Stop #8
June 1-2
ABCD Saturday at Noon
Open/Pro Sunday at Noon
$1500 Added
Raxx Pool Room, Sports Bar & Grill
510 Hempstead Turnpike
West Hempstead, NY 11552
516.538.9896
directions
website
Click here to view the complete 2013 Predator Tour schedule
Click here to view 2013 Points Standings

The Predator Tour’s Amateur 9-Ball and Open/Pro 10-Ball events were hosted by Bayside, Queens pool room Cue Bar (CueBarBayside.com) for the pool tour’s seventh stop of the season on May 4-5, 2013. Cue Bar features a nice combination of great equipment, good food, and a modern design layout, including a DJ booth and couches that are converted pool tables. The host room and Predator Tour owner Tony Robles rolled out the red carpet for the nice mix of big-name talent, ever-improving amateurs, and breakthrough players. The Predator Tour’s tournament director William Finnegan, penciled in a total of 42 players who participated in the Amateur 9-Ball event on Saturday. NYC Grind contributor Brian Leong was on site for the event for both days of the event, check out his photos at the links below. The final six Amateur 9-ball players were called back on Sunday to play alongside the Open and Pro players, who would play call-shot 10-ball. There were a few veteran players who brought out a renewed love and excitement for the game, and one player who really stood out from the rest, in terms of energy, excitement, and growing a strong fan following. That player was the event’s lone junior competitor, Charles Darwin Vergara, who played the game with a relaxed confidence and showcased his impressive arsenal of pool knowledge and talent. While Darwin (as his friends know him), has been around the game as long as he can remember… his upbringing is unique and remarkable.
While Darwin is plugged in to technology and enjoys sports and digital games, he has a deep respect and understanding for the art and skills needed to be a champion in the game of pool. By the time the dust settled at stop #7, it was clear in my mind that this kid has what it takes to be a great player that can make a positive impact. Darwin, who is Filipino, was introduced to the game by his father, Open level player Mhet Vergara. Mhet and his closest friends are part of a circle of some of the greatest Filipino players to ever play the game, allowing Darwin the ability to watch and learn from many of the greats in the game while growing up in Queens, NY. Mhet Vergara shooting at Cue Bar on Day 2 of the Predator Tour - Photo by Brian Leong
A number of Filipino legends, including Efren Reyes, Francisco Bustamante, Jose Parica, Santos Sambajon, Warren Kiamco, and Dennis Orcollo helped him develop and encourage his innate ability. Darwin has also worked with some of the great American players including Earl Strickland since he made his new home here in New York. Darwin is currently sponsored by Steinway Billiards, where he practices approximately four times a week in a very unstructured and free-form manner. Darwin Vergara was at Steinway Billiards watching the action between Warren Kiamco & Francisco Bustamante vs Jayson Shaw & Earl Strickland
I’ve had the chance to watch Darwin grow and evolve both as a young person and as one of the top junior talents in the game today. He’s currently ranked as a ‘B’ player at age 16, and after watching him play in this event, it’s clear that the hard work is paying off…and helping to remind many of the veteran players what this game is truly about. It’s clear that Darwin looks at the game as an art form, and embraces the challenges he’s up against with a positive attitude while digging deep to attempt difficult shots at times. Through a combination of powerful yet elegant stroke, advanced knowledge for his age, and an overall fast and loose style… Darwin is having fun competing, growing, and learning. One ongoing concern for our industry’s growth and development in the future has been the sport’s ability to gain the interest of the youth. Pool is a game/sport that is more accessible than many sports, and there are a lot of talented people doing what they can to support young players and our sport’s future. The BEF (www.billiardeducation.org) recently teamed up with Allen Hopkins and his amazing staff at the Super Billiards Expo to contribute to what’s exciting and hopeful around the game, while Tony Robles and other top pros also invest time into supporting the youth in different ways.
Darwin’s strong support system of family and friends who came out to watch him seemed to fuel his drive to win, helping him make it to Sunday undefeated. On Sunday, Darwin Vergara defeated always-tough Zee Shan Safdar 7-3 earning a spot in the finals by way of the winner’s bracket. While Darwin Vergara’s breakout play was a major highlight of the weekend, veteran tour player Juan Guzman (ranked as an ‘A’) was quietly earning “W” after “W” on the one loss side. Juan ended up winning a total of nine consecutive matches after a second-round loss to Steve Kallo (B). Juan had a gritty battle with Tom Hagan in the quarterfinal before edging out with a 7-5 win, and followed it up with a 7-1 performance over Zee Shan Safdar in the semifinal.
Juan Guzman has been hot on the table as of late, having recently won two Tri-State Tour events, and brought a tactical and patient approach to the table in the finals… along with spurts of pure firepower. Darwin would battle against Juan in impressive fashion, but wasn’t able to stop the momentum that Juan brought from the one-loss side. It was really enjoyable watching both Darwin and Juan play in the finals, and it was pretty cool to see the young junior player start to embody the elements of a champion. Darwin is a player to watch as he continues to learn, evolve and grow. Congratulations to both Darwin and Juan on their solid play throughout stop #7.
While legendary New York pro and Predator Tour owner Tony Robles has been busy building his amateur league the NAPL (National Amateur Pool League), and working towards growing the billiards industry in new and positive ways, it is clear that he still knows how to win. Although he doesn’t have much time to practice or even teach as much as he would like, Tony broke through to earn his first win of the 2013 season at the Predator Pro/Am Tour’s seventh stop, held at Cue Bar in Bayside, NY on May 4-5. The one-day Open/Pro 10-Ball division of the event was held on Sunday, May 5, and featured several stand-out players such as former World Champion Mika Immonen, and top New York area players Zion Zvi, Jonathan Smith, and Joey Korsiak. NYC's Society Billiards house pro Jonathan Smith - Photo by Brian Leong
Mika Immonen has been playing really strong as of late, and is in-form and hungry to win. Mika started off with three consecutive 7-1 wins over Qi Liu, Jerry Tarantola, and Zion Zvi before being handed a 7-2 upset loss by Lee Kang. Lee Kang is a player from Seongnam, South Korea who has been mentored by Shin “Godzilla” Park since he was a junior player, and is currently visiting New York. Kang is making the most of his trip by earning bragging rights of defeating one of the most dominant players of our generation in impressive fashion. Lee Kang won four consecutive matches on the winner’s side to take the hot seat… before being matched up against Tony Robles in the final. Robles had battled back on the one-loss side after losing to Joey Korsiak 7-2 in the second round to make his way into the final. In that final match, Tony Robles and Lee Kang were going blow for blow for the first 4 games… but with a 2-2 scoreline, Tony came alive and won the next six consecutive games unanswered to set the tone of the match. Lee had brought out exceptional play throughout the event, but Tony’s game proved to be too much for Lee to contain in the finals. Tony ended up with an 11-5 win to capture the win at Stop #7, and help close the gap between him and tour points leader Mika Immonen. Throughout the season thus far, the Predator Pro/Am Tour has continued to bring together an international player and fan base… helping people better understand the different cultures and styles of play which are unified through this great game. Congratulations to both Tony Robles and Lee Kang for showcasing the heart of competition, while embodying character and the ability to communicate through this art form that we have come to love and appreciate.
