The Predator Pro-Am Tour Season Opener Day 1 Update

The Predator Pro-Am Tour kicked off yesterday, Saturday, January 14th at Steinway Billiards in Astoria, NY.  An impressive eighty-one players converged at the popular Queens pool room to compete amongst some of the strongest amateur players in the NYC area.

The double-elimination 9-ball tournament for this event is broken up into two different brackets: the A/B and C/D brackets.  Game on the wire spots keep the players in different rankings competitive.

Notable players in this event include Lionel Rivera, John Alicea, Eric Tang, Jerry Tarantola, Ruberto Mendoza, Steve Wright, Jack Smith, Tony Liang, and Wellington Reyes, along with three top area female competitors, Briana Miller, Gail Glazebrook, and Debbie Prontiliette.

A/B Bracket Highlights

Steve Wright was one of the players to have a strong performance on Day 1, defeating Shawn Sookhai 7-3, Jerry Tarantola 7-4, and Trevor Heal 7-6. Trevor Heal will be taking on Lionel Rivera on the one-loss side, which will definitely be a match to watch..

16-year-old phenom Briana Miller was the main buzz at the event, playing the game at an extremely high level, while earning the respect of the knowledgeable NY crowd. While she started out ranked a B+, she was moved to the A ranking after defeating Rafael Ortiz 7-3 and Chris Karp 7-4.

Briana then had a tough hill-hill loss after leading 5-0, then ended her run with another close hill-hill loss at 7-6 to Tony Sinacore. Briana made the trip to Astoria from Pennsylvania with her mom, who has been integral in supporting and encouraging Briana to play, stay humble, and be a constant student of the game.

C/D Bracket Highlights

Lionell Swanston had a strong performance on Day 1, but finished in 17th-24th place. Niko Berzenishvili has also been playing touch, grinding through the one loss side after losing his first match, going on to win four consecutive matches on the one-loss side.

Playing on Day 2:

A/B Winners Bracket

Dave Ascolese: B+ vs. Steve Wright: A
Alex Platonov: A  vs. Wellington Reyes: A+

A/B Losers Bracket

Brian Hunter: B+ vs. Tony Sinacore: B+
Lionel Rivera: A+ vs. (winner of Louie Fantasia and Trevor Heal) -

…

C/D Winners Bracket

Junior Singh: C+ vs. Mike Fisher: C (Mike gets one game on the wire)

Ray Feliciano: C vs. Fabulous: C

C/D Losers Bracket

Bob Schlott: C+ vs. Niko Berzenishvili: C+

Brian Russel: C+ vs Alex Osipov: C+

Sunday is the money day – whoever makes it to Sunday makes it to the payout rounds.

Prize Money
1st: $1,225
2nd: $900
3rd: $650
4th: $450
5th/6th: $300
7th-8th: $200
9th-12th: $125
13th-16th: $80

Day two of the Predator Pro-Am Tour is also the start of the Open/Pro 10-Ball Event. Included among the top players in this field are Jeremy Sossei, Tony Robles, Jennifer Barretta, Frankie Hernandez, Mhet Vergara, Zion Zvi, and Evan Broxmeyer.

Stay on the NYC Grind for more update on results from Day 2…