Muhammad Takes Blaze Billiards Event

Posted by admin as Billiard News, Blaze Pro Am 9 Ball Tour

Muhammad Takes Blaze Billiards Event
Blaze ABCD Tour / Somerset, NJ

by Jose Burgos

Wali Muhammad took down the April 3 installment of the Blaze ABCD Tour, winning in the finals over Victor Nau. The $1,000-added event was hosted by One Shot Billiards in Somerset, NJ.

Leading the way on the winners’ side of the bracket, Muhammad scored victories over Joe Hong 9-8, John Woo 9-4, and Danny Persiano 9-6. He came upon Jose Burgos in the match for the hot seat. Though Burgos put up a good fight, Muhammad pulled away late in the match to win 9-6, earning the hot seat and sending Burgos to the west side of the chart.

Victor Nau was making his move on the one-loss side, eliminating Ben Sadowski 7-4, Mario Persiano 7-4, Sandi 7-5, John Woo 7-6, Snooki 7-6, and Burgos 7-1 to reach the finals. In the double-elimination final match, Nau had to defeat Muhammad twice to take the title. But the day belonged to Muhammad, as he won the match 9-7.

Results:
1st Wali Muhammad $500
2nd Victor Nau $350
3rd Jose Burgos $225
4th Snooki $100

Kielar Steals Mezz Victory

Posted by admin as Billiard News, Blaze Pro Am 9 Ball Tour

Kielar Steals Mezz Victory
Mezz Pro-Am Tour / Frazer, PA

by Jose Burgos

Adam “The Stealer” Kielar took down the Mezz Pro-Am Tour March 7, winning the title over Eddie Abraham in the finals. The $1,000-added stop was hosted by Main Line Billiards in Frazer, PA, and enticed a field of 41 out to play.

Kielar went through the top half of the bracket, winning over Lou Patrikios 7-1, Sharon O’Hanlon 7-2, Ray Lee 7-4, Josh Brothers 7-4, and Gregg McAndrews 7-3 . Leading the bottom half of the bracket was Shaun Wilkie, who scored over Tom Bow 7-1, Michael Praseutsy 7-0, Dan Zetts 7-1, VJ Mcglone 7-3, and Joe Hong 7-2.

Kielar and Wilkie collided in the hot seat match, which went hill-hill before Kielar advanced 7-6. Now on the one-loss side, Wilkie was faced with Abraham in the semifinals. Abraham was primed and ready to go, running away with the match 6-2 to reach the finals.

In the double-elimination finals, Abraham had to best Kielar twice for the title. But that was not necessary, for Kielar easily won the first set of the finals 7-3, taking his first Mezz Tour title.

Results:
1st Adam Kielar $1,100
2nd Eddie Abraham $590
3rd Shaun Wilkie $340
4th Joe Hong $200
5th Tom Bow $125
Gregg McAndrews
7th Dominic Noe $100
Ray Lee

Mezz Pro-Am Billiards Tour Launches

Posted by admin as Billiard News, Blaze Pro Am 9 Ball Tour

Mezz Pro-Am Billiards Tour Launches

Mika Immonen and Mezz Cues are proud to announce the Mezz Pro-Am Tour. The Mezz Tour is a 1-day Open Tournament with staggered entry fees and additional cash prizes for the top 2 finishers in the A/B and C/D division. Events will take place in the North East region.

“We are happy to work with Jose Burgos, who runs the best 1-day tournaments in this region. We hope to offer a highly competitive tournament and great prizes for pros and amateurs alike. We will also give each player a free raffle ticket for a Mezz Cue and Mezz Case at the Grand Finale Tournament along with prizes for the Top 10 point leaders of the year,” says Mika.
Jose describes, “I am honored to join forces with Mika Immonen and Mezz Cues. I believe having the best player in the world along with one of the leading cue companies in the industry as sponsors will make the Mezz Pro-Am Tour one of the premier tours in the region.”

Along with the Mezz Open Tour, we are also proud to announce a Mezz Women’s Tour overseen by WPBA Pro and Mezz USA President, Caroline Pao.

“With so many great female players in the Northeast region, this is a great opportunity to provide a competitive tour for them to participate in. We will feature great prizes at each stop as well as hold a Grand Finale tournament with added monies. Prizes will also be awarded for the Top 3 female players of the year with the Top Female receiving paid entry to the prestigious Turning Stone Tournament in Syracuse, NY. I am very excited be able to provide an opportunity for our local female players to sharpen their competitive edge. Once we complete the 8 event schedule, it will be on our official Mezz Tour website, www.mezztour.com,” explains Caroline.

