Yomaylin Feliz in the finals. The $750-added event was hosted by Eastside Billiards in New York City, NY, and drew a field of 20.

Trevor Heal went undefeated at the October 9 stop on the Tri-State Tour, besting Yomaylin Feliz in the finals.

Heal and Feliz first faced off in the hot seat match—Heal had just whitewashed Teddy Lubis 7-0, while Feliz escaped a hill-hill battle with Paul Everton 7-6. Heal and Feliz went double-hill, and it was Heal who advanced to the finals to await an opponent.

Once on the west side of the chart, Lubis and Everton rebounded, defeating John Stiles 7-4 and Wilfredo Albay 7-5, respectively. At that point they went on to the quarterfinal match to face each other, with Lubis advancing 7-3. But once in the semifinals Lubis found himself cut off from further advancement, as the awaiting Feliz was determined to earn a rematch with Heal and eliminated Lubis 7-4. The final match was a closely contested one, but it was Heal who came out the 9-7 victor.

Results:
1st Trevor Heal $500
2nd Yomaylin Feliz $250
3rd Teddy Lubis $150
4th Paul Everton $100

by InsidePOOL Staff

Stewart “The Scottish Lion” Warnock roared through a 38-player field at the February 20, taking first place over Mike Gasper in the finals. The $750-added 10-ball event was hosted by Sandcastle Billiards in Woodside, NY.

Warnock went undefeated through the field, winning over Paul Everton in a hill-hill match to reach the winners’ side finals. Meeting him there was Sam Vitellaro, who had just bested Raul Reyes Jr. 6-2. Warnock dominated the hot seat match 9-6 and sent Vitellaro to the one-loss side to try his luck.

Once on the left side of the chart, Everton met up with Gasper, who was fighting his way through after an early loss. Gasper eliminated Everton 7-2, while Reyes ousted George Osipovitch 6-3. Gasper went on to a lopsided quarterfinal match against Reyes and won 7-2, sending Reyes home in fourth place.

Still on a roll, Gasper matched up with Vitellaro in the semifinals and sent him on his way with an 8-5 victory. But Gasper’s steam ran out at that point, as Warnock won the final match 7-5.

Warnock roared through a 38-player field at the February 20, taking first place over Mike Gasper 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

Though he had undergone surgery only three weeks prior, Paul Everton couldn’t resist the urge to get out November 21 and play some pool. He went to the Tri-State Tour’s stop at Master Billiards in Queens, NY, joining 27 other players at the B-D tournament, and took home the winner’s share of the $750-added prize purse with his finals victory over Justice Eagan.

Eagan was responsible for sending Everton to the one-loss side of the chart in his quest for the hot seat. After a 7-4 defeat of Everton, Eagan moved on to face Rene Villalobos, who had just bested Romeo Singh hill-hill, in the hot seat match. Another double-hill bout ensued, with Eagan moving onto easy street while Villalobos was sent west.

Tour regular Emily Duddy was working her way through the one-loss side, notching wins over Ronny Cochachi 7-6 and Masatoshi Ebihara 7-4 before meeting Singh, fresh off his winners’ side match with Villalobos. After she trounced Singh 7-2, she moved on to the quarterfinal match against Everton, who had survived a hill-hill nail-biter against Ron Mason. There Duddy’s tournament ended, as Everton advanced with a 7-3 win.

Though he had undergone surgery only three weeks prior, Paul Everton couldn’t resist the urge to get out November 21 and play some pool. (L-R) Justice Eagan, Paul Everton

A 7-4 victory over Villalobos propelled Everton to the final match against Eagan. This rematch was a long, drawn-out battle, in which only ball in hand at hill-hill determined the victor—Everton had a dead combination on the 9 ball and made it to win the final match 9-8.

Results:
1st Paul Everton $650
2nd Justice Eagan $345
3rd Rene Villalobos $220
4th Emily Duddy $100
5th Ron Mason $55
Romeo Singh

by InsidePOOL Staff

Thirty players showed up for the October 17 installment of the Tri-State Tour, but it was Yomaylin “Smiley” Feliz who walked away the big winner, taking her first title on the tour. The event was hosted by Master Billiards in Queens, NY, and featured a $500-added prize purse.

Going unchallenged through the entire event, Feliz matched up with Duane Toney and sent him to the left side of the chart 7-4 to reach the hot seat match. Her opponent there was Nicholas Chan, who was just coming off a 6-5 defeat of James DeGiosafatto. Chan fell short against Feliz 7-4 and went west to try and stage a rematch in the finals.

Thirty players showed up for the October 17 installment of the Tri-State Tour, but it was Yomaylin “Smiley” Feliz who walked away the big winner.

Results:
1st Yomaylin Feliz $650
2nd Paul Everton $330
3rd Nicholas Chan $190
4th Diana Rojas $100
5th James DeGiosafatto $50
Duane Toney

by Lea Andrews

Borana Andoni, who has lately been proving herself a contender in regional women’s events, took a little time June 20 to prove she can compete against the men as well. Out of the 32 players who arrived at Sandcastle Billiards for the $500-added C-D Tri-State event in Edison, NJ, it was Andoni who came undefeated through the field to claim first.

Andoni started off her streak with wins over Jonathan Laiño, T.J. Smithers, and Burt Madaio to find herself in the final four of the winners’ side. A 6-5 win over Nicholas Chan placed her in the match for the hot seat against George Osipovitch, who’d just sent last week’s co-winner, Michael Aro, west with a score of 6-4.

On the one-loss side, some of Andoni’s earlier victims were trying to get back to her. Madaio reached the final four on the one-loss side with a 6-3 win over Kyle Bubet, while Smithers got there by edging out Paul Everton 6-5. Both men, though, seemed to run out of steam as Madaio fell to Alex Berszinn 6-4 and Smithers fell to Allen Wong 6-3. But the end of the road was near for them, as well, as Aro put Berszinn in fifth with a score of 6-5, while Chan did the same to Wong with an identical score.

Meanwhile, Andoni was waiting in the hot seat after a sound 6-3 win over Osipovitch, and of the three men left, only Aro had yet to face her, but he never got a chance as Chan put him in fourth with a score of 6-4. Chan’s only obstacle before the finals now was Osipovitch, and a comfortable 6-3 win earned him his spot.

Borana Andoni, who has lately been proving herself a contender in regional women’s events, took a little time June 20 to prove she can compete against the men as well.

Results:
1st Borana Andoni $550
2nd Nicholas Chan $290
3rd George Osipovitch $160
4th Michael Aro $100
5th Alex Berszinn $50
Allen Wong