Mike Dechaine
Home field advantage proved to be helpful at the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour's 3rd Annual New England Pool & Billiards Hall Of Fame Ray Desell Memorial 9-Ball Open held on March 3rd and 4th at Snooker's Billiards in Providence, RI as housepro Mike Dechaine held off a late charge to win the event.
Dechaine made his way through the field of 71 players and it looked like it would be another easy tournament for "The Fireball" when he defeated Hunter Lombardo 9-3 for the hot-seat.
Hunter then fell to Nelson Oliveira on the one loss side 9-5. Oliveira had lost a match to Jeremy Sossei on Saturday and had battled his way to the finals via the long route.
The first set of the double elimination finals was a close one and the players found themselves tied at 7-7 when Dechaine got the chance he was waiting for. An Oliveira scratch on the break let Dechaine to the table with the chance to get to the hill first, but Dechaine was unable to take advantage and clear the rack. Oliveira ended up winning that game and the next to win the first set 9-7.
Dechaine came out strong in the second set and lead 3-0 and 4-1, but Oliveira came back and again tied the match at 7-7. This time, the tables were turned, and it was Dechaine winning the final two games for the 9-7 win and first place in the tournament.
The second chance tournament on Sunday drew 25 players and Rich Britt defeated Stacie Bourbeau for the hot-seat and again in the finals to earn first place.
The Joss NE 9-Ball Tour will be back in action at Trick Shot Billiards in Clifton Park, NY in two weeks (March 17-18) for their next event.
Zuglan is now taking entries for the season finale at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, NY on August 23 - 26. These always fill up and players are turned away. Get your entries in now to avoid missing out.
