John Trobiano, Kyle Bubet and Rick Shellhouse
Kyle Bubet, who finished 10th in the Tri-State Tour's 2011-2012, C-class standings got off to a roaring start in the July 28 season opener of the Tri-State's 2012-2013 season. Sent to the loss side from among the winners' side final four, he won three straight to meet and then defeat hot seat occupant, John Trobiano, and claim the $500-added, A-D handicapped title. The event drew 25 entrants to Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ.
Bubet had defeated Debra Pritchett, Dennis Kennedy and Michael Aro before running into Rick Shellhouse in one of the winners' side semifinals. The other featured Trobiano and Eddie DaCosta. Shellhouse sent Bubet west 6-4 and in the battle for the hot seat, faced Trobiano, who'd defeated DaCosta 7-6. Trobiano then downed Shellhouse 8-5, sending him to a fateful semifinal rematch against Bubet, as he sat in the hot seat, waiting.
First up for Bubet was Donna Padavano, who'd gotten by Dave Danchak 6-5 and Daniel Flynn 6-3 to reach him. DaCosta, in the meantime, squared off against Scott Simonetti, who'd defeated Christian Smith 7-6 and Ricardo Mejia 7-3. Simonetti, who finished 6th in last season's A+/A rankings, ended DaCosta's day 9-7, and in the quarterfinals, faced Bubet, who'd eliminated Padavano 6-4.
Bubet smoked Simonetti 10-2 and turned to the semifinal re-match against Shellhouse. Bubet prevailed, double hill, to earn a shot against Trobiano in the hot seat. Bubet took an immediate 4-0 lead in the finals; a lead that would narrow to within two, four times, but eventually be the winning margin. At 7-5, Bubet chalked up two in a row to move out to his second, four-point lead. Trobiano chalked up his last to make it 9-6, but Bubet closed it out in rack 16.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Castle Billiards, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Poison Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. The next Tri-State event is a $1000-added, C-D handicapped event at Amsterdam Billiards & Bar in New York City, set for August 4-5.
