Keith Diaz, Carl Yusuf Khan and Anthony Mattia
Though he'd chalked up a victory on the Predator Tour in June, Carl Yusuf Khan, known as The Warrior, had yet to win a 2013 Tri-State Tour event. He corrected that on Saturday, October 12, with an undefeated victory in a $300-added event, hosted by House of Billiards on Staten Island, NY.
Khan defeated Marco Costello 7-3 and advanced among the winners' side final four to meet up with Joe Rubino, as his eventual hot seat opponent, Anthony Mattia, squared off against Inna Bediner. Khan defeated Rubino 8-4, while Mattia was busy surviving a double hill match against Bediner. Khan got into the hot seat 8-6 over Mattia, and awaited the return of Keith Diaz.
Diaz had been moved to the loss bracket by Mattias in a winners' side final eight battle, and defeated Bob Toomey 6-2 and Jud Parker 6-4 to draw Bediner. Rubino picked up Marco Costello, who'd gotten by Thomas Rice 7-5 and Dennis Kennedy 9-5. Rubino eliminated Costello 8-6, and thanks to a forfeit by Bediner, met Diaz in the quarterfinals.
Diaz dropped Rubino 6-4 in that quarterfinal match and then spoiled Mattia's bid for a finals rematch against Khan with a 6-3 win in the semifinals. Diaz took advantage of his loss-side momentum to open up a 5-0 lead in the finals. Khan, though, won six of the next seven to knot things at 6-6. He completed a six-pack for an 8-6 win.
Tour representatives thanked the staff and ownership at House of Billiards, as well as sponsors Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards, Qpod, Heptig Cues, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, BlueBook Publishing, and Human Kinetics. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for Saturday, October 19, will be hosted by Clifton Billiards in Clifton, NJ.
