Everton comes back from one-loss bracket to take Tri-State

Utilizing a combination of handicapped advantages and sheer determination, Paul Everton, a C+ player, came back from the one-loss side to capture the first place prize in the Tri-State Tour stop on Saturday, August 1. The $500-added, B-D handicapped event drew 23 entrants to Sandcastle Billiards.

A pair of double hill wins over Angelo Fiorino and Andrew Kane put Everton among the winners' side final four, where he faced Gary Murgia, a B+ player. In the handicap format race to 7, Everton started the match ahead by two. He would add only one, as Murgia advanced to the hot seat match, 7-3. Phil Carr (B), in the meantime, started his race to 7 versus James DeLillo (B+) with a single game advantage and capitalized on it to win 7-6 and face off against Murgia. With the same handicap advantage against Murgia, Carr duplicated the 7-6 result and sat in the hot seat, waiting for what would turn out to be Everton's return.

After a 7-5 win over Nick Verducci and a hill-hill victory over Anthony Robles, it was Jeremiah DeLeo waiting for Everton when he got to the one-loss side. DeLillo, coming over, picked up Robert Perkins, who'd gotten by Dave Fitzpatrick 9-6 and Ben Sadowski 7-4. In an even up race to 6 for the two C+ players, Everton moved into the quarterfinals with a hill-hill win over DeLeo, as Perkins joined him, defeating DeLillo 7-3. Everton started the quarterfinals versus Perkins with a two-game advantage and put it to good use in yet another hill-hill win, earning him a semifinal rematch versus Murgia, who'd handed him his first defeat.

With two games in hand, Everton got his chance in the finals against Carr with a 7-5 win over Murgia.  With a single game in hand in those finals, he opened up with a pair of racks that had him out in front 3-0. Coming from the one-loss side, Everton needed to reach 7 games first in order to extend the match to 9 games and did just that. Carr mounted a rally that saw them knotted at 4-4, but Everton surged ahead to reach the 7-games needed to extend the match. The two traded racks to 8-5, Carr won another and Everton closed it out at 9-6 to take home the first place prize.