by Lea Andrews

Dennis “The Hatchet Man” Hatch, who last won a Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour event in February, went undefeated at the March 26-27 stop to earn his third tour win this season. The $1,500-added event drew 33 competitors to Salt City Billiards in Syracuse, NY.

Hatch, who last won a Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour event in February, went undefeated at the March 26-27 stop to earn his third tour win this season.

Hatch got past Ron Casanzio 9-7 to reach the hot seat match against Seth Delvinallo, who’d sent Dave Grau west 9-6. Against Hatch, though, Delvinallo managed just three games, earning himself a spot in the semifinals.

On the other side of the bracket, Bucky Souvanthong ousted Hendrik Drost and Bruce Carroll 9-5 on his way to meet up with Grau, while Bruce Nagle took care of Tim Parisian 9-5 and Randy Fawcett 9-6 before coming upon Casanzio. Both Grau and Casanzio prevailed—9-7 and 9-8, respectively—to face each other in the quarterfinals. A strong 9-4 win gave Grau the chance at a rematch with Delvinallo in the semifinals and left Casanzio behind in fourth. Unfortunately for Grau, though, he couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity, and he finished in third 9-5 while Delvinallo advanced to his own rematch against Hatch in the finals.

Veteran Hatch and first-time finalist Delvinallo traded games early on in the true double-elimination final match, but then Hatch stretched out to a 7-4 lead. Delvinallo was right behind him, though, taking three straight to tie it up at seven games apiece. But his dry break in the next rack allowed Hatch to reach the hill first, and in the final rack, Hatch’s well-played safety earned him the win 9-7.

In Sunday’s $500-added second-chance, non-pro event, 13 players competed for their share of the $760 purse, and Brian Lipes went undefeated, shutting out Joe Wysocki in the final match 3-0.

The next $1,500/$500-added event will be held April 2-3 at Raxx Pool Room and Grill in West Hempstead, NY. Those interested in competing in the tour’s season finale, the Turning Stone Classic XVIII, should contact tour director Mike Zuglan at 518-356-7163 as soon as possible. Please note that the Turning Stone date has been changed from August 11-14 to September 8-11.

Open Results:
1st Dennis Hatch $1,000
2nd Seth Delvinallo $700
3rd Dave Grau $550
4th Ron Casanzio $400
5th Bucky Souvanthong $250
Bruce Nagle
7th Bruce Carroll $125
Randy Fawcett

Second Chance Results:
1st Brian Lipes $300
2nd Joe Winsock $200
3rd Jerry Crowe $140
4th Hendrik Prost $80
5th Brian Holmes $40
Jim Yonge

by Lea Andrews

Dennis “The Hatchet Man” Hatch, who went undefeated at the March 13-14 Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour stop, made a repeat performance at the March 27-28 stop. The $1,500-added event, which featured a total prize purse of $3,660, drew 27 competitors to Salt City Billiards in Syracuse, NY.

Hatch took care of Ron Casanzio 9-6 to reach the hot seat match against Robb Saez, who’d squeaked past Dave Grau 9-8. Another 9-6 victory gave the hot seat to Hatch and sent Saez to the west side.

On that side of the bracket, recent winner Chris Orme, who’d taken a third-round 9-7 hit from Grau, went on to oust Nick Brucato 9-2 and Mike Renshaw 9-3 before coming up on Casanzio. Meanwhile, Lyn Wechsler, Hatch’s first-round 9-5 victim, was edging out tour director Mike Zuglan 9-8 and Grau 9-8 to match up with Orme in the quarterfinals. Wechsler’s chance for a rematch with Hatch in the finals ended there, though, and he landed in fourth 9-5. Orme advanced to the semifinals against Saez, who dropped him into third 9-7 to earn another go at Hatch.

In the true double-elimination final match, Hatch jumped out to a 3-0 lead, and though Saez managed to get within two at 5-3, Hatch pulled back ahead, earning his sixth tour win this season 9-5.

Hatch, who went undefeated at the March 13-14 Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour stop, made a repeat performance at the March 27-28 stop.