The next Predator Pro/Am Tour event will be stop #8, held on June 1-2 at Raxx Pool Room in West Hempstead, NY on Long Island. The Amateur 9-Ball event will begin Saturday at Noon, while the Open/Pro 10-Ball will begin Sunday at Noon, with a total of $1,500-Added.
- "Story by NYC Grind Founder & Contributor, Jerry Tarantola"

The sixth stop of the Predator Pro/Am Tour’s 2013 season was held at Astoria, NY’s Steinway Billiards on the weekend of April 13-14. Out of the field of seventy-two players in the Amateur 9-Ball division, regular Steinway player Tony Liang came out swinging to go undefeated. On his way to the top of this event, Liang went through the bracket by taking wins over Lidio Rasta 7-3, Stewart Warnock 7-6, Rhys Chen 7-3, and narrowly escaped Phil Davis 7-6 to finish off day one in the final four of the winner’s bracket. Meeting Liang in the final four on the second day was Dave Shlemperis, who would then be to the one-loss side after Liang came out on top at 7-4. The lower half of the bracket featured dominant play from two of the tour’s ladies, as Rhio Anne Flores and Anna Grintsuk went undefeated on day one to play one another in the other final four match. Flores, who is a longtime Tri-State area tour player, would defeat Grintsuk in this match at 7-4 to move on and take on Tony Liang in the match for the hot seat. Liang would continue on his run and take the hot seat with a 7-4 win. On the one-loss side of the bracket, yet another one of the tour’s female players played tough to make a strong comeback, as Yomaylin Feliz followed up her loss to Anna Grintsuk by winning five matches on the one-loss side, defeating James Park 7-2, Mike Panzarella 7-2, Thomas Rice 7-3, and Meshak Daniel 7-6. However, Feliz was then matched up against Anna Grintsuk for the second time in the event, and would lose by the same score of 7-6 and finish in 5th place. Bob Schlott and Pablo Sanz were two other players to play tough on the one-loss side, each winning six matches after their first losses…and end up on a collision course to meet one another in the final four of the one-loss side, where Sanz would win 7-2 and go on to beat Dave Shlemperis 7-6. Sanz then moved on to the quarterfinal, where he matched up against Anna Grintsuk to win 7-4. Grintsuk, who recently moved to New York from Estonia, would finish in fourth place in only her second appearance on the tour.
Pablo Sanz then moved on to play the semifinal against Rhio Anne Flores, who would end his run with a strong win in the semi at 7-2. This win earned Flores a rematch with Tony Liang in the finals, where she started out with an early 6-3 lead. However, in the tenth rack Flores would make an error on the five ball, and as Liang won the next rack, the momentum shifted in his favor…and he went on to break and run the next two racks and tie 6-6. With Liang needing one more rack to win, Flores left him a shot after attempting a safety, and opened the door for him to win the match at 7-6. Congratulations to Tony Liang on his first tour win of the season, as well as to Rhio Anne on a strong 2nd place finish.
On Sunday, April 14, Jayson Shaw would make his return to the Predator Pro/Am Tour in style…going undefeated while preventing Mika Immonen from claiming his fourth consecutive win on the tour. Following his win at the Predator Tour’s Empire State 10-Ball Championships, Shaw took a hiatus from the tour while he traveled to tournaments on the West Coast, but came back on top and won his second event of the season.
The event was part of the sixth stop of the Predator Tour’s 2013 season, held at Steinway Billiards in Astoria, NYC. As the tour stop was held the weekend following the Super Billiards Expo in nearby Edison, NJ, the event drew a tough field that featured touring players including Warren Kiamco, Rodney Morris, and Hunter Lombardo, along with Steinway house pro Earl Strickland. Shaw and Immonen were the two players to charge their respective halves of the winner’s bracket, to end up facing off in the hot seat match that evening. After a first-round bye, Jayson Shaw defeated Tony Robles 7-3 and Earl Strickland 7-1, to take on Jorge Rodriguez in the winner’s side final four. Shaw would have his closest match of the event against Rodriguez, coming away with a 7-5 win.
Meanwhile, Immonen defeated John MacArthur 7-1, Ron Mason 7-4, and Warren Kiamco, to then win 7-3 against Sean “Alaska” Morgan in the final four of the lower half of the bracket. Immonen then moved on to the hot seat match, but was unable to get past Jayson Shaw, who would win it 7-4 and wait to play in the final match. With the level of the talent at this event, there was plenty of great action on the one-loss side as well. Among them, Earl Strickland eliminated Rodney Morris at 7-4 in the upper half of the bracket, but in the next round, Zion Zvi would send Strickland packing after putting up a 7-5 win. Zvi then had a close battle with Sean Morgan, who would end up upsetting Zvi to win at hill-hill, 7-6.
Morgan was then lined up for the quarterfinal, but would be no match for his opponent Warren Kiamco, who ended the match at 7-2. Warren had come off a string of wins against Tony Robles 7-5, Keith Adamik 7-3, and Jorge Rodriguez 7-2…and his win in the quarterfinal against Morgan would match him up against Mika Immonen in the semifinal. Morgan would be eliminated, but finish strong in fourth place.
