In magnificent fashion, Mazin Shooni won the warm up tournament for the 2013 USBA nationals held as part of the grand opening of his private billiard club, Amazin Billiards, in Malden, Massachusetts.
Twenty two players gathered, including four former national champions, to play in the event that featured Bréton tables. After the preliminaries, eight players advanced to a single elimination knock-out. Shooni defeated Hugo Patiño in the first round (30-18), then topped Miguel Torres (30-21) to advance to the finals. In the other bracket, Michael Kang defeated Jim Shovak (30-17) and Sonny Cho (30-25) to earn his place in the finals.
In the championship game, Kang came out strong, playing like a man possessed, as one observer said. He built a big lead but stalled at 28 with Shooni behind by 6. Kang made another billiard, then missed a hanger. Shooni stepped up and ran 8 and out for the victory (30-29).
Torres topped Cho for third, and Dave van Lokeren defeated Patiño for 5th. Joe DeAmato bested Shovak for seventh. For complete charts click here!