by InsidePOOL Staff

Paul Song went undefeated at the March 19 stop on the Tiger Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour to take first place, besting Mark Shimmelman in the final match, while Tommy Najar took the amateur division over Jason Stemen the following day. The events drew 50 entries and offered a total of $1,000 added and was hosted by Mr. Cues in Atlanta, GA.

Song was unchallenged as he went through the bracket, meeting Shimmelman for the first time in the hot seat match. After dispatching Shimmelman 9-2, he awaited a final opponent, while Shimmelman went to the one-loss side.

Paul Song went undefeated at the March 19 stop on the Tiger Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour to take first place, besting Mark Shimmelman in the final match, while Tommy Najar took the amateur division over Jason Stemen the following day.

Jeff Crawford was making his move, coming through the west side and eliminating Clay Medlock 7-2 in the quarterfinals. He went on to meet Shimmelman in the semifinal match but came up short 7-3. Having earned a rematch with Song, Shimmelman faced him in the finals, but the end result was the same, as Song triumphed 11-3 to take the title.

In the amateur division, Najar cut through the field to the hot seat match, where he faced off against Jason Stemen for the first time. He was able to stave off Stemen 7-4 to remain undefeated, while Stemen went to the left side of the bracket.

KC Joiner and Jeff Crawford went up against each other in the quarterfinal match, with Joiner coming out the 5-3 victor to advance to the semifinals against Stemen. Joiner’s day was done, as he fell to Stemen 5-3. Stemen went on to his rematch against Najar, and it was an epic hill-hill battle, but in the end Najar won 9-8.

Open Results:
1st Paul Song $510
2nd Mark Shimmelman $300
3rd Jeff Crawfod $200
4th Clay Medlock $100
5th Dave Mattax $50
Tommy Najar

Amateur Results:
1st Tommy Najar $425
2nd Jason Stemen $250
3rd KC Joiner $150
4th Jeff Crawford $100

by InsidePOOL Staff

Twenty-eight players showed up for the February 6 installment of the Tri-State Tour, and Duane Toney bested them all to win the title. Hosted by Master Billiards in Queens, NY, the C-D handicapped stop featured a $750-added prize purse.

Toney went undefeated through the field, defeating Charles Vergara 6-4 in the final four of the winners’ bracket. Meeting him in the hot seat match was Raul Reyes Jr., fresh off a 6-4 victory over Kapriel Delimelkonoglu. Their match was as close as possible, but Toney prevailed 6-5, sending Reyes to the west side.

On the left side of the chart, Vergara recovered from his earlier loss, eliminating Mike Garreta 6-4, while Delimelkonoglu was ousted by Wilfredo Albay 6-3. In the quarterfinal match, Albay pressed on, sending Vergara home in fourth place 6-3.

Twenty-eight players showed up for the February 6 installment of the Tri-State Tour, and Duane Toney bested them all to win the title. Hosted by Master Billiards in Queens, NY, the C-D handicapped stop featured a $750-added prize purse.

Results:
1st Duane Toney $615
2nd Raul Reyes Jr. $340
3rd Wilfredo Albay $215
4th Charles Vergara $110
5th Kapriel Delimelkonoglu $65
Mike Garreta

by InsidePOOL Staff

Jason Totten took down the January 16 stop of the Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour, besting Ryan Robinson in the finals to take first place. Hosted by Miller Time Billiards in Davenport, IA, the $500-added event featured 28 players in a double-elimination 8-ball format on 7-foot bar boxes.

Totten took down the hot seat by clipping Gary Plant 4-3 in the A-side finals. After that he waited for his opponent. On the west side, Ryan Robinson and Ricardo Pena ending the day at fifth place for Rich Bideaux and Don Boll, respectively. Robinson then ousted Pena at fourth place by a 5-3 margin. Robinson then took down the B-side finals by eclipsing Plant 5-2, but Totten blocked Robinson’s route to the title in the first set of the finals with a 4-2 decision.

Jason Totten took down the January 16 stop of the Lucasi Hybrid All-American Tour, besting Ryan Robinson in the finals to take first place.

