The Hatchet Man Strikes Again
Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour / Yorkville, NY
by Lea Andrews
Shane Winters and Dennis Hatch are politely taking turns topping the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour fields, and since Winters was the previous stop’s winner, the fourth stop went to Hatch, who went undefeated for the win. The $1,500-added event, held November 7-8, drew 42 players to Hippo’s House of Billiards in Yorkville, NY.
After getting past Chance Chin 9-8, Hatch faced Ron Casanzio in the hot seat match, where Casanzio, who’d just advanced 9-7 over Chris Orme, managed to notch just one game. On the left side of the bracket, Dan Heidrich got by Angelo Hilton 9-6 to face Dave Grau, who’d held another Hatch, Dennis’ uncle Mark, to two games. Meanwhile, Bucky Souvanthong held Winters—who’d fallen in the fourth round to Casanzio 9-6—to seven games to face Victor Conte Jr., who’d survived a hill-hill battle with Tim Parisian. Though Heidrich and Souvanthong both fared well, advancing 9-4 and 9-7, respectively, neither fared well against Orme or Chin. Souvanthong managed seven games against Chin, while Heidrich managed just five against Orme. The quarterfinal match went hill-hill, and Orme came out on top of Chin to once again face Casanzio. Unfortunately for Orme, it was a replay of their earlier match—he landed in third with an identical score of 9-7, allowing Casanzio a rematch with Hatch.
It was evident from the beginning that the true double-elimination final match wasn’t going to be a replay of the hot seat match, as Casanzio opened up with a four-game lead. Hatch answered with his own seven-game streak, though, and the two traded games until Hatch was on the hill 8-6. In the rack that followed, Hatch was on his way out, but his missed 8 ball gave Casanzio another chance at the table. Down went the 8, but the 9 missed its mark, and Hatch was at the table once again, though he was looking at a table-length bank shot. But it was no problem for “The Hatchet Man,” and the 9 split the pocket for the win.
Results:
1st Dennis Hatch $1,260
2nd Ron Casanzio $900
3rd Chris Orme $700
4th Chance Chin $500
5th Dan Heidrich $350
Bucky Souvanthong
7th Dave Grau $200
Victor Conte, Jr.
9th Mark Hatch $100
Angelo Hilton
Tim Parisian
Shane Winters