In the last 2015 Tri-State Tour stop, held on the weekend of December 19-20, Giovanni Husang and Ambi Estevez mounted strong loss-side campaigns that took them to the quarterfinals. In the end, though, Estevez stopped Husang, Thomas Schreiber put a halt to Estevez, and Kevin Shin completed an undefeated run to claim the title. The $600-added event drew 28 entrants to The Cue Bar Billiards and Lounge in Bayside (Queens), NY.
Shin and Schreiber met first in the hot seat match. Shin, a B player, had defeated Miguel Laboy, the Tri-State's top-ranked A+/A player, 8-5 in one of the winners' side semifinals, as Schreiber shut out Adrian Daniel in the other. Shin claimed the hot seat 7-4 over Schreiber.
On the loss side, Husang and Estevez (both B+) were embarked on their five and six-match, loss-side winning streaks. Husang, who'd won the previous stop on the tour, had been defeated by Henry Hernandez in the opening round, and chalked up loss-side wins #4 & #5 against Rhys Chen 7-2 and Lidio Ramirez 7-6, to draw LaBoy. Estevez had been sent to the loss side by Adrian Daniel, where a double hill win over Tony Ignomirello and a 6-2 win over Brian Dorfmann, earned him a re-match against Daniel.
Husang defeated LaBoy 7-3, while Estevez successfully navigated his re-match versus Daniel 6-3. With six and five loss-side wins to their credit, respectively, Husang and Estevez battled to double hill in the quarterfinals, before the final ball dropped, sending Estevez to the semifinals against Schreiber.
Schreiber left little doubt that he was itching for a second shot against Shin, allowing Estevez only a single rack in those semifinals, and earning that shot. Shin completed his undefeated run with a double hill win over Schreiber to claim the event title.
Tour representative Dan Cintron thanked the ownership and staff at the Cue Bar for their hospitality, 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, the first of 2016, is scheduled for January 9-10. The double-point event will be hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.
