For the second week in a row Carl Yusuf Khan, known for a lot of reasons that have nothing to do with pool, as The Warrior, has gone undefeated on the Tri-State Tour. Tour representatives were unable to recall the last time a player won two in a row. On September 11, he went undefeated through a field of 38 entrants to claim the title. On Sunday, September 18, at a $203-added event at Rockaway Billiards, in Rockaway, NJ, he joined an extraordinarily short field of 11 and once again, went undefeated. He and his finals opponent, Tony Ignomirello, whom Khan had defeated previously in a winners' side semifinal, opted out of a final match, allowing Khan to claim the official title while splitting the top two cash prizes.
He and Ignomirello met first in that winners' side semifinal, won by Khan 7-5, as Michael Conoran was busy downing Fred Garcia 7-4. Khan moved into his second straight hot seat match and defeated Conoran 7-5.
On the loss side, Garcia picked up Pascal Dufresne, who'd defeated Paul Madonia 7-4 and Steve Kaminow 7-3 to reach him. Ignomirello drew Martin Carducci, who'd survived a double hill battle versus Kevin Coyle and benefited from a forfeit by Liam Tully. Garcia and Ignomirello advanced to the quarterfinals; Garcia, 7-2 over Dufresne and Ignomirello, 6-3 over Carducci.
Ignomirello took the quarterfinal match against Garcia 7-3, and then, almost had his loss-side run derailed by Conoran in the semifinals. The two battled to double hill, and in the case game, shooting at the 8-ball (the game was 9-ball), Ignomirello scratched. With ball in hand, Conoran took aim at the 8-ball and missed, leaving Ignomirello an easy out. He took advantage, closed out the rack and turned to face Khan.
The match didn't happen. At a relatively early hour, the two opted out of the final, leaving Khan as the official, undefeated winner.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Rockaway Billiards, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Kamui Tips, Ron Vitello, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics, and Bloodworth Ball Cleaners. Barring fulfillment of an open date on October 1, the Tri-State Tour will be back at Rockaway Billiards in Rockaway, NJ, for a $1,000-added, double point event on Sunday, October 9.
