Kang Wins NY Qualifier, Torres Finishes Second
Michael Kang emerged triumphant after a two-day qualifier at Carom Cafe, topping two-time national champion Miguel Torres in the final match 50 to 31 in 40 innings (1.250). With the win, Kang qualified for the USBA national tournament to be held from April 3 to 7, 2013, at the Super Billiard Expo at the New Jersey Convention and Expo Center in Edison. Though finishing second, Torres also qualified for the national championship.
Ten players competed in the qualifier. The group was divided into 2 flights of 5. After a round robin play, the top three in each flight advanced to a single elimination final. Group A consisted of Young Gul Lee, Jim Shovak, Michael Kang, Ester Park and Levent Bati. Group B pitted Andrew Janquitto, Lloyd Wallace, John Cristiano, Jim Watson and Miguel Torres against each other. Lee was Group A, finishing 4-0 with a 1.087 grand average. Kang finished second, followed by Shovak in third. Torres won Group B with a 4-0 record and a 1.190 grand average. The winners of each group received first-round byes it the finals. Kang bested Shovak in one quarter final, while Wallace defeated Cristiano. In the semi-finals, Kang beat Lee and Torres topped Wallace. In the losers bracket, Lee finished third with Wallace in fourth place. Wallace, a local player originally from Jamaica, played very strong throughout the tournament, finishing with a .868 grand average. Also playing well were Shovak (0.727) and Cristiano (0.971). Kang had the high run (11) while Cristiano had the best game (1.786).
Here are the final rankings and statistics on the event. For more details on the results from the final rounds of play and the preliminairies click the read more link below.
