They caught something of a second wind, down there at Amsterdam Billiards in New York City's East Village. Originally scheduled to call a halt to the Sunday evening proceedings of the 2nd Annual George "Ginky" Sansouci Memorial Tournament with four players left on the winners' side, they opted to play on; much to the chagrin of at least one player, and the delight of an assembled crowd of spectators.
The $2,000-added Open event, which began on Sunday, after an A-D handicapped event got underway on Saturday, drew 48 entrants, and by about 8 p.m., was down to the final eight winners, and a few matches dragging on in the loss bracket. Among those final eight winners were Earl Strickland, Jeremy Sossei, Zion Zvi and Mike Dechaine, who would move on to comprise the final four. Strickland had downed Nelson Oliviera 8-5, Sossei had defeated Brian Deska 8-2, Zvi had sent Warren Kiamco west 8-6 and Dechaine had dispatched Ryan McCreesh 8-5.
Zvi's match against Kiamco was on the 'tv table,' being streamed by Inside Pool via UStream, as Dechaine was busy with McCreesh nearby. When Zvi finished up, he and Dechaine moved right into their match, while Strickland stepped to the streaming table to take on Oliviera. That match went a little long, and delayed the start of the next match, also on the streaming table, which put Strickland up against Sossei; a decision with which (only in retrospect) Sossei didn't agree. It probably didn't help that immediately following his victory over Oliviera, Strickland took a break, which included a bit of an outdoor walkabout, although having been under the harsh lights of the center table, it was a break he'd earned.
Dechaine defeated Zvi 8-6, and both became spectators for the 'center stage' match between Strickland and Sossei. Strickland won 8-4, and Sossei registered a restrained complaint to the scoring table about having to start a match at midnight.
At noon, tomorrow (Monday), Kiamco will face Jorge Rodriguez, battling for the first of the money slots - the four-way tie for 9th place. McCreesh will face Joey Korsiak, Oliviera will take on Matt Krah, and Deska will meet Oscar Dominguez.
The hot seat match between Dechaine and Strickland is scheduled for 2 p.m., and will be broadcast by InsidePool via UStream http://www.ustream.tv/insidepoolmag. It is assumed that by the time those two take to the table, the loss-side bracket will have narrowed down to the 5/6 slots, pitting Zvi and Sossei against whoever emerges from the 7/8 matches.
