Park Earns First Joss billiard Tour Win
Joss Northeast 9-ball Tour / Latham, NY

By Rick Davis
The first Joss Northeast 9-ball Tour stop of the new year took place over the January 19-20 weekend at Diamond Eight billiards in Latham, NY, where a 45-player field tried in vain to deny Shin Park his first tour win.
Late action on the winners’ side had Park slip past Joey Korsiak double-hill, while Tony Chohan drilled Norm Pomainville 9-2. This set up the hot seat match between Park and Chohan, and after the back-and-forth struggle it was Park who was victorious with the 9-7 win.
On the one-loss side Korsiak was ousted by tournament promoter and director Mike Zuglan, who ousted him 9-2. In that same round Marc Vidal eliminated Pomainville to face Zuglan in the quarterfinals.
Now down to the top four, Zuglan looked to avenge his opening-round loss to Vidal while inching closer to the finals. After a slow start Zuglan surged ahead to take the match 9-5 then kept his momentum while he eliminated Chohan 9-7 in the semifinals.
This brought Zuglan to face Park in the finals to determine who would be crowned champion, and after taking the first set 9-7, Zuglan made it anyone’s game in the final set. Park, however, got his wakeup call early in the set and shot out to a 5-0 lead, and after a great fight from Zuglan, Park took the match 9-5 to earn his first-ever Joss Tour win.
Next, the Joss Tour visits Comet billiards in Parsippany, NJ, on January 26. Following that the Joss Tour will have Turning Stone Classic X at the Turning Stone Hotel and Casino in Verona, NY. With less than 20 open spots available anyone interested should contact Mike Zuglan at 518-356-7163.
Results:
1st Shin Park
2nd Mike Zuglan
3rd Tony Chohan
4th Marc Vidal
5th Joey Korsiak
Norm Pomainville

Heidrich Takes Joss Stop
Joss Northeast 9-ball Tour / Binghampton, NY

by Rick Davis

The Joss 9-ball Tour swung into ball Busters billiards in Binghampton, NY, over the December 1-2 weekend for their tour stop, and coming out ahead of the 34-player field was Dan Heidrich, who went undefeated to claim the crown.

Late action on the winners’ side saw Heidrich defeat Chance Chin double-hill, while on the one-loss side it was a scramble to reach the next round. Fighting their way to the quarterfinals, Shane Winters ousted tour regular Bucky Souvanthong 9-0, while Lin Wechsler eliminated Bruce Carroll 9-6. Then, in the quarterfinals, Wechsler slipped past Winters 9-8. In the semifinals Chin put an end to Weschsler’s would-be comeback by a 9-5 score, giving Chin the chance at a rematch.

The final between Heidrich and Chin could not have been closer; however, Chin fell just short of the mark as Heidrich closed it out 9-8 to claim the title.

Results:
1st Dan Heidrich
2nd Chance Chin
3rd Lin Wechsler
4th Shane Winters
5th Bruce Carroll
Bucky Souvanthong
7th Mike Zuglan
Adam Kieler

