(l to r): Eugene Ok & Geovani Hosang
Until this past weekend, it had been one week shy of three years since Geovani Hosang had won a stop on the Tri-State Tour. It was, according to our records, Hosang’s best earnings year at the tables (2013), with an undefeated win on the Tri-State Tour, a fifth on the Predator Tour and a 13th place finish in the Ginky Memorial’s Amateur tournament. Hosang chalked up his second victory on the Tri-State Tour on Sunday, November 5, once again, going undefeated, this time in a $1,000-added event that drew 20 entrants to Cue Bar Lounge & Billiards in Bayside (Queens), NY.
Hosang was challenged by separate opponents in the hot seat and finals in this one. He’d advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against John Francisco, as Mike Strassberg faced Bob Toomey in the other one. Hosang’s hot seat challenger proved to be Strassberg, who defeated Toomey 6-2, as Hosang sent Francisco west, double hill. In his second straight double hill match, Hosang sent Strassberg to the semifinals, where he’d run into the event’s runner-up, Eugene Ok, who’d end up winning eight on the loss side to meet Hosang in the finals.
On the loss side, it was Francisco who ran into Ok, who’d defeated Tony Cosenza and Jaydev Zaveri, both 7-5, to reach him. Toomey drew Esteban Morrell, Jr., who’d eliminated Irene Kim 7-2 and Allison LaFleur 7-3. Once Ok had defeated Francisco 7-4 and Morrell had downed Toomey 6-3, it was Ok and Morrell, who’d both lost in the event’s opening round, duking it out in the double hill quarterfinals that followed.
Ok advanced to the semifinals, where a 7-5 win over Strassberg gave him a shot at Hosang in the finals. Ok’s eight-match, loss-side winning streak came to an end with a double hill win by Hosang in those finals.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Cue Bar, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics, Pool & Billiards, Professor Q Ball, Bender Cues, and DIGICUE OB. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for Sunday, November 12, will be a $1,000-added, Double Points event, hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.
