The Predator Pro/Am
Tour’s 2012 Season kicked off Saturday, January
14th, at Steinway Billiards in Astoria, NY, a pool room
which has recently helped positively contribute to a
surge in competitive pool in Queens, NY. In addition
to becoming the newest host location for the Predator
Tour and William Finnegan’s two weekly tournaments
on Mondays and Wednesdays, the management have invested
in new Simonis Cloth and have stepped up their equipment
maintenance… in effort to cater to aspiring and
top talent.
The inaugural event of the 2012 Predator Tour season
began at noon on Saturday with the Amateur event, which
brought in an impressive total of 81 players participating
in the tour stop. Tour Founder Tony Robles and Tour
Director William Finnegan invited the top 16 players
back on Sunday, to play in the Sunday Money rounds,
where each player was in the money, and each match built
with excitement and meaning.
Each tour stop’s chart has an A/B bracket as well
as an C/D bracket, giving each level an opportunity
to stand out amongst their peers. Game on the wire spots
keep the players from different rankings competitive.
The 81 participants were all vying to start the season
off on the right foot, and try to take an early lead
in the season’s points standings, earn bragging
rights, and make it to the cash. Several notable players
went into battle in the A/B division, such as Lionel
Rivera, Steve Wright, Eric Tang, John Alicea, Jack Smith,
Tony Liang, Wellington Reyes, and the 16-year-old phenom,
former Junior National Champion Briana Miller. Briana,
who is also a multiple-time JPNEWT Regional Tour Champion,
came in at B+ and eventually was raised to an A for
putting on a remarkable performance.
There were many players participating in the Amateur
9-Ball event who were digging deep and playing hard
for a chance to win the 1st prize of $1,225 and start
the season at #1. Other stand-out performances were
seen from Trevor Heal and Steven Wright, who both brought
a combination of fearless shotmaking and a patient approach
to grind out several clutch sets, which stirred up great
buzz.
Lionel Rivera, Alex Platonov, and Dave Ascolese (who
had impressive finish in 3rd place) also left it all
on the table in their push in this event. Several ‘C’
class players made a statement, showing they they have
what it takes to win tough matches including Junior
Singh, Wellington Reyes, and Bob Schlott, who had several
impressive wins. 15-year-old top junior talent Darwin
Vergara also showed a lot of heart, and wowed a few
people with how his game has improved.
Darwin mentioned that one of the reasons he is playing
better is because he has recently been sponsored by
Steinway Billiards, giving the young aspiring talent
free table time to practice and hone his game. His father,
Mhet Vergara, also participated this weekend, in the
Open/Pro Event.
Taking the lead role in the winner’s bracket was
Ray Feliciano, who went through undefeated wins over
Niko Berdzeniskvili 7-1, Omar Chavez 7-6, Marvin St.
John 7-1, Fabulous 7-1, Junior Singh 7-5, and Dave Ascolese
8-3 earning him the hot seat and a position in the final
match.
Brian Hunter would be the player to eventually face
off against Ray Feliciano in the finals, after making
an impressive run through the one-loss side. Brian lost
his very first match to Rikki Ragoonanan at 7-5 before
grinding through the west side of the bracket. Brian’s
road to the finals included wins over Rafael Ortiz 7-3,
Darwin Vergara 7-6, Jerry Tarantola 7-3, Dan Cintron
7-4, Eric Tang 7-5, Tony Sinacore 7-6, Steve Wright
7-5, Lionel Rivera 7-2, Bob Schlott 7-6 and Dave Ascolese
7-4.
This run of ten consecutive wins left Brian Hunter feeling
confident that he could defeat Ray Feliciano, who was
having a breakout event. In the finals, Ray Feliciano
started out slow, while Brian Hunter took control of
the pace and momentum of the set. Ray was able to start
to settle in and fight back, and fought hard for a potential
come from behind win.