As a prelude to our official launch of the Mezz Pro-Am Tour, we had a great event at Drexeline Billiards in Drexel Hill, PA on January 31st with an attendance of 53 players. Joey Testa and Ignacio Chavez were co-champions of this event with Victor Nau in 3rd and Josh Brothers in 4th place.

The next stop will be at on February 21st at :
Atlantic City Billiards
6701 Blackhorse Pike
Egg Habor, NJ 08234
(609) 645-7576

Visit the official Mezz Pro-Am Tour website, www.mezztour.com, for more information.
For sponsorship opportunities, please contact info@mezztour.com.

Chavez and Testa Split Mezz Tour Honors

Posted by admin as Billiard News, Blaze Pro Am 9 Ball Tour

Chavez and Testa Split Mezz Tour Honors
Mezz Pro-Am Tour / Drexel Hill, PA

by Jose Burgos

The Mezz Pro-Am Tour’s first stop went off with a bang, hosted by Drexeline Billiards in Drexel Hill, PA, January 31. A strong field of 53 players came out, including Eddie Abraham, Shaun Wilkie, and Matt Krah, but Ignacio Chavez and Joey Testa took home top honors.

Chavez led the top half of the bracket with wins over Caroline Pao 7-2, Abraham 7-3, Josh Brothers 7-4, Wilkie 7-1, and Adam Kielar 7-4. Leading the bottom half of the bracket was Testa, with wins over Sharon O’Hanlon 7-1, John Graziano 7-0, Gregg McAndrews 7-2, and Victor Nau 7-3.

Testa and Chavez matched up in the hot seat match, with Testa pulling away late to win 7-4. Waiting for Chavez on the one-loss side was Nau, coming fresh from a win over Brothers. But Nau’s momentum wasn’t enough to carry him through to the finals, as it was all Chavez, who easily won 7-2.

In the true double-elimination finals, it was Testa versus Chavez. In order for Chavez to win the event, he would have to best Testa twice. However, both players decided to be co-champions and split first place.

Results:
1st Joey Testa $1,200
Ignacio Chavez
3rd Victor Nau $600
4th Josh Brothers $330
5th Matt Krah $250
Adam Kielar
7th Shaun Wilkie $150
Joe Hong
9th Keith Christman $75
Gregg McAndrews
Bill Wilson
John Graziano

Testa Takes Top Honors at Drexeline Billiards

Posted by admin as Billiard News, Blaze Pro Am 9 Ball Tour

Testa Takes Top Honors at Drexeline Billiards
Blaze 9-Ball Tour / Drexel Hill, PA

by Jose Burgos

The Blaze 9-Ball Tour made its way to Drexeline Billiards in Drexel Hill, PA, November 29, for a $1,000-added stop. A strong field of 49 players came out to compete, including Eddie Abraham, Brett Stottlemyer, Dave Grau, Josh Brothers, and Matt Krah, but it was Joey Testa who took home the gold.

Abraham took control of the top half of the bracket, notching wins over Denise Reeves 7-6, Mike Miller 7-4, Joe Hong 7-2, and Grau 7-5. Striving to meet Abraham in the hot seat match, Testa tore through the bottom half of the bracket, winning over Pat Burket 7-1, Eric Perry 7-5, Kenny Rutman 7-2, and Stottlemyer 7-2.

In the one-sided hot seat match, Testa easily defeated Abraham 7-3, sending him to the one-loss side. Stottlemyer awaited him, but he was left in the dust when Abraham steamrolled him 7-0 to return to the final match. In the double-elimination finals, Abraham had to defeat Testa twice for the win. But Testa edged Abraham out 7-5 in the first set to take the title.

Results:
1st Joey Testa $1,370
2nd Eddie Abraham $750
3rd Brett Stottlemyer $450
4th Dave Grau $225
5th Joe Hong $150
Josh Brothers
7th Matt Krah $100
Kenny Rutman
9th Tim Anderson $70
Danny Basavich
Abdllatif Chamseddine
Lou Patrikios

Krah Capitalizes on Blaze Tour

Posted by admin as Billiard News, Blaze Pro Am 9 Ball Tour

Krah Capitalizes on Blaze Tour
Blaze 9-Ball Tour / Boothwyn, PA

by Jose Burgos

Matt Krah escaped a double-elimination final match to win the Blaze 9-Ball Tour’s November 8 stop. Hosted by Riley’s Billiards in Boothwyn, PA, this stop featured players such as Mike Miller, Joey Testa, Shaun Wilkie, and Josh Brothers.

