Mike Zuglan's Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour
Current 2017-18 Season

L-R Johnny Archer 2nd, Mike Zuglan and
Winner Shane Van Boening
Van Boening Earns Fourth Turning Stone Title

The story at the Turning Stone Classic for the past couple events has been whether (and when) Jayson Shaw will match Johnny Archer’s record six wins. After the Turning Stone Classic XXX, the story can shift to whether Shane Van Boening will catch up with Shaw’s five wins.

Day four dawned with just eight players left with hopes of winning the title. Van Boening was one of the four unbeaten players and he started Sunday with a 9-5 win over Canada’s Erik Hjorleifson. At the same time, Archer was squeaking by Turning Stone regular Hunter Lombardo 9-8.

On the one loss side, Finland’s Olli Turkulainen eliminated Zion Zvi and Jayson Shaw eliminated another Turning Stone regular, Bucky Souvanthong.

Both players coming over from the winner’s side then eliminated Turkulainen (lost to Lombardo) and Shaw (lost to Hjorleifson). Hjorleifson and Lombardo had both been playing great all week, but one of them would have to settle for 4th place. That player would be Hjorleifson after a 9-3 loss to Lombardo.

The semifinal gave Lombardo a chance to avenge his earlier loss to Archer, but Archer took an early lead and Lombardo would be unable to catch up in a 9-7 match.

Between them, the finalists had almost 1/3 of the Turning Stone Classic titles in existence (9 of 30). Even though Archer had the larger number of titles (six), Van Boening appears to be in his usual late year form, and that was more than Archer could handle. Archer struggled with his break for most of the match, while Van Boening was controlling the break (and the table) like only he can. Archer made a couple short runs, but they were always stopped by a dry break. The final score was 13-7 Van Boening, in a match that wasn’t even really that close.

For Van Boening, it was his fourth Turning Stone title and his third straight tournament win, following his US Open 8-Ball and US Open 10-Ball wins last month.

- by AzB staff
AZBilliards.com
Complete Results:
Main Event Complete Results
1st $8,000 Shane Van Boening
2nd $5,000 Johnny Archer
3rd $3,600 Hunter Lombardo
4th $2,600 Erik Hjorleifson (Can)
5/6th $2,000 each - Jayson Shaw (Scot), Olli Turkulainen (Fin)
7/8th $1,600 each - Zion Zvi, Bucky Souvanthong
9/12th $1,200 each - Dan Hewitt (Can), Demitrius Jelatis, Kevin West, Jennifer Barretta
13/16th $850 each - Donny Mills, Jorge Rodriguez, Earl Strickland, Pat Fleming
17/24th $550 each - Dave Dreidel, Sean Morgan, Bruce Nagle, Ron Casanzio, Frank Hernandez, Dave Shlemperis, Matt Tetreault, Brandon Shuff
25/32nd $300 each - Dany Normandin Can), Matt Krah, Josh Burbul, Jack Smith, Derrick Burnham, Joe Dupuis, Alex Osipov, Caroline Pao

33/48 - Mike Yednak, Thomas Wan, Yesid Garibello, Dave Fernandez, Jean Therriault (Can), Joey Cicero (Can), Mark Creamer, Ryan Urso, Gene Hunt,
Petri Makkonen (Fin), Earl Herring, Rich Kravetz, Raphael Dabreo, William Reuben, Mika, Immonen, Billy Thorpe

49/64 - Rich Connors, Jonathan Smith, Dwight Dixon, Jesse Docalavich, LoreeJon Hasson, Ray Lee, Rob Hart, Ranulf Tamba, Marco Kam, Randy Labonte, Brad Guthrie, Steve Fleming, Shaun Wilkie, Ed Culhane, Jerry Crowe, Holden Chin

65/96 - Mike Toohig, Greg Antonakos, Tom Zippler, James McManus, Brent Boemmels, Jim Paley, Tom Peterson, Devin Buttle (Can), Chris Braiman,
Jason Michas, Mike Liberman, John Kovacs, Jed Jecen, Luc Salvas (Can), Tony Antone, Jim Kearney, Jerome Rockwell, Alvin Thomas, Nick Coppola, Larry Phlegar, Nelson Weimer, Bob Cunningham, Steve Lillis, Paul Pensgen, Ray Buthe, Dave Mills, Steven Winter (Can), John Moody, Mike Pettit,
Josh Friedberg, Nick Brucato, Doug Rhee

97/128 - Charley Lamarche (Can), Don Steele, Samoth Sam, James Chemaly, Vince Prinzivalli, John Francisco, Ryan Smith, Sean Santoro, Bruce Gordon,
Wayne Faherty, Samantha Barrett, Steven W. Smith, Jim Prather, Alan Gordon, Dan Sharlow, Rich Howard, Bill Cote, Dave Callaghan, Fred Gokey,
Jay Chiu, Markus, Noe (Can), Phil Harju, Tom Gildea, Brian Wheel, Kerry McAuliffe, Lida Mullendore, Erin Bechner, Nick Antonakos
Ben werblow, Norm Pomainville, Mike Verducci, Gregg McAndrews

Our Second Chance event had a full field of 32 players with a total prize fund of $1,600.

1st $500 Brent Boemmels
2nd $300 Rich Kravetz
3/4th $200 each - Kerry McAuliffe, Steve Fleming
5/8th $100 each - Jesse Docalavich, John Kovacs, Dave Mills, Steven Winter

$1,200 Joss Cue raffle winners - Markus Noe & Jean Therriault. The winner of the autographed Aramith Pro Cup cue ball used in the final match was John Ross.

L-R Mike Zuglan, Josh Friedberg , Bucky Souvanthong and Snookers Owner Steve Goulding
Friedberg Credits Road Partner Chin for First Joss NE 9-Ball Tour Win

Road partners Josh Friedberg and Holden Chin teamed up for first place finishes in the open and second chance event at the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour’s final regular season stop June 2nd - 3rd at Snookers Billiards in Providence, RI.

Friedberg survived hill-hill matches against Ben Savoie and Kerry McAuliffe in his first two matches and didn’t really have any non-stressful wins as his 9-5 win over Alex Morin on Sunday morning was his largest margin of victory. It was another close one for the hot-seat, where he defeated Bill Cote 9-7.

On the one loss side, Bucky Souvanthong was making up for his early loss to Joe Darigis. Souvanthong won nine straight matches, including a 7-2 victory over Darigis in the final four. Souvanthong then went on to defeat Cote 7-3 in the semi-final match.

The finals would go one set with Friedberg scoring a 9-6 win over Souvanthong for his first Joss Tour win.

After back to back hill-hill losses for Holden Chin in the main event, he was one of the fourteen players who came back on Sunday to compete in the second chance tournament. After an opening round win over Andrew Griffin, Chin dropped a hill-hill match to Jared Demalia. That would be the last time Chin would taste defeat in this event though, as he won five straight on the left side and then double dipped Francisco Cabral in the finals.

While it was Friedberg with the win in the main event, he gave all the credit to Chin. “When it comes to this game, Holden is the absolute greatest teacher. I would never ever have even come close to winning without his help.” he said. “ I think there were players there that were better than me. That had more skill and more experience than I did. (…) I just kept my head down and tried to remember all the things that Holden had taught me along the way.”

This event was the final regular season stop on the 2017 - 2018 season. Next up for the tour is the Turning Stone Classic XXX on August 23th - 26th at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, NY.

