Jay has the 'Wright' Stuff in Tri-State Victory

by Todd Fleitman                                                 

The Tri-State Tour hit Scotch Plain, NJ, o­n April 10 for a "C"-"D" handicap 9-ball tournament.  The strong field that gathered at J & J Billiards watched as Jay Wright earned his first tour win.

Wright, a local who plays at J & J Billiards, won five straight matches, including a 6-3 decision over Yakov Bekkleman to take the hot seat.  o­n the other side of the bracket was Jason Egeln, who won his opening match but fell in the second round.  Egeln, to his credit, came back strong, winning seven consecutive matches to reach the evening's semifinals.  However, Bekkleman was up to the challenge, sending Egeln home in third with a 6-3 win.

In the finals, both players battled hard, as they traded the first few games.  With the score tied at 2 apiece, Wright went o­n a tear, winning three straight racks to take a commanding 5-2 lead.  But Bekkleman bounced back as well, matching Wright's three-game streak to again tie the match up.  In the last game of the hill-hill match, both players had opportunities to close it out, but it was Wright who sank the last two balls to emerge with his first-ever Tri-State Tour win.

Results:

1st Jay Wright

2nd Yakov Bekkleman

3rd Jason Egeln

4th Bob Riley 

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