Full Field Vies for Turning Stone Billiard Title
Turning Stone Classic XIV / Verona, NY
by InsidePOOL Staff
The Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour’s Turning Stone Classic XIV kicked off December 17 with a full field of 128 players, all vying for the top prize of $8,000. The $25,000-added event is hosted by Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, NY.
The first round of matches is complete, with the second round well underway. After an 11-7 victory for Team USA at the 2009 PartyPoker.net Mosconi Cup, members from both teams are in contention for the Turning Stone title. All of Team USA is present. Defending champion Oscar “The Big O” Dominguez won his first match against Pete Tascarella Sr. 9-4 and his second against Elio D’Andrea 9-5. , Fellow teammates Johnny Archer and Shane Van Boening ended up facing each other in the second round after winning their first matches over Jamie Mangini 9-1 and TJ LaFlamme 9-2, respectively. Archer, who was recently inducted into the BCA’s Hall of Fame, was the victor in that match 9-5, sending Van Boening to try his luck on the west side.
The Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour’s Turning Stone Classic XIV kicked off December 17 with a full field of 128 players, all vying for the top prize of $8,000.
Dennis Hatch, voted MVP his first time at Mosconi Cup, is looking to add the Turning Stone title to his resume this year. He defeated Nick Brucato in the first round 9-6 and will next meet Chris Orme. But Corey Deuel, another Team USA player, lost his first match 9-7 to Rodney Cuillerier.
View the Turning Stone tournament brackets (will be updated regularly)
From Team Europe, Mika Immonen, Thorsten Hohmann, and Ralf Souquet all managed to make it to the event, while teammates Darren Appleton and Niels Feijen did not. Immonen, who struggled with an illness during Mosconi Cup, escaped a hill-hill match with Martin Lalonde 9-8 but was sent west by teammate Hohmann in the second round 9-3. In his first round, Hohmann bested Benoit Michaud 9-4. Souquet won his first match against Frank Sorriento 9-2 and next faces Shane Winters.
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