Corr Wins Her Fifth Joss Billiard Tour Event

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - Joss Northeast 9 Ball Tour

Corr Wins Her Fifth Joss Billiard Tour Event

Joss Northeast 9-ball Tour / Providence, RI
by Skip Maloney
Women’s Professional Billiards Association (WPBA) player Karen Corr is still the only woman billiard player to have ever won an event on the Joss Northeast 9-ball Tour, and on the weekend of May 3-4, she worked her way through a field of 60 entrants undefeated to become the only woman to win five of them. Corr defeated Ivaylo Petrov twice, once for the hot seat and again in the finals of the $2000-added event at Snookers Café and Billiards in Providence, RI.
Earlier on Sunday, the four finalists on the winners’ side battled to identical 9-5 scores to put Corr in the hot seat. Petrov defeated Bob Madenjian, while Corr moved past Randy Labonte. Petrov battled, but Corr prevailed in the hot seat match.
By Sunday, there were only four left on the one-loss side of the bracket, and the early matches there were close. Dave Fernandez and Ray McNamara battled back and forth through advances and ties, neither player moving further than a single game ahead of the other. Both had opportunities to close it out in the subsequent hill-hill game to win it, but it was McNamara who advanced. Bucky Souvanthong jumped out to a 5-0 lead in his battle versus Tom McGonagle, but McGonagle fought back to tie and kept it close, before falling just shy of bringing the match to hill-hill.
Madenjian, over from the winners’ side, took on McNamara, defeating him 9-5, as Souvanthong took on Labonte, defeating him handily 9-3. Souvanthong then held on to best Madenjian 9-6 to move into the semifinals against Petrov. Petrov jumped out to an early 3-0 lead before Souvanthong responded to tie it. The match wavered back and forth to hill-hill, where, just as in the earlier match-up between Fernandez and McNamara, both players had an opportunity to win the final game but passed until Petrov prevailed.
Corr lost no time establishing her rhythm in the final against Petrov. She jumped out to an early lead that she never relinquished and closed out her undefeated weekend with a commanding 9-4 victory.
The 2007-2008 Joss Northeast 9-ball Tour will conclude on the weekend of August 14-17 with a $25,000-added tour finale at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, NY. According to tour director Mike Zugman, the entry list will be capped at 128 competitors, about half of whom have already signed up. The only way to enter this tournament is to contact Zugman directly at 518-356-7163.
Results:
1st Karen Corr
2nd Ivaylo Petrov
3rd Bucky Souvanthong
4th Bob Madenjian
5th Ray McNamara
Randy Labonte
7th Dave Fernandez
Tom McGonagle
9th Trystan Speedwell
Jason Michas
Pete Ziemak
Dennis Levesque
13th Damon Sobers
Joe Tucker
Chris Leal
Chris Uhlman

Heidrich Hangs on to Win

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - Joss Northeast 9 Ball Tour

Heidrich Hangs on to Win

Joss Northeast 9-ball Tour / Parsippany, NJ
by Skip Maloney
In a true double-elimination final match on the Joss Northeast 9-ball Tour in Parsippany, NJ, Dan Heidrich withstood a strong attack that put him on the brink of defeat. He rallied in the second match to defeat Adam Kielar and capture the first place prize in the $2,000-added event. The tour stop drew 29 entrants to Comet Billiards on the weekend of April 26-27.
Earlier in the day, Heidrich knocked Jesse Ramirez to the one-loss side of the bracket as Kielar was doing the same to Jonathan Smith. The last two winners then squared off in the hot seat match, battling back and forth to a 9-7 win for Heidrich.
On the one-loss side, Bucky Souvanthong dropped Jason Michas into the seventh-place slot, as Carmen Lombardo, in a 9-7, three-hour marathon, did the same to Bobby Blackmore. In a series of tightly contested games and matches leading up to the quarterfinals, Smith, fresh from the winners’ side, defeated Souvanthong, and Carmen Lombardo got by Jesse Ramirez. Smith then knocked Lombardo into fourth place with a 9-6 win.
With visions of the 9-7, back-and-forth struggle that had knocked him onto the west side in his mind, Kielar wasted little time dispatching Smith into third place. He jumped out to a 7-0 lead before trading a couple of games and closing it out 9-2.
At the beginning of the true double-elimination match-up versus Heidrich, it looked as though Kielar was going to build on the momentum he’d established in his semifinal match against Smith. He won that first set handily 9-3 and stood poised to avenge his earlier defeat in the hot seat match. But Heidrich turned the tables rapidly, capitalizing on a few mistakes, running five racks in the middle of the contest and closing it out at 9-4 for the victory.
Results:
1st Dan Heidrich
2nd Adam Kielar
3rd Jonathan Smith
4th Carmen Lombardo
5th Bucky Souvanthong
Jesse Ramirez
7th Jason Michas
Bobby Blackmore

