John Trobiano won seven matches on the one-loss side to meet and defeat Gary Murgia, who was sitting in the hot seat waiting for him at the Tri-State Tour stop on Saturday, January 8. Trobiano's room, Castle Billiards, in Edison, NJ, hosted the $500-added, B-D handicapped event, which drew 37 entrants.
“John's one of the good guys,” said Tri-State tour representative Bill Focaccia. “He believes in giving back to the sport he loves by (along with wife, Minnie) hosting many events in his room.”
As Trobiano battled on the one-loss side, Murgia completed his journey to the hot seat with a double hill victory over Ed Culhane and a 7-4 win over Ricardo Mejia, who'd sent Jason Egeln west 7-4. Murgia sat back and watched, as Trobiano worked his way back to the finals.
Trobiano, who'd been sent west by Mike Zimny in the event's second round, had two wins behind him, when he survived a double hill battle against Guy Iannuzzi, and notched a 7-5 victory over Ted Lapadula to face Egeln. Culhane picked up Jake Schwartz, who'd defeated Ra Hanna 7-5 and spoiled a potential re-match for Trobiano with a 7-4 victory over Zimny. Trobiano and Schwartz made Egeln and Culhane's journey on the one-loss side brief; Trobiano with a 7-5 victory over Egeln, Schwartz with a 7-4 victory over Culhane. Trobiano won the quarterfinal matchup versus Schwartz 7-4, and completed his seven-match trip to the finals with a 7-5 victory over Mejia in the semifinals.
Trobiano took an early lead over Murgia in the single-race-to-9 finals, which, by the 11th rack, had diminished to a single game at 6-5. Trobiano took the final three racks to secure the event win.
Tour representatives extended thanks to Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Viking Cues, Ron Tarr Cues, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Dr. Dave Billiards Instructional Products, for their sponsorship of the event.