Results:
1st Dennis Hatch $1,100
2nd Robb Saez $800
3rd Chris Orme $600
4th Lyn Wechsler $400
5th Dave Grau $250
Ron Casanzio
7th Mike Zuglan $130
Mike Renshaw

by Lea Andrews

Making a rare appearance on the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour, Steve Moore went undefeated through the 25-player field, taking down reigning champ Dennis “The Hatchet Man” Hatch in the finals. The $1,500-added Mary Capotto Memorial event was held March 6-7 at Cap’s Cue Club in Syracuse, NY.

Moore blew by Chance Chin 9-3 to reach the hot seat match against Dave Grau, who’d just edged out Hatch 9-8. Grau managed just five games against Moore, though, and he moved over to the semifinals to try to fight his way back.

On the left side of the bracket, tour bigwig Bucky Souvanthong was plowing through the field, ousting Lyn Wechsler 9-4 to meet up with Dwight Dixon, who’d eased past Brian Holmes 9-8. Taking care of Dixon 9-7, Souvanthong moved on to Chin. Meanwhile, Bruce Carroll got past Geoff Montgomery 9-6 to face tour director Mike Zuglan, who’d just knocked out Mike Renshaw 9-5. Holding Zuglan to four games, Carroll moved on to Hatch, who dropped him into fifth 9-3. In the quarterfinals, Hatch went up against Souvanthong, who’d advanced over Chin 9-7. Against Hatch, though, he managed just four games, landing in fourth. Hatch moved on to a rematch with Grau, which ended in his favor 9-7, putting him into very familiar territory: the finals. The true double-elimination final match didn’t go the usual way for Hatch, though. Taking control from the beginning, Moore earned his decisive victory 9-4.

Making a rare appearance on the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour, Moore went undefeated through the 25-player field, taking down reigning champ Hatch in the finals.

Results:
1st Steve Moore $1,000
2nd Dennis Hatch $800
3rd Dave Grau $600
4th Bucky Souvanthong $400
5th Chance Chin $250
Bruce Carroll
7th Dwight Dixon
Mike Zuglan

Mika Immonen and Mezz Cues are proud to announce the Mezz Pro-Am Tour. The Mezz Tour is a 1-day Open Tournament with staggered entry fees and additional cash prizes for the top 2 finishers in the A/B and C/D division. Events will take place in the North East region.

“We are happy to work with Jose Burgos, who runs the best 1-day tournaments in this region. We hope to offer a highly competitive tournament and great prizes for pros and amateurs alike. We will also give each player a free raffle ticket for a Mezz Cue and Mezz Case at the Grand Finale Tournament along with prizes for the Top 10 point leaders of the year,” says Mika.
Jose describes, “I am honored to join forces with Mika Immonen and Mezz Cues. I believe having the best player in the world along with one of the leading cue companies in the industry as sponsors will make the Mezz Pro-Am Tour one of the premier tours in the region.”

Along with the Mezz Open Tour, we are also proud to announce a Mezz Women’s Tour overseen by WPBA Pro and Mezz USA President, Caroline Pao.

“With so many great female players in the Northeast region, this is a great opportunity to provide a competitive tour for them to participate in. We will feature great prizes at each stop as well as hold a Grand Finale tournament with added monies. Prizes will also be awarded for the Top 3 female players of the year with the Top Female receiving paid entry to the prestigious Turning Stone Tournament in Syracuse, NY. I am very excited be able to provide an opportunity for our local female players to sharpen their competitive edge. Once we complete the 8 event schedule, it will be on our official Mezz Tour website, www.mezztour.com,” explains Caroline.

Immonen and Mezz Cues are proud to announce the Mezz Pro-Am Tour.

As a prelude to our official launch of the Mezz Pro-Am Tour, we had a great event at Drexeline Billiards in Drexel Hill, PA on January 31st with an attendance of 53 players. Joey Testa and Ignacio Chavez were co-champions of this event with Victor Nau in 3rd and Josh Brothers in 4th place.

The next stop will be at on February 21st at :
Atlantic City Billiards
6701 Blackhorse Pike
Egg Habor, NJ 08234
(609) 645-7576

Visit the official Mezz Pro-Am Tour website, www.mezztour.com, for more information.
For sponsorship opportunities, please contact info@mezztour.com.

by Skip Maloney

Dennis “The Hatchetman” Hatch captured his sixth consecutive Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour victory the weekend of March 7-8. This $1,500-added event, with a total purse of $4,620, drew 39 entrants and was hosted by Cap’s Cue Club in Syracuse, NY.

