Shane Van Boening is the Turning Stone Classic XXXII Champion, but it was a nail biter until the end.

While the event has been dominated recently by Van Boening and Jayson Shaw, winning five of the last six titles, this event was all about the resurgent play of BCA Hall of Famer Earl Strickland. Strickland already had a one sided 9-5 win over Van Boening on Saturday, and he kicked off his Sunday with a hill-hill win over Thorsten Hohmann. While Strickland was sending the German to the one loss side, Shaw was sending America’s Brandon Shuff to join Hohmann 9-7.

On the one loss side, Van Boening eliminated Rafael Dabreo in 7th place, and Billy Thorpe ended Frankie Hernandez’s run in the same place. Van Boening and Thorpe welcomed the two players coming from the winner’s side and then sent them to the stands in a tie for 5th place with Thorpe beating Hohmann and Van Boening over Shuff.

The hot-seat match between Strickland and Shaw featured the usual dominating play that we are used to seeing in a Jayson Shaw match, with one big exception. This time, it was Shaw in the chair and his opponent doing the dominating. Earl raced to a 5-0 lead before Shaw was able to get to the table with a shot. Strickland’s lead ballooned to 7-0 with Shaw unable to capitalize on any opportunities. Strickland, on the other hand, was running out from everywhere and punishing Shaw for the smallest of mistakes. By the time is was over, Strickland was celebrating a 9-1 win and Shaw was waiting to see who he would face in the Semi-Final.

While this was going on, Van Boening and Thorpe were battling it out on the one loss side. The final score (9-5 Van Boening) didn’t accurately summarize how close this match really was. There were many safety exchanges, leading to a slow match without the usual fireworks.

The semi-final match was the showdown between Van Boening and Shaw that the fans had expected all weekend, but it wasn’t much of a battle. Van Boening brought his usual intensity to the match, but Shaw seemed to be suffering the after effects of the previous match. His “will to win” just wasn’t there in this match. Final score: 9-4 Van Boening.

The final match couldn’t have been much closer. Van Boening had control early in the match and held an early three rack lead, but Strickland wasn’t done and fought back to take a late two rack lead. Van Boening then came back to tie things at 11-11 in the race to thirteen. Van Boening was the first to the hill and Strickland played a great safety to leave Van Boening locked up, facing the possibility of a hill-hill match if he left Strickland any shot. The vast majority of kicks by players, at a match of this level, are controlled and calculated shots. They are kicking with a purpose in mind. Then there are the kicks like this one. Van Boening lined up the angle on the kick and stroked it hard. Hard enough to strike the intended ball and get the 9-ball rolling the length of the table and into the corner pocket to give him a 13-11 finals win over Strickland.

The title is Van Boening's fifth Turning Stone Classic title, one less than both Johnny Archer and Jayson Shaw. The win was worth $8,000 for Van Boening, with Strickland settling for a disappointing $5,000 in second place prize money.

33/48th - Zion Zvi, Dave Fernandez, Darren Clement (Can), Mika Immonen, Nick Coppola, Erik Hjorleifson (Can), Paul Laverdiere, Rich Kravetz, Jia Li,
Dave Dreidel, Nick Antonakos, Brad Guthrie (Can), Mike Hurley, Bucky Souvanthong, Jerome Rockwell, Donny Mills

49/64th - Matt Tetreault, Tom Zippler, Fred Gokey, Willie Oney, Johnny Archer, Dan Sharlow, Keith Nelson, Ray Buthe, Jon McConnell, Dave Shlemperis,
Jennifer Barretta, Dave Grau, Alvin Thomas, Ron Casanzio, Nelson Weimer, Caroline Pao

65/96th - Tony Antone, Bob Cunningham, Bud Robideau, Ed Yero, Alan Gordon, Frank Wolak, Joe Dupuis, Steve Fleming, Jed Jecen, Rich Howard,
Jerry Crowe, Gregg McAndrews, Ray Lee, Roarke Dickson, Dave Mills, John Moody, Sean Santoro, Bruce Gordon, Pascal Dufresne, Tom Gildea,
Larry Phleger, Jay Chiu, Greg Antonakos, Phil Harju, Jim Kearney, Mike Pettit, James Stonkus, Dominic Byrne, Ed Culhane, Mike Toohig,
Chris Braiman, Rob Pole,