- by AzB staff
AZBilliards.com
Complete Results:
Main Event Payouts
1 USA FRIEDBERG Josh 1,000
2 USA SOUVANTHONG Bucky 700
3 USA COTE Bill 550
4 USA DARIGIS Joe 400
5 USA MORIN Alex 300
5 USA CUTLER Reggie 300
7 USA MINICHELLO Mike 200
7 USA KANTARAVIC Suad 200
9 USA KRAVETZ Rich 100
9 USA PETTIT Mike 100
9 USA OLIVEIRA Nelson 100
9 USA TAMBA Ranulf 100

Second Chance Payouts
1 USA CHIN Holden 300
2 USA CABRAL Francisco 200
3 USA PETTIT Mike 120
4 USA DEMALIA Jared 80
5 USA BRUCATO Nick 40
5 USA DEMARCO Mike 40
Kazakis over Kaci on Joss Tour
L-R Holden Chin, Alex Kazakis and Eklent Kaci

Two of Europe’s hottest young players took advantage of being in the states to drop in on stop 14 of the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour on April 28th - 29th at Raxx Pool Room in West Hempstead, NY.

All eyes were on Albania’s Eklent Kaci and Greece’s Alex Kazakis (fresh off of his runner-up finish at the World Pool Series event) and fans in attendance were wondering who would be able to challenge them on this day. Kaci would start off his tournament with two quick wins, but a hill-hill loss to Bruce Nagle sent him packing to the one loss side on Saturday. Kazakis would get by Nagle 9-3 and then defeat Zion Zvi 9-6 for the hot-seat.

Kaci got acclimated to the left side of the board pretty quickly, and other than a close 9-7 win over Holden Chin, would score convincing wins over everyone put in front of him. Zvi fought hard in his semi-final match with Kaci, but lost 9-6 to send Kaci to the finals against Kazakis.

The final match was another close one, but it was Kazakis scoring a 9-6 win in one set for first place.

Sundays second chance tournament saw Holden Chin drop his first match of the day (3-2 to Ray Lee) and then bounce back with five straight wins, including 3-0 and 3-1 wins over Lee in the finals for first place.

The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour will take off the month of May, but will be back on June 2nd - 3rd at Snookers in Providence RI for another $1,500 added main event and $500 added second chance tournament.

- by AzB staff
AZBilliards.com
Complete Results:
Main Event Payouts
1 GRE KAZAKIS Alexandros 1,000
2 ALB KACI Eklent 700
3 ISR ZVI Zion 500
4 USA NAGLE Bruce 400

Second Chance Payouts
1 USA CHIN Holden 300
2 USA LEE Ray 200
3 USA CHEMALY James 100
L-R Mike Yednak, Dany Normandin and Union Station Owner Phil Harju
Dany Normandin Wins Joss NE 9-Ball Tour Stop

Sometimes, getting that first match win is the key to tournament success. That looked to be the case on April 7th - 8th at Union Station Billiards in Portland Maine where Dany Normandin earned his first career Joss NE 9-Ball Tour win.

Normandin’s first match was against the always dangerous Kyle Pepin. Pepin approaches the table with a confidence that can affect many opponent’s games and this match was a close one with Normandin pulling out a 9-7 win. After that win though, no opponent would put up much of a challenge to keep Normandin from the winner’s circle. Xavier Libby, Jim Hayden and Samoth Sam all fell to Normandin on Saturday, by a total score of 27-11.

Normandin picked up where he left off when Sunday play got underway, as he took the hot-seat with a 9-4 win over Ivaylo Petrov.

On the one loss side, Pepin had made it through five straight matches on Saturday and opened Sunday play with a 9-2 win over Josh Rupard. Pepin’s run would finally be brought to a close by Michael Yednak in the next round as Yednak scored a 9-7 win to earn his spot in the semi-final match against Petrov. Yednak’s only loss in the event up to this point had been a loss to Petrov mid-day on Saturday, but he would avenge that loss with a 9-5 win over Petrov to send Petrov to the seats in 3rd place.

The finals would go only one set and would continue Normandin’s dominant play as he beat Yednak 9-3 for first place and $1000 in prize money.

Sundays second chance tournament saw Ross Webster drop his second match to Xavier Libby, but come back with five match wins for first place. After the win over Webster, Libby then dropped the hot-seat match to Gary Bryant 3-0. After eliminating Libby 3-0, Webster came out of the one loss side to defeat Bryant 3-0 and 3-1 in the finals for first place and $300 in prize money.

The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour will be back in action on April 28th - 29th at Raxx Pool Room, Sports Bar and Grill in West Hempstead, NY.

- by AzB staff
AZBilliards.com
Complete Results:
Main Event Payouts
1 CAN NORMANDIN Dany 1,000
2 USA YEDNAK Michael 650
3 USA PETROV Ivaylo 500
4 USA PEPIN Kyle 350
5 USA RUPARD Josh 200
5 USA SAM Samoth 200

Second Chance Payouts
1 USA WEBSTER Ross 300
2 USA BRYANT Gary 200
3 USA LIBBY Xavier 110
4 USA BEAULIEU Rick 50
Deja Vu for Nagle at Hippos House of Billiards
L-R Bruce Nagle, Andrea Duvall (room owner) and Bucky Souvanthong

One day shy of exactly one year since his last Joss NE 9-Ball Tour win, Bruce Nagle came out on top of another Joss NE 9-Ball Tour stop. That wasn’t where the similarities ended though.

Last year on the weekend of March 18th - 19th, Nagle went undefeated at King Smiley’s Billiards and defeated Bucky Souvanthong in the finals. This year, on the weekend of March 17th - 18th at Hippos House of Billiards (who came through and hosted the event when King Smiley’s wasn’t able to), Nagle went through the winner’s side undefeated and beat Bucky Souvanthong in the finals.

This year’s stop saw Nagle and Souvanthong battle it out for the hot-seat, which Nagle won 9-3. It was Nagle’s second hot-seat in as many weeks as he was in the hot-seat at last weekend’s Kevin Ketz Memorial.

Souvanthong won a quick 7-2 match against Ron Casanzio on the one loss side and was looking to keep Nagle from the winner’s circle for the second straight week as Nagle lost to Joey Cicero last week.

Souvanthong’s plans were looking good after one set, as he scored a 9-6 win to force a second set. Nagle wasn’t going to get double-dipped twice in a row though and scored a 7-4 win in the second set for first place.

Sunday’s second chance tournament looked a lot like the main event with Joe Mayo taking the hot-seat with a 3-0 win over Bruce Carroll, but losing the first set of the finals (to John McConnell 3-1) before coming back and winning the second set 3-1.

The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour will now take a break until April 7th - 8th, when they are back in action at Union Station Billiards in Portland, Maine for another $1,500 added main event and $500 added second chance tournament.

Players who are interested in competing in August’s Turning Stone Classic XXX are urged to contact Mike Zuglan soon, as the event is now “well over half full”.

- by AzB staff
AZBilliards.com
Complete Results:
Main Event Payouts
1 USA NAGLE Bruce 1,000
2 USA SOUVANTHONG Bucky 750
3 USA CASANZIO Ron 500
4 USA TEIXEIRA Jorge 350
5 USA CLARKE Marko 250
5 USA KOLEE Qais 250
7 USA CREAMER Mark 150
7 USA MAYO Ryan 150

Second Chance Payouts
1 USA MAYO Joe 300
2 USA MCCONNELL John 200
3 USA CARROLL Bruce 140
4 USA DARIGIS Joe 80
L-R Bruce Nagle, Trick Shots Owner Julie Berlin and Joey Cicero
Joey Cicero Undefeated for Kevin Ketz Memorial Win

Joey Cicero went undefeated and beat Bruce Nagle twice to win the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour’s “Kevin Ketz Memorial Open” over the March 10th-11th weekend at Trick Shot Billiards in Clifton Park, NY.

