Geoffrey Bauer, Shinichi Sekine and Luis Jimenez
Fifth time's a charm, apparently.
After placing seventh and fifth twice on the Tri-State Tour since January, Luis Jimenez broke through on the weekend of June 1-2, completing an undefeated run through a field of 37. The $780-added, A-D handicapped event was hosted by Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ.
Jimenez didn't get the chance in this one to play the same opponent twice. He downed Eddie Perez, in a straight-up, C+, race to six 6-3 among the winners' side final four and was met in the hot seat battle by Geoffrey Bauer, who'd sent John Trobiano west 7-3. Jimenez got into the hot seat with an 8-4 win over Bauer, and waited for Shinichi Sikine, a B-ranked player, who was in the midst of a five-match, loss-side winning streak.
Sikine had been sent to the loss side by Trobiano in the third round, and got by Scott Simonetti 7-5 and Ken Debroske 7-4 before facing Trobiano a second time. Perez drew Ray Marisette, who'd defeated Cassandra Corbin 7-4 and Steven Protzo 6-2. Sekine successfully wreaked vengeance on Trobiano 7-4, and in the quarterfinals, faced Perez, who'd eliminated Marisette 6-4.
Sekine then defeated Perez 7-4 in those quarterfinals and survived a double hill match against Bauer in the semifinals. Jimenez, though, was not to be denied. He took the final match 7-5 to take home top honors.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at Castle Billiards for their hospitality and continuing support, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Poison Cues, Ron Tarr Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour will be a $2,500-added, A-D handicapped event, scheduled for June 8-9 at Gotham City Billiards in Brooklyn, NY.
"Come early," says the tour's notice of this event on their Facebook page, "because the field will fill up quickly. Practice starts at 10 a.m." Visit the tour's Web site - thetristatetour.com - for further information and updates.
