Oscar de Leon, Nate Bourque, and Delano Wood
Oscar DeLeon was the undefeated occupant of the hot seat when he and Nate Borque opted out a final match and split the top two prizes on last weekend’s (Sun., Jan. 28) Stop #4.5 on the New England 9-Ball Series. As such, DeLeon went into the figurative ‘books’ as the event’s official winner. In the ‘credit where credit is due’ department, it should be noted that Borque, after winning his first two matches, lost his third and embarked on a seven-match, loss-side winning streak that not only earned him a spot in the finals (that didn’t happen), but brought him to that point with a loss-side, aggregate score of 36-6; two shutouts, four matches in which he’d given up just a single rack and one match (the semifinals) in which he’d surrendered two.
So, ‘grats’ to both. Deleon for an undeniably undefeated run to the hot seat and Borque for a remarkable string of loss-side victories. Had they opted for a final match, DeLeon, with a 496 Fargo Rate would have been given, by Fargo Rate calculations, a 39% chance of winning it, even with the handicap advantage of entering the finals with four ‘beads on the wire’ in a race to 7; Borque had a 656 Fargo Rate. As it turned out, Stop #4.5, which drew 48 entrants to Yale Billiards in Wallingford, CT, had to reduce the races of the last few matches leading up to the final (that didn’t happen) to accommodate a clock, ticking toward closing time on a Sunday night.
And so, here’s how it went down. DeLeon set out on his path to the hot seat with victories over Chad Esposito (3), Max Ball (3), Jason Garcia (4), and Dennis Brewer (0) to arrive at a winners’ side semifinal versus Jason Longo. Delano Wood, in the meantime, started out with a shutout over Ed Murray and followed that with a win over Nuno Cotto (1), before chalking up two straight double-hill wins over Austin Cofrancesco and Brandon Neal. Wood drew Thomas Natale in the other winners’ side semifinal.
DeLeon downed Longo 5-1 and was joined in the hot seat match Wood, who’d sent Natale west 5-3. In a straight-up race to 5, DeLeon grabbed the hot seat 5-1 over Wood.
On the loss side, it was Natale who came over and had the misfortune of meeting up with Borque, four matches in to his seven-match winning streak. Borque had recently sent Tyler Cooper and Dennis Brewer home, having allowed each of them only a single rack in what proved to be their last match. Longo came over and picked up Stephen Rowe, who’d just chalked up two straight, double-hill wins over Wayne Harriman and James Capuras.
Two shutouts allowed Borque and Longo to advance to the quarterfinals, and a third, Borque over Longo, set Borque up against Wood in the semifinals. In what proved to be the event’s last match, Borque had a fight on his hands. Wood battled him to a double-hill, deciding game before Borque finished it and entered negotiations for the cash split.
Tour director Marc Dionne thanked the ownership and staff at Yale Billiards for their hospitality, along with sponsors USAPL New England, BEF, Fargo Rate, AZBilliards, Professor Q-ball’s National Pool and 3-Cushion News, MJS Construction, OTLVISE, Outsville, Cue Pocket LLC, and Just The Tip Cue Repair and Custom Accessories. The next stop on the NE 9-Ball Series (#5), scheduled for Sat., Feb. 17, will be hosted by Straight Shooters in Fall River, MA.
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