97/128th - Greg Bombard, Bruce Nagle, Mike Verducci, Jason Platt, Nabil Lazouzi, Gene Hunt, Ben Werblow, Steve Sutton, Dave Callaghan, Steven W. Smith,
Don Reigel, Jesse Piercey (Can), Lida Mullendore, Joe Sinicropi, Randy Whitehead, Pat Fleming, Erin Bechner, Chris Pyle, Bill Cote, Ryan Smith,
Allen Hazelwood, Catherine Ong, Devin Buttle (Can), Jim Prather, Aaron Cameron, Bruce Barthelette, Tommy Tokoph, Jim McManus, Marco Kam,
Brian Wheel, Rob Hart, Bruce Carroll

1st $400 Steve Fleming
2nd $300 Tom Zippler
3/4th $180 each - Ben Werblow, Jim Prather
5/8th $60 each - Brent Boemmels, Joe Sinicropi, Jesse Docalavich, Jim Kearney

$1,500 Joss Cue raffle winners - Scott Brown & D. Nixon & the winner of the autographed Aramith Pro Cup cue ball used in the final match - Bill Keymel

Jeremy Sossei made it “three in a row” with a win at the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour stop at Raxx Pool Room in West Hempstead, NY on May 4th.

Although Sossei ended up in the hot-seat, he didn’t get there without a challenge. Sossei started things off with a 9-4 win over Mike Salerno, but then things got a lot closer. Three of Sossei’s next four matches ended up within two racks with a hill-hill win over Mike Donnelly and 9-7 wins over Alex Osipov and then Jennifer Barretta for the hot-seat.

Barretta took the trip to the one loss side, where she found a red-hot Frankie Hernandez waiting. Hernandez had dropped a 9-8 decision to Alvin Thomas in his first match of the day, but then won six straight matches on the left side of the board. He would stretch that streak to seven matches, with a hill-hill win over Barretta in the semi-final match.

Hernandez was able to hand Sossei his first loss in the first set of the finals 9-6, but Sossei came back to win the second set 7-5 for his third straight Joss NE 9-Ball Tour stop win.

The second chance tournament saw Elvis Rodriguez in the hot-seat after a 3-2 win over Donnelly, but it was Donnelly coming back with 3-1 and 3-0 wins over Rodriguez in the finals.

Jeremy Sossei is definitely picking up where he left off after his short break from the game in 2018. He kept up his winning ways with an undefeated run through a field of 44 players at Utica Billiards on the Boulevard in Utica, NY for the Joss NE 9-Ball tour stop on April 6th - 7th.

Sossei’s first match of the day on Saturday was his closest match of the day, as he got things started with a 9-5 win over Frank Ricelli. After that win though, Sossei put together back to back 9-2 wins over Andrew Van Master and Bruce Carrol, and he then closed out day one with a one-sided 9-4 win over Bucky Souvanthong.

Sunday play got underway with Sossei scoring a 9-4 win over Bruce Nagle and then a 9-5 win over Ron Casanzio for the hot-seat.

On the one loss side, all eyes were on Damon Sobers. After a 9-7 loss to Ryan Mayo midday Saturday, Sobers won six straight matches on the left side of the board (including hill-hill wins over Ben Werblow, Ed Saur and Bruce Nagle. Casanzio would finally end Sobers’ winning streak with a 7-4 semi-final match score.

Casanzio would still not be able to get by Sossei in the finals, where Sossei won 9-4 in the first set. It was Sossei’s second Joss NE 9-Ball Tour win this year.

While Josh Welsh’s win in Sunday’s second chance tournament was not an undefeated one like Sossei’s main event win, it was still impressive. Welsh cruised to the hot-seat with a five match winning streak and an overall record of 15 wins and 2 losses. After Jon McConnell eliminated Jared Zimmerman on the one loss side, he came back and handed Welsh his first loss 3-2 in the first set of the double elimination finals. Welsh then came back and scored a 3-2 win over McConnell in the second set for the tournament win. The win was Welsh’s first win on the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour.

