Lanuto Takes Tri-State Billiard Event

Tri-State Tour / New York, NY

by Skip Maloney

Sal Lanuto held off a strong challenge from Michael Yednak to win the Tri-State Tour stop June 29. A total of 23 entrants were on hand for the $1000-added, handicapped event, hosted by Amsterdam Billiards & Bar in Manhattan.

Early Saturday, Lanuto and Dave Shlemperis, who would finish the tour’s season as the top-ranked players (numbers two and one, respectively) in their C+ handicap class, sent Trevor Heal and Wazeer Abasi to the one-loss side with identical 7-2 scores and then faced each other in the hot seat match. Shlemperis drew within two at 6-4, but Lanuto prevailed.

Yednak, who would finish seventh in his A class, and Tony Eglesias (second in B class) had advanced to the final eight on the one-loss side of the bracket and joined Gabriel Stan and Michael Seas among the final four on that side. Eglesias eliminated Stan 8-3, while Yednak dropped Seas into seventh place with a 7-4 win. The two then turned to face Heal and Abasi and dropped them into fifth place before facing each other in the quarterfinal match. Yednak stopped Eglesias’ charge with a 7-4 win. With his best finish of the year already secured, Yednak with his A handicap and Shlemperis with a C+ battled to an 8-5 victory for Yednak that propelled him into the finals against Lanuto.

The finals format, which dictates that if the player from the one-loss side reaches the required number of winning games first (in this case 8), the match is extended by two games. Yednak reached 8 first, but Lanuto fought back to hill-hill before sealing the deal and capturing the first place prize.

Results:
1st Sal Lanuto
2nd Michael Yednak
3rd David Shlemperis
4th Tony Eglesias
5th Wazeer Abasi
Trevor Heal
7th Gabriel Stand
Michael Seas
9th Justin Muller
Naomi Fingerhut
Tebby Lubis
Paul Raval