Hatch Hangs on for Win

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - Joss Northeast 9 Ball Tour

Hatch Hangs on for Win
Joss Northeast 9-ball Tour / Albany, NY

by Skip Maloney
In front of a capacity crowd, Dennis “The Hatchet Man” Hatch struggled a bit in a winners’-side final match against Mike Zuglan but hung on to win and then went on to defeat Dan Heidrich in the $3,000-added Joss Northeast 9-ball Tour stop on the weekend of April 19-20. The event drew 49 players, who played around on-going reconstruction work at the 50-year-old Golden cue Billiards facility in Albany, NY.
On the one-loss side of the bracket Sunday, Heidrich, having been defeated by Zuglan on the winners’ side, went on to oust Ed Abraham 9-4 in the quarterfinal match. In the hot seat match, Hatch jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Zuglan responded, eventually knotting the score at 6 and again at 7. Zuglan failed to make a ball on the subsequent break and Hatch capitalized, winning the final two racks.
Heidrich had no trouble eliminating an admittedly tired Zugman in the semifinals 9-1 and moved on to the finals against the undefeated Hatch. The final match was an early, back-and-forth struggle that lasted until Hatch moved ahead 5-4. He allowed Heidrich only one other game victory before taking home the first-place prize.
Results:
1st Dennis Hatch
2nd Dan Heidrich
3rd Mike Zugman
4th Ed Abraham
5th Bucky Souvanthong
Tom D’Alfonso
7th Karen Corr
Frank Bess
9th Kevin Ketz
Damon Sobers
Tim Parisian
Greg Antonakos

Kirkwood Snaps Off Joss Tour Event

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - Joss Northeast 9 Ball Tour

Kirkwood Snaps Off Joss Tour Event
Joss Northeast 9-ball Tour / West Hempstead, NY
by Skip Maloney
Jason “The Dark Horse” Kirkwood came back from an early loss on the Joss Northeast 9-ball Tour to defeat hot seat occupant Bob Blackmore in a true double-elimination match-up. The tour stopped in West Hempstead, NY, the weekend of April 5-6 and drew in a total of 35 players.
Early Sunday on the winners’ side of the bracket, Blackmore and tour director Mike Zuglan had moved past Tony Robles and Andonis Brastos, respectively. Blackmore scored a 9-4 win, while Zuglan shut out Brastos 9-0 before falling to Blackmore 9-3 in the winners’-side finals.
On the one-loss side of the bracket, Kirkwood had stayed alive to reach a Sunday morning match against Chuck Altomare, who’d sent him to the one-loss bracket on Saturday in the first place with a 9-5 defeat. Tom Walter, in the meantime, defeated Ariel Rivera by the same score.
Kirkwood and Walter then faced recent arrivals from the winners’ side, Robles and Brastos, defeating them by identical 9-5 scores. They then squared off against each other, with Kirkwood winning 9-4 and moving on to face Zuglan in the semifinals. Zuglan fell to Kirkwood by the same score that had eliminated him in the hot seat match 9-3, setting up the double-elimination final between Kirkwood and Blackmore.
Kirkwood took the first match handily 9-3, and though he jumped out to an early 6-2 lead in the second match, Blackmore flexed a little muscle to struggle back within two at 6-4. Kirkwood surged to reach the hill at 8-4, and despite Blackmore taking the next three racks, Kirkwood sealed the deal with a 9-7 victory.
Results:
1st Jason Kirkwood
2nd Bob Blackmore
3rd Mike Zuglan
4th Tom Walter
5th Tony Robles
Andonis Brastos
7th Ariel Rivera
Chuck Altomare