From among the winners’ side final four, Hatch defeated Dan Heidrich 9-2. Jose Mendez, in the meantime, was busy sending Dave Grau west 9-4. Hatch gained the hot seat with a 9-4 win over Mendez and waited, as it turned out, for Grau.

On the one-loss side, Dennis Hatch’s uncle, Mark Hatch, after wins over Bucky Souvanthong and Andrew Attard, was waiting for Heidrich. Dan Doerner, after defeating John Morra and Jason Michas was there to meet Grau. Heidrich survived a hill-hill battle versus Mark Hatch, as Grau got past Doerner 9-7. Grau dropped Heidrich into fourth place with a 9-3 win and then defeated Mendez 9-2 in the semifinals.

In the true double-elimination finals that ensued, Grau handed Hatch the only set defeat he’d experienced since his five-match winning streak began in October of last year. Grau took the opening set of those finals 9-5. Hatch, however, returned the favor and bested Grau by the same score in the second set to complete his sixth straight tour win.

Dennis “The Hatchetman” Hatch captured his sixth consecutive Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour victory the weekend of March 7-8.

Results:
1st Dennis Hatch $1,200
2nd Dave Grau $800
3rd Jose Mendez $620
4th Dan Heidrich $500
5th Dan Doerner $350
Mark Hatch
7th Jason Michas $200
Andrew Attard
9th Mike Zuglan $100
John Morra
Bucky Souvanthong
Dan Cee

Hatch accepts his trophy.

by Skip Maloney

Dave Grau downed John McConnell to finish an undefeated performance on the Central New York 9-Ball Tour stop.

Dave Grau took two from John McConnell to finish an undefeated performance on the Central New York 9-Ball Tour stop the weekend of October 25-26. It was Grau’s second straight win on the tour, having won the opener on October 11. A full field of 64 entrants was on hand for the $790-added, A-B handicapped event at Cap’s Cue Club in Syracuse, NY.

Grau first met McConnell among the final four on the winners’ side and defeated him 8-6 to move into the hot seat match. He was joined by Mike Cumberledge, who’d bested Dick Cappotto 7-2. Grau sent Cumberledge west with an 8-3 win.

Cappotto and McConnell met Brian Lipes and Gary Empey on the one-loss side and dropped them into a tie for fifth place before meeting each other in the quarterfinals. With a slight handicap advantage, McConnell battled to hill-hill before advancing to the semifinals against Cumberledge.

Working again with a handicap advantage that proved to be unnecessary, McConnell defeated Cumberledge 7-3 and had himself a second chance against Grau. In the true double-elimination final, Grau avoided a second set with an 8-5 win over McConnell that completed his undefeated weekend.

Results:
1st Dave Grau $650
2nd John McConnell $450
3rd Mike Cumberledge $325
4th Dick Cappotto $265
5th Brian Lipes $200
Gary Empey
7th Joe Giancarelli $$130
Jose Mendez
9th Danny Heidrich $65
Gary Chartowick
Matty Dindoni
Dave Ricci

by Skip Maloney, InsidePOOL Staff

Grau outlasted Pound winning two out of three to win the CNY tour stop hosted by Salt City Billiards in Syracuse, NY.

Dave Grau took two out of three from David Pound to win the opening event of the CNY 9-Ball Tour October 11. The $460-added, A,B-handicapped event drew 51 entrants to Salt City Billiards in Syracuse, NY.

Grau and Pound grappled first in the hot seat match. Grau had sent Dan Smith to the one-loss side with an 8-3 victory, as Pound was sending E.J. Worden over 7-5. In the first of their three head-to-head matchups, Grau sent Pound to the semifinals with an 8-1 victory.

On the one-loss side, Gary Empey and Jose Mendez were at work advancing ultimately to the quarterfinals. Mendez then dropped Empey into fourth place and faced Pound in the semifinals.

Looking for a second chance at Grau, Pound defeated Mendez 7-2 and got that chance. In a true double-elimination final, Pound made the most of it, taking the first set 7-3. Grau fought back, however, and successfully completed a one-loss day with an 8-3 victory that earned him the first-place prize.