Nick Brucato, normally seen at the helm of the Western New York Tour, signed on to compete at the Gambler Pro Tour's sixth stop of the year - Santa's 8-Ball Sleigh Event, held on Saturday, December 19. He went undefeated through a field of 34, which was initially divided into two separate brackets of 11 A players and 23 B players. The $250-added event (added by the tour itself) was hosted by Diamond Billiards Bar & Grill in Rochester, NY.
Brucato advanced in the A bracket and in that bracket's final, faced Dave Johnson. Kirk Foley and Matt Fitzwater, in the meantime, squared off in the finals of the B bracket. Brucato sent Johnson to the loss side 5-2, and in the hot seat match, faced Foley, who'd defeated Fitzwater, double hill. Brucato claimed the hot seat 5-2 over Foley and waited on what turned out to be the return of Lynn Wechsler.
On the loss side, Wechsler, working on a five-match, loss-side streak that would take him to the finals, had been sent over by Dave Johnson. He defeatEd Martin Richardson 3-1, and in the first money round, Luis Recio, double hill. This earned him a rematch against Johnson, coming over from the winners' side semifinals. Fitzwater picked up Jeremiah Imburgia, who'd gotten by Aaron Cameron, double hill, and Colby Cramer 3-1 in that first money round. Wechsler wreaked his vengeance on Johnson, eliminating him, double hill, as Fitzwater ended Imburgia's day 3-1.
Wechsler then chalked up two straight double hill wins for a shot at Brucato in the hot seat. He defeated Fitzwater in the quarterfinals and Foley in the semifinals. Brucato, though, closed out his undefeated run with a 5-2 victory in the finals to claim the event title.
The next stop on the Gambler Pro Tour, scheduled for February 13, 2016, will be hosted by Bison Billiards in Buffalo, NY.