Cicero’s path to the final four on the winner’s side included wins over Bruce Carroll, Nick Coppola and Dave Grau. Cicero was joined on the winner’s side Sunday morning by Jorge Teixeira, Matt Tetreault and Bruce Nagle. Cicero then defeated Teixeira while Nagle sent Tetreault to the one loss side.

On the one loss side, both Teixeira and Tetreault kept their tournament hopes alive with wins over Yesid Garibello and Bucky Souvanthong respectively. They then met up to determine 4th place, with Teixeira scoring the hill-hill win. Teixeira quickly joined Tetreault in the seats after a 7-4 loss to Nagle in the semi-final match.

The finals only went one set, and although Nagle gave Cicero his toughest test of the weekend, he still lost 9-7 to finish in second place.

The 19 player second chance tournament on Sunday saw Tom Acciavatti recover from his hot-seat loss to Mark Creamer, only to come back and defeat Creamer twice in the finals.

Tour players are reminded that the March 17th - 18th event that was originally scheduled at King Smiley Billiards is now being held at Hippo’s House of Billiards in Utica, NY.

Players are also reminded that the Turning Stone Classic XXX on August 23rd - 26th is over halfway full. This event always fills up, with a waiting list of players who missed out on signing up. Contact Mike Zuglan to assure your spot in the event.

- by AzB staff
AZBilliards.com
Complete Results:
Main Event Payouts
1 CAN CICERO Joey 1,000
2 USA NAGLE Bruce 750
3 USA TEIXEIRA Jorge 550
4 USA TETREAULT Matt 450
5 USA SOUVANTHONG Bucky 300
5 USA GARIBELLO Yesid 300
7 USA CASANZIO Ron 200
7 USA MICHAS Jason 200
9 USA CREAMER Mark 125
9 USA COPPOLA Nick 125
9 USA CORMIER Paul 125
9 USA GRAU Dave 125

Second Chance Payouts
1 USA ACCIAVATTI Tom 320
2 USA CREAMER Mark 210
3 USA CARROLL Bruce 150
4 USA SORRIENTO Frank 100
5 USA COPPOLA Nick 50
5 USA BOMBARD Greg 50
Dupuis wins seven on the loss side and double dips Perry to win 9th NE Hall of Fame 9-Ball
L-R Joe Dupuis, Steve Goulding (owner of Snooker's) and Tim Perry

Last year at the 8th Annual New England Pool & Billiard Hall of Fame Open 9-Ball tournament, Joe Dupuis advanced to the hot seat, only to be double-dipped by Zion Zvi in the finals. This year, Dupuis opted for the loss-side route at the 9th annual event and achieved better results. Sent to the loss side by the man he’d later (much later) face in the finals, Tim Perry, Dupuis won seven on the loss side to earn the re-match, win both sets of the double elimination final and claim the title he’d last won in 2014. The $2,500-added event drew 48 entrants to its regular venue, Snooker’s in Providence, RI.

Dupuis and Perry met first in the third round of play. They locked up in a double hill fight, that eventually sent Dupuis to the loss side. Perry advanced to a winners’ side quarterfinal against Ivaylo Petrov, which he won 9-6, moving him into a winners’ side semifinal against the Joss NE Tour’s current #4-ranked player, Bruce Nagle. Kyle Pepin and Jason Michas, in the meantime, squared off in the other winners’ side semifinal.

Perry downed Nagle 9-4, and in the hot seat match, faced Michas, who’d sent Pepin west 9-5. Perry got into the hot seat 9-5 over Michas, and waited on Dupuis’ return.

On the loss side, Dupuis’ trip back to the finals began against the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour’s #1-ranked player, and all-around tough draw, Jeremy Sossei. Sossei had been awarded a bye in the event’s opening round, and dropped his first match to Mark Ransom. On the loss side, he’d gotten by Bill Cote and Chuck Sampson before running into Dupuis, who ended his weekend with a 7-5 win. Things didn’t get any easier, either. Mike Minichello put up a double hill fight against Dupuis in the next loss-side round. Dupuis eliminated him and moved into the first money round.

Dupuis then defeated Mike Demarco 7-3 and in another double hill battle, Frank Hernandez, to draw Nagle, coming off his defeat in a winners’ side semifinal. Pepin, in the meantime, picked up Petrov, who, after his defeat at the hands of Perry in the winners’ side quarterfinal, had downed Clyde Matta 7-1 and Francisco Cabral 7-5.

Pepin advanced to the quarterfinals 7-5 over Petrov and was joined by Dupuis, who’d defeated Nagle 7-2. Dupuis got by Pepin 7-5 and then denied Michas a second shot at Perry in the hot seat with a 7-4 win in the semifinals.

Dupuis took the opening set of the double elimination final against Perry 9-6. Racing to 7 in the second set, Dupuis and Perry battled to 6-6, forcing a deciding game. Dupuis won it to claim his second New England Pool & Billiard Hall of Fame title.

A $500-added Second Chance event that drew 11 entrants saw another competitor, Mike Minichello, come from deep on the loss side to double dip the hot seat occupant, Mike Pettit. Minichello won four on the loss side, and was denied an opportunity to face the opponent who’d sent him there, Mark Ransom, when Ransom was defeated in the quarterfinals by Kevin Bauccio. Minichello went on to defeat Bauccio in the quarterfinals, Ranulf Tamba in the semifinals, and Mike Pettit, twice, in the finals; 3-1, 3-2.

Joss NE 9-Ball Tour director Mike Zuglan thanked Steve Goulding and his Snooker's staff for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Joss Cues, Simonis, Aramith, PoolOnTheNet.com, Heidrich Custom Cues, AZBilliards, Billiards Press, and Turning Stone Resort and Casino. The next stop on the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for March 10-11, will be the $1,500-added Kevin Ketz Memorial ($500-added to Second Chance event), hosted by Trick Shot Billiards & Sports Club in Clifton Park, NY. Players are reminded that the following week’s event (March 17-18), originally scheduled to be hosted by King Smiley, will now be held at Hippo’s House of Billiards, in Yorkville, NY.

- by AzB staff
AZBilliards.com
Complete Results:
Main Event Payouts
1 USA DUPUIS Joe 1,400
2 USA PERRY Tim 1,000
3 USA MICHAS Jason 700
4 USA PEPIN Kyle 500
5 USA NAGLE Bruce 350
5 USA PETROV Ivaylo 350
7 USA CABRAL Francisco 225
7 USA HERNANDEZ Frankie 225
9 USA DEMARCO Mike 125
9 USA VITALE John 125
9 USA MATTA Clyde 125
9 USA PETTIT Mike 125

Second Chance Payouts
1 Mike Minichello 300
2 Mike Pettit 200
3 Ranulf Tamba 140
4 Kevin Bauccio 80
L-R Dave Dreidel, Chris Braiman and Ron Casanzio
Dreidel Earns First Career Joss Tour Win

Dave Driedel has competed on the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour as far back as our records go (2000) and has a 5th place finish in 2014 as his best finish. He outdid himself by a large margin over the February 24th - 25th weekend with his first tour stop win at East Ridge Billiards in Rochester NY.

Dreidel was looking good on Saturday with three straight wins to stay on the right side of the board. He defeated Nabil Lazouzi 9-6 to get his tourney started, and then scored lopsided wins over Tony Antone and Dave Ricci (9-3 and 9-1).

