In a true double elimination tournament format, it is not a common sight to see the player who loses the hot-seat match come back and douple dip their opponent in the finals. It happened twice though at the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour's third stop of the season at Sharpshooters Billiards in Amsterdam NY on October 8th - 9th.
The main event saw Ron Casanzio edge Bucky Souvanthong 9-8 for the hot-seat. Casanzio has turned in a number of strong finishes on the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour, but had not visited the winner's circle since 2013. Souvanthong eliminated Brent Boemmels 9-5 to earn the chance to keep Casanzio from that winner's circle one more time. It looked like smooth sailing for Casanzio in the first set of the finals as he raced out to a quick 4-0 lead. A missed shot in rack five was all the opportunity that Souvanthong needed as he took control and won the next eight racks. Casanzio tried to mount a comeback, but could only get to 8-6 before Souvanthong took the first set 9-6. The second set was a much closer affair with neither player able to build any sort of lead. The match stayed that way until the end, with Souvanthong clinching the 9-7 win for first place.
The second chance tournament was very similar to the main event, with Dave Johnson defeating Nick Brucato 3-2 for the hot-seat. Brucato came back and beat Hendrik Drost 3-1 to earn his place in the finals. It was Brucato's second trip to the second chance event finals in as many weeks, and he made the most of it this time with 3-1 and 3-2 wins over Johnson for first place. Drost might have still done the best of any player in the second chance event, as he combined his third place prize money with winning the custom engraved Joss cue raffle.
Casanzio's second place finish in the main event was enough to propel him to first place on the Joss Tour Points List, with Souvanthong a close 25 points behind.
The Joss Tour will be at Salt City Billiards for their next stop on October 15th - 16th. Players who wish to compete in the upcoming Turning Stone Classic XXVII should contact Zuglan at 518-356-7163 to lock up their place in the event.
