The Predator 9 Ball Tour presented by Tony Robles and Predator Cues, made its 5th stop of the season at Comet Billiards in Parsippany NJ. The event drew 64 players, with a strong New Jersey showing, as 27 new players participated in the growing Pro-Am 9 Ball Tour. Top players in attendance were Tony Robles, Frankie Hernandez, Jason Kirkwood, Bucky Souvanthong, Shane Winters, Sean Morgan, Eddie Abraham, Reggie Cutler, Bobby Blackmore, Joey Kong, and Marc Vidal. Also an emerging junior sensation Jonathan Castillo impressed the crowd with stellar play. On a road trip from Grand Rapids Michigan, Jason has won the hearts of pool fans in the northeast with his incredible play and humble attitude over the past few weeks. Just coming off a 1st place finish in the Joss Tour stop last weekend, Jason captured 1st again at this Predator Tour stop defeating the “Silent Assassin,” Tony Robles. On his way to the final match Jason defeated Greg Hecht, Michael Yednak, Mike Wong, Eddie Abraham, Marc Vidal and Bucky Souvanthong to earn his undefeated "Hot Seat" position. On Sunday the final 12 put on some very exciting performances for the great fans at Comet Billiards. Jason Kirkwood rolled over "Spain" Marc Vidal in the first winner’s side match 9-2. Eddie Abraham defeated Joey Kong 9-5 then Ron Piontkowsi 9-7 in a gritty battle, before losing to "The Silent Assassin" 9-7. In this event Bucky Souvanthong continued his impressive play as he grinded out notable wins over Frankie Hernandez and Tony Robles, who he beat 9-8 after trailing the assassin 5-8. Tony Robles was having another strong showing in this event. After the loss to Bucky, Tony bounced back with wins over Eddie Abraham, Shane Winters 9-6. Bucky and Tony would meet again and this time Tony brought his A-game, winning 9-6 and earning a spot in the finals. "Tony put on a clinic in that set, and played almost perfect", says Bucky Souvanthong after the loss to Robles. In the Finals, all eyes were on Tony Robles and Jason Kirkwood. The battle tested veteran versus the emerging “Dark Horse" Jason Kirkwood. In the end, it was all Jason Kirkwood, as Jason dominated in control, tempo and momentum against "The Silent Assassin". Tony played strong, but was again unable to pocket balls on the break. The combination of Kirkwood’s strong break, pin-point position play and clutch shot making allowed him to run through his second consecutive tournament in a row, defeating Tony Robles 11-3. Towards the end of the match, Jason happened to miss a ball and Robles joked to the crowd, “Jason Kirkwood missed a ball!!” Jason simply smiled and stated “Yeah, but I came so close to making it.” When you add these 7 consecutive wins, to the 10 consecutive matches that Jason won at The Joss 9 Ball event the previous weekend, you have a "Road Winning Streak" of 17 consecutive matches. Congratulations to Jason Kirkwood for a well deserved 1st place finish.
- by Jerry Tarantola
NYCGrind.com