The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour’s Kevin Ketz Memorial on March 9th and 10th at Trick Shot Billiards in Clifton Park, NY came down to Canadian Danny Hewitt and Jeremy Sossei, two players very familiar with what it takes to get to the Joss Tour winners circle.

Both players went through Saturday play undefeated and were joined on the winners side on Sunday by Bucky Souvanthong and Dave Grau. Hewitt sent Grau to the left side of the board 9-1, while Sossei had a much tougher time with Souvanthong, beating him 9-8. This led to the showdown for the hot-seat, where Hewitt won 9-4.

After wins over Mark Creamer and Greg Antonakos on the one loss side, Souvanthong was ready for the rematch with Sossei. This match didn’t go much better for Souvanthong though, losing 7-5 to leave him in third place.

Sossei came out on fire in the first set of the finals against Hewitt, and raced to a dominating 9-0 win to force a second set. Hewitt turned the tables in the second set of the finals though and quickly took a 5-0 lead. Sossei fought back and was able to tie the score at hill-hill, but that was when Hewitt put the tournament away with the 7-6 win.

Sunday’s second chance tournament saw Tom Acciavatti go undefeated with wins over Spencer Auigbelle for the hot-seat and again in the first set of the finals.

The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour now takes the weekend of March 16th - 17th off, but will be back in action at Union Station Billiards in Portland Maine for a rare handicapped Joss Tour stop.

Dave Grau went undefeated at Eastridge Billiards in Rochester, NY on February 23rd - 24th for his first Joss NE 9-Ball Tour stop win in over ten years. No one can say he didn’t have to fight for it though.

Grau’s Saturday wins were fairly routine, with the closest competitor (Joe Mayo) losing to Grau 9-6. Sunday, on the other hand, was a different story. Grau started his Sunday campaign with a hill-hill win over Jorge Teixeira and then followed that up with another hill-hill win, this time over Spencer Auigbelle for the hot-seat.

Bucky Souvanthong put together an impressive five match winning streak on the one loss side, after losing a 9-6 match to Ron Casanzio on Saturday. Souvanthong ran out of gas on Sunday though, finishing in 4th place after a loss to Teixeira. Teixeira then dropped a 7-1 decision to Auigbelle in the semi-final match.

The rematch between Grau and Auigbelle in the finals was just slightly more decisive with Grau winning the first (and only) set 9-7 for first place.

Sunday’s second chance tournament saw Chris Braiman run through the right side of the board, scoring a 3-0 win over Dan Sharlow for the hot-seat. Aaron Cameron had lost to Braiman in his second match of the day, but navigated the one loss side and defeated Sharlow 3-1 in the semi-final match. Cameron would get his revenge and then some, in the final match. A 3-2 win in the first set of the finals was followed up by a 3-1 win in the second set to give Cameron first place.

The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour will be back in action this weekend with the $2500 added 10th NE Pool & Billiard Hall of Fame 9-Ball Open at Snookers in Providence R.I.

Congratulations to our new Joss Junior Champions Frank Spain III in the 18 & under division and Bryzen Manipula in the 12 & under. Both players went undefeated in their respective divisions to claim their titles and qualify the to go the the BEF/BCA National Championships in Las Vegas in July. Also qualifying for the nationals was 2nd place finisher in the 18 under, Justin Bogdanffy and 2nd and 3rd finishers in the 12 under, Nico Famiglietti & Dereck Graven. Our formats for the events were, double elimination races to 9/7 on the 9 footers for the 18 under and races to 7/5 on the 7 footers for the 12 under, played at the beautiful Sharp Shooters Billiards & Sposrt Pub in Amsterdam NY.

