A full field of 64 players gathered at Gold Crown Billiards in Erie PA for the summer version of the quarterly Tri-State Open Nine-Ball Series on Saturday, August 30th. This was the 19th event in the series and the 15th tournament in a row in which the field was full. It took a mere 13 hours inside one day to run 231 matches and determine a champion. Many players used this event as a warm-up to get ready for Turning-Stone.
Short Nine-Ball races on 9’ Gold Crowns were the recipe for many exciting matches. The rules for the tournament included, fouls on all balls, no short games, and the No Conflict Rules for racking and breaking. Under the rules, players are not required to pocket a ball on the break in order to get their first shot. Players alternate breaks and shoot what they break. The rules are designed to remove the motivation and opportunity to manipulate the rack. The net result is a smoother and faster tournament. The author of the rules, Paul Schofield, owner and proprietor of Gold Crown Billiards, equates rack manipulation to “stacking the deck” in a card game. Schofield further explains “The rules for our event heavily favor the better player.” A full set of rules are posted on the Gold Crown Billiards website.
The top 4 finishers also happened to be 4 past Tri-State Champions. Kurt England (Mansfield OH) went 4-1 in the qualifying rounds, advancing him to the sudden-death Championship Bracket. Kurt began his trek to the finals by disposing Al McGuane (Rochester NY) by the score of 6-4. In the quarter-finals, he trounced Jim Doran (Buffalo NY) 6-1. Brian Alfredo (Masury OH) faired a little better, going down 6-2 in the semis. Finalist Shayne Morrow (Erie PA), fresh off a runner-up finish in a BCA Masters event, went undefeated (4-0) in the qualifying rounds. Shayne faced local rival, Carmen Pruvedenti in the 1st round in the Championship Bracket. Carmen went down 6-4 and it was on to Lyn Wechsler Rochester(NY) where Shayne battled to another 6-4 victory. Ben Jones (Willowick OH) fell victim to Shayne 6-5 in the semi-finals, setting the stage for the England-Morrow finals.
With the score tied at 2, Kurt England won the next game and never looked back, defeating Shayne Morrow 6-3, garnering the win and the 2014 Summer Tri-State Open title.
The tournament’s success can be attributed to many factors. The unusual rules are always well received. The fall version of the Tri-State Open Nine-Ball Series will take place in November.
RESULTS
1) Kurt England $600
2) Shayne Morrow $400
3-4) Brian Alfredo, Ben Jones $250
5-8) Jim Doran, Rob Krull, Top Purich, Lyn Wechsler $140
9-16) Don Blevins, Ron Casazio, Mark Cimperman, Jerry Crowe, Al McGuane, Carmen Pruvedenti, Dave Slovic, Tom Washington $85
