The Predator Pro-AM Tour - October 11-12, 2014
Kaz Takagishi (4th),Mike Panzarella(1st),Koka Davladze(2nd),Bob Toomey(3rd)
Long Island-based player Mike Panzarella wins his first title on Tony Robles Predator Pro-Am Tour after fighting his way back from the one-loss side. Panzarella, who is no stranger to the tour, has played since the tour was formed in 2008. This tour stop marks the twenty-first event of Predator’s 2014 season, and drew 78 players from around the New York tri-state area. This amateur event had $1000-added and took place October 11-12 at Steinway Billiards in Queens, NY.
Panzarella’s started off strong with wins against recent Cue Bar winner Miguel Laboy (7-2), Steve “The Russian” Astashen (7-6), Kirill Safronov (7-4), and Keith Adamik (7-5). It wasn’t until he ran into one of Steinway’s regular players, Koka Davladze before his streak would come to an end, being defeated (7-5) and sent over to the one-loss side.
After his loss to Davladze, Panzarella went on a run on the loss side defeating former Predator winner Raphael Dabreo (7-1). Panzarella next match in the quarterfinal would put him up against Kaz Takagishi, who would eventually fall to Panzarella with a final score of (10-8). The semifinal round was yet another close match pairing Panzarella against Bob Toomey, with Panzarella defeating Toomey with a score of (10-8) sending Panzarella on to face Davladze for the second time this tournament.
The final’s rematch between Koka Davladze and Mike Panzarella would start out with Panzarella taking a lead over Davladze (4-1). Coming off of a three win streak, Panzarella was making it clear that he would not go down without a fight. Displaying a fierce style of play, Panzarella pushed the overall lead to (7-4). Davladze fought back and tied the match (7-7). However, a ball did not drop on his next break, and Panzarella ran out to get to the hill at 8-7. He continued with a successful break in the next rack, but would miss the four ball which would result in a safety battle causing Davladze to miss the six ball. Panzarella would then run out for his final win, ending the match (9-7)