The semifinal would be a close fight between Immonen and Kiamco, tying at 2-2, 3-3, and 4-4, which was the point when Immonen pulled away to get to the hill at 6-4. In the following rack, Immonen would miss a nine ball to put away the match, and Kiamco put it to 6-5. However, Kiamco had an unsuccessful break in the next rack, and Immonen ran out to win the match 7-5. In the final, we saw Mika Immonen match up against Jayson Shaw for the second time in the tournament… and end up with a similar result. Shaw started out with an early 5-1 lead, and would play tough to prevent Immonen from making much headway, rounding out his winning finish with a 9-4 final score. Following the end of the finals, Jayson Shaw spoke about his showing and what he’s been doing to prepare for competing. “I played pretty good all day. Yesterday I practiced a lot, and the day before I played straight pool and ran 172 and a couple hundreds, so was hitting the ball pretty sweet,” said Jayson. “Plus, I’ve been practicing my break, which is the main part, and I broke pretty good today.” Congrats to Jayson Shaw on a great win, and all of the event’s top finishers at Steinway!Tour owner Tony Robles would like to acknowledge Steinway Billiards for their support of the tour, along with tour sponsors Predator Cues, The National Amateur Pool League, Delta-13, NYCgrind, and PoolOnTheNet.com. The next Predator Pro/Am Tour stop will be held on the weekend of May 4-5 at Cue Bar in Bayside, Queens, NY. For more information, visit www.PredatorProAmTour.com.
- "Story by NYC Grind Editor, Alison M. Fischer"

For the third straight Predator Pro/Am Tour event in a row, Mika Immonen ruled the room…and this time it was at Steinway Billiards in Astoria, NY. This Open/Pro 10-Ball event drew sixteen players, ranging from up-and-coming amateurs trying their hand against the pros to longtime top players. Former US Open 9-Ball Champion “The Iceman” Mika Immonen would make his way to the hot seat match with little trouble in this event, defeating John MacArthur 7-0, Liam Monk 7-1, and Jeremy Sossei 7-4. Tour owner and NYC pool icon Tony Robles was also a contender in this event, and would take on Mika Immonen in the hot seat match after defeating Austin Tripp 7-6, Yorgo 7-2, and Zion Zvi 7-2. In the hot seat match, Robles would not be able to hold back Immonen. Early on, the match was tied at two each, but Immonen pulled away to win it at 7-3.
Meanwhile, there were a couple interesting upsets on the one-loss side. Among them, Tri-State area top amateur Alex Osipov defeated English snooker phenom Liam Monk 7-1. In the next round, Osipov would fall hill-hill to Keith Adamik 7-6… and Adamik moved on to knock Zion Zvi out of the tournament at 7-4 in the final four of the one-loss side.
In the other final four match, Connecticut top pro Jeremy Sossei was up against Dinko Busanich, who had previously defeated Mike Esposito 7-2 and John MacArthur 7-6. Busanich had a close match against Sossei, tying at 3-3 before taking a 5-3 lead. However, Sossei took over from then on out, winning the next four game to end the match at 7-5. Jeremy Sossei would then move on to win the quarterfinal match against Keith Adamik at 7-3, followed by a semifinal win against Tony Robles at 7-1.
The final match between Mika Immonen and Jeremy Sossei was a much closer one than their earlier meeting in the winner’s bracket. This match would feature an extended single-race format, where Immonen would win if he got to nine games first, but if Sossei got to nine first, the match would be extended to a race to eleven. Sossei was the first to establish control in this match…after the score was tied 2-2, he went on to take a 5-2 lead. While it looked that Immonen was going to win the next rack, to the surprise of the spectators, he missed the ten ball and Sossei put the score at a 6-2 lead. But, it wasn’t long before Immonen would get back in gear, as a missed five ball by Sossei in the following rack allowed the opportunity for Immonen to get back on track. He went on to win the next five games to take the lead at 7-6, and would only need to win two more games to take the match. A missed eight ball from Immonen would allow Sossei to tie at 7-7… and they would again trade racks to tie 8-8. A great safety from Immonen would result in getting an open shot at the three ball, and he ran out the rest of the final rack to win it 9-8. Congratulations to Mika Immonen on another first place finish! On the weekend of March 23-24, the Predator Pro-Am Tour held the Steinway Billiards stop that was originally scheduled for February, but was postponed due to the blizzard that hit New York that weekend. Along with the great turnout of 92 players for the tournament which payed out $1,300 for first prize, the event was also impressive as the tour joined forces with player Kim Meyer-Gabia to help raise funds for the New York Humane Society. The players and others attending the event contributed to raising a total of $1,050 for animals in need. Out of the original ninety-two player field that started out in the Amateur 9-Ball division…none could stop first-time winner Billy Santiago from taking the title. Santiago, who hails from Bridgeport, CT, has been a longtime player on the tour and was named 2012 Sportsman of the Year, made this two-day event his first victory after an undefeated showing. At the end of the first day of competition, Billy Santiago was among the eight players to move on to the second day from the winner’s bracket. On day one, Santiago had a first-round bye, then defeated Niko Berdzenishvili 7-6, Brian Hunter 7-3, and Jack Smith 7-3… and went on to win against Zee Shan Sabfa (forfeit) and Jimmy Rivera 7-3 to go to the hot seat match. Brooklyn player Nick Chan would meet with Santiago in the match for the hot seat, after defeating Patrick Meyer 7-5, Ambi Estevez 7-5, Anna Grintsuk 7-5, Ross Lacey 7-3, Mike Panzarella 8-6, and Bogie Uzdejczyk 7-4. In the hot seat match between Nick Chan and Billy Santiago, Chan did not pose a threat to win the match, with Santiago walking away with a 7-3 win. Sixteen players were left standing on the one-loss side of the bracket at the end of day one, hoping for a chance at a comeback. The top player to start out the day on the one-loss side was Ray Lee, who had lost his last match on Saturday night to Mike Panzarella at 9-8. Lee got started with day two by defeating Junior Sanchez 8-7, then went on to win against Mike Yednak in another hill-hill fight at 8-7. Lee then continued on to defeat me (Alison Fischer) 7-3 to make it to the final four of the one-loss side.
