Tri-State Tour / New York, NY
by Lea Andrews
Amsterdam Billiards in New York, NY, played host to two separate Tri-State Tour events on May 23-24: a 13-entrant $500-added B-player event and an 18-entrant $500-added C-D event. C+-ranked Sal Marcelo topped the field in the C-D division, while B+-ranked Trevor Heal took home the cash in the B division.
Sal Marcelo started off his weekend strong and kept at it, joining Chris Karp, George Osipovich, and Sam Li, all of whom are C+-ranked players, in the winners’-side final four. Marcelo sent Karp and Li sent Osipovich west with scores of 6-2 and 6-4, respectively, and Marcelo claimed the hot seat by besting Li 6-4. On the one-loss side, Li met up with Karp, who had just sent home Bernard Isaacowitz with a score of 6-4 and Alex Berszinn with a score of 6-1. Karp was apparently not in a giving-up-games sort of mood, and he allowed Li only two games.
The first set of the finals of the true double-elimination event went the same way for Karp, as he gave only one game up to Marcelo. There were only seven games played in the second set as well, but this time, it was Marcelo who gave up only one game to take first place.
The B event saw a sharp-shooting Heal emerge as the occupant of the hot seat after he’d stormed through the A side of the bracket. He played the quarterfinal match against fellow B+-ranked player Tomar Grassiany, besting him in a tight hill-hill match. His opponent in the match for the hot seat was B-ranked Jacob Schwartz, who had just sent B-ranked Arturo Reyes west with a score of 7-5. In a mirror image of that match, Schwartz went to the left side of the bracket after marking up 5 games against Heal.
On the one-loss side, Reyes and Grassiany matched up with B-ranked Mark Mallari and B+ ranked Teddy Lubis, respectively. As the winners, Reyes and Lubis played the quarterfinal match, and the victory went to Reyes with a score of 7-2. But Reyes then had to face Schwartz, who was ready to get back to Heal for the finals, and Schwartz took the set 7-3.
The first set of the finals was the first and only point of the event during which Heal’s strong play slipped, and he got only one game against Schwartz. During the second set, though, he got back in stroke, taking it hill-hill and then pocketing the final 9 for the win.
Amsterdam Billiards in New York, NY, played host to two separate Tri-State Tour events on May 23-24: a 13-entrant $500-added B-player event and an 18-entrant $500-added C-D event.
B Results:
1st Trevor Heal $500
2nd Jacob Schwartz $250
3rd Arturo Reyes $140
C Results:
1st Sal Marcelo $500
2nd Chris Karp $250
3rd Sam Li $140
4th Alex Berszinn $50