Hunter Sullivan
While organizational and technical difficulties have kept the tri-state New York City-based Mac Attack Tour out of the headlines recently, they returned on Sunday, Feb. 21, when they held their 4th event of 2021 and their 14th overall. Hunter Sullivan and Brian Vu let the results of their hot seat match stand and split the top two cash prizes. As the undefeated occupant of the hot seat at the end of the night, Hunter Sullivan claimed the title. The event drew 43 entrants to The Spot in Nanuet, NY.
The excitement level stayed high at this event as half of its final 14 matches went double hill, including six of the final seven matches. Sullivan and Vu, emerging from original lower and upper brackets, advanced to face the final competitor standing in each of their brackets, which made up the overall event’s winners’ side final four. From the AB bracket, Vu squared off against Nelson Bobadila, while, from the CD bracket, Sullivan played against Roger Dutcher.
Vu sent Bobadila to the loss side 6-4, as Sullivan and Dutcher battled to double hill, before Sullivan advanced to join Vu in the hot seat match. In the first of what would have been two meetings, Sullivan claimed the hot seat 7-5.
On the loss side, Bobadila and Dutcher arrived to play in the last bracket-separated matches. Bobadila drew Tommy Migliore, who’d won two straight double hill matches, versus Rob Calton and in the first money round, Mac Jankov, to reach him. Dutcher picked up Allen Sarenas, who’d eliminated Keith Cho 6-2 and Carlos Duque 6-3.
Two double hill matches were fought for advancement to the quarterfinals. Bobadila won the final upper bracket match against Migliore, while Sarenas handed Dutcher his second straight loss, completing the strictly lower-bracket matches.
It was the lower bracket player, Sarenas, who eliminated the upper bracket Bobadila in the quarterfinals, in what was the second straight double hill match for both of them. In what proved to be the final match of the night, the last standing player from the AB bracket, Brian Vu, defeated the last standing player from the lower CD bracket, Sarenas, in the semifinals, which became the fourth double hill match in a row.
Sullivan and Vu opted out of the final match and negotiated a split of the top two prizes. Mac Jankov thanked Lenora and Rhys Chen for their hospitality in inviting the MacAttack Tournament to their room, The Spot. The next MacAttack Tournament, scheduled for Saturday, March 6, will be hosted by Rockaway Billiards in Rockaway, NJ.
