It was to have been an ‘A’ team battle. As Bryan Jeziorski sat in the hot seat and Matt Klein was working his way through the loss side of the March 1 stop on the Tri-State Tour, the prospect of a final match between two of the Tri-State’s premiere A players seemed like a distinct possibility. And it almost came to pass.
Klein, #2 on the tour’s list of A+/A players, completed a five-match, loss-side streak, prepared for a rematch against Jeziorski, #7 on that A+/A list of players. With a late hour and the prospect of work looming, mere hours away, the two opted out of a final match, leaving the undefeated Jeziorski as the official winner of the $1,000-added event that had drawn 57 entrants to The Spot in Nanuet, NY.
They met first in a winners’ side quarterfinal, won 7-2 by Jeziorski, who advanced to a winners’ side semifinal against Marco Daniele, a C player. In the other winners’ side semifinal, Mike Strassberg, the tour’s #1 C+ player, squared off against Joe Rubino (B).
Jeziorski and Daniele battled to double hill before Jeziorski prevailed, advancing to the hot seat match. Strassberg and Rubino checked in with a double hill fight, as well. One that sent Strassberg to the hot seat match against Jezioski. Jeziorski downed Strassberg 8-4 in what would prove to be his last match.
On the loss side, following victories over Jaydev Zaveri 7-5 and Demain Patrick 8-6, Matt Klein leap-frogged into the quarterfinals when Daniele forfeited. He was joined by Emmanuel Arelzga, who, after defeating Jay Choi 7-4 and Syed Alli 8-5, eliminated Joe Rubino 7-3.
Klein and Arelzga locked up in a double hill battle, eventually won by Klein, who went on to eliminate Strassberg 8-5 in the semifinals. The decision was made to not play a final match, the money was split and everybody went home.
Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff at The Spot for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Ozone Billiards, Sterling-Gaming, Kamui Tips, Phil Capelle, Pool & Billiards, Professor Q Ball, Bender Cues, Liquid Weighted Cues , Billiards Engineering and Bloodworth Ball Cleaner. The next stop on the Tri-State Tour, scheduled for Sunday, March 8, will be hosted by Steinway Billiards in Astoria (Queens), NY.
Credits to Skip Maloney and AZ Billiards for this article.
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