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

Michael Yednak went through the Tri-State Tour’s June 26-27 event undefeated to take first place over Javier Colayco in the finals. The $1,000-added event was hosted by Amsterdam Billiards in New York, NY, and brought 35 players out to compete in the handicapped format.

On the winners’ side final four, Yednak faced down Michael Wong and moved past him to the hot seat match with a 7-5 victory. Meeting him was Andrew Cleary, who dispatched Sandie Patarino to the one-loss side after their hill-hill encounter. The hot seat match saw Yednak advance to the finals 11-7, while Cleary faced the west side of the chart.

Wong and Patarino foundered after their first losses and were eliminated in fifth place by Jacob Schwartz 7-5 and Colayco 6-4, respectively. The quarterfinal match was a hill-hill nail-biter that saw Colayco edge out Schwartz 7-6. Another close match in the semifinals followed, with Colayco sending Cleary home in third place 7-5. But Colayco was stopped in his tracks in the final match with Yednak, who won 10-5 to take the title.

Michael Yednak went through the Tri-State Tour’s June 26-27 event undefeated to take first place over Javier Colayco in the finals.

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

Neslihan Gurel took home the lion’s share of the $1,500-added prize purse at the Tri-State Tour’s June 12-13 stop, besting Basdeo Sookhai in the final match for the title. The event attracted 40 players to Master Billiards in New York City, NY.

Gurel went the undefeated route through to the finals, defeating Alan Chan in the winners’ side final four 6-2. Meeting her in the hot seat match was Sookhai, who had just sent Dave Shlemperis to the one-loss side of the chart 7-5. The hot seat match was a hill-hill nail-biter that saw Gurel advance while Sookhai went west.

Once on the left side of the chart, Shlemperis met up with Scott Simonetti, who won the previous tour stop. Simonetti sent Shlemperis home in fifth place with a 7-5 win, while tying with him was Ramilo Tanglao, who was defeated by Chan 6-5. Chan triumphed over Simonetti in the quarterfinal match 9-4 but was himself eliminated at third place by Sookhai, who won the semifinals 7-5. In the finals between Gurel and Sookhai, it was Sookhai who took an early lead, but soon the players were tied at 5-all. Sookhai missed the 9 ball to reach the hill, and Gurel pocketed that 9 ball and won the next rack to take the title.

Neslihan Gurel took home the lion’s share of the $1,500-added prize purse at the Tri-State Tour’s June 12-13 stop, besting Basdeo Sookhai in the final match for the title.

by InsidePOOL Staff

Scott Simonetti took home his second Tri-State Tour title in less than a month’s time, defeating Scott Bannon in the finals. The June 5 event brought out 38 players to Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ, for the $1,000-added, B-D tournament.

Simonetti went unchallenged through the field, besting Duane Toney 7-5 in the winners’ side final four to make it to the hot seat match. There he faced Pat DiBuono, who had just sent Bannon to the one-loss side of the chart 7-4, and defeated him 7-4 to wait for a finals opponent.

From the west side, Bannon fought his way back, eliminating Tony Eglesias 7-4 in fifth place. Tying with Eglesias was Kevin Kemp, who was ousted by Toney 7-2. In the quarterfinal match, Bannon triumphed over Toney 7-4, who went home with fourth place.

Bannon faced a tough opponent in DiBuono in the semifinals, and eked out a tight 7-5 victory to advance to the finals. But Simonetti was primed for another tour victory, which he accomplished with a 7-2 win.

Scott Simonetti took home his second Tri-State Tour title in less than a month’s time, defeating Scott Bannon in the finals. Pictured (L-R) Scott Simonetti, tournament director Bill Focaccia and Scott Bannon

by InsidePOOL Staff

Scott Simonetti took down all challengers at the May 15 stop of the Tri-State Tour, going undefeated to take the title. A field of 45 players showed up at Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ, to participate in the $1,000-added 9-ball event.

In the winners’ side final four, Simonetti sent Ed Culhane to the one-loss side 7-4, while Tony Eglesias did the same to Paul Raval 7-4. The hot seat match was a close contest, but Simonetti edged out Eglesias 7-5 to wait for a finals opponent.

Once on the west side of the chart, Culhane foundered, going home in fifth place after being bested by John Trobiano 7-5. Raval bounced back, though, and was able to oust Sandie Paterino 8-4. However, Raval had trouble in the quarterfinal match against Trobiano and ended up in fourth place 7-2.

