The Tri-State Tour / Parsippany, NJ
by Lea Andrews
James DeGiosafatto, Jr. came through the one-loss side to claim first in The Tri-State Tour’s second stop of the new season. The $500-added C-D event drew 25 players to Comet Billiards in Parsippany, NJ.
C+-ranked DeGiosafatto’s early loss took him out of the spotlight, and as the final four on the A-side emerged, C+-ranked Ryan McCarthy seemed the likely winner. His 6-4 win over C+-ranked Dave Shlemperis placed him in the hot seat match against Duane Daily, who was coming off a 6-5 win over C-ranked Michael Rodrigues. Daily was treated to another 6-5 match, but came out on the wrong end this time and moved over to the left side of the bracket.
Over on the one-loss side, DeGiosafatto was making his move. A 6-3 win over C-ranked Antonio Navarro, a 7-4 win against D+-ranked Rick Shellhouse, and a 6-1 win over Shlemperis landed him in the quarterfinals against C+-ranked T.J. Smithers, who’d just had some strong wins, himself: 6-3 over Ed Miller (C), 6-3 over Duane Toney (C+), and 6-2 over Rodrigues. The two went back and forth, with DeGiosafatto coming out on top 6-5 to face Dailey in the semifinals.
It was Dailey who had earlier sent DeGiosafatto west 6-4, and in this match, DeGiosafatto got his revenge, moving on to the finals with a convincing 6-3 win.
The modified final set featured one player coming straight out of a match and one player coming out of a chair, as McCarthy had had to wait a couple of hours for an opponent to come through. McCarthy played well in the finals, but not as well as the way he’d played getting there, and DeGiosafatto, taking advantage of the rolls coming his way, closed out the win 8-6.
James DeGiosafatto, Jr. came through the one-loss side to claim first in The Tri-State Tour’s second stop of the new season.
Results:
1st James DeGiosafatto, Jr. $500
2nd Ryan McCarthy $230
3rd Duane Dailey $150
4th T.J. Smithers $100
5th Michael Rodrigues $55
Dave Shlemperis