Mike Donnelly got by Jared Zimmerman twice, once in the battle for the hot seat and again in the finals, to go undefeated on the Dishaw Custom Cues Central New York Tour on Saturday, May 5. The $250-added amateur event drew 22 entrants to Hippo's in Utica, NY.
From among the winners' side final four, Donnelly faced Dwight Dixon, while Zimmerman mixed it up with Arlu Whitaker. Donnelly prevailed in an 8-4 victory over Dixon, as Zimmerman sent Whitaker to the loss side 7-3. Donnelly gave up just one rack to Zimmerman in their hot seat battle.
Dixon moved over to tackle Ed Saur, who'd defeated John Cotter 8-4 and Kevin Desilva 8-2 to reach him. Whitaker picked up Paul Enslin, who'd gotten by Jay Brotherton 8-4 and Vic Conte, Jr. (the only triple-A player among the final 12) 8-5. Dixon got back on track with an 8-5 victory over Saur, but Enslin handed Whitaker his second loss 8-1 and moved into the quarterfinals.
Dixon ended Enslin's three-match, loss-side winning streak with an 8-4 victory in those quarterfinals, before Zimmerman stopped Dixon's two-match streak 7-4 in the semifinals. Zimmerman had his second shot at Donnelly, but Donnelly repeated his earlier dominance with an 8-3 victory that secured the event title.
Tour Director Gary Lloyd thanked Vic Conte, Jr. and Hippo's for voluntarily adding money to the event. The final stop on the Dishaw Custom Cues CNY Tour is scheduled May 19-20 at Premium Billiards in Syracuse, NY.
