Park Preeminent on Tri-State Billiard Tour

Park Preeminent on Tri-State Billiard Tour
Tri-State Tour / Queens, NY

by Rick Davis
Shin Park bested a 32-player field at Master Billiards in Queens, NY, during the March 8 edition of the Tri-State Tour. The double-elimination 9-ball event was the tour’s first open class event in several months, and it brought in plenty of excitement.
Late action on the winners’ side had Jorge Rodriguez slip past Manuel Chau 7-6 to reach the hot seat match, while Park bested Tim Edmonds 7-3 in the same round. The peak of the winners’ side was over in a flash as Park drilled Rodriguez 7-1 to control the bracket.
On the one-loss side Scott Simonetti was making a comeback after shutting out Paul Raval 7-0 then eliminating Edmonds 7-3 to reach the quarterfinals. Chau also began creeping through the remaining rounds, and once he ousted tour regular Mark Vidal 7-5 he was back in gear. Chau knocked out Simonetti 7-3 in the quarterfinals then eliminated Rodriguez 7-6 in the semifinals, getting revenge from his earlier defeat.
In the last match of the day Chau faced the waiting Park in the finals, where both players showed their fatigue. Each player opened with a three-game streak for an early 3-all tie, but then Park blasted it open with five straight racks for an 8-3 lead. Chau got back into the race, bringing the score to 8-7, but a dry break left Park to run out for the 9-7 win.
Results:
1st Shin Park
2nd Manuel Chau
3rd Jorge Rodriguez
4th Scott Simonetti
5th Tim Edmonds
Mark Vidal
7th Paul Raval
Mark Bantovick