Joey Testa Captures Blaze Tour Finale

Joey Testa “Jersey Joey” Captures his Second Consecutive Blaze Tour Finale as he earns Player of the Year!

Joey Testa – Blaze Tour Player of the Year

The 40th and Final Pro/Am event of the season came to an end Last Weekend (Jan 9th/10th) in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. Fittingly home town player “Jersey Joey” Joey Testa capped off a remarkable season at host room Atlantic City Billiards.

Joey Testa is one of the hottest emerging professional players in the Tri-State Area and continues to be a dominant force in the North East. Joey has picked up by Mezz cues radar, who signed the Jersey Native player, to represent the Mezz brand of cues.

“Jersey Joey” defended his title as he is crowned “Blaze Tour Finale Champion” for the second consecutive year.

A strong field of 73 players came out to play including “Get Some” Shaun Wilkie, Adam Kielar, Manny Chau, Eddie Abraham, Jorge Rodriguez, George Ginky San Souci,Victor  Nau, Wali Muhammad, Rob Pole and “Kid Delicious” Danny Basavich.

The finale also attracted several of the North East’s strongest Women including Caroline Pao, Liz Ford and Erin Mcmanus.

Leading the top half of the bracket was Adam Kielar with wins over Shaun Wilkie  9-8, John Alicea 9-1, Larry Pearlman 7-3, Tony Rudi 7-1, Wali Muhammad 7-3  and Eddie Abraham 9-6.

Joey Testa was on the top part of the bracket, going through Theresa Intelisano 7-4, Derek Schwager 7-5, Randy Schwager 7-3, Danny Basavich 9-6, and Manny Chau 9-8.

In a “Hot Seat” matchup…  Adam Kielar was faced off against Joey Testa. In great match between two heavyweights… Joey testa came away with the “W” by way of a 9-6 score.  Adam was knocked over to the “One Loss Side” where he was matched up against Eddie Abraham, which was a rematch from earlier in the day.

Adam was able to regain his winning ways with a big 9-8 win over Eddie, setting up a rematch with Joey Testa.

The Finals was all set between Adam Kielar vs. Joey Testa, and with the true double elimination format… Adam had to defeat Joey 2 consecutive matches.

Joey came out of the gate aggressive and never let his early lead slip, as he capped off a great tournament in impressive fashion.

Through hard work and dedication to his craft Joey “Jersey Joey” Testa goes undefeated for consecutive years in the Blaze Tour Finale. Reflecting back on his Amazing season earning player of the year… Joey has several notable accomplishments throughout the year to think about.

Points Standings

Joey captured 8 Blaze Tour titles, 1 second, 3-3rds and 4-4th place finishes. It is clear that the phenom from NJ knows how to win, and the remarkable part of Joey’s demeanor is his humble nature, and no-quit attitude.

Joey  Testa would like to thank Mezz Cues for all their support also special thanks Jose Garcia for all his help.

The Blaze Tour would like to thank all of it’s sponsors and the players that came out to support the Tour.

Joey Testa , Angie Tran, Adam Kielar and Room Owner Ernie Arcaro

Payouts & Prizes: (Open/ Pro)

1st: Joey Testa $2250 +US  Open 9 Ball Championships paid entry + Trophy +  cue stick

2nd: Adam Kielar $1250 + US Open 9 Ball Champion ships paid entry + Trophy + cue stick

3rd: Eddie Abraham $700 + Turning Stone Classic paid entry + cue stick

4th: Manny Chau $550

5th/6th:  George Ginky San Souci, Shaun Wilkie  $300

7th/8th/9th: Rob  Pole, Jorge Rodriquez, Danny Basavich  $160

The Event also paid tracked and paid out winnings to an A/B group. Here is a quick overview of how it broke down.

Victor Nau defeated Frank Bogush 7-1, then lost to Eddie Abraham 7-4, then defeated Steve Shaw 7-5, Rob Palm 7-5, Bruce Nagle 7-6 and Jorge Rodriquez 7-5,  before losing to Shaun Wilkie 7-0.

Victor Nau ended in 9th thru 12th over all in the tournament but first place out of all the players in the tournament who fell in the A/B grouping.

Victor Nau, Randy Jaragoske, Erinie Arcaro and Wali Muhammad

Payouts & Prizes for the A/B Group

1st:  Victor Nau $300  & Turning Stone Classic paid entry + Trophy + Pool Cue

2nd: Wali Muhammad $250 +Trophy + Pool Cue

3rd: Randy Jaragoske  $250 & Pool Cue

4th: Pete  Tascarlla Jr   $100 & Pool Cue

The Event also paid tracked and paid out winnings to an C/D group. Here is a quick overview of how it broke down.

Nick Comstock defeated Ginky, before losing to Bob Whitfield. Nick rebounded by defeating Erin McManus 7-3, Paul Johnson

7-6, and Randy Schwager 7-4 before losing to Randy Jaragoske 7-4. Nick Comstock ended in 13th thru 16th over all in the tournamentbut first in the C/D group

Nicks Girlfriend, Nick Comstock, Ernie Arcaro and Megan Black

Payout & Prizes for the C/D Group

1st: Nick Comstock $275  +  US Amateur entry  & Trophy & Pool Cue

2nd: Bob Whitfield $120 +  US Amateur  entry & trophy & Pool Cue

3rd: Larry Pearlman $100 + US Amateur entry & Pool Cue

4th: Rob Palm – US Amateur entry & Pool Cue
Visit NYCgrind.com, for more news and information.

Marcus “Napoleon” Chamat Rules Supreme on the Blaze Tour

As 2009 came to a close, The Blaze Tour held its last event of the year at Skyline Billiards in Brooklyn, NY, where player and owner Rob Pole rolled out the red carpet for some of the strongest players in the Northeast.

Several notable top pros and player were in attendance including Sweden’s Marcus “Napoleon” Chamat, Marc “Spain” Vidal, Danny “Kid Delicious” Basavich, George “Ginky” SanSouci, Shaun Wilkie, Matt Krah, and Jorge Rodriguez, to name a few.

Shaun Wilkie has been the player to beat on the tour of late, and came out firing in this event. Shaun rolled over Tony Phu 7-1 and Denise Reeves 7-1, before matching up with Ginky. George was playing superb in the match, but Shaun crossed the finish line first with a close 7-6 win. Shaun then went on to defeat Marc Vidal 7-4 before losing to world-class player, Marcus Chamat 7-6.

Marcus broke and ran out the final rack to put an exclamation point on solid performance. Shaun would meet Marcus again in the finals setting up a rematch to test the European champion.

Marcus Chamat won the rail over by going undefeated through the winner’s bracket with superb play. Marcus defeated Kenny Rutman (7-4), Jerry Tarantola (7-2), Jorge Rodriquez (7-3), Matt Krah (7-2), and Shaun Wilkie (7-6) getting to the finals. In the finals, it was all Chamat, as he dominated Wilkie in this match 7-3.

The Blaze Tour Season Finale will be at Atlantic City Billiards on the weekend of January 8-9, where there will be $6,000 in cash and prizes. With a full field, there will be three brackets, dividing Open and Pro, A/B, and C/D players. Prizes are guaranteed to players in each bracket, which gives players of all levels a chance to make a statement.

The tour finale will award over $2,000 in entry spots for the US Open, US Open Amateur, and Turning Stone. With 130 qualified players, the finale is expected to have a great turnout.

Visit www.nycgrind.com for more updates and information.