Robert Piersa
Though he won the Derby City Classic’s Bigfoot Challenge and a stop on the Euro Tour (the Dynamic Billiards Treviso Open) early in the year and was a dynamic and vocal member of the European winning 2020 Mosconi Cup team, later in the year, it was, overall, a slow year for Jayson Shaw; his lowest in recorded payout earnings (at AZBilliards) since 2015. He wasn’t alone in that regard, of course; the pandemic doing its work world-wide, but Shaw was busy, too, with a few other things.
In May, he created his own YouTube channel, and during the summer, he was hard at work, preparing US 1 Billiards and Bar in West Haven, CT for an October 9th re-opening, under his new ownership and management. For those who don’t follow him or US 1 Billiards and Bar in West Haven on Facebook or elsewhere, the re-opening with (as Jayson put it) “everything brand new, and I mean, brand new” went off smoothly and in a matter of weeks, Shaw had regular tournaments running.
The latest of those tournaments occurred this past weekend, on Sunday, January 24. IT was a $500-added 9-ball tournament, for Fargo-rated players 700 or below, which drew 27 entrants to US 1 Billiards and Bar and saw Robert Piersa go undefeated through the field, defeating separate opponents in the hot seat match and finals.
After Piersa had defeated “young gun” Thomas Rice in a winners’ side semifinal and Ryan Lineham sent Jorge Vivanco to the loss side, Piersa and Lineham squared off in the hot seat match. Piersa claimed it and waited on what turned out to be the return of Vivanco.
Rice moved over to the loss side and ran right into his second straight loss, delivered to him by another “young gun,” Lukas Fracasso-Verner, who’d been sent over by Lineham in a winners’ side quarterfinal and defeated Mario Argentino (who’d split the top two prizes in the previous week’s tournament with Nicholas Bosquet) and Henry Cha. Vivanco got right to work on his trip to the finals, downing Kerry McAuliffe.
Vivanco then eliminated Fracasso-Verner in the quarterfinal match and Lineham in the semifinals that followed. Piersa ended Vivanco’s three-match, one-loss winning streak with a victory in the finals.
Shaw’s US 1 Billiards and Bar will hold another $500 added tournament this weekend for players rated 650 and below, on the last day in January; Sunday, Jan. 31.
Shaw has also just announced a $1500 added pro-am event in February 6-7 at US 1. Check the US 1 Billiards and Bar Facebook page or Shaw’s page for further information.
