Ed Culhane, Mike Ettl and Ron Mason
Knotted at double hill in the finals of the Tri-State Tour stop on Sunday, October 9, Ed Culhane put the 9-ball in on the break to complete his second straight victory over Mike Ettl, a six-match undefeated day, and his third win on the tour since February. The $1,000-added A/D-handicapped event drew 31 entrants to BQE Billiards in Jackson Heights, NY.
Following victories over Ed Hugh, Raphael DaBreo, and Geovani Hosang, Culhane moved among the winners' side final four to face Mark Pantovic. Ettl, in the meantime, squared off against Mike Aro. Culhane got into the hot seat match with a 7-3 victory over Pantovic, and was joined by Ettl, who'd defeated Aro 6-3. A 7-3 Culhane win over Ettl, his first of two, put him in the hot seat.
Aro moved over for a re-match against Ron Mason, whom he'd sent west in a winners' side final eight match. Mason went on to defeat Matt McMillen 6-1 and Keith Diaz 6-2 to set up the re-match. Pantovic picked up Keith Adamik, who'd gotten by Joe Landi 7-1 and Hosang 7-2. Mason put an exclamation point on his re-match against Aro with a shutout victory, as Pantovic was busy surviving a double hill match versus Adamik.
Mason then completed his four-match run on the loss-side with an 8-5 victory over Pantovic in the quarterfinals. Ettl ended the streak with a 6-4 win in the semifinals, and turned to face Culhane a second time.
Four times in the finals, both Culhane and Ettl surged ahead with three straight wins. Ettl opened things with three straight before Culhane found his stroke and got one in. Ettl won the fifth rack to re-establish his three-game lead, and then, Culhane responded with three straight of his own to knot things at 4-4. Etll bounced right back with three more. They traded the next two racks, which put Ettl on the hill, ahead by three.
In the last of three straight, Culhane reached the hill. In the final rack, for a fourth straight win, Culhane sunk the 9-ball on the break to complete his undefeated day.
Tour representatives thanked Theo Katelas, and his cousin, Theo, for their generous support of the tour with excellent playing conditions, and a terrific menu. Thanks were also extended to tour sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Ron Tarr Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics.
