Room owner Paul Troxel, Darren Belliveau and Bob Madenjian
The last time Darren Belliveau added a payout to his profile on AZBilliards, in February of ‘22, he’d ‘officially’ won a stop on the New England 9-Ball Series. He was in the hot seat when he and his dad, Everett, chose to split the top two prizes. The time before that (Nov. ’21), he’d won a stop on the tour outright. Fast backward to November of 2018, when Belliveau came within the proverbial cat’s whisker of winning his first event on the Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour, coming from the loss side to win the opening set of a final against Kyle Pepin, who went on to win the second set and claim his first Joss Tour title. Belliveau’s history on the Joss Tour dates back to the turn of the century (2000) when he recorded his first payout on the tour, finishing 7th at a stop won by tour director, Mike Zuglan, and featuring a 4th place finish by the late George “Ginky” Sansouci.
On the weekend of June 3-4, Belliveau completed his 23-year quest for a Joss Tour title, at the final tour stop (#16) of the ‘22/’23 season, ahead of the Turning Stone XXXVII season finale, scheduled for the upcoming Labor Day weekend (Aug. 31-Sept. 3). Belliveau lost the opening set of a true double-elimination final to Bob Madenjian and won the second set at the $1,500-added event that drew 51 entrants to Snooker’s Sports Billiards Bar & Grill in Providence, RI.
Belliveau was battling in tight matches, almost from the get-go. Though he never faced a double-hill challenge until the second set of the true-double elimination final, four of Belliveau’s eight matches came within a game of double hill at 9-7. He opened with a 9-2 victory over Jiten Patel and settled into a 9-7 winning pattern against Jared Demalia, Clyde Matta and Billy Lanna that set him up to face Franciso Cabral in one of the winners’ side semifinals.
Meanwhile, Steve Tavernier was sending Ken Hall (5), Roger Lakotko (1) and both Ranulf Tamba and Rick Matarazzo (both 4) to the loss side, which set him up to face the eventual runner-up, Bob Madenjian, in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Early on Sunday morning, Tavernier sent Madenjian to the loss side 9-3 and was joined in the hot seat match by Belliveau, who’d sent Cabral over 9-6. Belliveau chalked up his fourth 9-7 win to claim the hot seat.
Madenjian arrived on the loss side to face Ray McNamara, who’d lost a winners’ side quarterfinal to Cabral and then defeated Tamba 7-3 and Lanna 7-5. Cabral came over and picked up Matta, who’d been one of Belliveau’s 9-7 victims and was working on a four-match winning streak that had recently eliminated Brian Chase, double hill, and Jiten Patel 7-4.
Madenjian and Cabral advanced to the quarterfinals by the same 7-5 score, against McNamara and Matta, respectively. Madenjian gave up only a single rack to Cabral in those quarterfinals and then eliminated Tavernier in the semifinals 7-4 for a shot at Belliveau, waiting for him in the hot seat.
It’s hard to imagine that many people who witnessed the double-elimination final against Belliveau and Madenjian were aware of what was at stake for each of them. They’d both been competing on the tour since the turn of the century, with Madenjian’s first recorded payout on the tour occurring in 1999, a year before Belliveau’s. Both were looking for their first Joss Tour win, though Madenjian had won a Second Chance event on the tour in 2019. Madenjian entered the finals in what would be, regardless of the result, his first cash payout of this year, as well as his first since 2021, which was his best recorded earnings year among the 24 in which he’d been recording payouts. He was already going to be recording his best finish on the tour, having previously finished 3rd, twice, 22 years apart (’99-’21).
Echoes of this history for both of them had to have been on their minds as they stepped to the tables for the opening set of this 2023, double-elimination final. They silenced those echoes as best as they could and got down to business. Those echoes likely got louder when Madenjian chalked up the 9-5 win in the opening set. The ‘prize’ they’d both been after for nearly a quarter of a century was now right there in front of them, one match away. The race was reduced to 7 for the second set and for whoever happened to be there, the immediate-event stakes were evident. It was likely not a surprise to anyone there that the second set went double hill.
However that final set turned out, it was going to be the best (recorded) finish on the Joss NE 9-Ball Tour for both of them; a repeat ‘best finish’ for Belliveau if it turned out that way. It didn’t. Belliveau dropped the last 9-ball in the double-hill match to claim his first Joss Tour title.
A $500-added Second Chance event drew 16 entrants and was won by Veronique Menard, who went undefeated. She was challenged in the finals by Steve Edmiston, who’d capped a five-match, loss-side winning streak with a victory over John Dennis in the semifinals.
Players were reminded in May that the $25,000-added Turning Stone XXXVII in late August, early September was already sold out. Tour director Mike Zuglan advised players who wished to be included on a waiting list to reach him at 518-356-7163. Replies and inquiries should be sent to mzjosstour@aol.com
Zuglan thanked the ownership and staff at Snooker’s for their hospitality, along with title sponsor Joss Cues, Turning Stone Resort Casino, Simonis Cloth, poolonthenet.com, AZBilliards, Aramith, Billiards Press and World Class Cue Care (http://www.jnj-industries.com).
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