Krah led the top half of the bracket, notching victories over Wilkie 7-3, Randy Jaragoske 7-2, and Brothers 7-4. On a path to meet him in the hot seat match, Miller scored wins over Bob Madara 7-4, Carl Khan 7-2, and Joey Testa 7-3.

The ensuing hot seat match between Krah and Miller went hill-hill. After facing a 6-2 deficit, Krah came back to win the match 7-6 and send Miller to the one-loss side. Waiting for him there was Testa, but it was all Miller this time, as he skated past Testa 7-2 to earn a rematch with Krah in the finals.

In the true double-elimination finals, Miller had to defeat Krah twice to win the event. It looked as though he was going to pull it off, with his strong 7-1 victory in the first set. But in the second set it was all Krah, who won 7-5 to take the title.

Results:
1st Matt Krah $750
2nd Mike Miller $360
3rd Joey Testa $290
4th Shaun Wilkie $100
5th Josh Brothers $50
Mike Danato

Vidal Bests All on Blaze Tour

Posted by admin as Billiard News, Blaze Pro Am 9 Ball Tour

Vidal Bests All on Blaze Tour
Blaze 9-Ball Tour / Brooklyn, NY

by Jose Burgos

The Blaze 9-Ball Tour made its way to Skyline Billiards in Brooklyn, NY, November 1. A strong field came out to play, including players like Marcus Chamat, Rob Pole, Mike Miller, Bill Gallagher, Victor Nau, and Carl Khan, but it was Marc “Spain” Vidal who took home first place.

Vidal led the top half of the bracket with wins over Caroline Pao 7-5, Tony Lian 7-3, and Nau 7-3. Leading the bottom half the bracket was Chamat with wins over Barry Banks 7-4, Jorge Rodriquez 7-5, Miller 7-1, and Michael Wong 7-1.

Vidal and Chamat met up in the match for the hot seat. It was a close call, but Chamat pulled off the 7-5 win, sending Vidal to the one-loss side. Nau was waiting for Vidal in the semifinal match. Another close call, but this time it was Vidal who won 7-5 to return to the finals and a rematch with Chamat. In the true double-elimination finals, Vidal had to best Chamat twice to win the event. Two hill-hill matches later, it was Vidal standing in the winner’s circle.

Results:
1st Marc Vidal $800
2nd Marcus Chamat $390
3rd Victor Nau $300
4th Jorge Rodriquez $100

Testa is Tops on Blaze Tour

Posted by admin as Billiard News, Blaze Pro Am 9 Ball Tour

Testa is Tops on Blaze Tour
Blaze 9-Ball Tour / Vineland, NJ

by Jose Burgos

Joey Testa took home first place at the October 11 stop, besting a field of 30 to earn top honors on the Blaze 9-Ball Tour. The $1,000-added stop was hosted by Q-Ball Billiards in Vineland, NJ, and was attended by players such as Matt Krah, Josh Brothers, Manny Chau, Eddie Abraham, and Brandon Shuff.

Krah led the top half of the bracket, notching victories over Brandon Shuff 7-2, Raphael Saldana 7-3, Jay Brotherton 7-4, and Mark Stewart 7-4. Testa took control of the bottom half, scoring wins over Garrett Bell 7-0, Abraham 7-5, Chuck Pendrak 7-0 and Brothers 7-2.

In the ensuing hot seat match between Krah and Testa, it was Testa who pulled away late to win the match 7-4 and send Krah to try his luck on the west side of the chart. Waiting for Krah was Brothers, and their match was a hill-hill nail-biter that saw Krah win 7-6 to earn a rematch against Testa.

Krah had to defeat Testa twice in the double-elimination finals to win the title. In the first set it was all Krah, who won easily with a 7-1 blowout, but in the second set Testa returned the favor by besting Krah by the same score to win the event.

