Duttkin Survives Scare to Win Tri-State Tour

By John Leyman

Ryan Duttkin ignored the superstitions that go with Halloween.  He not o­nly came back against some top players, but he emerged undefeated for the holiday victory.

The trick-or-treat event at Elite Billiards in Milltown, NJ, attracted a field of 20 local players including Stewart "The Scottish Lion" Warnock and Sean Boland.  For Duttkin to win, he'd have to face some tough competition. 

Throughout the Sunday event, Duttkin did earn commanding wins over Greg Hecht, Neil Walmsley, Johnny Yorke, and Liz Schwartzreich.  He then faced Warnock in the hot seat match and pulled out a slim victory to earn a spot in the finals. 

Schwartzreich, who had lost to Duttkin in the quarterfinals made her presence felt in the west side, earning wins over Chris Luethi and Boland before facing Warnock in the semifinals.  For the second straight time, Warnock narrowly fell, and Schwartzreich headed to the finals to play Duttkin.

In the finals Duttkin still had some tricks up his sleeve, with a particularly difficult shot o­n a ball in the side pocket.  He played a massé shot with extreme draw and pocketed the ball.  The cue ball drew back down the table, leaving him perfect position to run out for the 7-3 victory.

Results:
1st Ryan Duttkin
2nd Liz Schwartzreich
3rd Stewart Warnock
4th Sean Boland
5th Johnny Yorke, Christopher Luethi
7th Chuck Gander, Lenny Knapp
9th David Faust, Mike Davie, John Ly, Gary Murgia