Everton goes undefeated on Tri-State Tour stop

Paul Everton took two from Roger Hanos to go undefeated on the Tri-State Tour stop on Saturday, September 19. The $500-added, C-D handicapped event drew 26 entrants to Sandcastle Billiards in Edison, NJ.

From among the winners' side final four, Everton defeated Raul Reyes 6-4, as Hanos sent the only D+ player in the final four – Dave Fitzpatrick – west in a hill-hill battle. Everton sent Hanos over in the hill-hill hot seat match that followed.

On the one-loss side, T.J. Smithers met Reyes, after defeating Antonio Navarro 6-2 and Dave Shlemperis 6-5. Leo Liu got by Chuck Giallorenzo 6-5 and John Egeln 6-2 to pick up Fitzpatrick. Reyes moved into the quarterfinals with a commanding 6-1 victory over Smithers. Fitzpatrick joined him with a 7-5 win over Liu. Fitzpatrick advanced to the semifinals against Hanos with a 7-5 win over Reyes.

Fitzpatrick, who, according to tour director Todd Fleitman, played well throughout the tournament and had, in fact, come within a game of being in the hot seat match, ended his run with a hill-hill defeat by Hanos in the semifinals..

“He should have gotten into the finals,” noted Fleitman. “He had Hanos (in the winners' side final four) match 6-3.”

With a shot at redemption, Hanos turned his attention to Everton. The two C+ players squared off in an extended format final, which required Hanos to reach six, to extend the match to eight games. Hanos opened with a run-out. Everton tied it at one, and after catching a ‘hanger' that put him out in front 2-1, he sunk the 9 on the subsequent break and was up 3-1. Everton missed a few in game five and Hanos capitalized to pull within one at 3-2. Safety play mounted in the next two games, with Everton managing to break through and win them both. On the hill, Everton got a ball in hand, early in the game, and used it to sink a 2-9 combination that gave him the tournament win.