Abraham Takes First billiard Tour Win

Blaze 9-ball Tour / Parsippany, NJ
by Rick Davis
The fourteenth stop of the Blaze 9-ball Tour visited Comet billiards in Parsippany, NJ, May 27, where David Abraham bested the 33-player field to take his first tour win of the season.
Abraham tore through the winners’ side, where he only once gave up more than two racks during his four-match winning streak that put him in the hot seat match. Playing just as well and dominating the other half of the chart was Mark Vidal, who also took four strong wins to reach the hot seat match. Fighting tooth and nail, Abraham just managed to take a lead over Vidal, propelling him to the 7-5 win.
On the one-loss side Bucky Souvanthong was working on a comeback. Souvanthong ousted Joey Kong in the quarterfinals then proceeded to eliminate Vidal, who had sent Souvanthong west several rounds earlier 6-3 in the semifinals, for the right to face Abraham.
In the finals Abraham was on top of things from the start, and before long he had run away with the match, defeating Souvanthong 7-2 and cementing his first title.
Results:
1st David Abraham
2nd Bucky Souvanthong
3rd Mark Vidal
4th Joey Kong

Testa Tops at Atlantic City billiards Club

Blaze 9-ball Tour / Atlantic City, NJ
by Rick Davis
Going undefeated, Joey Testa took the May 20 stop of the Blaze 9-ball Tour, mostly uncontested during his run at Atlantic City billiards Club in Atlantic City, NJ, where a 32-player field turned out to be put through the grinder.
In the hot seat match Testa faced Shaun Wilkie, a regular on the tour and all-around top player in the Northeast, and blew him out 7-3 in no time. Previously both players iced some of the tour favorites, including Testa’s double-hill win over Al Lapena and Wilkie’s win over Mike Fingers with that same result.
With Testa king of the hill, Wilkie headed west to face Lapena and, after recovering his stroke, eliminated him by virtue of a 7-3 defeat. Testa was waiting for whoever managed to return to the finals, and although Wilkie intended to provide stiffer competition, Testa began to drill him once again. In no time at all Testa once again skipped past Wilkie 7-3 to claim the first-place title of the Blaze 9-ball Tour’s thirteenth stop.
Results:
1st Joey Testa
2nd Shaun Wilkie
3rd Al Lapena
4th Rob Pole
5th Adam Kielar
Bob Maidhof

Sambajon Back in the Winners’ Circle

Blaze 9-ball Tour / Levittown, NY
by Rick Davis
Santos Sambajon Jr. returned to the winners’ circle on the Blaze 9-ball Tour to rack up his third first-place finish out of the twelve events held this season. Taking place at Leisure Time billiards in Levittown, NY, this tournament attracted a 33-player field for this May 5-6 event.
Once the action reached the hot seat match Sambajon flew past Oscar Bonilla 7-3 to rest comfortably in the finals. Over on the one-loss side the incoming Bonilla was drilled 7-1 by Shin Park, who was looking for another tour win himself after taking two already this season. Back in the finals, Sambajon and Park fought tooth and nail until, at double-hill, Sambajon swept up the match with a break and run to claim top honors.
Also of note in the event were two powerful ladies entries, Liz Ford and Erin McManus. Ford, a consistent player on tour, defeated Earl “The Pearl” Strickland 7-4, while McManus worked up a commanding 6-2 lead over Park before the match slipped away from her double-hill.
Next, the Blaze 9-ball Tour will fire up at the Atlantic City billiard Club in Egg Harbor, NJ, May 20.
Results:
1st Santos Sambajon Jr.
2nd Shin Park
3rd Oscar Bonilla
4th Mhet Vergara
5th Liz Ford
Mike Fingers
7th Eddie Vasquez
Adam Kielar

Park Bags Another Blaze billiard Stop

Blaze 9-ball Tour / North Bergen, NJ
by Rick Davis
Out of the top finishers for the past several events, Shin Park appeared with vengeance on the Blaze 9-ball Tour, held April 28-29 at Gotham billiards in North Bergen, NJ, where he bested the field of 34 players to go undefeated.
Shooting like a rocket to the hot seat match, Park faced David Abraham and pounded him into the ground 7-1 to claim the winners’ side. On the one-loss side tour regular Joey Kong made his way past Mark Panpovic, eliminating him 7-4, while Chuck Pendrak did the same, knocking out Billy Kirsher 7-5. From there things began to slow down as Pendrak took his time in ousting Kong 7-4 in the quarterfinals before the brakes were really applied in the semifinals, where Abraham defeated Pendrak double-hill.
With Abraham back to face Park in the finals he was seeking revenge, while Park was eager to return to the plateau of the first-place finish. No one would wonder long who wanted it more, as Park toasted Abraham again 7-1 to claim the event.
Results:
1st Shin Park
2nd David Abraham
3rd Chuck Pendrak
4th Joey Kong
5th Billy Kirshner
Mark Panpovic
7th Bill Duggan
Adam Kielar

Abraham Tackles West Hampton

Blaze 9-ball Tour / West Hampton, NY
by Rick Davis
A robust 48-player field came to Raxx Bar and Grill in West Hampton, NY, for the Blaze 9-ball Tour’s latest event over the April 21-22 weekend. Tearing through the competition was Eddie Abraham, who walked away with the event undefeated.
On the winners’ side Abraham met up with 19-year-old Adam Kielar in the hot seat match and defeated him by a respectable 7-4 score. On the one-loss side the remaining competitors were slowly fading away. Tournament regular and multi-time event winner Shin Park stormed past Thomas Wan 6-3 then eliminated Mike Fingers 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals. At the same time, Santos Sambajon Jr. was on a run, knocking out Matt Krah 6-3 and Al Lapena 6-4. In the quarterfinals Sambajon Jr. ousted Park 6-4. Now on the verge of a great comeback, Sambajon Jr. eliminated Kielar double-hill in the semifinals after he missed the 9 ball.
With the finals set to play between Sambajon Jr. and Abraham, the players decided to split the payout with Abraham taking the first-place title. It seemed that with the true double-elimination format Sambajon Jr. did not want to risk the loss, and Abraham also was not confident in his requirement of another match win.
Results:
1st Eddie Abraham
2nd Santos Sambajon Jr.
3rd Adam Kielar
4th Shin Park
5th Mike Fingers
Al Lapena
7th Matt Krah
Thomas Wan