Bandoy Wins the Seventh Annual Tri-State Tour Invitational

Bandoy Wins the Seventh Annual Tri-State Tour Invitational John LeymanRyan Bandoy was crowned champion at the seventh annual Tri-State Tour Invitational, which took place July 10-11, 2004, at Amsterdam Billiards & Bar in Manhattan, NY. This invitational event brought together a total of 108 highly skilled amateurs hoping to sharpen their game en route to the pro circuit, as well as ambitious upstarts looking to advance in class. Amsterdam Billiards & Bar owners Greg and Ethan Hunt and their staff graciously hosted the event, providing a professional and engaging atmosphere. In show of their support, they also donated a $500 Viking Cue and a Porper 2 X 4 case.To congratulate players on reaching the end of a fine season, tour organizers handed out awards to the top players of the year in each class, naming Steve Lipsky, Sean Morgan, Gary Murgia, Dan Chapman, Geoffrey Bauer, John Trobiano, Bob Riley, Dave Firtzpatrick, and Mike Davie the best in their respective classes. Elise Rosen was awarded The Top Female Player of the Year, while Mhet Vergara claimed the coveted Most Improved Player by advancing three classes in the past year. Vergara attributes his success to the tutelage of the Filipino pro players. In addition to the awards, there were great equipment and prizes that were donated by the Tri-State Tour sponsors, which include Fury Cues, Viking Cues, Instroke Cases, Sterling Gaming, and InsidePOOL Magazine, to name a few.The "C" and "D" class players kicked off the event on Saturday morning. Mike Trawick, who recently moved to Alabama, was initially hampered in the "C+" division by a 7-4 defeat at the hands of Alex Vuksic. However, Trawick then went on to defeat everyone he came up against in the one-loss bracket, including Brenda Heras in the finals. Mirroring the beginning of that match, "C" player Ryan Bandoy was defeated in his first match, which left him to scrape his way through the west side of the chart, defeating Jose "Albert" Lopez on the hill in the finals. Edward Eng breezed through the "D+" class undefeated and finished the event by besting Joe Wall on the hill. The "D" class was a fight all the way to the finish, but Mike Mahon played exceptionally well and arrived in the finals undefeated only to have Edward Eng, who he sent to the one-loss side two matches earlier, make a comeback to win on the hill. On Sunday, the upper classes came to play. Players like "Fast Eddie" Medina were there to win, and win he did by cruising through the "B" class and crushing Robert Witten in the finals 7-3. Hiram Maldonado looked as though he planned to waltz through "B+" division, but Michael O'Connor arrived in the finals to stop Maldonado in his tracks with a 7-5 win. Playing almost flawlessly, Noel Bensurto won the "A" class with a 7-4 win over Don Montalvo. With only the top players in each class to meet in the playoffs, Medina continued his dominance and crushed his next two opponents, O'Connor and Bensurto, giving him the honor of competing for the overall champion. After his first-match defeat, recuperated Bandoy continued to win by downing Trawick and Michael Aro, who had eliminated Eng. The final between Medina and Bandoy was an exciting seesaw match with "Fast Eddie" catching up the two-game handicap at the 3-3 mark. Each player then took advantage of their time on the table and the other player's mistakes to knot the score at 5. With four balls left on the table, Bandoy ran out to take a 6-5 lead but scratched on the break. From there, Medina and Bandoy traded shots on the 8 ball until Medina's attempt to make it in the corner ended with him scratching in the side. Turning to shake Bandoy's hand, Medina congratulated him on being crowned the 2003-2004 Tri-State Tour Invitational Champion. Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.

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