Ince & Singh Take Tri-State Tour Dual-Class Event

by John Leyman

Amsterdam Billiards & Bar hosted a $1000-added duel-class event o­n March 19-20, and in an effort to enhance the play of the average player, the Tri-State Tour restricted the tournament to players in the "C" and "D" classes o­nly.  In the end, it paid off, as the up-and-coming players showed off their skills and proved that they are and will be a force now and in the future. 

The "C"-class showcased some of those types of players in the weekend event, namely Brendan Ince, who has continually made strides in improving his game.  He bested his first opponent in a hill-hill match, but that was as close as anyone got until the finals.

Ince breezed through many of matches, defeating James Murnak, Mark Mallari, and finally, Mike Tramis to advance to the finals.  In the semifinals, Tramis faced Tony Eglasias, whom he bested earlier in the tournament.  Eglasias was also o­n a roll, having ousted Murnak and Mallari to advance through the bracket.  He continued his tough play, sending Tramis home with a third-place finish 5-1. 

In the finals, Eglasias came out firing, gaining a 4-2 lead before Ince stole the momentum.  With the score at 5-all, Eglasias played a difficult 8-9 combo to win the first set and force a second.  Early in the second set, Eglasias held a 3-2 advantage, but Ince capitalized o­n his opponent's mistakes and came back to earn the victory.

In the "D"-class, Romeo Singh continued his hot play, attributing much of his success to friend and coach, Tony Robles.  Singh went straight to the finals with wins over Evan Chan, Mike Carrano, Melissa Gaston, Shadow Hafiz, and Joe Ferrante. 

In the o­ne-loss side, Mike Hagerth, who fell in his second match of the day, came back strong to win five straight matches to reach the finals against Singh.  But Hagerth's winning streak was halted, as Singh finished off his undefeated weekend of play with a hill-hill victory.

"C" Class Results:

1st Brendan Ince
2nd Tony Eglasias
3rd Mike Tramis
4th Mark Mallari
5th Sidney Chaklai, James Murnak
7th Bieto Perez, Lee Saper
9th Bob Riley, Samuel Garcia, Dmitry Rozenfeld, Jacob Schwartz

"D" Class Results:

1st Romeo Singh
2nd Mike Hagerth
3rd Joe Ferrante
4th Holly Pachebat
5th Shadow Hafiz, Aaron Charney
7th Christopher Root, Sal Marcelo
9th Carol Martorano, Samuel Youseff, Ray Marisette, Melissa Gaston

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