Souvanthong Scores on Joss Tour

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - Joss Northeast 9 Ball Tour

Souvanthong Scores on Joss Tour
Joss Northeast 9-ball Tour / Rochester, NY

by Rick Davis
Bucky Souvanthong topped a field of 37 billiard players at the March 29-30 stop of the Joss Northeast 9-ball Tour. The event was hosted by Classic Billiards in Rochester, NY, and offered some of the best 9-ball action around for the weekend.
Late on the winners’ side Dan Heidrich sent Jason “The Dark Horse” Kirkwood west 9-6 but then fell to Souvanthong 9-7 in the hot seat match. On the one-loss side Ron Casanzio was working on a comeback, eliminating Jim Behringer 9-4 to reach the quarterfinal round. Kirkwood was also still fighting, and after ousting Pat Howey 9-5, he knocked out Casanzio 9-4. In the quarterfinals Kirkwood went on to get revenge against Heidrich, whom he eliminated with a 9-5 score.
In the final the true double-elimination format made it an interesting fight, and after Kirkwood owned the opening set 9-3 it looked to be anyone’s game. With the last set running, neither player could get an edge and finally, with the match at 8-all, both players had the opportunity to close out the set. After each had failed to claim it Souvanthong managed to capture the final rack for the 9-8 win.
Results:
1st Bucky Souvanthong
2nd Jason Kirkwood
3rd Dan Heidrich
4th Ron Casanzio
5th Jim Behringer
Pat Howey
7th Dan Smith
Chris Orme

Archer New Turning Stone Classic X Champion

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - Joss Northeast 9 Ball Tour

Archer New Turning Stone Classic X Champion
by Rick Davis
Ending just past 10 p.m. Sunday evening, Johnny “The Scorpion” Archer survived a three-hour grinder in the finals where he bested Jeremy Sossei 13-8 to win the Turning Stone Classic X in Verona, NY. The 128-player field fought from February 21-24 at the Turning Stone Hotel and Casino for a share of the $25,000 added, $41,000 prize pool.
Starting the final day of play on Sunday, the top eight players began to inch towards the finish line. On the winners’ side Sossei bested Ronnie Wiseman 9-7, while Archer defeated Tony Chohan by the same margin. Archer then found his way past Sossei 9-7 in the hot seat match while he waited for the one-loss side to present his opposition in the finals.
Early on the one-loss side Mika Immonen started strong, eliminating Turning Stone IX’s runner-up Louis Ulrich 9-3 then Wiseman 9-7. This put Immonen in the quarterfinals where he faced Dennis Hatch after he had come off victories against Steve Moore 9-5 and Chohan 9-7. Hatch stayed in gear for another round as he knocked out Immonen 9-6 but then fell to Sossei in the semifinals, where Sossei drilled Hatch 9-2 in the day’s biggest upset.
Sossei earned a crack at Archer, and with the finals set to play, a single race to 13 would decide the winner. Finally, just after the three-hour mark, Archer had the end in sight with the score 11-8 in his favor. Sossei did not claim another rack after that and Archer propelled himself to a 13-8 victory to earn the title of champion of the Turning Stone Classic X.
Results:
1st Johnny Archer $8000
2nd Jeremy Sossei $5000
3rd Dennis Hatch $3600
4th Mike Immonen $2600
5th Tony Chohan $2000
Ronnie Wiseman
7th Steve Moore $1600
Louis Ulrich

Favorites Clash as the Field Tightens at Turning Stone Classic

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - Joss Northeast 9 Ball Tour

