Brian Marshall, Ed Medina and Tony Ignomirello
Brian Marshall wound his way through a field of Tri-State veterans to chalk up his first Tri-State win on Sunday, August 10. Marshall faced Ed Medina twice to complete his run; once in a winners' side semifinal and again in the finals. The $750-added event was hosted by Clifton Billiards in Clifton, NJ.
Marshall's path through the field began with a win over Vinny Ferri, and was followed by victories over Ed Crespo and Vincent Morris, which set him up for his first encounter against Ed Medina. Tony Ignomirello, in the meantime, faced Mike Strassberg, who would go on to win $750 in the event's Break and Run contest. Marshall and Medina chalked up their first of two double hill matches against each other. Marshall prevailed and moved into the hot seat match against Ignomirello, who'd defeated Strassberg 6-3. Marshall sent Ignomirello to the semifinals 7-5 and waited on Medina.
Medina moved to the loss side and ran into young Thomas Rice, who'd defeated Emily Duddy 7-4, and just did get by Vincent Sauro 7-6. Strassberg met up with Allison Honeymar, who had gotten by Mike Erickson 6-3 and given up only a single rack to Dave Fitzpatrick.
Medina began his campaign for a rematch against Marshall with a 7-5 win over Rice, as Strassberg ended Honeymar's day 6-3. Medina won the quarterfinal match over Strassberg 7-4 and then locked up in double hill struggle with Ignomirello in the semifinals, for the right to challenge Marshall in the hot seat.
Medina got his chance and made good, early use of the opportunity, opening up a 3-0 lead over Marshall in the finals. Marshall, though, fought right back and with some racks traded, the two were tied at 4-4. They were also tied at 5-5 and 6-6, before Marshall sealed the deal to claim his first win on the Tri-State Tour.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff of Clifton Billiards, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Qpod, Kamui Tips, Ron Vitello, Focus Cases by John Batron, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics , and Focus Apparel. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for August 16, will be hosted by Gotham City Billiards.