In the final four of the one-loss side, Ray Lee defeated Zee Shan Sabfa 7-3, while Mike Panzarella defeated victor Nau 7-6. Previously, Panzarella (rated A+) defeated Roberto Mendoza following his loss on the winner’s side to Nick Chan. Mike Panzarella was then matched against Jimmy Rivera, who had just been sent to the loser’s side by Billy Santiago. Panzarella won by a landslide 7-2 score, to move on to the semifinal to take on Lee, who finished a successful win against Bogie Uzdejcyk at 7-4. In the quarterfinal match, Ray Lee (rated a ‘B’) would get three games on the wire in a race to eight against Mike Panzarella (A+). Panzarella played strong to dominate this match and keep Lee from getting many chances at the table, leading to an 8-3 win. Having just been moved to the B class from the C+, Ray Lee had a great run to finish in fourth place for his first time as a B, and showed some impressive play at Steinway.
Mike Panzarella would then move on to the semifinal match, where he would face Nick Chan for the second time in the event. As in the quarterfinal, Chan would get three games on the wire in a race to eight. Out of the gate, Panzarella won the first two games, to trail 3-2 with the spot. Chan then won the following two games, at put the score at 5-2. While Panzarella made some errors that were not characteristic of his previous match, Chan was able to capitalize, and went on to win at 8-3. Mike Panzarella had a strong run to finish in 3rd place, with his only two losses being to Nick Chan. Nick Chan would then have his second chance to take on Billy Santiago in the final match. With Chan being rated a ‘B’ and and and Santiago rated ‘B+’, Chan would get a one-game spot in the final. The final would have an extended-race format, where Santiago (with no previous losses) would only need to reach seven games to win. If Chan reached seven games first, the race would be extended to nine games.
Santiago would win the opening game of the match, to tie at 1-1…but Chan would go on to take a three-game lead at 4-1. In the next rack, Santiago would win with an early combination on the nine, which would begin his comeback to tie the match at 4-4. Chan would edge ahead and go up 5-4, but Santiago followed up to win the next rack and tie it again 5-5. Billy Santiago would then take the lead for the first time in the match at 6-5 to get one game away from the win. But, Chan tied the match again to go hill-hill, 6-6. With the pressure on, both players played tight, but the nine ball would end up getting knocked to sit in the corner pocket, giving one player the chance to end the game early. The match would end up hinging on a jump shot on the three ball by Nick Chan…but Chan missed the ball and gave Santiago ball in hand to make a combination on the nine to win the match. “It feels great to win for the first time. I would like to thank Tony Robles, Gail Glazebrook, and Bill Finnegan for doing a great job with the tour, as well as Steinway Billiards for hosting the event,” said Santiago. Both Billy Santiago and Nick Chan played tough in the final match, and throughout the event. While Santiago earned his first win, Chan made a strong run to finish second in his first event playing as a ‘B’ after being moved up from the ‘C+’ class. This would be Chan’s second time taking runner-up so far this season, with his first being at the Empire State Championships in February. Tour owner Tony Robles would like to acknowledge Steinway Billiards for their support of the tour, along with tour sponsors Predator Cues, The National Amateur Pool League, Delta-13, NYCgrind, and PoolOnTheNet.com. The next Predator Pro/Am Tour stop will be held on April 13-14 at Steinway Billiards in Astoria, NY in Queens.
- "Story by NYC Grind Editor, Alison M. Fischer"

At the Predator Pro/Am Tour’s fifth stop of their 2013 season, Rob Piersa would make his way to an undefeated win in the Amateur 9-Ball division. The event was held over the weekend of March 16-17 at Lindenhurst, NY pool room Mr. Cue Billiards in Long Island, and drew in a field of fifty-five players vying for the $1,000 top prize. For this event, the format was altered from the typical split bracket with A/B players on one side and C/D players on the other, and all players were drawn at random. To finish off the first day of the event, the four remaining undefeated players faced off to determine who would make it to the hot seat match on day two. Rob Piersa, who hails from East Hartford, CT would be one of the two final four winners, after winning 7-2 against “Devil Dave” Ascolese. Leading up to the final four match, Piersa had previously defeated Joe Gibbons 10-6, Borana Andoni 8-7, Eric Toledo 7-5, and Billy Santiago 7-6. Meanwhile, it would be Piersa’s road partner Phil Davis who would make his way through the bracket to meet him in the match for the hot seat. Davis would have a trail of wins against Charlie Maletta 8-6, Meshak Daniel 8-4, Carl Yusuf Khan 7-4, and Arron Moody 9-5 before going on to the final four and defeating room owner Scott Murphy 7-5. Action in the hot seat match picked back up on the following day at 2pm, where Rob Piersa would continue his winning streak, defeating Phil Davis 7-3.
One of the prevailing forces on the one-loss side of the bracket would be Shawn Sookhai, who suffered a third-round loss to Scott Murphy 7-5, but moved on to defeat Gail Glazebrook 7-6 and Kevin Falco 7-3 on Saturday evening. As day two of competition on the one-loss side began at 11am, Sookhai won some tight battles against Bryan Toolsee 7-5, Carl Yusuf Khan 7-6, and turned around his previous result against Scott Murphy, winning this time 7-6.
His win against Murphy would put Sookhai into the quarterfinal, where he would take on Rikki Ragoonanan. After having a bye in the first round, Ragoonanan lost his first match of the event to Billy Meyer 7-3, but would make a long trek through the one-loss side to make it to the quarterfinal. Along the way, he played tough to roll over most of his opponents, defeating Dennis Lake 7-2, Andrew Cleary 7-1, Eric Toledo 7-2, Rene Villalobos 7-3, Arron Moody 7-4, Keith Adamik 7-4, and “Devil Dave” Ascolese 7-6. In the quarterfinal, Rikki Ragoonanan would lead throughout the match against Shawn Sookhai, ending with a 7-4 win. Ragoonanan then moved on to the semifinal against Phil Davis, who played strong to win the match at 7-3.
Davis was then up against his friend Rob Piersa for the second time in the event, in the final match. In this extended-race final, Piersa could win it with seven, while the race would be extended to nine if Davis got to seven first. The final was a close match, with Davis and Piersa tying at 3-3 and 4-4, before Piersa pulled away to get to the hill at 6-4. Piersa would miss the six in the next rack, and Davis ran out to go 6-5… but Piersa finished off the set in the following game to win 7-5. Rob Piersa credited his will to keep fighting in some tough matches for his success in the event. “I never gave up even though I was down in a lot of matches. I really enjoyed playing in the Predator Tour, and thank Tony Robles for running a great event,” said Rob. Congratulations to Rob Piersa on winning his first Predator Tour stop, along with runner-up Phil Davis, and all of the event’s top finishers. The finals of the Predator Pro/Am Tour’s Open 10-Ball event at the fifth stop of the season, would turn out to be a rematch from the tour’s March 3 event at Cue Bar… as it would once again feature Mika Immonen taking on tour owner Tony Robles, this time at Mr. Cue Billiards in Lindenhurst, NY. Likewise, both players would take similar routes to get to the finals… as Immonen went through the winner’s bracket with wins against Darren DeFillipis 7-1, Joe Torres 7-2, and Ray Romanski 7-0.