Favorites Clash as the Field Tightens at Turning Stone Classic
by Rick Davis
Friday night at the Turning Stone Classic X proved to be do or die for many of the top pros, and the field is rapidly dwindling. The event, which is taking place at the Turning Stone Hotel and Casino in Verona, NY, today whittled down to its final eight players, who will return for the final day of play where everyone’s eyes will be on the $8,000 top prize from the $25,000-added event.
As day two ended and day three got into gear, few favorites were safe from the terror. Robb Saez defeated Dennis Hatch 9-6, while Louis Rios defeated Louis Ulrich 9-7. In that same round Canadian Jason Klatt sent Thorsten Hohmann west after a 9-5 thumping. From there action continued on the winners’ side as Tony Chohan defeated Tony Robles 9-4, while Johnny Archer defeated Edwin Montal by the same margin. On the one-loss side Hunter Lombardo survived a close call against Rodolfo Luat when Luat was up 8-5 in the race to 9. Lombardo managed to scrape back to within striking distance and finishing with a 1-9 combo to tie the score at double-hill, then broke and ran the final rack to claim victory. Luat was the first casualty from the top-tier players.
Closing out the early carnage another trio of top pros found themselves on the wrong end of the table. Dan Doerner defeated Steve Moore 9-7, Ray McNamara defeated Mika Immonen 9-5, and Jonathan Smith defeated Mike Davis double-hill.
Fast forward to Saturday’s evening action as most of the day lost the excess baggage on the one-loss side. The ladies were the first to be ousted as Ewa Laurance was eliminated by Holdin Chin 9-4, then Chin sent Liz Ford to follow after their 9-2 match. Val Finnie and Julie Kelly were knocked out in that same round, and then two rounds later Karen Corr was iced by Tom McGonagle 9-7. McGonagle, a three-time New England champion from the early 1990s, had a great event and after giving walking papers to Corr, he eliminated Hohmann 9-4 before getting iced himself by Immonen 9-5.
On the winners’ side Chohan fought defeated Saez 9-5 to a spot in the final eight. Archer took a cake walk to the final day of play as he drilled Mike Wallace 9-1 to ensure his return. Jeremy Sossei also survived on the winners’ side and will face Ronnie Wiseman, who just slipped past Klatt double-hill in the winners’ side final round.
From there it was a quick jump on the one-loss side to determine the quartet that would return. Ulrich survived the night by ousting Saez 9-5 and will face Immonen in the final eight, while Hatch will play Moore, who eliminated Klatt 9-6 to reach the final day.
Going into the final day, these are the matchups:
Winners’ Side:
Chohan versus Archer
Sossei versus Wiseman
One-Loss Side:
Ulrich versus Immonen
Hatch versus Moore
Visit InsidePOOL for the latest updates in the sport of billiards and pool.

Status Quo at Turning Stone Classic

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - Joss Northeast 9 Ball Tour

Status Quo at Turning Stone Classic
by Rick Davis
The Turning Stone Classic X was in full swing Friday at the Turning Stone Hotel and Casino in Verona, NY. Day two of the four-day event started to offer some thrills, although no upsets have occurred. As the evening rounds started to take shape the top pros began to merge together, while others are set to play this evening.
In the day’s early winners’-side matches Johnny “The Scorpion” Archer barely escaped from Dave Fernandez double-hill when Fernandez came up dry on his break, leaving Archer to run out for the 9-8 win. From that point many of the top pros enjoyed a free ride today as long as they could avoid a loss from a random competitor. Mike Davis, Robb Saez, Steve Moore, and Mika Immonen are all comfortable on the winners’ side with no serious threat expected until Saturday’s action. The rest of the top players, however, are already locked in against each other. The evening rounds tonight feature Tony Robles versus Tony Chohan, Archer versus Edwin Montal, and Thorsten Hohmann versus Shin Park. In that same round a Canadian showdown will take place when Erik Hjorleifson faces Jason Klatt—sure to be an interesting match.
The only notable match to finish early has been Dennis Hatch, who obliterated Karen Corr 9-0 in the 8 p.m. round. Corr now heads west where she will join WPBA compatriots Val Finnie and Julie Kelly, who have yet to begin their one-loss side rounds, as well as Liz Ford and Ewa Laurance, who have each already taken a one-loss-side win.
The night will complete after the 10 p.m. round comes to a close, and 16 players will remain on the winners’ side going into day three as they all keep their eye on the $8,000 top prize from the $41,000 prize fund.
Stay tuned to InsidePOOLmag.com for the latest news and updates from this event.