Sunday play kicked off for Dreidel with a close 9-7 win over tour newcomer Joe Mayo, while Ron Casanzio was sending Spencer Auigbelle to the one loss side on the other half of the board. That left Casanzio and Dreidel to fight it out for the hot-seat, where Dreidel scored another 9-7 win.

Waiting on the one loss side for Casanzio was Bucky Souvanthong. Bucky had lost a hill-hill match to Casanzio early Saturday but then forged a six-match winning streak to meet up with Casanzio again in the semi-final match. That rematch didn’t go Souvanthong’s way though, as Casanzio scored a quick 7-1 win to earn the right to play Dreidel in the finals.

Dreidel was ready for Casanzio though and scored a 9-5 win in the first set of the finals for his first ever Joss Tour Stop win.

Sunday’s second chance tournament saw eleven players come back to play, with room owner Chris Braiman going undefeated with a 3-2 win over Sourith Thammavong for the hot-seat and then a 3-0 win over Thammavong in the finals.

The Joss NE 9-Ball tour will be back in action March 3th - 4th at Snookers Billiards in Providence RI for the 9th Annual North East Pool & Billiard Hall of Fame 9-Ball Open. That event will include a $2500 added main event and a $500 added second chance event on Sunday.

Tour players are reminded that the March 17th - 18th event that was scheduled at King Smiley Billiards has been moved to Hippos House of Billiards in Utica, NY.

- by AzB staff
AZBilliards.com
Complete Results:
Main Event Payouts
1 USA DREIDEL Dave 1,000
2 USA CASANZIO Ron 750
3 USA SOUVANTHONG Bucky 600
4 USA CROWE Jerry 450
5 USA MAYO Joe 300
5 CAN AUIGBELLE Spencer 300
7 USA NAGLE Bruce 150
7 USA ZENG Sean 150

Second Chance Payouts
1 USA BRAIMAN Chris 300
2 USA THAMMAVONG Sourith 200
3 USA MAYO Ryan 140
4 USA CHEMALY James 80
Sossei takes two out of three over Auigbelle to claim Joss Tour title and top spot on the tour
L-R Spencer Auigbelle, Kayla (Manager of Shooters) & Jeremy Sossei
(Photo courtesy of Taylor Workman)

It’s been just over 10 years (November, 2007) since Jeremy Sossei chalked up his first win on the Joss Northeast Open 9-Ball Tour. That first win, at what was the Ocean State 9-Ball Championships, saw him win five on the loss side, including a semifinal victory over George “Ginky” Sansouci to double dip Tony Robles in the finals, with the second set going double hill. On the weekend of February 17-18, at the 30th Northeast 9-Ball Open, Sossei recorded his 18th victory on the tour, going undefeated through the field. Though he would enter the event as the #2 player on the tour and face #1 (Matt Tetreault; 10 points ahead) in the hot seat match, it would be a four-years-in-the-making finals rematch against Canadian Spencer Auigbelle that would decide it. The win, combined with Tetreault’s third place finish, moved Sossei 65 points ahead of Tetreault and into the top spot in the tour standings. The $2,000-added ($500 for Second Chance) event drew 40 entrants to Sharpshooter’s Billiards & Sports Pub in Amsterdam, NY.

Four years ago, they’d met in the hot seat match and finals, with Sossei winning them both. This past weekend, they met first in a winners’ side quarterfinal, each having downed three opponents to get there. Sossei defeated Auigbelle 9-6 in that winners’ side quarterfinal and advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against Bucky Souvanthong (who finished third in the event four years ago). Tetreault, in the meantime, squared off against Dave Giner in the other winners’ side semifinal.

Sossei sent Souvanthong to the loss side 9-7, and in the hot seat match, faced Tetreault, who’d defeated Giner 9-2. The tour’s #2 player (Sossei) claimed the hot seat from the #1 player (Tetreault) 9-5 and waited on the return of (at the time) a player (Auigbelle) with only 60 ranking points chalked up over two events.

Auigbelle began his trip back to the finals with a 7-4 win over Mike Hurley, and then defeated Jorge Teixeira 7-2, to draw Giner. Souvanthong picked up Bruce Carroll, who’d been defeated in the opening round of play, and was in the midst of a seven-match, loss-side winning streak that would end when he finally ran into Auigbelle. A double hill win over Nick Brucato, and a 7-2 victory over Bruce Nagle, set Carrol up against Souvanthong.

Carroll advanced to the quarterfinals 7-2 over Souvanthong, while Auigbelle defeated Giner 7-1 to join him. Auigbelle ended Carroll’s loss-side streak 7-4 in those quarterfinals, and then, defeated Tetreault in the semifinals 7-3.

With momentum as a bit of a tail wind, Auigbelle won the opening set of the true double elimination final 9-3. Sossei came back and won the second 9-6 to claim the event title.

A 16-entrant Second Chance Tournament saw Jared Zimmerman go undefeated through the field, but not before Mark Stewart, who lost his opening round match and won seven on the loss side, challenged him in the finals. Zimmerman took that final 3-1 to claim the Second Chance title, and its $300 first prize. Stewart took home $200 as the runner-up, whiLe Mike Hurley finished third ($140). Josh Scheff finished fourth ($100), while Greg Bombard and Nick Brucato finished in the tie for fifth ($40 each). Ryan Smith was the raffle winner of a $1,200 Joss Cue.

The next stop on the Joss Northeast Open 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for the weekend of February 24-25, will be hosted by East Ridge Billiards in Rochester, NY.

- by AzB staff
AZBilliards.com
Complete Results:
Main Event Payouts
1 USA SOSSEI Jeremy 1,100
2 CAN AUIGBELLE Spencer 800
3 USA TETREAULT Matt 600
4 USA CARROLL Bruce 450
5 USA GINER David 300
5 USA SOUVANTHONG Bucky 300
7 USA NAGLE Bruce 150
7 USA TEIXEIRA Jorge 150

Second Chance Payouts
1 USA ZIMMERMAN Jarred 300
2 USA STEWART Mark 200
3 USA HURLEY Mike 140
4 USA SCHEFF Joshua 100
5 USA BOMBARD Greg 40
5 USA BRUCATO Nick 40
L-R Matt Tetreault, Brick House Billiards Owner Brian Holmes and Dwight Dixon
Dwight Dixon Earns First Joss Tour Win

The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour kicked off the second half of their 2017-2018 season on January 13th - 14th with a field of 30 players at Brick House Billiards in Syracuse, NY, where Dwight Dixon earned his first tour win.

Although Dixon went undefeated to win the event, he didn’t have it easy. His first four matches (Nick Coppola, Dave Sunday, Bucky Souvanthong and Bruce Carroll) were won by progressively smaller margins each match, starting with a 9-5 win over Coppola and ending with a 9-8 win over Carroll. Dixon had a little more breathing room in the hot-seat match, where he defeated Bruce Nagle 9-7.

Nagle had defeated Matt Tetreault 9-7 in the final eight on the winner’s side, but Tetreault rode the left side of the board through four match wins and then made it five with a hill-hill win over Nagle.

With Nagle’s winning streak through the left side of the board, and the narrow margins of Dixon’s wins, fans in attendance were expecting a close match in the finals. Dixon would have none of that though, and trounced Tetreault 9-3 in the first and only set of the finals.

Sunday’s second chance tournament was James Chemaly run through a field of 12 players undefeated for first place. Chemaly beat Willie Oney 3-0 for the hot-seat and then beat Oney again 3-2 in the first set of the finals.