Hatch Unstoppable in UticaJoss Northeast 9-ball Tour / Utica, NY

by Rick Davis
Dennis “The Hatchet Man” Hatch soared through his first Joss Tour stop of the season taking the event undefeated and adding yet another title to his list of tour wins. Taking place at Hippo’s House of billiards in Utica, NY, a 33-player field turned out for the November 3-4 action.
Late on the winners’ side Hatch met regular top finisher Bucky Souvanthong in the hot seat match, and after a great battle Hatch slipped through 9-7. On the one-loss side, tournament director Mike Zuglan was making a comeback as he tried to add the elusive win to his own list of top finishes. Zuglan ousted Hongsavady Vongxay 9-7 then Norm Pomainville 9-5 in the quarterfinals. The last match on the one-loss side featured a great showdown between Zuglan and Souvanthong, each commonly find himself fighting for the top spot. This time around Zuglan was able to close things out a bit quicker and advanced by virtue of a 9-7 win.
With Hatch waiting in the hot seat, Zuglan took aim at him in the finals and stormed through the opening set 9-5 to force a final set in the true double-elimination format. The final set, however, was all Hatch. After winning the first game Hatch opened a five-pack to be up 6-0, and before long that extended to 8-0. Zuglan avoided the skunk with one rack but that was all before Hatch sealed the deal. Taking the final set 9-1, Hatch claimed the event and added another notch to his tour belt.
Results:
1st Dennis Hatch
2nd Mike Zuglan
3rd Bucky Souvanthong
4th Norm Pomainville
5th Dan Hiedrich
Hongsavady Vongxay
7th Bruce Carroll
Damon Sobers

Kong is King on Joss billiard TourJoss Northeast 9-ball Tour / Parsippany, NJ

by Rick Davis
The Joss Northeast 9-ball Tour streaked into Comet billiards in Parsippany, NJ, over the October 27-28 weekend where Joey Kong was crowned king after earning his first tour win and going undefeated in the process besting the 39-player field.
Clearing up the late action on the winners’ side Kong slipped past tournament director Mike Zuglan 9-8 to earn a rest in the hot seat. On the one-loss side the remaining players were fighting for the right to stay alive. Past winner Marc Vidal eliminated Jeremy Sossei double-hill while WPBA pro Karen Corr ousted Tom Walter 9-3. Corr stayed in gear, knocking out Vidal 9-3 in the quarterfinals and then Zuglan 9-5 in the semifinals to reach the final showdown.
Kong shocked the crowd by opening with a 7-0 lead giving the pro whiplash. Corr, however, started to climb back and in no time had leaped to only an 8-6 deficit. The problem for Corr was that Kong was on the hill, and he capitalized in the very next game to claim the set and earn his first tour stop win.
Results:
1st Joey Kong
2nd Karen Corr
3rd Mike Zuglan
4th Marc Vidal
5th Tom Walter
Jeremy Sossei
7th Steve Lillis
Kevin Ketz

Dechaine Outlasts Them All on Joss Tour

Joss Northeast 9-ball Tour / Waterville, ME

by Rick Davis
The Joss Northeast 9-ball Tour held their second billiard stop of the season over the September 29-30 weekend at T.J’s Classic billiards in Waterville, ME, where a strong 32-player field came out to do battle. After the carnage had cleared, past champions, tour regulars, and other favorites all fell to Mike Dechaine, who went undefeated after offering up two days of solid play.
On the winners’ side Dechaine made short work of the chart, clearing it up in the hot seat match where he defeated Bucky Souvanthong 9-6. Then, on the one-loss side, the rest of the top eight were clawing and reaching to advance further.
Top national player and multi-time tour winner Dennis “The Hatchet Man” Hatch was slowly making a comeback from an early loss in day one. Hatch ousted Walter Szydlowski 9-2 then shut out Pete Bowman 9-0 to reach the quarterfinals. Nearby, the winner of the season’s first stop, Marc Vidal, eliminated Bruce Carroll 9-5 to catch up with Hatch in the quarterfinals. Hatch wasted little time and knocked out Vidal 9-3 and then kept up his streak by eliminating Souvanthong 9-5 in the semifinals.
With the finals on hand and the true double-elimination format in effect, a great match unfolded. Hatch took the opening set with a 9-7 squeaker, but in the second set the players hit the brakes and the score kept close. After a 7-all score Dechaine pulled away one rack to get on the hill and then inched over the line, taking the final rack to earn the event win after the 9-7 final set victory.

Open Results:

1st
Mike Dechaine

2nd
Dennis Hatch

3rd
Bucky Souvanthong

4th
Marc Vidal

5-6th
Bruce Carroll

Pete Bowman

7-8th
Chance Chin

Walter Szydlowski