Hatch Unstoppable in UticaJoss Northeast 9-Ball Tour / Utica, NY
by Rick Davis
Dennis “The Hatchet Man” Hatch soared through his first Joss Tour stop of the season taking the event undefeated and adding yet another title to his list of tour wins. Taking place at Hippo’s House of Billiards in Utica, NY, a 33-player field turned out for the November 3-4 action.
Late on the winners’ side Hatch met regular top finisher Bucky Souvanthong in the hot seat match, and after a great battle Hatch slipped through 9-7. On the one-loss side, tournament director Mike Zuglan was making a comeback as he tried to add the elusive win to his own list of top finishes. Zuglan ousted Hongsavady Vongxay 9-7 then Norm Pomainville 9-5 in the quarterfinals. The last match on the one-loss side featured a great showdown between Zuglan and Souvanthong, each commonly find himself fighting for the top spot. This time around Zuglan was able to close things out a bit quicker and advanced by virtue of a 9-7 win.
With Hatch waiting in the hot seat, Zuglan took aim at him in the finals and stormed through the opening set 9-5 to force a final set in the true double-elimination format. The final set, however, was all Hatch. After winning the first game Hatch opened a five-pack to be up 6-0, and before long that extended to 8-0. Zuglan avoided the skunk with one rack but that was all before Hatch sealed the deal. Taking the final set 9-1, Hatch claimed the event and added another notch to his tour belt.
Results:
1st Dennis Hatch
2nd Mike Zuglan
3rd Bucky Souvanthong
4th Norm Pomainville
5th Dan Hiedrich
Hongsavady Vongxay
7th Bruce Carroll
Damon Sobers