Julian Tierney and Levie Lampaan
He won his first regional tour title a little shy of two months ago, at a stop on the Garden State Pool Tour in Clifton, NJ. This past weekend (Dec. 10-11), Julian Tierney won his second regional tour stop, coming from the loss side to claim the tour’s invitational Grand Amateur Championships, a $300-added event that drew 44 entrants to Players Billiards in Eatontown, NJ.
The event was initially broken up into four separate double-elimination brackets, out of which emerged 16 players, who advanced to another double elimination bracket that would determine the tour’s 2022 Grand Amateur Champion. Lysander Diaz, David Jusis, Jesse Duetcher and Levie Lampaan emerged as champions of the four original brackets. Tierney, a ‘B’ player, was sent to the loss side early in the final 16-player bracket and won five on the loss side before challenging and defeating A player, Levie Lampaan twice in the true double elimination final.
Lampaan had advanced through two opponents to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal against Jesse Duetcher (B). Marc Lamberti (C) challenged Lysander Diaz (D+) in the other one.
Lampaan advanced to the hot seat match 7-3 over Duetcher and was joined by Diaz, who’d sent Lamberti to the loss side 7-4. Lampaan claimed the hot seat 10-7 over Diaz and waited for Tierney to complete his loss-side run.
On the loss side, Tierney survived a double hill battle versus Rob Wetherhold and eliminated Kevin Scalzitti 7-2 to draw Duetcher. Lamberti picked up David Jusis, who’d eliminated Gustavo Ardon Perdomo 6-3 and Jimmy Cangialosi 7-3 to reach him.
Tierney got by Duetcher 7-3, as Lamberti was defeating Jusis 6-4. Tierney stopped Lamberti’s short loss-side visit 7-2 in the subsequent quarterfinals.
Tierney then made sure that Lysander Diaz’ visit to the loss side was equally short. He defeated 8-4 in the semifinals. Tierney had to win two sets in the double elimination final and took the opener, allowing Lampaan only a single rack. Lampaan rallied in the second set but not by enough. Tierney won the second set 7-4 to claim the Garden State Pool Tour’s Grand Amateur Championships.
Tour director Dave Fitzpatrick thanked the ownership and staff at Players’ Billiards and on the occasion of the Garden State Pool Tour’s final event of 2023, included thanks to all of the 2022 host locations; Breaker Billiards in Clifton, NJ, Black Diamond Billiards in Union, NJ, Clifton Billiards in Clifton, NJ, Diamond Jim’s Billiards & Pub in Nanuet, NY, Side Pocket Billiards in Howell, NJ and Shooter’s Family Billiards in Wayne, NJ.
Fitzpatrick also extended thanks to tour sponsors Billiards Engineering, John Bender Custom Cues, JFlowers Cues and Cases, Off the Rail Apparel, In the Bx and Kamui.
The 2023 Garden State Pool Tour will be switching from its current use of a ‘letter’ ranking system to the FargoRate system. The 2023 season will open on the weekend of January 7-8 with a 675-and-under FargoRate event, hosted by Shooter’s Family Billiards in Wayne, NJ.
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