It was a fun day of pool watching these talented youngsters compete with some as young as 7 years old. Most were playing in their first tournament ever. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves even though they were very serious in trying to win. All players were treated to a table full of donated items to choose from, plus free raffles for the larger items. Many thanks go out to the many people and companies that generously donated products and their time to help. Our generous sponsors are, in no particular order: Sharp Shooters Billiards & Sports Pub (Tim & Julie Berlin), Joss Cues (Debbie, Dan & Stephen Janes), James Sinclair (Rhythm Custom Cues), CJ & Peggi Wilkinson (Baltimore City Cues), Don Kerns, Iwan Simonis (Ivan Lee), Aramith (Ivan Lee), Phil Capelle (Billiards Press), Mark Kulungian, Andrea Duvall (Utica Billiards On The Boulevard), Matt Tetreault, Steven W. Smith, Dave Dreidel & Kevin Bauccio. And thank you to everyone else involved.

18 & Under:
1st Frank Spain III (Joss Cue & case, trophy, plus Cuetec cue & case from raffle)
2nd Jusin Bogdanffy (trophy)
3rd Dale Graven (LoreeJon Hasson autographed Pro Cup cue ball - raffle)
4th Kailey Bombard (Shane Van Boening Pro Cup cue ball - raffle)

12 & Under:
1st Bryzen Manipula (Joss Cue & case, trophy, plus Jayson Shaw Pro Cup cue ball - raffle)
2nd Nico Famiglietti (trophy)
3rd Dereck Graven (Rhythm Cue & case - raffle)
4th Joey Berlin
5/6th (tie) Skylar Hess (Autographed Efren Reyes painting - raffle)
5/6th (tie) Austin Stewart (LoreeJon Hasson Pro Cup cue ball - raffle)
7/8th (tie) Logan Bombard
7/8th (tie) D'angelo "Jawz" Spain (Rhythm Cue & case - raffle)
9th Blake Bombard

Jayson Shaw looks to be in prime Mosconi Cup form, as he crushed a field of 87 players to win his third Ocean State 9-Ball Championship at Snookers in Providence RI on November 17th - 18th.

Shaw cruised through the winner’s side with wins Tony Masi, Pat Fleming, Pete Bowman, Raphael Dabreo and Ryan Lineham. Over those five matches, Shaw lost only 9 out of 54 racks.

After a late Saturday loss to Zion Zvi, Shawn Wilkie was cruising through the one loss side. Wilkie had wins over Matt Krah, Lucas Fracasso-Verner, Pete Bowman and Kyle Pepin before getting revenge against Zvi 7-5. Wins over Dabreo and Lineham lead to a match with Shaw in the finals.

While Wilkie would fair better against Shaw than any other opponent all day, he would only get to 5 in the first set of the finals.

A field of nineteen players came back on Sunday to compete in the $500 added second chance tournament, where Ryan Urso went undefeated including a 3-2 hot-seat win over Mike Demarco and a 3-1 final match win over Francisco Cabral.

The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour will now take a break until the Turning Stone Classic XXXI on January 10th - 13th at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, NY. That tournament is full and players are urged to contact Mike Zuglan if they want to be added to the waiting list.

Bucky Souvanthong came through a field of 46 players to win his first Joss NE 9-Ball Tour stop of the new season at Utica Billiards on the Boulevard on October 27th - 28th.

Souvanthong had Saturday wins over Ray Carey, Paul Rozonewski, Alvin Thomas and Ron Casanzio. A Sunday morning win over Jorge Teixeira set Souvanthong up to face Qays Kolee for the hot-seat.

Kolee’s final three matches before the hot-seat match couldn’t have been much closer as he defeated Nick Brucato 9-8, Hendrick Drost 9-7 and Spencer Auigelle 9-8.

Souvanthong took the hot-seat with a fairly routine 9-5 win. Kolee scored a more convincing 7-4 win over Auigbelle on the one loss side, but dropped the first set of the finals against Souvanthong 9-3.

Twenty one players came back to Billiards on the Boulevard on Sunday for the $500 added second chance tournament. Fred Gokey defeated Mike Sykes for the hot-seat 3-2, and then defeated Nick Coppola in the second set of the finals (after a 3-0 loss in the first set) 3-2 for the win.