Immonen then went to the hot seat match, where he met with top Long Island player Joey Korsiak. Prior to their match, Korsiak had defeated England’s Liam Monk at 7-3 in the final four, and sent Tony Robles to the one-loss side at 7-5. In the match for the hot seat, Immonen got a 4-1 lead over Korsiak, and kept the lead throughout, winning 7-4.
Following Robles’ loss to Korsiak, he took out Darren DeFillipis at 7-0, then Asa Shaw 7-3, and Ray Romanski 7-0. Tony Robles then took on Liam Monk in the quarterfinal. Monk had previously defeated Mark Perel, who had come off one-loss side wins versus Dave Shlemperis 7-6 and Rich Lang 7-5. In the quarterfinal against Robles, Monk wasn’t able to get his foot in the door, and Robles ruled the match with a final score of 7-3.
Tony Robles would have been up next against Joey Korsiak for the second time in the tournament, but Korsiak gave up the match in a forfeit, and Robles moved on to the finals to take on “The Iceman” Mika Immonen once again. Immonen was in prime gear in this match, and got out to a 4-0 lead before Robles put up a game. Mike Immonen’s near-flawless play earned him an eventual 7-3 win in the finals, making for his second consecutive Predator Tour win. Tour owner Tony Robles would like to acknowledge Mr. Cue for their support of the tour, along with tour sponsors Predator Cues, The National Amateur Pool League, Delta-13, NYCgrind, and PoolOnTheNet.com. The next Predator Pro/Am Tour stop will be held on March 23-24 at Steinway Billiards in Astoria, NY in Queens.
- "Story by NYC Grind Editor, Alison M. Fischer"

The Predator Pro/Am Tour kicked off the month of March with their fourth tour stop of the 2013 season, held on March 2-3 and hosted by one of the premier pool rooms in Queens, Cue Bar in Bayside, NY. The Amateur 9-Ball division of the event was held over both Saturday and Sunday, and drew in 50 of the New York Tri-State area's top pool players. By the end of day one, only four players remained undefeated to move on to the second day of competition. 11am was the beginning of action on day two… where on the winner's side, Karim Moumen defeated Bryan Toolsee 7-2 in the C/D side, while Steve Wright defeated Archie Wong 7-3 in the A/B side of the bracket. Steve Wright was then up against a newcomer to the final rounds of the Predator Tour, Karim Moumen, in the hot seat match. With Wright rated as an 'A' and Moumen rated a 'C', Moumen would be spotted four games on the wire in a race to nine. In this match, Moumen only managed to put up one more game, and Wright won it at 9-5. Going into the second day of one-loss side competition, eight players were left standing with a chance to get redemption. One of those players was Romeo Singh, who had previously lost in the last round of play on day one on the winner's side to Archie Wong. He then moved on to defeat Mike Panzarella 8-6, Rhio Anne Flores 7-6, and turned around his previous loss to Wong, winning against him 7-6 to make it to the quarterfinal. Paired up against Singh in the quarterfinal match would be Brian Toolsee, who had previously lost to Karim Moumen on the winner's side, but bounced back by defeating Joe Torres 7-3. The quarterfinal match would be largely dominated by Romeo Singh, who won by a four-game margin at 7-3. Singh then move on to the semifinal match, where he was paired up against Karim Moumen, who waited after his earlier hot seat match loss. The semifinal would be a close match, but Moumen would end up winning it at 7-5 after Singh scratched while making the nine to stay in the match. In the finals, Karim Moumen would have another shot to take on Steve Wright in their second meeting of the tournament… where Moumen would win three games to Wright's nine, as he finished off an undefeated run through the event at Cue Bar. After having placed fourth in the previous Predator Tour stop, the Empire State Championships, Steve Wright kicked things up a notch to win his first event of the season. Wright spoke briefly about what he believe lead to his success in this event. "Determination was the key factor for me," said Wright. "I was determined to do better than at the Empire State Championships, where I took 4th. I figured if I can make it that far, I have the ability to win it." Congratulations to Steve Wright on his win, along with Karim Moumen on a standout finish in second, and 3rd and fourth place finishers Romeo Singh & Bryan Toolsee. The Predator Pro/Am Tour's fourth stop of the 2013 season was hosted by Bayside, NY pool room Cue Bar in Queens. On the second day of the event, the one-day Open/Pro 10-Ball event was held with a field of eleven players. Despite the small field for this event, it was not short on talent…and as is often the case on the Predator Tour, some visiting international players highlighted the action. One of these players would go through the winner's bracket to go up against Mika Immonen in the hot seat match, Denmark's Daniel Kandi. While Kandi is a multiple national title holder for snooker in Denmark, he is actually most well-known for a different talent. Daniel Kandi is also an internationally acclaimed trance/electronica DJ currently touring the US, and appeared at one of NYC's hottest night clubs Pacha on Friday night. Kandi would make it to the hot seat match of this event after defeating Raphael Dabreo 7-2, Jennifer Barretta 7-5, and Vikram Dasavi 7-2. Former US Open 9-Ball Champion Mika Immonen would also work his way to the hot seat match after wins over Gregg McAndrews, 7-1, Mike Esposito 7-0, and Liam Monk 7-6. In their match for the hot seat, Immonen and Kandi fought back and forth to tie at 4-4, when Kandi broke and ran out to lead 5-4. But, an error in the next rack swung the momentum back in Immonen's favor, and he went on to win the match at 7-5 and stake out his spot in the finals. Another foreign newcomer to the tour was the player who knocked Tony