by InsidePOOL Staff

Dave Shlemperis bounced back from a late loss to Wilson Cruz to earn a rematch with him in the finals of the Tri-State Tour’s December 26 event, winning the match and the title. This $500-added holiday tournament drew 41 players to Castle Billiards in East Rutherford, NJ.

Shlemperis and Cruz first clashed in the hot seat match after sending to the one-loss side Pete Brennan 6-2 and Jacob Schwartz 7-6, respectively. The ensuing match-up saw Cruz dominate Shlemperis 7-4 and send him to the semifinals on the west side of the chart.

Now in the left side’s final four, Schwartz fell to Scott Simonetti 7-5, while Brennan moved past Ra Hanna 6-4. Simonetti and Brennen advanced to the quarterfinals, where Brennan relegated Simonetti to fourth place with a 7-4 victory.

Shlemperis was fired up, ready for a rematch with Cruz, and he made short work of Brennan in the semifinal match, winning 6-1. He opened the final match with a 9 ball on the break and was up 8-0 in the race to 10 before Cruz got on the board. Though Cruz made it to 4, Shlemperis had too large of a lead and won the final match 10-4.

Dave Shlemperis bounced back from a late loss to Wilson Cruz to earn a rematch with him in the finals of the Tri-State Tour’s December 26 event, winning the match and the title.

Results:
1st Dave Shlemperis $600
2nd Wilson Cruz $400
3rd Pete Brennan $220
4th Scott Simonetti $150
5th Ra Hanna $100
Jake Schwartz
7th Jerry Tarantola $75
Annie Flores