Dave Grau went undefeated to win the July 1 stop on the Western New York Tour, and had to defeat an uncle (Mark Hatch) and his nephew (Dennis) to get it done. The event drew 14 entrants to Bison Billiards in Buffalo, NY.
The Hatches met twice; once in the first round, with nephew Dennis sending Uncle Mark to the loss side, and later, in the semifinals, where the result was reversed. Dennis moved among the winners' side final four to face tour director Nick Brucato. Grau, in the meantime, squared off against Corey Welfare. Dennis survived a double hill match against Brucato, and in the hot seat match, met up with Grau, who'd defeated Welfare 7-2. Grau sent Dennis to meet his uncle in the semifinals, and waited for a Hatch to return, one way or another.
On the loss side, Brucato picked up uncle Mark Hatch, who'd shut out both John Grant and Seth Pfudelus to reach him. Welfare drew Bobby Schrader, who'd gotten by Dan Miosi 5-3 and . Shawn McCluskey 5-2. Hatch and Schrader advanced to the quarterfinals; Hatch with a 6-3 victory over Brucato (first time in what Brucato described as "a long time" in numerous meetings between the two) and Schrader with a 5-3 victory over Welfare.
Hatch chalked up his third, loss-side shutout with a 6-0 victory over Schrader in the quarterfinals, and turned to exact some revenge on nephew Dennis. Dennis went down 8-2 and it was Uncle Mark that Grau had to face. Uncle Mark got served a taste of his own loss-side medicine, as Grau shut him out to secure the event victory.