Brian Hunter clutched out during several key moments
to end up capturing the first Predator 9-Ball Tour event
of the season in a exciting hill-hill final match. Brian
was very impressive in showing a lot of grit and determination
as he fought back to win the event, despite losing his
first match. Congratulations to Predator 9-Ball Tour’s
Stop #1 Winner Brian Hunter, who starts out the season
ranked #1.
The Open-Pro 10-Ball event of the first Predator Pro-Am
9-Ball Tour stop of the 2012 season got underway at
noon on Sunday, January 15 with a field of 21 players.
The double-elimination, called-shot event was a race
to eight on the winner’s side and race to seven
on the one-loss side.
A number of the area’s top players came out to
take a shot at this opening event, including Sean “Alaska”
Morgan, Tony Robles, Mike Fingers, Zion Zvi, Mhet Vergara,
Frankie Hernandez, Jeremy Sossei, and many others.
Some of the area’s strongest up-and-coming players
had a standout day at this event, including Raphael
Dabreo, who defeated Jerry Tarantola 8-2 and Evan Broxmeyer
8-0, before losing to Jeremy Sossei 8-5 on the winner’s
side. Dabreo would finish tied for 7th place with Sean
Morgan.
Dabreo then met up with Jerry T again on the one-loss
side, where Tarantola avenged his earlier loss, winning
7-4. Previously, Tarantola had a solid run through the
loser’s bracket, knocking out Alex Borukhovich
7-5, Rob Pole 7-5, and Tony Robles 7-5. After defeating
Dabreo, Jerry T fought a tough battle against Jorge
Rodriguez, who came out the winner at 7-5, leaving Tarantola
to settle for fourth place.
Jorge “J-Rod” Rodriguez had a long journey
to get to that quarterfinal match after having lost
his first round match to Jeremy Sossei 8-6. Rodriguez
tore through the one-loss side in impressive fashion,
defeating Victor Nau 7-5, Frankie Hernandez 7-6, Evan
Broxmeyer 7-0, Zion Zvi 7-4, Sean Morgan 7-2, Jerry
T 7-5, and Jeremy Sossei 7-2, to lock in a spot in the
finals against Jennifer Barretta.
Jennifer had the been the story this weekend, with impressive
wins over Frankie Hernandez 8-7, Rob Pole 8-2, Sean
Morgan 8-6, and Jeremy Sossei 8-7 in an exciting hill-hill
thriller to take the hot seat. Barretta made headlines
last season when she became the first female to win
the Predator Tour’s Open/Pro event, defeating
Sossei in the finals. Right now, Jennifer is playing
the best pool of her career, and proving that the women
can win against the best players in the Tri-State area…
showing she has major game to back up the buzz.
Jennifer Barretta has been named by ESPN as one of the
50 Sexiest Athletes, and has been featured in Maxim
and Playboy magazine… and has now earned the respect
of many more knowledgeable NY pool fans that have a
new appreciation for the firepower this girl is packing.
In the finals, undefeated Jennifer Barretta took on
a hot Jorge Rodriguez at around 4am am Monday morning.
Rodriguez continued his very strong play from throughout
the event in this match, with impressive shotmaking
that was exciting to watch. While Rodriguez was in prime
form, Barretta showed signs of fatigue and was not able
to keep up her top game she showed throughout the event.
The match ended with a strong 11-2 win for Jorge Rodriguez
to take the title. With this win, Jorge solidifies himself
as one of NY’s strongest players, and starts out
leading the points rankings of the Pro/Am Tour.
Congrats to both Jorge and Jennifer, along with 3rd
place finisher Jeremy Sossei on their performances in
this event! Stay on the NYC Grind for the upcoming final
results from the two-day Predator Tour Amateur 9-Ball
event.
For the second year in a row, the Predator Pro/Am Tour
is going to be awarding an Open/Pro player with an entry
into the invitational U.S. Open 10-Ball Championships.
After the end of the 7th stop of the season, the player
who accumulated the most points will win the entry (worth
$500) to the big event in Vegas. Below is the breakdown
of the points given to the top finishers. Good luck
to all the players working towards earning this big
entry!
- "Written by Jerry Tarantola,
NYCgrind.com"