Results:
1st Jason Totten $380
2nd Ryan Robinson $270
3rd Gary Plant $180
4th Ricardo Pena $120
5th Don Boll $70
Rich Bideaux
7th Robert Hess $35
Danny Pena

by Jose Burgos

Joey Testa topped a 29-player field on the May 31 stop of the Blaze 9-Ball Tour, besting Manny Chau in the finals. The stop was hosted by Skyline Billiards in Brooklyn, NY, and brought out some of the premier players in the Northeast to compete for the $1,000-added prize fund.

Testa dominated the killer field, landing a spot in the hot seat after wins over Mark Horn 7-1, Huey Moy 7-2, Alex Gilvary 7-3, and finally Mhet Vergara 7-0 to clinch a spot in the finals. Moy looked to get vengeance over his loss to Testa and made a strong return to oust George San Souci 7-6, Scotty Townsend 7-6, and Matt Krah 7-4, but he fell to Manny Chau 7-4.

Chau was also looking to return from the one-loss side to take a swing at Testa and earned that chance after defeating Vergara in the semifinals 7-4. In this match, Vergara was up 3-1 and missed a 7 ball to go up 4-1, and Chau battled back to win.

In the finals, Testa went up 6-4 when he opted to shoot a tough 5-9 combo, leaving Chau with the run. Testa made an unbelievable shot on the 1 ball but left himself a little straight on the 2 ball. He then attempted to bank the 4 ball but came up short, leaving Chau a shot to tie up the set 6-6. Chau made a great 4-9 carom shot, forcing a hill-hill final battle. In the final game, Chau made the 1 ball and looked to come back to win the first set but missed the 2, leaving Testa an open table for the win.

Joey Testa topped a 29-player field on the May 31 stop of the Blaze 9-Ball Tour, besting Manny Chau in the finals. The stop was hosted by Skyline Billiards in Brooklyn, NY, and brought out some of the premier players in the Northeast to compete for the $1,000-added prize fund.

Results:
1st Joey Testa $1,150
2nd Manny Chau $580
3rd Mhet Vergara $415
4th Huey Moy $220
5th Alex Gilvary $110
Matt Krah

by Jose Burgos

Riley’s Concord Billiards in Boothwyn, PA, hosted the Blaze 9-Ball Tour March 29. A strong field of 34 players came out to play, such as Shaun Wilkie, Eddie Abraham, Sharon OHanlon, Josh Brothers, Matt Krah, Chris Riley, and ultimate event winner Joey Testa.

Leading the top half of the bracket was Abraham with wins over Frank Bogush 7-1, Bill Wilson 7-0, Chuck Roth 7-2, and Scott Freeman 7-5. Testa took control of the bottom half of the bracket, notching victories over Mike Fernan 7-3, Kenny Rutman 7-3, Adam Kielar 7-2, and Josh Brothers 7-3.

Abraham and Testa met in the hot seat match, with Testa pulling away late in the match with a 7-5 win, sending Abraham to the one-loss side. Waiting for him in the semifinals was Wilkie. Their match went hill-hill, with Wilkie walking away with the win. Wilkie had to best Testa twice in the finals, but he never made it past the first set, as Testa won easily 7-2.

Joey Testa would like to thank his new sponsor Mezz Cue, Mika Immonen, and Caroline Pao. This was the first time Joey Testa used the Mezz Cue, and it also was his first win on the Blaze Tour.

A strong field of 34 players came out to play, such as Shaun Wilkie, Eddie Abraham, Sharon OHanlon, Josh Brothers, Matt Krah, Chris Riley, and ultimate event winner Joey Testa, pictured right.

Results:
1st Joey Testa $1,100
2nd Shaun Wilkie $550
3rd Eddie Abraham $325
4th Scott Freeman $150
5th Josh Brothers $120
Adam Kielar
7th Chuck Roth $70
Mike Miller

by Skip Maloney

Jerry Tarantola double-dipped Mark Pantovic to finish an undefeated day at the $500-added, A-D handicapped event, which drew 50 entrants to Comet Billiards in Parsippany, NJ, March 14.

Tarantola and Pantovic sent Gary Murgia and Scott Abramowitz west, respectively, to face each other in the hot seat match. Tarantola prevailed 7-2 in the match and waited for Pantovic’s return.

