Panzarella Tops on Tri-State

Panzarella Tops on Tri-State
Tri-State Tour / Queens, NY

by Rick Davis
The Tri-State Tour brought out an offering of 9-ball action October 13, when a 32-player field mixed things up at Master Billiards in Queens, NY. Coming through the rough field was Mike Panzarella, who overcame an early loss to claim the event.
Late on the winners’ side it was Hiram Maldonado and a newcomer on tour, Wazeer Abasi. Even though Maldonado, B+ class, had Abasi, C+ class, outclassed by a full level Abasi quickly adjusted and defeated Maldonado double-hill to reach the finals and become king of the hill in his second event on tour.
On the one-loss side tour regular Greg Hecht ousted D’Jameson Jensen 8-6, while all eyes were on Panzarella nearby. After taking a loss in his second match, Panzarella was hot on the comeback trail. Taking 4 one-loss side wins, Panzarella reached the money rounds then began to pick apart the remaining field. Suleyman Suvci was eliminated 7-5 by Panzarella, who then proceeded to knock out Hecht 7-6 in the quarterfinals and Maldonado in the semifinals by the same margin.
With only one match remaining Panzarella didn’t let up and slipped past Abasi 9-7 to earn the win after long-fought road to the finals. Abasi, who took a respectful second place, is sure to be a marked man on tour from now on.
Results:
1st Mike Panzarella
2rd Wazeer Abasi
3rd Hiram Maldonado
4th Greg Hecht
5th D;Jameson Jensen
Suleyman Suvci