Trobiano went on to face Eglesias in the semifinals, which went hill-hill and saw Eglesias eke out a 7-6 win. But in the finals, it was all Simonetti, as he pushed forward to a strong 7-2 victory.

Scott Simonetti took down all challengers at the May 15 stop of the Tri-State Tour, going undefeated to take the title.

Results:
1st Scott Simonetti $930
2nd Tony Eglesias $560
3rd John Trobiano $365
4th Paul Raval $240
5th Ed Culhane $100
Sandie Paterino
7th Ken Debroskie $90
Scott Bannon
9th Guy Iannuzzi $70
Raj Vannala
Kyle Bubet
George Osipovitch

by InsidePOOL Staff

Geoffrey Bauer worked his way through the west side of the chart to take top honors at the May 1 installment of the Tri-State Tour. Hosted by Master Billiards in Sunnyside, NY, the $750-added, B-D stop attracted 30 players.

Bauer suffered a second-round loss to Andrew Kane 7-2 and fought his way through the one-loss side. Kane, though, breezed through to the winners’ side final four, where he faced Emily Duddy in a hill-hill match that he ended up taking 7-6. Moving on to the hot seat match, Kane played Billy Cheng, who had just bested Kevin Early 7-4. It was another hill-hill match for Kane, and he again won 7-6.

On the west side, Bauer faced down Chris Karp 7-5 and Sam Li 7-6 before meeting up with Duddy after her loss to Kane. Duddy fell to Bauer 7-5 and took home fifth place. Tying with her was Rajesh Vannala, who was bested by Kevin Early 8-5. In the quarterfinals, Bauer took on Early and sent him home in fourth with a 7-4 victory.

After a tight 7-5 win over Cheng, Bauer moved on to the finals to face Kane for the second time that day. He wreaked revenge on Kane, winning the final match with a strong 9-4 score.

Geoffrey Bauer worked his way through the west side of the chart to take top honors at the May 1 installment of the Tri-State Tour.

by InsidePOOL Staff

Ryan McCarthy and Jason Egeln decided to split first-place honors at the April 25 stop of the Tri-State Tour. Hosted by Eastside Billiards in New York, NY, the stop saw 20 players come out to compete for the $750-added prize money.

Egeln took the right side of the chart, defeating Glenn Andaya 6-3 to reach the hot seat match against Sam Li, who had just eked out a 6-5 win over Ramilo Tanglao. There again Egeln was victorious, winning 6-4 to send Li to the one-loss side.

McCarthy took the long way to the finals, coming through the west side with wins over Ron Mason 6-4, Cory Sohlman 6-4, and Andaya 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals. There he faced off against Javier Coylaco, who he eliminated 6-2. In the semifinals McCarthy survived a hill-hill match with Li, besting him 6-5. Once he reached Egeln, the two decided to split for first place.

Ryan McCarthy and Jason Egeln decided to split first-place honors at the April 25 stop of the Tri-State Tour. Hosted by Eastside Billiards in New York, NY, the stop saw 20 players come out to compete for the $750-added prize money.

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

Twenty-four players gathered to vie for the top prize at the Tri-State Tour’s April 10 stop, and it was Basdeo Sookhia who went undefeated to claim it. The $750-added 9-ball event was hosted by Master Billiards in Queens, NY.

Sookhia cruised to the winners’ side final four, where he faced off against Raphael DeBreo and sent him packing to the one-loss side with an easy 7-1 win. He then moved on to face Gary Murgia, who had just bested Raul Reyes 7-2. The hot seat match was another rout, with Sookhia earning the win 7-1.

On the west side of the chart, DeBreo came out the winner of a hill-hill bout with Rajesh Vannala 7-6, while Reyes also came out ahead of his match with Ramilo Tanglao 7-5. These two met in the quarterfinal match, and it was DeBreo who advanced 7-4.

DeBreo also managed to fight off Murgia in the semifinals, sending him home in third place with a 7-0 whitewashing. In the finals, though, Sookhia and DeBreo fought to 5-all before Sookhia surged ahead to take the final two racks and the title.

Results:
1st Basdeo Sookhia $680
2nd Raphael DeBreo $350
3rd Gary Murgia $150
4th Raul Reyes $100