15 of the strongest players in the New England area descended upon Legendary Billiards in Malden Mass. for a Pechauer New England A/B series All around tournament. Top players in the field included Tony Ruberto, Mike Minichello, Walter Bryska, Paul Dryden, Rich Senna, Joe Dupris and Mike Niciloro.
This event is an unusual one in that it consists of 3 games (8-ball, 9-ball and straight pool). It is the first person to win 2 out of 3 sets and it was single elimination. The field might have been small, but there was a whole lot of talent on display here. In one of the early sets, Mike Minichello ran 4 racks of 9-ball against Mike Niciloro beating him 7-2 and then ran 55 balls in straight pool for the 100-43 win.
The final two matches were Mike Minichello vs Joe Dupris and Tony Ruberto vs Walter Bryska. In semi final number 1, Walter Bryska came out of the gate firing and beat Tony Ruberto in 8-ball 5-3. Young Tony was not done yet though. He beat Walter in 9 ball 7-5 which left them playing straight pool to decide the match. Walter is an old pro at this game but Tony came out to an early 35 ball lead. Walter didn't lay down and came back to tie the score at 35 each. This set would go neck and neck with Ruberto holding a slight lead at 88-78. Tony made an unforced error by missing a relatively easy side-pocket shot to leave Walter an open rack. Walter returned the favor and missed a shot leading to Tony eventually winning the set 100-86 to put him in the finals against Dupris or Minichello.
Semi final number 2 also had some excitement as Mike and Joey went hill-hill in 9-ball. Mike made an amazing jump shot to clinch victory in 9 ball and then took the straight pool set 100-45.
It seemed like there was no stopping Mike Minichello from capturing his first all around championship. He beat Tony Ruberto 7-1 in 9-ball, and then 5-2 in 8-ball for the win.
I would like to thank the owners of Legendary Billiards for letting me hoat this tournament and I hope to see them during this season for my tour. Our season opener is at Country club USAin Chelmsford Mass. on September 11th.
Complete Results:
1st Mike Minichello $650
2nd Tony Ruberto $350
3rd Walter Bryska $125
4th Joey Dupris $125
