Mike Zuglan, Raphael Dabreo, Francisco Salas and Snookers owner Steve Goulding. Photo courtesy of Sheikvision Photography.
After a break of 454 days, the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour kicked things off (post Covid) at the same place where it left off, Snookers in Providence, Rhode Island. The occasion was the 32nd Ocean State 9-Ball Championship, and the players showed how ready they were to get back to action, as a field of 112 players came out to try to earn a banner hanging in the rafters of Snookers with their name on it.
Through the matches on Saturday and early Sunday, Francisco Salas set himself as the man to beat, with dominating wins in his matches. His Saturday matches consisted of wins over Chris Leal 9-4, Jerry Guitard 9-1 and Ray Lee 9-2. He then started his Sunday off with the same domination he showed on Saturday, with a 9-4 win over John Francisco and then a 9-2 win over Pat Fleming.
By comparison, Salas’s next opponent, Raphael Dabreo, didn’t have things as stress-free. Dabreo had wins over Max Watanabe, Jason Noble and Brian Chase on Saturday, followed by a 9-3 win over Joey Dupuis and then a 9-7 nail biter against Levy Lampaan. Their final four match was another one-sided win for Salas and he moved on to the hot-seat match with a 9-2 win.
The hot-seat match also went to Salas, with a more competitive 9-6 win over Jared Demalia.
After the loss to Salas, Dabreo won a tough one on the left side of the board over Mike Yednak 7-5, and then he appeared to get settled into his game. “I felt like I struggled quite a bit on Sunday dealing with my own emotions. The weight I placed on myself going into the tournament, wanting the win and my name placed on that legendary snooker banner, played a major part in that.” said Dabreo after the event.
After the win over Yednak, Dabreo rolled over Lanna 7-2 and then Demalia 7-3 to earn another shot at Salas in the double elimination finals. Beating Salas twice in the finals would be a tough goal to accomplish for Dabreo, but he did have recent experience in matches like that to rely on. Dabreo had recently played Shane Van Boening in the finals of the Dynaspheres Cup 10-Ball Championship back in May. “After coming back home placing second to SVB In Maryland, I felt I could have performed better. To win that would of been great, but I appreciated the lessons learned losing to him. To share the table with greatness such as him is addictive for me.” said Dabreo.
In the end, it was Dabreo who scored a 9-2 win over Salas in the first set of the finals, and then a 7-2 win in the second set, for the tournament win. It was Dabreo’s second career Joss NE 9-Ball Tour win and it will certainly lead to more confidence from Dabreo in the future. It will also help Dabreo as he continues to display the game he knows he is capable of. “Becoming aware of my potential and staying honest with myself helps me target areas I need improvement. “ said Dabreo.
Sunday’s second chance event saw 31 players come back to Snookers to compete for the $500 in added prize money. Chad Bazinet bounced back from a final eight loss to Francisco Cabral and double dipped Jim Prather in the finals 3-0 and 3-2 for first place.
The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour will be at Brick House Billiards in N. Syracuse, NY for their next event on June 26th – 27th.