The next stop on the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour will be February 17th - 18th at the NE 9-Ball Open XXX at Sharpshooters in Amsterdam, NY. That event will be another $1500 added main event with a $500 added second chance tournament on Sunday.

Tour director Mike Zuglan is already taking signup for the Turning Stone Classic XXX, to be held August 23rd - 26th at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, NY. Players are urged to get their entry fees to Zuglan as soon as possible, to avoid being shut-out.

- by AzB staff
AZBilliards.com
Complete Results:
Main Event Payouts
1 USA DIXON Dwight 1,000
2 USA TETREAULT Matt 650
3 USA NAGLE Bruce 500
4 USA CASANZIO Ron 400
5 USA CARROLL Bruce 225
5 USA SOUVANTHONG Bucky 225
7 USA MCCONNELL John 100
7 USA DREIDEL Dave 100

Second Chance Payouts
1 USA CHEMALY James 300
2 USA ONEY Willie 200
3 USA MILLS Dave 160
4 USA MICHAS Jason 80
Billy Thorpe Wins Turning Stone Classic XXIX
Billy Thorpe
(Photo courtesy of Taylor Workman)

While most fans in attendance felt that Jayson Shaw was the odds on favorite, it was Billy Thorpe who earned the title at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino on January 5th - 8th, with an undefeated run through a field of 128 players.

Thorpe fought his way to the hot seat match with wins over Jon McConnell, John Morra, Brandon Shuff, Canadian Adam Monture and Albania’s Besar Spahiu. His opponent for the hot-seat was another Canadian, Joey Cicero. In Cicero’s final eight match, he upset Shaw with a 9-5 match that saw Cicero controlling the table with a soft, controlled break. Shaw held an early lead at 4-0, but Cicero won 9 of the next 10 racks for the win.

After Cicero sent Zion Zvi to the one loss side, he came up one rack short of the hot-seat as Thorpe came back from 8-7 down to win the match 9-8.

On the one loss side, Cicero found Dennis Hatch on a roll. Hatch had lost an early match to Shaw, but put together a six match winning streak that included notable wins over Mika Immonen, Zvi and Spahiu. Hatch kept his dreams of a Turning Stone title alive with a dominating 9-2 win over Cicero in the semi-final match.

The final race to 13 looked as if it would be a quick one, with Thorpe racing to an early 10-2 lead. That was when Hatch took control of the match and what was an 8 rack Thorpe lead was only a 3 rack lead when Thorpe next won a rack at 11-8. Hatch wasn’t done though, as he won the next 3 racks to tie things at 11-11. In the next rack, Hatch looked to be running out for his first lead at 12-11, but bad shape on a 4-ball spelled his doom as Thorpe ran out that rack for a 12-11 lead of his own. Hatch would get back to the table in the 24th rack, but a missed 5-ball in the side from Hatch and a bank on that same 5-ball from Thorpe was all that Thorpe needed for the win.

Thorpe collected $8000 for the win, with Hatch settling for $5000 in second place prize money.

- by AzB staff
AZBilliards.com
Complete Results:
1st $8,000 Billy Thorpe
2nd $5,000 Dennis Hatch
3rd $3,600 Joey Cicero (Can)
4th $2,600 Besar Spahiu (Albania)
5/6th $2,000 each - Jayson Shaw (Scot), Zion Zvi
7/8th $1,600 each - Mika Immonen, Dan Hewitt (Can)
9/12th $1,200 each - Brandon Shuff, Shaun Wilkie, Adam Monture (Can), Jesse Piercey (Can)
13/16th $850 each - Nelson Oliveira, Matt Tetreault, Johnny Archer, Frank Hernandez
17/24th $550 each - Nick Charette (Can), Randy Labonte, Raphael Dabreo, Ivaylo Petrov, Hunter Lombardo, Sean Morgan, Bucky Souvanthong, Martin Daigle (Can)

25/32nd $300 each
John Morra (Can), Greg Antonakos, Jason Michas, Thomas Wan, Dave Fernandez, Kyle Pepin, Paul Dryden, Kevin Clark

33/48
Mike Verducci, Jerry Crowe, Clyde Matta, Ben Werblow, Nick Antonakos, Kerry McAuliffe, Matt Krah, Mike Yednak, Dan Basavich, Earl Herring, Steve Mack, Qais Kolee (Iraq), Mike Giurleo, Jesse Docalavich, Nick Coppola, Joe Dupuis

49/64
Lance Lisciotti, Mike Nicoloro, Steve Lillis, Tom Gildea, John Vitale, James Chemaly, Sylvain Desrosiers (Can), Mike Toohig, John McConnell, Rob Hart,
Chris Braiman, Tom Acciavatti, Rich Connors, Marco Kam, Roger Miller (Can), Vince Chrysler (Can)

65/96
Dawn Fox, Hendrik Drost, Jorge Rodriguez, Robert Ragusa, Greg Johnson (Can), Ryan Urso, Mark Haynes, Willie Oney, Joe Sinicropi, Alvin Thomas,
Dave Giner, Doug Rhee, Chris Wilburn, Jordan Turner, Jonathan Smith, Dale Kimmett (Can), Eric Croteau (Can), Fred Gokey, Brent Boemmels,
Bob Cunningham, John Francisco, George Sokolowski (Can), Jay Goyer (Can), Kevin West, Greg Bombard, Paul Pensgen, Devin Buttle (Can), Steve Fleming Connor Phares, Josh Harding, James Kearney, Steven Winter (Can)

97/128
Rich Howard, Dave Shlemperis, Dwight Dixon, Phil Harju, Noah Wells, Jeremiah Pucci, Frank Gaetani, Ed Culhane, Mark Creamer, Samantha Barrett,
Lida Mullendore, Bill Cote, Jerome Rockwell, Vince Frustaci, Steve Sutton, Mike Andrews, Steven W. Smith, Tony Antone, Larry Phlegar, Redgie Cutler,
Rich Kravetz, Rob Staskowski, Gene Hunt, Meredith Lynch, Ron Casanzio, Jed Jecen, Vince Prinzivalli, Erin Bechner, Holden Chin, Jesse Palone,
Brock Watson, Alex Osipov

Our Second Chance event had a full field of 32 players with a total prize fund of $1,600.

1st $500 Redgie Cutler
2nd $300 Nick Coppola
3/4th $200 each - Vince Chrysler, John Kovacs,
5/8th $100 each - Joe Sinicropi, Jerome Rockwell, James Kearney, Jay Goyer

$1,200 Joss Cue raffle winners - Wayne Crayton & Bill Brahney & winner of the autographed Aramith Pro Cup cue ball used in the final match - Anthony Ciampi

L-R Phil Harju (room owner), Cody Francis, Dave Hall and Mike Zuglan
Cody Francis Earn First Career Joss Tour Win

The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour wrapped up the first half of their season over the weekend of November 18th and 19th at Union Station Billiards in Portland, Maine where the field of 37 players came down to two local players fighting it out for their first Joss Tour wins.

Sunday matches on the winner’s side saw Bruce Nagle score a hill-hill win over Ivaylo Petrov and Cody Francis with a 9-7 win over Josh Rupard. Francis then went on to take the hot-seat with a 9-7 win over Nagle.

On the one loss side, Dave Hall was on a roll after a lopsided 9-2 loss to Mark Desjardin in his first match on Saturday. Hall bounced back with Saturday wins over Sam Hebert, Mike Dube and Xavier Libby to make it into the money on Sunday.

