Alexander Gutierrez sent Max Watanabe to the semifinals during the November 9 stop on the Tri-State tour, but it was Mike Zimny who came back to face him in the finals. Zimny, who'd been sent to the loss side by Watanabe, came back through six opponents to face him a second time; successfully, as it turned out. Gutierrez ended Zimny's bid to claim the $1,000-added event title, which had drawn 38 entrants to Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ.
With Zimny dispatched to the loss side earlier in the day, Watanabe advanced among the winners' side final four where he met up with Kyle Bubet. Gutierrez, in the meantime, squared off against Pat Mareno. Watanabe defeated Bubet 7-5, as Gutierrez was busy surviving a double hill battle over Mareno. With a 7-4 win, Gutierrez claimed the hot seat and sent Watanabe west for his fateful re-match against Zimny.
On the loss side, Mareno picked up Jaydev Zaveri, who'd gotten by Paulo Valverde and Andrew Cleary, both 6-4. It was Bubet who had the misfortune to draw Zimny, four wins into his seven-match, loss-side winning streak that included a double hill win over Jose Liz Domeneche, and a 7-4 victory over room owner, John Trobiano. Zimny and Zaveri handed Bubet and Mareno their second straight losses; Zimny over Bubet, 7-2 and Zaveri over Mareno, 6-2.
Zimny then dropped Zaveri into fourth place with a 7-3 win in the quarterfinals, to earn his re-match against Watanabe. He successfully put Watanabe in his (third) place, and got a shot at Gutierrez in the finals. Gutierrez stopped Zimny's gritty charge to reach the finals 7-5 to claim the title.
Tour representatives thanked Trobiano and his staff at Castle Billiards for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Qpod, Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for November 16, will be hosted by Clifton Billiards in Clifton, NJ.