Robles to the one-loss side in the first round of the event… Liam Monk. Hailing from Essex, England, Monk has been a longtime snooker player, but picked up American pool merely three weeks ago. After defeating Robles 7-0, he had another win against Mark Perel 7-3 before losing a close battle to Mika Immonen at 7-6. Monk then had a rematch against Tony Robles, which turned out very differently from their first duel… as Robles was firing on all cylinders and did not give Monk many opportunities to get his foot in the door, ending in a 7-2 win for Robles. Leading up to that match, Robles started off on the one-loss side with a 7-1 win over Jerry Tarantola and won a close fight against Gregg McAndrews 7-6. Robles' win over Monk would land him in the quarterfinal against one of New York's top emerging young talents, Raphael Dabreo. Dabreo had strong showing at Cue Bar, as he bounced back from a first-round loss to defeat Mike Esposito 7-3, Mark Perel 7-0, and Vikram Dasavi 7-6. But, Dabreo's run would end in the quarterfinal, as he was eliminated by Robles at 7-1. Tour owner Tony Robles then moved on to the semifinal, where he was met by Daniel Kandi. In this match, Robles hit a high gear with his break, and ran out racks with his signature 'Silent Assasin' swagger that had been lacking in some of his recent tour appearances. Robles would with the match by a score of 7-3, and Daniel Kandi would finish in 3rd. In a match-up seen in years past in the finals of the Predator Tour, it was Robles vs Immonen once again. Robles took an initial 2-1 lead in this match, but Immonen then tied it at 2-2. The big momentum shift of the match would happen in the following game, as Robles missed a routine six ball, and Immonen ran out to lead 3-2. From that point on, Immonen never looked back, and Robles did not capitalize on the few opportunities he had. Immonen won the next six games to take down the win at 9-2. Although Mika Immonen recently took a hiatus from competing, he is now back in action and working hard to prepare for the 2013 touring season. Immonen was pleased with how he played at Cue Bar. "It felt good to catch a gear," said Immonen. "I've been teaching a lot, which has been helping my game. It helps you to practice what you preach." Next on the horizon for Immonen will be a trip to Gavle, Sweden for the Interpool Open at the end of the month, and after that he will be focusing on Bonus Ball, set to kick off Las Vegas in April. Congrats to Mika Immonen on his win, along with Tony Robles for a very solid performance to take second, and Daniel Kandi for his third place finish in his first appearance on the tour. Tour owner Tony Robles would like to acknowledge Cue Bar for their support of the tour, along with tour sponsors Predator Cues, The National Amateur Pool League, Delta-13, NYCgrind, and PoolOnTheNet.com.
The next Predator Pro/Am Tour stop will be held on March 16-17 at Mr. Cue Billiards in Lindenhurst, NY on Long Island.
- "Story by NYC Grind Editor, Alison M. Fischer"

Over the weekend of February 16-17, 104 players packed Raxx Pool Room in West Hempstead, NY to kick off the 2013 Empire State Championships. For the first time, both the Amateur 9-Ball Championship and the Open/Pro 10-Ball Championship were held over the same weekend, with the amateur event getting underway at noon on Saturday, and the open event at noon on Sunday. This event was the third stop of the Predator Pro-Am Tour’s 2013 season. To see our photo gallery from the event, scroll to the bottom of the page. The Amateur 9-Ball Championship was narrowed down to the final twenty-four players at the end of Day 1, and those players moved on to compete on Sunday, beginning at 11am. To start day two, eight players remained in the winner’s bracket, while sixteen players were still alive on the one-loss side. In the upper half of the bracket, which featured the C & D class players, Brooklyn player Nick Chan (C+) would be the player from that bracket to make it to the hot seat match. On day one, Chan took wins over Tony Ignomirello 7-6, Brian Schell 7-1, Jose Batista 7-6, and Ray Lee 7-1. Moving on to day two, he continued his run, defeating Jim Discenza 7-5 and Mike Harrington 7-3 to move on to the hot seat match. Coming from the A & B half of the bracket, Yesid Garibello, who hails from Fishkill, NY, charged through to meet Chan in the hot seat match. Garibello went through day one with wins over Steve Kallo 8-4, Brian Marshall 7-2, Barry Banks 7-5, and Austin Tripp. On day two, he moved on to defeat Mike Yednak 7-3 and Shawn Sookhai 7-6 in the final four, to then match up with Nick Chan for the hot seat. As Garibello is rated an A+ on the tour and Nick Chan is a C+, Chan would get four games on the wire in a race to nine. Garibello dominated the match, and did not allow Chan to put up another rack, winning 9-4.
Longtime tour player Rene Villalobos (C+) was another strong competitor in this event. Villalobos made it to the fourth round before losing to Mike Harrington, but went on to defeat Dave Mickle 7-3, Luis Jimenez 7-4, and avenged his earlier loss to Mike Harrington 7-2 to make it to the quarterfinal.
Steve Wright (rated an A) was also impressive in this event. After making it through three rounds on the winner’s side, he lost to Lidio Rasta at 7-5…but bounced back on the one-loss side with wins over Barry Banks 7-5, Mike Yednak 7-3, Lidio Rasta 7-6, and Shawn Sookhai 7-6, where he would meet up with Rene Villalobos in the quarterfinal. In their quarterfinal match, Villalobos got out to a 6-1 lead in their race to eight games. Although Villalobos only needed two more games, Wright fought back to eventually tie it hill-hill 7-7. In the case game, Wright broke and made three balls, but the cue ball also dropped, giving Villalobos ball in hand to win the match. Steve Wright would finish in fourth place, while Rene Villalobos moved on to the semifinal.