Turning Stone X Begins

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - Joss Northeast 9 Ball Tour

Turning Stone X Begins
by Rick Davis
The Turning Stone Classic X got underway February 21 at the Turning Stone Hotel and Casino in Verona, NY. Once again the event has a full 128-player field that will battle it out through the event’s four days of play as everyone reaches for their share of the $41,000 prize fund.
Rounds begin every two hours starting at 10 a.m. Friday and Saturday until the top eight are brought back for the final day of play on Sunday.
As the first rounds of the event began on the winners’ side, it seems that the random draw did a spectacular job spreading out the top pros. While this promises that the favorites are sure to keep a hold through at least the first couple days, it makes it a daunting task for anyone else who faces the gauntlet. A quick glance through the who’s who sees Mika Immonen and Thorston Hohmann as well as Johnny Archer. Top Northeastern players Mike Davis and Dennis Hatch are also stalking prey, and that’s only half of the chart! The other half of the chart includes Steve Moore, Ronnie Wiseman, and Louis Ulrich, who was runner-up last June at this event, among others. Last June’s winner, Lee Van Corteza, is not present to defend his title. As if all of that were not enough, there is a bunch of top WPBA stars in the lineup, including Karen Corr, Val Finnie, Kelly Fisher, Ewa Laurence, and Julie Kelly.
With the first day coming to a close, many top players advanced with little opposition. Hatch, Tony Robles, Immonen, and Moore all came through unscathed. Ulrich managed the day’s only shut-out against Wayne Cooperider, and favorite women’s entry, Corr, stayed prominent without a loss. The evening’s shocker was seen when Robb Saez and Rodolfo Luat were tied at double-hill, and after an intense safety battle, Saez left a shot on the 7 ball. Luat, however, rattled the 8 ball, leaving Saez to tap in the last two balls, snatching the match back from the jaws of disaster. As eyes moved from that match, much of the crowd was cheering Laurence on, but her match against Jeremy Sossei was over before it began as he drilled her 9-1.
Few unexpected results have taken place so far, but after the players rest and the first full day of play begins Friday, the excitement will pick up as players scramble to stay in the action.
Stay tuned to InsidePOOLmag.com for the latest daily updates and news.

Dechaine Destroys the Field

Posted by admin as Billiard Tour News - Joss Northeast 9 Ball Tour

Dechaine Destroys the Field
Joss Northeast 9-ball Tour / Parsippany, NJ

by Rick Davis
The January 26-27 stop of the Joss Northeast 9-ball Tour swung into Comet Billiards in Parsippany, NJ, where Mike Dechaine bested the 40-player field to claim the title. This double-elimination 9-ball action was second stop of the 2008 year for the tour.
On the winners’ side Dechaine owned the chart leading up to the hot seat match, where he faced and defeated top WPBA star Karen Corr 9-6. On the one-loss side it was a last-minute scramble to see who would remain to face Dechaine in the finals.
Tournament director Mike Zuglan ousted Len Favata 9-7 to reach the quarterfinals, while Bucky Souvanthong was not far behind. After taking an early loss to Dechaine double-hill, Souvanthong streaked through the one-loss side, clearing the final remaining players that included Mike Yednak 9-6, Zuglan 9-3 in the quarterfinals, and then eliminated Corr 9-6 in the semifinals.
With only one match remaining, Souvanthong was eager to avenge his early loss, although the true double-elimination format gave him a tough hill to climb. To start things out both Souvanthong and Dechaine kept things very close, as neither found a lead more than one rack, but Souvanthong edged out the double-hill win to force a final set. In the last set things kept close again until the score reached 4-all, where Dechaine was able to catch a gear and propel himself to the 9-6 win to claim the event.
Results:
1st Mike Dechaine
2nd Bucky Souvanthong
3rd Karen Corr
4th Mike Zuglan
5th Len Favata
Mike Yednak