Justin Clark and Gregorio Sanchez
Match scores are an important component of event reports. Not so much the standard match scores – 7-4 in a straight-up race to 7, for example – but the shutouts, the one-rack-against, double-hill and almost-double-hill matches give a reader a sense of the ebb and flow of the matches that were played throughout the tournament by the last five or six opponents; the two in the hot seat match and the first matches played by the competitors who lost the winners’ side semifinal and then competed in the matches that determine 5th/6th place. So, a heads-up here. As we embark on a report detailing this past weekend’s (Feb. 8-9) Pool Series’ first ‘9-ball points’ event of the year, we’ll be disseminating the ‘set’ scores of the relevant matches, not the scores of individual matches in what look like races to 2 on the digitalpool bracket. They played ‘best of 3’ sets that were individually races to 3.
With that out of the way, we can begin by telling you that Gregorio “Guama” Sanchez, originally defeated by 15-year-old Jas Makhani, came back from the loss side to meet and defeat Makhani twice in a true double-elimination final. The $1,000-added event drew 32 entrants to Brass Tap & Billiards in Raleigh, NC. Thanks to Makhani, who provided a personal report of the event on his own Facebook page, we’ll be able to tell you about some of the ‘interior’ match scores that he recorded within the ‘set’ scores he won and the two that he ultimately lost.
Sanchez and Makhani met first in a winners’ side semifinal. Sanchez had arrived on the heels of three straight ‘set’ shutouts against Hank Powell, Larry Hughes and BJ Ussery, Jr. Makhani joined him following an opening set in which he’d surrendered one of the sets in the individual, match races to 3 (against Mahmoud Salamah) and then, shutout his opponents Julia Bright and Greg Kane in sets. Steve Page, in the meantime, like Sanchez, advanced to his winners’ side semifinal against Diego Geurrero, with three straight shutout sets against Tory Beecham, Tim Nelson, and Joshua Padron.
Makhani advanced to the hot seat match with a 2-1 set victory over Sanchez (3-2, 1-3, 3-1). He was joined by Steve Page, who’d also chalked up a 2-1 set victory over Diego Guerrero. Makhani then shut Page out in the first set of their hot seat match, was defeated (double hill) in the second set and claimed the seat with a 3-1 victory in the third set.
Sanchez and Guerrero showed up on the loss side to meet Corey Sykes and BJ Ussery, respectively. Sykes, after losing to Ussery on the winners’ side 1-2, had given up just one set in four straight, loss-side matches against Christian Fuller, Chris Clark, Mike Davis, Jr. (to whom he gave up the single set) and Thomas Sansone. Ussery had followed his loss to Sanchez with a ‘set’ shutout over Josh Newman and then gave up single set to Greg Kane, advancing to face Guerrero.
Ussery and Sanchez advanced to the quarterfinals with 2-1 set victories over Guerrero and Sykes. Sanchez won the quarterfinal versus Ussery and the semifinal against Page by the same 2-1 set score.
Makhani got shut out by Sanchez in sets in the opening set of the true, double elimination final (tdef). They played three, double-hill races to 3 in the second set of the tdef. Makhani took the opening set, but Sanchez fought back to double hill and won the next two to claim the event title. It was the only detailed set of ‘race to 3’ matches that Makhani highlighted on his Facebook page with a ‘thumbs down’ emoji.
“It was (a) very thrilling and close match that I had with Guama,” he wrote. “Back and forth, break and runs mostly, the whole second set. I had a chance to close it out with another break and run, but pocketed the 7-ball and . . . scratched.”
“That one stung a bit,” he added.
Makhani will be headed to Las Vegas next week (Feb. 19-23) to compete in the Predator Pro Billiard Series’ Men’s Open and Invitational American Junior Showdown. He travels with a strong dose of confidence, well aware of the aspects of his game that need some attention.
“My game is feeling (good),” he wrote. “Just a few errors included with a lack of focus in certain moments.”
Tour director Justin Clark thanked the ownership and staff at Brass Tap in Billiards, along with sponsors Dead Stroke Media, InkWell Design, Portico Licensed General Contractors, Pool Doctors, The Round About Grill, Red’s Debris Removal & Hauling, Branded Solutions, Fast Action Billiards, TKO Custom Cues, Delta Xi Nu Charitable Foundation and Alpha Installations.
Next up in The Pool Series’ points events will be a 9-ball tournament, scheduled for this weekend (Feb. 15) and hosted by Smokin’ Cue in Charlotte, NC.
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