Sunday matches saw Hall pick up where he left off on Saturday, as he defeated Jim Hayden, Rupard, Jeremy Sossei and Nagle to earn his spot in the finals.

For two players playing for their first tour wins, Francis and Hall made the most of it. Hall, from nearby Portland Maine, handed hometown favorite Francis his first loss in the first set of the finals 9-6. Francis returned the favor in the second set of the finals and eliminated Hall 9-7 to take first place and $1,050 in prize money.

Sunday’s second chance tournament came down to Mark Stewart facing Chad Bazinet three times before a winner was crowned. Stewart won the first meeting in the hot-seat match 3-0, but Bazinet defeated Dan Couture in the semi-final match and was back for another shot at Stewart in the finals. Bazinet scored a 3-2 win in the first set of the finals, but Stewart came back to score a 3-2 win of his own for first place.

The tour now takes a break for the rest of 2017 and will be back in action on January 4th - 7th for the Turning Stone Classic XXIX at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, Ny. That event has a handful of spots left open and players are urged to contact Mike Zuglan at 518-356-7163 to lock down their place in the event.

- by AzB staff
AZBilliards.com
Complete Results:
Main Event Payouts
1 USA FRANCIS Cody 1,050
2 USA HALL Dave 750
3 USA NAGLE Bruce 550
4 USA SOSSEI Jeremy 400
5 USA RUPARD Josh 250
5 USA PETROV Ivaylo 250
7 USA HAYDEN Jim 150
7 USA KRAVETZ Rich 150

Second Chance Payouts
1 USA STEWART Mark 300
2 USA BAZINET Chad 200
3 USA COUTURE Dan 140
4 USA PROVOST Demian 100
5 USA NICKERSON Dillon 50
5 USA WEBSTER Ross 50
Kazakis wins his first major US title, going undefeated at 29th Ocean State 9-Ball Championship
Mike Zuglan, Jeremy Sossei, Alex Kazakis
and Steve Goulding (room owner)

For the first time in six years, the annual Ocean State 9-Ball Championship has been won by someone not named Shaw or Dechaine. On the weekend of November 11-12, the title went, for the third straight time, to a European – Alexandros (Alex) Kazakis. In the absence of the two-time defending champion (Shaw), and three-time champion Dechaine (’12, ’13 & ’14), Kazakis went undefeated through a field of 87 entrants at the $5,000-added, 29th Annual Ocean State Championship, held under the auspices of the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour, and hosted by Snooker's in Providence, RI.

Though well known in European circles, dating back to his days as a European Junior Champion in 2009, and subsequent appearances on the International Billiard Promotion Foundation (IBPF) and European Pocket Billiard Federation’s (EPBF) EuroTour, Kazakis entered the Ocean State Championship without a US title on his resumé. He’d come close, though. In January of this year (his best recorded earnings year, to date), he was runner-up to Jayson Shaw in the Derby City Bigfoot 10-Ball Challenge, and the week before the Ocean State ‘challenge,’ he’d been runner-up to Jorge Rodriguez in the Grand Masters division of the NYC 8-Ball Championships.

At the very start, it seemed as though Kazakis and Albanian teenager Eklent (Klenti) Kaci were destined to knock heads. Kaci, who, in the past year, had already won the Aramith Masters Division and Predator Grand Finale of the 8-Ball World Pool Series (April and November, respectively), two stops on the Joss Tour, one on the Predator Tour and was runner-up to Shaw in the US Open, was poised to add a sixth US title to his growing list. In back-to-back matches, Kazakis and Jeremy Sossei kept the youngster out of the Ocean State Championship winners’ circle.

Kazakis and Kaci met first, predictably, in the hot seat match. Kazakis had sent Sossei to the loss side 9-7 in one winners’ side semifinal, as Kaci was busy shutting out Tom D’Alfonso (winner of the Ocean State title in 2011). Kazakis prevailed in the hot seat match 9-7, sending Kaci to the semifinals from which he would not return.

On the loss side, a number of potential ‘threats’ lay in wait. Sossei picked up one of them; Jorge Rodriguez, who’d been sent to the loss side by Kaci in a winners’ side quarterfinal, and defeated Stevie Mack 7-4 and Zion Zvi 7-3. In a battle of Joss Tour veterans, D’Alfonso drew Ron Casanzio (recent winner of the Al Conte Memorial earlier this month), who’d most recently defeated Rich Kravetz 7-5 and Paul Dryden, double hill.

Sossei gave up only one rack to Rodriguez and advanced to the quarterfinals. He was joined by D’Alfonso, who’d eliminated Casanzio 7-5. Sossei moved on to defeat D’Alfonso 7-4, and then, in what had to have come as a surprise to many (except Sossei), Sossei dashed Kaci’s hopes for a sixth US title with a 7-5 win in the semifinals.

In the finals that followed, Kazakis, in pursuit of his first US title, was facing an opponent, Sossei, who was vying for his 39th US title in 10 years. The two came within a game of having to play a single, deciding game, but in the end, Kazakis pulled out in front 9-7 to win the 29th Annual Ocean State 9-Ball Championship.

Tour director Mike Zuglan thanked Steve Goulding and his Snooker’s staff for their hospitality, as well as regular tour sponsors Joss Cues, Turning Stone Resort & Casino, Simonis Cloth, Poolonthenet.com, AZBilliards, Aramith, Billiards Press and World Class Cue Care. Stop #6 on the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for November 18-19, will be a $1,500-added main event with a $500 added second chance event on Sunday, hosted by Union Station Billiards in Portland, ME. That event will be the last reguilar season event before the Turning Stone Classic XXIX at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, Ny on January 4th - 7th.

- by AzB staff
AZBilliards.com
Complete Results:
Main Event Payouts
1 GRE KAZAKIS Alexandros 2,600
2 USA SOSSEI Jeremy 1,900
3 ALB KACI Eklent 1,500
4 USA D'ALFONSO Tom 1,100
5 USA RODRIGUEZ Jorge 800
5 USA CASANZIO Ron 800
7 USA DRYDEN Paul 600
7 ISR ZVI Zion 600
9 USA BELLIVEAU Everett 400
9 USA DUPUIS Joe 400
9 USA MACK Steve 400
9 USA KRAVETZ Rich 400
13 USA PETROV Ivaylo 250
13 USA DEMALIA Jared 250
13 USA DAVIS Phil 250
13 USA FRACASSO-VERNER Lukas 250
17 USA TEIXEIRA Jorge 150
17 USA MCKELVEY Ian 150
17 USA WALL Josiah 150
17 USA SOUVANTHONG Bucky 150
17 USA MCGUANE Al 150
17 USA SAVOIE Ben 150
17 USA PETTIT Mike 150
17 USA NAGLE Bruce 150
L-R Andrea Duvall (owner), John McConnell, Ron Casanzio, & Matt Tetreault
Casanzio goes undefeated to capture his first Al Conte Memorial title

Ron Casanzio has had several shots at the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour’s Al Conte Memorial over the years. He’s cashed in seven of the nine, to date. He was runner-up to Dennis Hatch in the first one (2009) and Shaun Wilkie in the fifth (2013). On the weekend of November 4-5, he became the event’s seventh winner, following in the footsteps of (in order) Hatch, Shane Winters, Mike Davis, Jeremy Sossei (three-time winner; ’12, ’14 and ‘15), Wilkie and Nelson Oliveira. The $1,500-added, 9th Annual Al Conte Memorial, the fourth stop on the 2017-2018 Joss NE 9-Ball Tour, drew 33 entrants to Hippo’s House of Billiards in Yorkville, NY.

