Shivam Gupta, Thomas Schreiber and Jaydev Zaveri
Thomas Schreiber and Shivam Gupta battled twice during the January 30-31 stop on the Tri-State Tour. Schreiber won them both to claim title to the $380-added event that drew 18 entrants to the Cue Bar in Bayside (Queens), NY.
They met first in the hot seat match. Schreiber had sent Nelson Iocalano to the loss side 8-5 in one winners' side semifinal as Gupta was sending Eugene Ok over, 7-3 in the other. Schreiber moved into the hot seat with a 7-2 victory and waited for Gupta to get back from the semifinals.
Over on the loss side, Iocalano picked up Jaydev Zaveri, who'd just defeated Alberto Sanchez 8-5. Ok drew Kevin Shin, who'd gotten by Nigel Francis in a double hill fight. Shin picked up a forfeit victory when Ok had to leave unexpectedly. Zaveri, in the meantime, defeated Iocalano 7-5.
Zaveri downed Shin 7-3 in the quarterfinals, and though he'd battle to double hill in the semifinals versus Gupta, Gupta hung on to win for a second shot at Schreiber.
Schreiber opened the final proceedings with three straight racks. Gupta responded with three of his own. Schreiber went one better, chalking up four straight to win it and the event title, 7-3.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at the Cue Bar, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Kamui Tips, Ron Vitello, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, Human Kinetics, and Bloodworth Ball Cleaners. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for Saturday, February 13, will be hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.