Meantime, on the one-loss side, Guy Iannuzzi was working his way toward the quarterfinals. He got by John Pannucci and Jason Egeln before dropping Abramowitz into the tie for fifth place. It was Christian Smith advancing to meet Murgia, but then, after a hill-hill struggle, joining Abramowitz in fifth place. Murgia ended Iannuzzi’s run in the hill-hill quarterfinals that followed.

Pantovic ended Murgia’s bid for a tour victory with a 7-4 win that gave him a second shot at Tarantola. Pantovic fared only slightly better the second time around as Tarantola continued his dominant play, taking top honors with a single-set 7-3 win.

Jerry Tarantola double-dipped Mark Pantovic to finish an undefeated day at the $500-added, A-D handicapped event, which drew 50 entrants to Comet Billiards in Parsippany, NJ, March 14.

Results:
1st Jerry Tarantola $650
2nd Mark Pantovic $450
3rd Gary Murgia $250
4th Guy Iannuzzi $150
5th Scott Abramowitz $100
Christian Smith
7th Jason Egeln $80
Beau Baer
9th John Pannucci $70
Mark Mallari
Joe Fego
Dennis Quinn

by Skip Maloney

Joey Testa finished fourth among the Blaze 9-Ball Tour’s top 10 players on the year, but he recorded the most wins (six) on that tour’s 32 stops, including the most recent, $5,000-added season finale on January 24-25. Hosted by Raxx Bar & Grill in West Hempstead, NY, the finale drew 57 entrants.

Testa and Eddie Abraham locked horns among the winners’ side final four, as did Mike Miller and Matt Krah. Testa moved Abraham to the one-loss side 9-4, as Miller hung on to defeat Krah in a hill-hill battle. Testa gained the hot seat with a 9-4 win over Miller.

Wilkie, in the meantime, had his hands full battling back from the one-loss side. He survived two hill-hill struggles against Adam Kielar and Eddie Vazquez to take on Krah, who came within a game of making it three such struggles in a row. For Rob Omen, things were getting progressively easier, as he got by Oscar Bonilla 7-5 and Carmen Lombardo 7-3 for a shot at Abraham. Omen’s run ended there, as Abraham dropped him into the tie for fifth place with a 7-2 win and turned to face Wilkie in the quarterfinals.

View the Blaze Tour Finale Brackets

Wilkie got some breathing room with a relatively easy 7-2 win over Abraham in those quarterfinals but had to battle again to get by Miller in the semifinal match 7-5. Despite the inevitable layoff between the hot seat and finals, Testa came out strong and concluded his undefeated weekend with a 9-2 win over Wilkie. While Testa went home with the $3,000 first-place prize, both he and Wilkie earned a spot in the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships as a bonus.

Joey Testa finished fourth among the Blaze 9-Ball Tour’s top 10 players on the year, but he recorded the most wins (six) on that tour’s 32 stops, including the most recent, $5,000-added season finale on January 24-25.

Results:
1st Joey Testa $3,000
2nd Shaun Wilkie $1,400
3rd Mike Miller $830
4th Eddie Abraham $500
5th Rob Omen $350
Matt Krah
7th Carmen Lombardo $250
Eddie Vazquez
9th Jorge Rodriguez $150
Oscar Bonilla
Adam Kielar
Carl Morgan

by Skip Maloney, InsidePOOL Staff

Mark Coats and Jeff Mabry outlasted the field at Ultimate Billiards in Fort Pierce, FL on the Pechauer Billiard Tour.

Mark Coats completed an undefeated weekend at the J. Pechauer Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour stop on November 8-9 with a finals victory over Josh Lewis. In the concurrent amateur event, Jeff Mabry took top honors over Steven Nevins. The $1,000-added open event drew 44 entrants, while the $500-added amateur tournament drew 46 to Ultimate Billiards in Fort Pierce, FL.

Working from among the winners’ side final four in the open event, Coats defeated Randy Epperson 9-6 to move into the hot seat match. His opponent for the hot seat, Curtis Kelley, had defeated Lewis 9-6. Coats sent Kelley west with a 9-7 victory to gain the hot seat.