Waiting to take on Villalobos in the semifinal was Nick Chan, who had earlier lost the hot seat match to Yesid Garibello. Chan initially went up 3-1 in this match, but the two players fought a close battle, tying at 3-3, then hill-hill at 6-6. In the final game, after breaking and running to the five ball, Villalobos ended up stuck with no view on the five. He turned the table over to Chan with ball in hand. While running out for the win, Chan got out of line on the 9, and had to play safe. They exchange safeties, and Villalobos puts the 9 ball on the far rail from the cue ball…but, Chan successfully banked in the nine to win the match. Nick Chan earned a rematch versus Yesid Garibello in the final, to determine who would take the $2,000 prize and become the title winner. Chan and Garibello’s second meeting of the event would turn out very similarly to the hot seat match. With Chan getting four games on the wire in the race to nine, Garibello took nine straight racks to win the match 9-4. After going undefeated throughout the two-day event, Yesid Garibello earned the title of 2013 Empire State Amateur 9-Ball Champion. Congratulations to Yesid, along with all of the other top finishers at Raxx! Featuring both top men’s and women’s pro players, the Predator Pro/Am Tour’s Empire State Open 10-Ball Championships was definitely a treat for the spectators who got to take in the event at Raxx Pool Room in West Hempstead, NY on Sunday, February 17. Earl Strickland, defending champion and regular to the Predator Tour, was among the top names taking a shot at the title, along with the winner of the season’s first stop Jeremy Sossei, Predator Tour finale champion Shaun Wilkie, two-time 2012 tour stop winner Jayson Shaw, top NYC player Sean ‘Alaska’ Morgan, and tour owner Tony Robles. New York-based Jennifer Barretta was joined by fellow top WPBA pros Karen Corr and Julie Kelly to make up the female faction of the field. Interestingly enough, these three players ended up situated next to one another in the tournament bracket. In the first round, Jennifer Barretta defeated Julie Kelly in a close battle ending at 7-6. Barretta was then was sent to the one-loss side by Karen Corr in the next round, following Corr’s win against tour regular Lionel Rivera. Karen Corr went on to defeat veteran New York player Frankie Hernandez 7-6, but was then dealt her first loss by Earl Strickland 7-1 in the final four of the winner’s bracket. Strickland was then in the running to defend his title, earning a spot in the hot seat match. Also moving through the winner’s bracket of the event, Jayson Shaw (runner-up at the Predator Tour’s first event of 2013) steamrolled his way to the hot seat match, defeating Brian Tierney 7-0, Raphael Dabreo 7-1, Jerry Tarantola 7-1, and Holden Chin 7-2 along the way. Shaw would also not have too much trouble with Strickland in their match for the hot seat, as he won it at 7-4.
On the one-loss side, Jennifer Barretta would earn three more victories following her loss to Karen Corr, winning against Brian Tierney 7-0, Chris Laz 7-3, and Spanky Koba 7-2. Meeting Barretta in final four of the one-loss side was Sean “Alaska” Morgan, who after his loss to Jeremy Sossei had solid wins against Mhet Vergara 7-5, Gregg McAndrews 7-1, Jerry Tarantola 7-2. In his match against Barretta, Morgan went ahead with a 4-1 lead, but Barretta won the following three racks to tie at 4-4, and tie again 5-5. Morgan then got on the hill, and Barretta came up just short of tying 6-6, but Morgan took the win at 7-5. In the other final four match-up, Jeremy Sossei stopped Tony Robles’ run in the winner’s bracket, defeating the tour’s director for the second time in the event, both by a score of 7-4.
In the following round, Sean Morgan defeated Karen Corr 7-1 while Jeremy Sossei knocked out room owner Holden Chin 7-5, to make for the meeting in the quarterfinal between Morgan and Sossei. Morgan initially went up 3-1 in this match, but Sossei claimed the next four racks to go up 5-3. However, Morgan then kicked things into a higher gear, exhibiting impressive jump shots and shot making to go to the hill first at 6-5. But, the wind got knocked out of his sails after his next break turned out flat, and Sossei ran out to tie 6-6. In the final game, Morgan had two opportunities to win the match, but was unable to capitalize, and Sossei took the match at 7-6.
Jeremy Sossei then moved on to the semifinal, to take on a fired-up Earl Strickland at the late hour on Sunday night. Sossei and Strickland would go back and forth to tie at 3-3, but it was at this point that Strickland ran away with the match and went on a tear to win 7-3. The final match was then set up with a rematch between Earl Strickland and Jayson Shaw, who awaited in the hot seat. As it was around 3am when the final began, only the diehard railbirds remained present for this final. But, those who stuck around got to witness a tremendous final match between these two great players. Shaw and Strickland furiously alternated running after rack, depending on who had a successful break. The show’s pace resembled a speed pool match, and kept everyone watching on the edge of their seats. Tied up at 6-6, Shaw scratched on the break, giving Strickland the needed edge to get an advantage at 7-6. But, Strickland then broke dry and Shaw countered by running out tie 7-7. Shaw also broke dry in the next rack, and Strickland would go on to lead the match 9-7. In the extended race format, the match then became a race to eleven, as Strickland reached nine games first. Shaw won the next to get within one rack at 9-8, but Strickland then got to the hill at 10-8.
But, all was not lost for Shaw, who won the next two to go double-hill, 10-10. After Shaw broke the final rack, the two ball dropped, but he was left with no good shot on the one. He attempted to play safe, but the cue ball ended up sitting in the gap to leave a shot for Strickland. After pocketing the one ball, Strickland botched the three, but left the ball stuck behind the eight. As this was not an intentional safe, Shaw opted to give the shot back to Strickland, who kicked at the ball. Shaw then banked in the three, but was left having to jump at the four. He successfully made the four, but the cue ball followed into the pocket after it. With ball in hand, Strickland opted to go for a risky combination on the five/ten to win the match, but ended up missing it. Shaw then had an advantage and went on to win the final game and earn the title of 2013 Empire State Open 10-Ball Champion. Tour owner Tony Robles would like to acknowledge Raxx Pool Room owner Holden Chin and staff for their support of the tour, along with tour sponsors Predator Cues, The National Amateur Pool League, Delta-13, NYCgrind, and PoolOnTheNet.com. The next Predator Pro/Am Tour stop is slated to be held at Cue Bar in Bayside, NY on March 2-3.
- "Story by NYC Grind Editor, Alison M. Fischer"

New York’s top pool competitors, both amateur and professional, were out in full force on the weekend of January 19-20 for the Predator Pro/Am Tour’s 2013 season opener at Steinway Billiards in Astoria, NY. For amateur players, the 9-ball division was held over both days, and the season got off to a great start with a field of 98 players in that event. In addition to the tournament kickoff on the first day, a break and run raffle contest was held, which was won by Koka Davladze, who took $1,300 for his jackpot prize.
Breaking through in this event was Westchester, NY player Dennis Lake, who ran through undefeated to earn his first win on the tour and cash in on the $1,500 first prize. Lake, who has played on the tour on and off since the tour’s opening season in 2008, claimed wins over Alex Borukhovich 7-5, Glenn Ramsey 7-4, Jose Batista 7-6, Jud Parker 7-3, and Ambi Estevez 7-4 to make it to the hot seat match in the C/D side of the bracket.
