Two in Row for Dupree

By Bill Rosenberger

The New England Invitational B-Series keeps growing, and o­n April 3, 22 of the tour's top players descended o­n Renaissance Billiard Club in Quincy, MA.  While Joe Dupree was looking to win his second stop in a row, players like Rich Minchello and Shane Cote were trying to establish themselves as definite threats.

During each event, Minchello, Dupree, and Cote always seem to find themselves battling it out for the top spot, and this week was no different.  Sunday night's fight to reach the hot seat match came down to Dupree and Boston's Jason Circelo, who surprised everyone with his play.  The match went neck and neck, with score reaching 5-all.  In the eleventh game, Circelo scratched o­n the break, and Dupree didn't let him back o­n the table, running out the final two racks to advance.

Dupree's opponent in the hot seat match was Cote, who cruised to a 7-1 win over Paul Dryden.  This time, though, it was Cote who was o­n the other end of a blowout, as he mostly watched from his chair while Dupree easily won 7-3. 

On the o­ne-loss side, Minchello and Cote faced off in the semifinals, with o­ne of them getting a chance to face Dupree in the finals.  Cote regained his form against Minichello, sending him home in third place with a 7-1 win.

The race-to-11 final match was better than anyone could have expected.  Dupree ran through the first five racks to take a commanding lead, but Cote bounced back with three wins of his own.  After Dupree extended his lead to 9-3, Cote o­nce again made a strong comeback with four straight racks.  Dupree countered with a break-and-run to reach the hill, and after Cote notched another game, Dupree finished him off for the 11-8 victory.

Results:

1st Joe Dupree $500

2nd Shane Cote $250

3rd Rich Minchello $160

4th Dominic Sousa $65

5th Jason Circelo, Paul Dryden $45 

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