Hector Ruiz, Koka Davladze and Brian Marshall
Everybody loves an underdog. While Koka Davladze's undefeated run on the September 22 stop on the Tri-State Tour, which concluded with two straight victories over Hector Ruiz, was (is) the headline, the performances of the third and fourth place finishers on this tour stop (Gail Glazebrook and Brian Marshall) were equally compelling. Marshall, who was moved to the loss side in the first round by Dave Shlemperis, won nine straight to battle Ruiz in the semifinals. Glazebrook, who was sent west by Ruiz in the second round, won eight straight before running into Marshall in the quarterfinals. The $1,500-added, A-D handicapped event drew 56 entrants to Gotham City Billiards in Brooklyn, NY.
As Marshall and Glazebrook were at work on their loss-side streaks, Davladze and Ruiz were busy on their own winners' side streaks. Davladze got by Keith Adamik, Kapriel Delimonkonoglu, Borana Andoni, and Carl Yusuf Khan (winner of the tour's previous stop) to face Dave Shlemperis among the winners' side final four. Ruiz, in the meantime, squared off against Mike Harrington. Davladze survived a double hill match (his first) against Shlemperis, while Ruiz sent Harrington west 6-3. In their first of two, Davladze prevailed 8-6 over Ruiz and sat in the hot seat awaiting his return.
Shlemperis moved west for a re-match versus Marshall, who'd already chalked up seven on the loss side, including victories over Khan, 7-5, and Andoni, 7-4. Harrington drew Glazebrook, who'd also won seven, including wins over Raymond Lee 6-3, and Eddie Perez 6-4. Both seeking their eighth, loss-side victory, Marshall wreaked his vengeance on Shlemperis 7-5, as Glazebrook was busy ending Harrington's day 6-4. In the quarterfinal match that followed, Marshall stopped Glazebrook's run at eight, with a double hill victory and then, had his own nine-game run ended by Ruiz, 7-5 in the semifinals.
Ruiz jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the finals. Davladze fought right back to tie it and then took a one-game lead at 5-4. Ruiz tied it up, but Davladze finished things with three in a row that captured the event title.
Tour representatives made note of a victory by John Trobiano in the tour's Break and Run contest. Trobiano, owner of Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ, broke and ran the table to pocket the $750 prize at stake. Representatives thanked the owners and staff at Gotham City Billiards, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Poison Cues, Ron Tarr Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, a $1,500-added, A-D handicapped event, is scheduled for September 29 at Carom Cafe Billiards in Flushing, NY.