Casanzio was one of three competitors at this event, along with Bucky Souvanthong and Angelo Hilton, who cashed in the first Al Conte Memorial. He became the only one of the three to do so in this one. Match by match, until the finals, Casanzio’s opponents steadily closed the margin of victory against him. He got by Bruce Nagle in the opening round 9-1, then Aaron Greenwood 9-3, and Marko Clarke 9-4 to join Matt Tetreault in one of the winners’ side semifinals. John McConnell, in the meantime, who’d sent Frank Cartani (9-4), Jerry Crowe (9-3), and Dwight Dixon (9-4) to the loss side, squared off against Mike Donnelly in the other winners’ side semifinal.

Casanzio got into the hot seat match with a continuation of the ‘reduced margin of victory’ phenomenon, downing Tetreault 9-5. McConnell joined him with a 9-5 victory over Donnelly. Casanzio claimed the hot seat 9-7 over McConnell and waited on his return.

On the loss side, Tetreault picked up Joe Darigis, who’d been sent over by Donnelly in a winners’ side quarterfinal and then defeated Nick Brucato 9-4 and Dwight Dixon 9-6. Donnelly drew Jose Mendez, who was on a modest four-match, loss-side winning streak that was about to end and had included recent wins over Norm Vernon 9-3 and Marko Clarke 9-5.

Tetreault advanced to the quarterfinals with a 9-6 win over Darigis, and was joined by Mendez, who’d handed Donnelly his second straight loss 9-7. Tetreault eliminated Mendez in that quarterfinal 9-3, but had his hopes for a re-match against Casanzio eliminated when McConnell defeated him 9-5 in the semifinals.

In their second of two, Casanzio broke the ‘margin of victory’ chain. He defeated McConnell 9-5 to claim his first Al Conte Memorial title.

A $500-added Second Chance tournament saw Willie Oney finish in the top spot, downing Mark Creamer in the finals. Aaron Greenwood finished third and Bruce Carroll took the fourth spot. Pete Khudc took home a $1,200 Joss Cue in the event’s raffle.

The fifth stop on the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour will be the 29th Ocean State 9-Ball Championship. Scheduled for the weekend of November 11-12, the $5,000-added event will be hosted by Snooker’s Billiards, Bar and Grill in Providence, RI.

- by AzB staff
AZBilliards.com
Complete Results:
Main Event Payouts
1 USA CASANZIO Ron 1,000
2 USA MCCONNELL John 700
3 USA TETREAULT Matt 550
4 USA MENDEZ Jose 400
5 USA DONNELLY Mike 250
5 USA DARIGIS Joe 250
7 USA CLARKE Marko 125
7 USA DIXON Dwight 125

Second Chance Payouts
1st Willie Oney - $300
2nd Mark Creamer - $210
3rd Aaron Greenwood - $150
4th Bruce Carroll - $100
Zach Hemendinger Wins 12 & Under Joss Junior 9-Ball Championship while
Thomas Haas Wins 18 & Under Joss Junior 9-Ball Championship
18 & Under Winners
Thomas Haas, Jim Romanowski and Brenden Croft
12 & Under Winners
2nd Kailey Bombard, Tim Berlin, 1st Zach Hemendinger

Congratulations to our 2017 Joss Junior 9-Ball Champions, Thomas Haas won the 18 & under division and Zach Hemendinger prevailed in the 12 & under division.

Thomas Haas made it to the finals undefeated rather easily but it was no easy task from there. Canadian Brenden Croft who had lost his first match to last years 12 & under champ Ivo Linkin 9-7, eventually avenged that loss by besting Ivo 9-8 to make it to the finals. As the event was played just like our regular Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour events, it was true double elimination in the finals. Brenden, with the momentum on his side took the first set 9-5 forcing another to determine the winner. Thomas was not deterred however and came back strong for the win by a 9-4 margin. Great play was witnessed by all of the 18 & under players and you will definitely be seeing their names rising to the top soon.

In the 12 & under division, it was Zach Hemendinger prevailing over Kailey Bombard 7-4. This division had a small field and it was decided to play a round robin format followed by single elimination. Each play had a chance to play every other player at least once until the single elimination rounds. Everyone seemed to enjoy the day playing some pool.

I would once again like to thank the many people and companies who generously donated products and their time to help. I would like to acknowledge and thank them all as it is because of them that each participant received some of their items. There were also 6 free raffles for the players for the larger items. Our generous sponsors were, in no particular order: Sharp Shooters Billiards & Sports Pub (Tim & Julie Berlin, owners), Dan, Debbie & Stephen Janes (Joss Cues), James Sinclair (Rhythm Custom Cues), CJ & Peggi Wilkinson (Baltimore City Cues), Don Kerns, Iwan Simonis, Aramith, Bruce Barthelette, Phil Capelle (Billiards Press), Mark Kulungian, Steve Lillis, Andrea Duvall, Matt Tetreault & John Babravich (RIP). A special thanks to Mike Renshaw & Jim Romanowski for filling in for me as I was unable to attend due to health reasons. And thank you to everyone else, who was involved.

Our next regular season event will be Nov 4 & 5 at Hippo's The House Of Billiards for the "Al Conte Memorial". Also, I am currently taking entries for our $25,000 Added, "Turning Stone Classic XXIX 9-Ball Open" to be held on January 4-7, 2018. The event is now over 1/2 full so I suggest contacting me soon if you would like to enter this BCA, WPA, Mosconi Cup ranking event. I can be reached by calling 518-356-7163.

- by AzB staff
AZBilliards.com
L-R Tom Acciavatti, Sharpshooters Rep. Kayla Riccio and Danny Hewitt
Hewitt Undefeated at John Babravich Memorial

Danny Hewitt was the man to beat at the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour's John Babravich Memorial, held at Sharpshooters Billiards in Amsterdam, NY on October 14th and 15th.

After an opening round bye and a 9-4 win over Ron Casanzio, Hewitt faced his toughest oppoent all weekend, Jeremy Sossei. Hewitt won that match 9-6, and cruised through the event from there. Hewitt remained undefeated Saturday, and started Sunday with a 9-4 win over Jose Mendez. Meanwhile, Bruce Nagle was sending Mark Creamer to the one loss side by a 9-6 scoreline. Hewitt then sent Nagle to join Creamer on the one loss side, 9-3.

While it was Nagle that Hewitt sent to the left side of the board, it was Tom Acciavatti who came back from the left side of the board to face Hewitt in the finals. Acciavatti defeated Nagle 9-7 on the left side of the board to earn that match with Hewitt. The final would go one set, and would be quick as Hewitt scored a one sided 9-2 win over Acciavatti.

Sunday saw twenty five players come back to Sharpshooters to compete in the second chance tournament. That event saw Billy Arquette cruise through the bracket undefeated for first place. Arquette defeated Joe Ziegler 3-1 for the hot-seat, and then Spencer Auigbelle 3-1 in the first set of the finals.

In addition to all of the players who cashed in one of the events, Joey Berlin was also a winner as he won the raffle for the $1200 custom Joss Cue.

The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour will be back at Sharpshooters next weekend (Oct 21-22) for the 2nd "Joss Junior 9-Ball Championship". After that event, the tour will be at Hippo's House of Billiards in Yorkville, NY on November 4th - 5th.