Junior Sanchez, one of the tour’s top players in the ‘A’ Class (having finished ranked #4 at the 2012 season end), met with Dennis Lake in the battle for the hot seat on the second day of the event. Sanchez and Lake were among the eight players who remained undefeated going into the second day of action, while sixteen players were left on the one-loss side. Sanchez’s path to the hot seat match featured wins against Manny Stamatakis 7-4, Trevor Heal 7-5, Jerry Tarantola 7-4, Gail Glazebrook 7-4, Lidio Rasta 7-4, and Shawn Sookhai 7-6. But, Junior Sanchez would then be stopped by Dennis Lake, who won the hot seat match at 8-6.
Coming back strong on the one-loss side of the bracket on the C/D side after losing his first match of the event was Andrew Cleary, who had an impressive weekend as he bounced back to win eight straight matches after his opening loss. Cleary also successfully came back from being down in a number of these matches, including his final hill-hill win against Ambi Estevez at 7-6.
John Ortiz was also on the warpath on the one-loss side of the A/B bracket, and he eliminated Shawn Sookhai from the event at 7-1, before being matched up against Andrew Cleary in the quarterfinal. With Cleary being rated a C+ and Ortiz rated an A, Cleary would be spotted three games on the wire in a race to eight. Ortiz brought out the firepower of his game in this match, and only allowed Cleary to put one more game up before he reached eight, to make the final score 8-4. Ortiz then moved on to the semifinal, while Cleary’s strong run landed him in fourth place. The semifinal would be an even race to seven for John Ortiz and Junior Sanchez, who would hope to get redemption after his prior loss in the hot seat match to Dennis Lake. Ortiz and Sanchez had a very tight battle in the beginning of this match, tying at 1-1, 2-2, and 3-3. But, it would be Sanchez who established control of the match from there, going on to take a three-game lead at 6-3. Ortiz then put up two more wins, but Sanchez would finish off the match to win at 7-5. This win put Junior Sanchez back in the ring against Dennis Lake in the final match, which was held on one of Steinway’s feature tables, named in memory of George “Ginky” SanSouci, table 10. After their handicaps put a three-game spot up for Lake, Sanchez won four rack while Lake won one rack, to tie at 4-4. Dennis Lake then put away the next three racks to get to the hill at 7-4. Sanchez came back to win the next two and go 7-6, but an interesting turn of events in the next rack would put an end to the match. Junior Sanchez would break the next rack, and stayed at the table after making the six. But, he was left with no shot on the one ball, so he opted to play safe. Lake was unsuccessful in contacting the one, and with ball in hand, Sanchez played another safety, with intent of winning the game by forcing Lake to foul three consecutive times. Again, Lake missed the kick, and gave Sanchez ball in hand. Sanchez then played safe for a third time, but instead of leaving Lake hooked, the one ball landed paired up with the nine ball. With a stroke of brilliance, Lake kicked at the one ball, and combination-banked in the nine to win the match in jaw-dropping fashion. Congratulations to Dennis Lake on his first tour win, along with all of the other top finishers in the event.
On the second day of the tour stop, the Open/Pro 10-Ball division was held on a single day, and featured both top international competitors and area emerging players in the 20-player field. NYC has been a consistent hotspot for touring pros to take up residence either permanently or temporarily, and the season opener’s Open/Pro 10-Ball event exemplified this. Among the top names in the event, we saw former two-time US Open Champion Mika Immonen, along with two of the most renowned players of the Philippines, Ronnie Alcano & Warren Kiamco, five-time US Open Champion Earl “The Pearl” Strickland, and WPBA pro Jennifer Barretta.
However, it was Connec ticut-based top American pro Jeremy Sossei who would be the strongest force in this event. Sossei would claim the hot seat position following his run of wins against Mike Wong 7-5, Gregg McAndrews 7-6, Earl Strickland 7-6, and Warren Kiamco 7-4. Kiamco had previously won a one-sided match against Mika Immonen at 7-3, who moved on to defeat Spanky Koba 7-4 in the final four of the one-loss side. Koba had a strong showing to finish tied for 5th/6th with Earl Strickland. Immonen then moved on to the quarterfinal, but would first wait for the upper half of the bracket to catch up to determine his opponent. Ronnie Alcano would move through the left side of the bracket with wins against Zion Zvi 7-4, Travis McKinney 7-1, and Earl Strickland 7-5, to go up against the “Iceman” Immonen in the quarterfinal. Alcano got out to an early 4-1 lead in this match, but Immonen won the next three games to tie the match at 4-4. Ronnie Alcano kicked his game into high gear at this point, and kept Immonen in his chair for much of the next few games, leading to a 7-5 win. Ronnie Alcano followed up his quarterfinal win with another win against Warren Kiamco. After taking an early lead in this match, Alcano finished off the set with a final score of 7-4. With this win, Ronnie Alcano earned a chance to win the event, as he moved on to the final match against undefeated Jeremy Sossei. This match would have an extended single-race format, so if Sossei reached the hill (eight games) first, he would only need to go to nine. If Alcano reached eight first, the match would be extended to eleven. In this final, Jeremy Sossei maintained his high level of consistent play and trademark even-keel pace, and took the lead early on in the match, to then get to the hill first at 8-3. In the next rack, Alcano had a chance to keep the match going with a combination on the two ball into the ten, but the ball hung up in the pocket. Sossei then had another chance to pocket the ten with a thin cut on the two, but again the ball stayed out of the pocket. With yet another breath of life, Alcano skimmed the cue ball off the two, in hopes of kicking in the two…but he hit the wrong side of the two, and both balls dropped into the pocket. The ten ball was spotted, and with ball in hand, Jeremy Sossei executed the final run out to take the match, and win the Predator Tour’s first tour stop of the season.
The end of the Open/Pro 10-Ball final concluded a well-run event for the Predator Tour staff, Tony Robles, Gail Glazebrook, and tournament director William Finnegan, alongside the staff at Steinway Billiards, who set the atmosphere with great food and service. Some of Steinway Billiards' staff who served players and patrons throughout the weekend Photo by Brian Leong
The second stop of the 2013 Predator Pro/Am Tour season will also be held at Steinway, on the weekend of February 9-10.
- "Story by NYC Grind Editor, Alison M. Fischer"