Carl Yusuf Khan and Paul Spaanstra allowed a single match between them to decide the January 10 stop on the Tri-State Tour. Khan advanced to the hot seat, which proved to be his final victory, as he and Spaanstra opted out of a final match, leaving Khan to claim the event title. The $1,000-added event drew 25 entrants to Rockaway Billiards in Rockaway, NJ.
They met, only the once, in a winners' side semifinal, while Martin Carducci and Chris Calabrese met in the other. Khan sent Spaanstra over 7-5, and in the hot seat match, met Carducci, who'd defeated Calabrese 6-5. Khan claimed the hot seat, and ultimately, the event title, 8-7 over Carducci.
On the loss side, Spaanstra met up with Duane Toney, who'd shut out Steve Kaminow, and defeated Fred Garcia 7-2. Calabrese drew Kevin Coyle, who'd defeated Pat Mareno 6-4, and Jaydev Zaveri 6-3. Spaanstra eliminated Toney 7-4, as Calabrese was doing the same to Coyle 6-5.
Spaanstra took the quarterfinal match against Calabrese 8-4, and in what proved to be his final win, downed Carducci in the semifinals 8-5. Khan and Spaanstra chose to split the top prizes, and as the undefeated player, Khan claimed the title.
Tour representatives thanked sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Qpod Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics.