On the one-loss side, John Rouse and Richard Broumpton emerged from the final 12 to meet Epperson and Lewis. Lewis and Broumpton advanced on the heels of identical 9-6 scores to meet each other in the quarterfinals. Lewis then dropped Broumpton into fourth place 9-5 and turned to face Kelley in the semifinals. Lewis was stepping up his game and downed Kelley 9-3 for the right to meet Coats.

In the race-to-11 finals, Coats and Lewis battled back and forth until Coats moved ahead to reach the hill at 10-8. Lewis jumped the cue ball off the table on the subsequent break, and with two more opportunities, Coats three-fouled him and captured the first-place prize.

In the amateur event, Mabry was among the final four and faced Nevins for the first time in the hot seat match. Nevins defeated Mabry 5-1, sending him to the semifinals against Steve Bristow, who’d defeated Greg Deaton in the quarterfinals. Mabry then defeated Bristow 4-1 and headed for the finals rematch against Nevins.  In the finals, Mabry took command early, avenging his earlier loss and captured first place 7-3.

Open Results:
1st Mark Coats $865
2nd Josh Lewis $600
3rd Curtis Kelley $400
4th Richard Broumpton $300
5th John Rouse $150
Randy Epperson
7th Neil Fujiwara $100
John Foster
9th Nathan Rose
Tommy Kennedy
Tony Odonnell
Mike Delawder

Amateur Results:
1st Jeff Mabry $510
2nd Steven Nevins
3rd Steve Bristow $225
4th Greg Deaton $175
5th Tony Groza $150
Ricky Charles
7th Damien Dominicis $70
Steve Rolls
9th Chrissy Nevins $30
Justin Gilsinan
Mike Mallen
Martin Lenz

by Rick Davis
The Tri-State Tour brought out an offering of 9-ball action October 13, when a 32-player field mixed things up at Master Billiards in Queens, NY. Coming through the rough field was Mike Panzarella, who overcame an early loss to claim the event.
Late on the winners’ side it was Hiram Maldonado and a newcomer on tour, Wazeer Abasi. Even though Maldonado, B+ class, had Abasi, C+ class, outclassed by a full level Abasi quickly adjusted and defeated Maldonado double-hill to reach the finals and become king of the hill in his second event on tour.
On the one-loss side tour regular Greg Hecht ousted D’Jameson Jensen 8-6, while all eyes were on Panzarella nearby. After taking a loss in his second match, Panzarella was hot on the comeback trail. Taking 4 one-loss side wins, Panzarella reached the money rounds then began to pick apart the remaining field. Suleyman Suvci was eliminated 7-5 by Panzarella, who then proceeded to knock out Hecht 7-6 in the quarterfinals and Maldonado in the semifinals by the same margin.
With only one match remaining Panzarella didn’t let up and slipped past Abasi 9-7 to earn the win after long-fought road to the finals. Abasi, who took a respectful second place, is sure to be a marked man on tour from now on.
Results:
1st Mike Panzarella
2rd Wazeer Abasi
3rd Hiram Maldonado
4th Greg Hecht
5th D;Jameson Jensen
Suleyman Suvci

by Rick Davis
The Tri-State Tour had their latest offering at Edison Billiards 153 in Edison, NJ, where Sal Lanuo chopped a path through the chart to claim the title. Taking place August 25, a 25-player field threw their hat into the ring, although all would be lambs to the slaughter as Lanuto chalked up another win.
Late on the winners’ side Lanuto faced Gary Murgia in the hot seat match, where Lanuto slipped by 8-7. Then, on the one-loss side, Ed Medina ousted Lenny Knapp 7-4, while Jason Blanchard did the same to Dave Fitzpatrick double-hill. Blanchard, who had taken his loss from Lanuto in the second round, was quickly finding his gear and attempting to avenge that loss. Blanchard eliminated Medina 7-4 in the quarterfinals then knocked out Murgia 7-5 in the semifinals.
Finally, Blanchard had his chance at a rematch after fighting his way to face Lanuto in the finals. Lanuto, however, had a different plan and continued his strong play, defeating Blanchard 6-4 to claim the event.
Results:
1st Sal Lanuto
2nd Jason Blanchard
3rd Gary Murgia
4th Ed Medina
5th Dave Fitzpatrick
Lenny Knapp