Results:
1st Joey Testa $1000
2nd Matt Krah $525
3rd Josh Brother $315
4th Mark Stewart $150
5th Manny Chau $100
Chip Klein
7th Bill Gallagher $60
Jay Brotherton

Manalo Two for Two

Posted by admin as Billiard News, Blaze Pro Am 9 Ball Tour

Blaze 9-Ball Tour / West Hempstead, NY

by Jerry Tarantola

Marlon Manalo swept the Tri-State Tour’s September 26 event and then headed over to the Blaze 9-Ball Tour the next day, taking no prisoners on his triumphant march to the finish. The Blaze Tour was hosted by Raxx Bar & Grill in West Hempstead, NY, where a field of 29 players came out to play in the $1,000-added event.

Manalo, who was visiting New York in preparation for the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, led the top half of the bracket with wins over Pat Byrne 7-2, Ariel Rivera 7-2, Oscar Bonilla 7-4, and Pete Tascarella Sr. 7-3. Leading the bottom half of the bracket was reigning U.S. Open champ Mika Immonen with wins over Joey Korsiak 7-6, Antonio Guerrero 7-1, Rob Pole 7-3, and Mike Fingers 7-0.

Facing off to play for the hot seat were the two favorites in this event, Manalo and Immonen. This was a well-played match, with Immonen pulling away late in the set to win the match 7-5 and send Manalo to the one loss-side.

On the one-loss side, Korsiak had fought his way back after a hill-hill loss to Immonen to meet Bonilla in the quarterfinals. The two Long Island-based players had a close battle, but Bonilla eked out the final game in the hill-hill match. In another closely contested match, Bonilla was up 5-3 on Manalo in the semifinals, but Manalo pulled it together and made it another hill-hill bout. With his monster break in the final rack, he smashed the rack and ran out to win 7-6.

The finals were a rematch between the undefeated Immonen and Manalo, which would be a true double-elimination. With Immonen recently winning the Galveston World Classic 10-Ball event, it appeared that no one be able to best him at Raxx. And in the first set that’s exactly how it appeared, as he jumped out to a big 5-1 lead. However, the tables turned after he missed a 7-9 combo, and Manalo began to rise from the ashes. He managed to tie the match and then surpass Immonen to win 7-5.

In the second set of the finals, Manalo started out flawless, reaching a 3-0 lead. He only hiccupped when he overcut the 6 ball in the fourth game, putting Immonen on the board, but Manalo recovered and dominated the second set. Manalo showed his strength in the final match, making it his second win of the weekend.

Results:
1st Marlon Manalo $915
2nd Mika Immonen $500
3rd Oscar Bonilla $200
4th Joey Korsiak $150
5th Pete Tascarella Sr. $70
Mike Fingers

Vidal Victorious Over Sansouci

Posted by admin as Blaze Pro Am 9 Ball Tour

Vidal Victorious Over Sansouci
Blaze 9-Ball Tour / Brooklyn, NY

by InsidePOOL Staff

Skyline Billiards played host to the December 14 stop of the Blaze 9-Ball Tour, won by Marc “Spain” Vidal. A strong field of 48 came out to Brooklyn, NY, to play, including George Sansouci, Tim Cahill, Liz Ford, Eddie Abraham, Jorge Rodriquez, and Rob Pole.
 
Vidal started off strong, taking control of the top half of the bracket with wins over Lionel Rivera 7-3, Mhet Vergara 7-4, Michael Yednak 7-5, Pete Testerella Sr. 7-5, and Ford 7-5.  Leading the bottom half of the bracket was George Sansouci, scoring victories over Mike Boyles 7-1, Tim Dlugosz 7-0, Sammy Wu 7-2, Rodriquez 7-1, and Pole 7-6.
 
Vidal ended up meeting Sansouci to play for the hot seat, which was a fairly even match that saw Vidal pull it off at the end with a 7-5 win. Cahil was waiting for Sansouci on the one-loss side, but this match was all Sansouci, who won the match easily 6-3.
 
It was a rematch between Sansouci and Vidal in the double-elimination finals. Though Sansouci won the first set handily 7-2, the second set was dominated by Vidal, who wrested the match and title from Sansouci with a 6-3 victory.

Results:
1st Marc Vidal $1,225
2nd George Sansouci $650
3rd Tim Cahil $385
4th Liz Ford
5th Robert Pole $150
Jorge Rodriquez
7th Sammy Wu $100
Eddie Abraham
9th Alex Gilvarg $70
Daniel Smith
Adam Kielar
Pete Testerella Sr.