(Photo left to right: Alan Chan 3rd; Neslihan (Nes) Gurel - 1st; Basdeo (Shawn) Sookai 2nd)

Neslihan Gurel (Nes) wins her first Tri-State at Master Billiards’ A/D  9 – Ball event.  While Nes, from Turkey is  bury adapting to the hustle, bustle of NYC, she also is a student learning fashion design and the related aspects of marketing. Having limited time to persue her true dream of playing World Class Professional Pool, she still manages to win events.

Expect to hear her name amongst the pro players in the not so distant future. In route to her victory, Nes defeated: Ron Mason 6 – 3, Mike Davie 6 – 3, Ken DeBroske 6 – 4, Alan Chan 6 – 2 and Basdeo (Shawn) Sookai 7 – 6 to reach the Hot Seat. Shawn defeated Alan Chan 7 – 5 to play in the finals. The two players traded the lead; but, Nes  would not be deprived of a flawless victory.

Congratulations also goes to Basdeo Sookai  for his impressive performance, as well as, Alan Chan having placed 3rd. Special mention should go to Scott Simonetti win a 7 – 2 win loss record….welcome back, your almost there. Please provide a thank you to Sterling-Gaming, Ozone Billiards and  Viking Cues, Ron Tarr Cues, Phil Capelle, Dr. Dave Billiards Instructional Products for their sponsorship leading to this event.

1st-Neslihan Gurel-$1,000

2nd-Basdeo Sookhai-$660

3rd-Alan Chan-$410

4th-Scott Simonetti-$250

5-6-Dave Shlemperis, Ramilo Tanglao-$165

7-8-Tony Eglesias, Antonio Navarro-$125