Van Corteza Victorious at Turning Stone Classic IX
by InsidePOOL Staff
Lee Van Corteza breezed through the final match at the Turning Stone Classic IX to become its new champion. The Turning Stone Classic was held August 16-19 at Turning Stone Casino in Verona, NY.
After suffering his first loss of the event to fellow countryman Dennis Orcollo 9-6, Van Corteza went on a tear. He first delivered walking papers to Niels Feijen 9-3, only to go on to defeat Ralf Souquet. He then wreaked revenge on Orcollo in the semifinal match 9-2 to advance to the finals.
In the hot seat match earlier, Louis Ulrich was faced with the diminutive Orcollo and pulled off a 9-6 victory to advance to the race-to-13 final match. After the semifinals were over, Van Corteza was clearly in his element. He dominated the entire match, exhibiting great defensive play. When the score reached 12-2 in favor of Van Corteza, Ulrich wrested control of the table away and put a four-pack on his opponent. Unhappily for Ulrich, he came up dry on his next break. Van Corteza calmly ran the final rack, which included an excellent three-rail position shot on the 6 ball, for the win.
Photographer Mitch Heydt is providing an image gallery from the event. View the Turning Stone Classic IX image gallery (/gallery2/v/Pool+Tournaments/Joss_Tour/).
Results:
1st
Lee Van Corteza
2nd
Louis Ulrich
3rd
Dennis Orcollo
4th
Ralf Souquet
5-6th
Karen Corr
Niels Feijen
7-8th
Mika Immonen
Tony Robles
9-12th
Jimmy Jusman
Steve Moore
Mike Davis
Ronnie Wiseman
13-16th
Ed Abraham
Shane Van Boening
Thorsten Hohmann
Tony Chohan
17-24th
Ray McNamara
Jason McCaughey
Dave Grau
Mike Zuglan
Carmen Lombardo
Ignacio Chavez
Jose Parica
John Morra