Plummer Walker and Dan Praport
Unbeknownst to Dan Praport, when he won the Sunday, January 29 stop on the Tri-State Tour, he also earned himself a spot in the AZBilliards database, which up to that point, had not included his name. He's likely to show up at the top of the ninth page of pool players named "Dan" or "Danny." The $620-added event which afforded him this opportunity, not to mention $500 in cash, drew 30 entrants to Clifton Billiards in Clifton, NJ.
Praport came from the loss side to seal the victory, having been sent there by Dennis Quinn in a winners' side quarterfinal match. Quinn advanced to meet Plummer Walker in a winners' side semifinal, as Rich Boschulte prepared to square off in the other. Walker downed Quinn, double hill and in the hot seat match, faced Boschulte, beneficiary of a forfeit by Triolo. Walker claimed the hot seat 7-4, and waited on Praport.
Praport opened his loss side campaign with a 6-3 win over Marco Daniel, and followed it with a 7-3 win over Marisol Palacios. This, due to the forfeit by Triolo, sent Praport directly to the quarterfinals. Quinn picked up Adrian Daniel (no relation to Marco), who'd defeated Pashk Gjini and Frank Scanlon, both 6-4, to reach him.
Adrian Daniel kept a Praport/Quinn re-match out of the quarterfinals equation by defeating Quinn 6-3. Praport went on to defeat Daniel 6-4 in those quarterfinals, and, in the semifinals by the same score, Rich Buschulte.
Praport completed his run with an 8-6 victory over Walker in the finals. He chalked up his first Tri-State win and a spot on the AZBilliards database at the same time.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Clifton Billiards for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Kamui Tips, Ron Vitello, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics, and Bloodworth Ball Cleaners. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 4, will be a $1,000-added, A-B/C-D handicapped event, hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.
