Big Win for Rota in New England

By InsidePOOL Staff Not everyone who gathered at Mickey's Billiards in Holbrook, MA, was there to watch the Patriots win another Super Bowl o­n February 6.  At least 16 were pool players who came to compete in the New England Invitational 9-Ball Series

The top two competitors throughout the tournament were Paul Rota and Joe Dupree, and their first meeting would be in the hot seat match.  Dupree raced to an early lead, but Rota bounced back with a couple games of his own.  But Dupree fired off a string of wins to advance to the finals 7-3.  

In the o­ne-loss side, Rota faced Ivo Petro in the semifinals, and Rota snapped off a win to earn a rematch with Dupree in the finals.  And right from the start, Rota made his presence felt. 

He broke and ran the first five racks for a 5-0 lead before Dupree ever go to the table.  In the sixth rack, Dupree finally got to shoot, but his stroke was cold, and he was unable to capitalize.  Rota added three more games to extend his lead to 8-0 before Dupree got to the table in the following game and ran out to get o­n the board.  Then he sunk the 9 o­n the break to put the score at 8-2.  But o­nce Rota got back to the table, he never relinquished control, winning his first tournament of the year 9-2. 

Results:

1st Paul Rota $360

2nd Joe Dupree $200

3rd Ivo Petro $60

4th Tony Masi $30 

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