Keith Adamik, Ada Lio and Ricardo Mendoza
Ada Lio, currently running neck and neck with Jennifer Pedutem in the D+/D-class rankings on the Tri-State Tour, and fourth among the tour's top female players, took a major step forward on September 6, when she went undefeated through a field of 28 to capture her first Tri-State title. She took down a couple of "A" class players to do it, too. The $750-added event was hosted by Clifton Billiards in Clifton, NJ.
Lio was in a winners' side semifinal before she'd given up more than two racks, downing Larry Chandler 6-1 and Dave Fitzpatrick 6-2 to move among the winners' side final four and a match against Jaydev Zaveri. Roberto Mendoza, in the meantime, squared off against Keith Adamik.
Lio and Mendoza moved into the hot seat match on the heels of identical 7-4 wins over Zaveri and Adamik. Lio claimed her first Tri-State hot seat with an 11-6 victory over the A+-ranked Mendoza, and waited on what turned out to be the return of the A-rated player, Adamik.
Adamik and Zaveri moved to the loss side to compete in the first of the money rounds. Adamik drew Geovanni Hosang, who'd gotten by Chris Schmidt and Roger Hanos, both 7-5. Zaveri faced Sam Hoffman, who'd defeated Mike Strassberg 6-2 and Dave Fitzpatrick 6-5. Adamik and Zaveri advanced to the quarterfinals; Adamik 7-4 over Hosang and Zaveri in a shutout over Hoffman.
Adamik downed Zaveri 8-5 in those quarterfinals for a second shot against Mendoza in the semifinals. Adamik took full advantage, winning their re-match 7-2 and turning for a shot at Lio in the hot seat.
It didn't look good right from the start for Adamik, who watched Lio chalk up a six-pack before he responded with two racks of his own. Lio won rack # 9, and after giving up a third to Adamik, chalked up three straight to complete her undefeated run 10-3.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff of Clifton Billiards, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Qpod, Kamui Tips, Ron Vitello, Focus Cases by John Batron, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics , and Focus Apparel. The next stop on the Tri-State tour, scheduled for September 13, will be hosted by Rockaway Billiards in Rockaway, NJ.