Joss NE 9-Ball Tour Director Mike Zuglan is urging players interested in playing in the Turning Stone Classic XXXI to contact him as soon as possible. He has “a handful of spots left”, and the event will certainly fill up.

Bruce Nagle went undefeated to win a very contested John Babravich / Jim Romanowski Memorial tournament held by the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour at Sharp Shooters Billiards & Sports Pub in Amsterdam NY on October 13th - 14th.

While Nagle went undefeated, none of his wins (Jeremy Sossei, Sam Marranca, Nick Brucato, Tom Haas and Scott Haas for the hot-seat) were by a margin of more than three racks. His hot-seat opponent, Scott Haas, only had one match that could be continued one sided, when he defeated Willie Oney 9-4 on Saturday.

On the one loss side, Ron Casanzio was bouncing back from a Saturday loss to Brucato. While his Saturday wins on the left side of the board were pretty dominant, his Sunday started with back-to-back 7-5 wins (Nicolas Charette, Tom Haas and Sossei). Casanzio’s semi final win over Scott Haas was even closer at 7-6.

With all of the close matches that Nagle had, and Casanzio’s momentum from the one loss side, a close final match was expected. Surprisingly, Nagle scored his most lopsided win of the event in the first set of the finals when he defeated Casanzio 9-5 for first place.

In Sunday’s fourteen player second chance tournament, Bob Forchilli fought to a 6-7 overall record against Ben Werblow, but that was still enough for first place. Forchilli lost to Werblow 3-0 for the hot-seat, but came back to double dip Werblow in the finals 3-2 and 3-2.

The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour will be back in action this weekend, with another $1500 / $500 added stop at Brick House Billiards in North Syracuse, NY. Joss Tour director Mike Zuglan says he is over 2/3 full as far as entries into the Turning Stone Classic XXXI on January 10 - 13. Interested players are urged to get their entries into Mike as soon as possible as this event will fill up.

Mike Zuglan’s Joss NE 9-Ball Tour kicked off their 2018-1019 season at TJ’s Classic Billiards on September 22nd - 23rd for “The Maine Event XXII”, and this event came down to a Joss Tour veteran against a player in their first ever regular season Joss Tour stop.

The veteran player was Jeremy Sossei, winner of over sixteen Joss Tour titles, who has been winning tour stops for over 10 years. Sossei has been away from the game for most of this year, with a win at the NE 9-Ball Open XXX back in February as his only appearance on the AzBilliards money list. Sossei has been spending his time on a new business that he opened, but hopes to be getting out to regularly compete again very soon.

The newcomer was Quebec’s Nicolas Charette, who got his Joss Tour feet wet at the Turning Stone Classic XXIX, but was in Waterville Maine for his first regular tour stop. Charette credited his appearance on this weekend to his love for the game. “I just enjoy playing tournaments, competing, traveling, experiencing different conditions. But really, I love the game” he said.

The players kept pace with each other all weekend until the hot-seat match. Sossei scored wins over Bill Cote, Steve Reynolds, Joe Darigis, Cody Francis and Kyle Pepin on his way to the match, while Charette had wins over Samoth Sam, Emily Cady, Jorge Teixeira, Chad Bizinet and Rich Kravitz.

The first meeting between Sossei and Charette went to the veteran 9-7 and he waited to see who he would play in the finals. Charette would face off against fellow countryman Tom Theriault in the semi-finals, but he would score a quick 7-3 win to earn another shot at Sossei in the finals.

Anyone expecting another close match between these two competitors was shocked to see the Canadian cueman score a decisive 9-2 win over Sossei in the first set of the finals. With the players now tied at one set each, a third set was played to determine a winner and Sossei pulled out a tight 7-5 win for Joss Tour Stop title #17.

Nine players came back on Sunday to compete in the second chance tournament where Dan Couture defeated Steve Reynolds two sets out of three for first place.

The Joss NE 9-Ball tour will be back in action on October 6th - 7th for the Hudson Valley Fall Classic at The Spot in Nanuet, New York.