Josh Thiele and Hoa Vu
He entered our database exactly one year ago, on February 18, 2023 when he finished 5th at a stop on the Predator Tri-State Tour. Hoa Vu followed that this past weekend (Sat., Feb. 17) with an undefeated run on the Garden State Pool Tour. Vu claimed the hot seat in a battle versus Mike Salerno before he and Josh Thiele agreed to a single-game final and a split of the top two cash prizes. Vu won the single game and claimed title to the $100-added, 10-ball event which drew 28 entrants to Shooter’s Family Billiards in Wayne, NJ.
Vu’s path to the winners’ circle was something of a constant battle. Each of his first three opponents, established competitive veterans (David Marchant, Joann Mason Parker and Mhet Vergara), battled him to within a game of double hill before Vu advanced 7-5 against all three to his first match against Thiele in a winners’ side semifinal.
Mike Salerno, in the meantime, opened his trek to the hot seat match with a similar 7-5 win over Doug Youman before downing both Julian Tierney and Pascal Dufresne 7-2. Salerno drew Juan Pena in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Vu’s day wasn’t getting any easier. His fourth match went double hill before he closed it out over Thiele and advanced to the hot seat match. Salerno joined him after chalking up his third straight 7-2 win, over Pena. If scores are an accurate measure (and sometimes, they’re not), Vu had his easiest match of the day, giving up only four racks to Salerno and claiming the hot seat.
On the loss side, Thiele, looking for his first (recorded) regional tour win since claiming title to a stop on what was then Tony Robles’ Predator Pro Am Tour, 10 years ago, opened his loss-side trek to the finals against Joann Mason Parker. Parker had followed her loss to Vu with four straight wins, over Jimmy Rivera (2), Doug Youmans (3), Jason Halpin (2) and in a double-hill battle, Pascal Dufresne. Pena picked up Mhet Vergara, who’d followed his winners’ side quarterfinal loss to Vu, with victories over Aurelio Chickie Romero 5-1 and David Marchant 5-3.
Thiele and Vergara each gave up just a single rack to Parker and Pena, respectively and advanced to the quarterfinals. Thiele gave up two racks to Vergara in those quarterfinals and then, shut out Salerno for a second shot at Vu.
Vu and Thiele negotiated their split of the top two cash prizes and agreed to the somewhat brutal and sudden way to determine a tournament winner; a one-game match for all of the proverbial marbles, or in this case, a division of the marbles and an ‘official’ event victory for the winner. Vu won it to add a first recorded tour win to his pool career resume.
Tour director Dave Fitzpatrick thanked Kris Kemp and her Shooter’s Family Billiards’ staff for their “great hospitality” and ongoing support of the Garden State Pool Tour. The next stop on the tour, scheduled for the weekend of March 2-3, will feature separate, FargoRate-defined brackets (510 & lower, and 511 to 660) in a 9-ball event.
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