- by AzB staff
AZBilliards.com
Complete Results:
Main Event Payouts
1 CAN HEWITT Danny 1,000
2 USA ACCIAVATTI Tom 700
3 USA NAGLE Bruce 500
4 USA CREAMER Mark 400
5 USA TETREAULT Matt 300
5 USA MENDEZ Jose 300
7 USA SOSSEI Jeremy 175
7 USA SOUVANTHONG Bucky 175
9 USA ONEY Willie 100
9 USA CASANZIO Ron 100
9 USA DIXON Dwight 100
9 USA MCCONNELL John 100

Second Chance Payouts
1 CAN ARQUETTE William 340
2 CAN AUIGBELLE Spencer 240
3 USA ZIEGLER Joe 180
4 USA TURNER Jordan 120
5 USA KAM Marco 60
5 USA GREENWOOD Aaron 60
Rodriguez goes undefeated to take Joss Tour's Hudson Valley Fall Classic
Jorge Rodriguez

Though he’d been among the top 10 finishers in 14 major events since January of 2016, an event victory had eluded Jorge Rodriguez since he won the season opener of the 2016 Predator Pro Am Tour. Rodriguez changed that at the second stop on the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour’s 2017-2018 season. Rodriguez went undefeated through a field of 59, on hand for the $1,500-added Hudson Valley Fall Classic, hosted by The Spot in Nanuet, NY on the weekend of September 30-October 1.

Rodriguez faced separate opponents in the hot seat and finals of the event. Following victories over Geovanni Hosang, and Ron Casanzio, Rodriguez gave up only one rack to his next two opponents, shutting out Thomas Haas, and giving up the single rack to Geoff Montgomery. This set Rodriguez up in a winners’ side semifinal against Matt Tetreault. In the meantime, Zion Zvi, who’d just sent Rodriguez’ eventual opponent in the finals, Jeremy Sossei to the loss side, squared off against Lee Van Corteza in the other winners’ side semifinal.

Rodriguez sent Matt Tetreault to the loss side 9-3, as Zvi downed Van Corteza 9-6. Rodriguez claimed the hot seat over Zvi 9-7 and waited for Sossei to complete a five-match, loss-side run that would put him into the finals.

Sossei opened his loss-side run with a 9-5 win over Jason Michas, and a 9-3 win over Carmen Lombardo, which set him up to face Tetreault. Van Corteza drew Rhys Chen, who was in the midst of his own six-match, loss-side run that had most recently included wins over Geoff Montgomery 9-5 and Olli Turkulainen 9-7.

Van Corteza ended Chen’s run in a double hill match, while Sossei was eliminating Tetreault 9-3. The Sossei/Van Corteza quarterfinal came within a game of going double hill, but Sossei advanced 9-7. The Sossei/Zvi semifinal rematch did go double hill, and when it was over, Sossei had earned himself a shot at Rodriguez in the hot seat.

Rodriguez completed his undefeated run with a 9-7 win over Sossei in the finals. The win put Rodriguez at the top of early tour rankings, alongside Nelson Oliveira who had won the season opener in September, but did not compete in Nanuet.

A $500-added, 19-entrant Second Chance event was won by Rob Pole, who defeated Mike Salerno in the finals. Scott Haas finished third, ahead of Jim Kearney. Brian Hunter and Ron Plontkowski finished in the tie for fifth.

The next stop on the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour, scheduled for the weekend of October 14-15, will be a $1,500-added event, hosted by Sharpshooter’s Billiards and Sports Pub in Amsterdam, NY. A week later (October 21-22), at the same location, the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour will hold its second annual Juniors Tournament, featuring separate divisional events for 18-and-under and 12-and-under competitors. The 12-and-under group will play on 7-foot Diamond tables, while the older group will face off on 9-foot Diamonds. Last year’s winner in the 18-and-under group was Lukas Fracasso-Verner, who defeated Peter Abatangelo in the finals. Ivo Linkin won the 12-and-under competition, downing Zach Hemendinger twice in a true double elimination final.

Tour director Mike Zuglan thanked the ownership and staff at The Spot for their hospitality and asked that players be reminded of the upcoming Turning Stone XXIX, scheduled for January 4-7 at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, NY. Players interested in competing should touch base with Zuglan as soon as possible to secure a slot in the event.

- by AzB staff
AZBilliards.com
Complete Results:
Main Event Payouts
1 USA RODRIGUEZ Jorge 1,100
2 USA SOSSEI Jeremy 800
3 ISR ZVI Zion 600
4 PHI CORTEZA Lee Vann 450
5 USA TETREAULT Matt 350
5 JAM CHEN Rhys 350
7 FIN TURKULAINEN Olli 250
7 USA LOMBARDO Carmen 250
9 RIVERA Jimmy 150
9 USA MICHAS Jason 150
9 USA MONTGOMERY Geoff 150
9 USA SOUVANTHONG Bucky 150
13 USA HAAS Thomas 100
13 USA GARIBELLO Yesid 100
13 USA GRAU Dave 100
13 USA TOOHIG Michael 100

Second Chance Payouts
1 USA POLE Robert 320
2 USA SALERNO Mike 210
3 USA HAAS Scott 150
4 USA KEARNEY Jim 100
5 USA HUNTER Brian 50
5 USA PIONTKOWSKI Ron 50
L-R Tom Theriault and Nelson Oliveira
Oliveira Kicks Off Joss Tour's 21st Season With Win

Mike Zuglan kicked off the 21st season of the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour on September 23rd and 24th, with a field of 38 players competing in The Maine Event XI at TJ’s Classic Billiards in Waterville Maine. The tournament would come down to Nelson Oliveira winning by the narrowest of margins over Canadian Tom Theriault.

Oliveira and Theriault were two of the players to emerge from Saturday matches undefeated, joined by Samoth Sam and Cody Francis. Sunday morning winner’s side matches saw Francis sneak by Sam 9-8, and Oliveira send Theriault to the one loss side by a 9-7 margin. Oliveira would then go on to defeat Francis 9-8 for the hot-seat.

On the one loss side, both Sam and Theriault would bounce back from their earlier losses, with Sam eliminating Xavier Libby 9-2 and Theriault eliminating Matt Tetreault 9-7. Theriault would then go on to defeat Sam 9-1 and then Cody Francis 9-3, to earn a rematch with Oliveira in the finals.

With the 9-7 scoreline in their earlier match, the finals were expected to be close, and they definitely were. Theriault ended Oliveira’s unbeaten streak 9-8 in the first set of the finals, and then Oliveira came back to defeat Theriault 9-8 in the second set for first place.

The end of Sunday's 16 player second chance tournament looked very similar to the end of the main event with Ross Webster defeating Joe Darigis 3-2 for the hot-seat and then Darigis coming back to force a second set of the finals 3-1 before Webster scored a 3-2 win in the second set of the finals.

Although he finished one out of the money in 9th place, Jordan Labbe was the winner of the $1200 custom Joss Cue at this event.

The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour will be back in action on Sept 30th and October 1st at The Hudson Valley Fall Classic, held at The Spot Billiards Cafe in Nanuet, NY.

- by AzB staff
AZBilliards.com
Complete Results:
Main Event Payouts
1 USA OLIVEIRA Nelson 1,000
2 CAN THERIAULT Tom 700
3 USA FRANCIS Cody 550
4 USA SAM Samoth 450
5 USA LIBBY Xavier 275
5 USA TETREAULT Matt 275
7 USA NICKERSON Dillon 150
7 USA HALLOWELL Tyler 150

Second Chance Payouts
1 USA WEBSTER Ross 300
2 USA DARIGIS Joe 200
3 CAN RICHARD Kyle 140
4 USA PEPIN Kyle 100
5 USA COUTURE Dan 40
5 USA MURRAY Greg 40


 
 
 
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