George Osipovitch went undefeated, winning six straight to win the Tri-State Tour stop on Saturday, February 19. It was Osipovitch's first win on the Tri-State Tour since July of 2010. The $1,000-added, C-D handicapped event drew 31 entrants to Gotham City Billiards in Brooklyn, NY.
Following victories over John Egeln, James DeGiosafatto and Doreen Verna, Osipovitch moved among the winners' side final four to challenge Nicholas Chan. Joining these two were Pat Mareno and Ralph Panuzzo. Osipovitch got into the hot seat match with a double hill win over Chan and was joined by Panuzzo, who defeated Mareno 6-3. Osipovitch got into the hot seat with a second straight double hill win over Panuzzo and waited for what turned out to be the return of one Richard Ng from the one-loss side.
Following west side victories over Joe Diamond 6-4 and Michele Li 6-1, Ng picked up Mareno. Chan drew Tony Ignomirello, who'd defeated Joe Varvaro 6-4 and Jason Egeln 6-2. Ng got into the quarterfinals with a 7-4 victory over Mareno, as Ignomirello dispatched Chan 6-1. Ng then defeated Ignomirello 6-3 to advance to the semifinals against Panuzzo.
Ng battled Panuzzo, in what was his (Panuzzo's) best performance of the season to date, to double hill before sinking the last 9-ball and advancing for a crack at Osipovitch. In the opening set of the true double elimination final, Ng battled again to double hill before Osipovitch sunk the last ball to secure the event win.
Tour representatives thanked Gotham City Billiards' owners Kevin and Isabel Buckley for their generous support of the players and providing a beautiful venue for the event. Thanks were also extended to Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards,Viking Cues, Ron Tarr Cues, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Dr. Dave Billiards Instructional Products for their sponsorship leading to this event.
