Country Club USA in Chelmsford, Mass hosted this past weekends J. Pechauer New England 9-Ball Tour with a unique handicapped event. Thirty-five of the best B, C and D level players attended including Walter Bryksa, Shane Cote, Jamie Rios, Frank Teel, Harry Nathan, Scott Ireland, Paul Cormier, and Mike Powell.
In the hot seat match with Paul Cormier and Shane Cote, the match was one sided. It seemed Comier could not get a rhythm going in this match. In the first game Cote made a 2-9 combo, and before Cormier knew what hit him Cote was ahead 4-0. Cormier tried to rally but it was Cote who would get a guarantee at a shot at first place.
In the losers side finals with Harry Nathan and Garry Galo, this match was a one sided as well. Nathan was relentless and Galo didn't catch a break with Nathan winning the first five games in a row. While Galo did rally to notch up one game, Nathan said, "enough" and won the match 7-1.
The Finals between Cote and Nathan was a single race to ten. Although the semi-finals were one sided, this time was a different story. It was akin to watching a boxing match. The two men battled and traded the first 14 games. In game 15 Nathan made a shooting error where Cote capitalized and won to take an 8-7 lead. The next game Cote broke and ran to make the score 9-7 and find himself perched on the hill. With the pressure on Nathan, he steadied his nerves and emotion to take the next game to make the score 9-8. In game 18 Nathan was smoothly running out and it appeared that he would find himself in a hill-hill match with Cote, but a miscue on the 7 derailed that plan. Cote ran the last three and ended a nail-biter of a final to win first place.
Complete Payouts (Including Side Pots)
1st Shane Cote $550
2nd Harry Nathan $300
3rd Garry Gola $200
4th Paul Cormier $100
5th/6th Eric Fircky, Frank Teel $60
7th/8th Philip Stevens, Jamie Rios $45
