Cecchetto and Hilton split top prizes celebrating Hector’s Birthday tournament at Yale Billiards
We’ve heard of any number of ‘reasons’ for pool tournaments; local pool halls’ weekly efforts to promote business, regional tour stops, high-profile, big-money/big name events, charities and memorials being the most prominent and plentiful. But somebody’s 40th birthday? Certainly cause for celebration by the individual and assorted family and friends as a ‘peak’ in the […]
admin
Rebecca Hilton, Hector Sanchez (TD) and Marcos Cechetto
We’ve heard of any number of ‘reasons’ for pool tournaments; local pool halls’ weekly efforts to promote business, regional tour stops, high-profile, big-money/big name events, charities and memorials being the most prominent and plentiful.
But somebody’s 40th birthday? Certainly cause for celebration by the individual and assorted family and friends as a ‘peak’ in the mountain of an individual’s life, where one pauses, briefly, before heading down the slippery slope toward the day when someone, probably young, actually refers to you as old. But why ’40?’ Why not ’50,’ a much more notable anniversary with its arguably more significant milestone of half a century? And who, inquiring minds wished to know, is Hector?
“I’ve run quite a few tournaments out of Yale Billiards (in Wallingford, CT),” said Hector Sanchez. “All of them (prior to this past weekend; Sun., Jan. 26) have been APA handicapped tournaments, so I decided to run my first FargoRated (499 and under) tournament on the ‘big day.”
There was dual significance about the actual date, which turned the event into a celebration, not just of Hector’s birthday, but of his association with Yale Billiards. The room has played host to (among others) the New England 9-Ball Series and the top-tier competitors on Mike Zuglan’s Joss Northeast 9-Ball Tour. One of those top-tier competitors, Lukas Fracasso-Verner, is from Wallingford, CT, making Yale Billiards, in essence, his ‘home’ room. He finished as runner-up when the Joss Tour was there in April of last year. This coming weekend (Sun., Feb. 2), the room will host a ‘Meet and Greet’ with Rodney Morris and Jeremy Jones and follow that up on Monday (Feb. 3) with a challenge match between Jayson Shaw and Mortiz Neuhausen. Check the Yale Billiards Facebook page for further information – https://www.facebook.com/YaleBilliards
Hector Sanchez stepped into Yale Billiards for the first time on his 15th birthday, just weeks after a separate, more universal milestone had passed; the century had rolled over from the 20th to the 21st. Unable to put “Hector’s 40th birthday, the 25th year since he first set foot into Yale Billiards (founded in January, 1994) and a celebration of a century’s first 25 years” on a flyer, Sanchez settled for just the birthday.
The event was fittingly designed to host the ‘bread and butter’ of any pool room, its regular league and local competitors. It drew 60 of them; ‘499 and under’ competitors, with FargoRates that topped out at 497, of which there were two, along with six at 496. Its lowest-ranked competitor checked in with a ‘228’ FargoRate (Spencer Law, the only player in the ‘200’ range), while there were, altogether, 18 competitors sporting rates in the ‘300’ range.
Competitors for whom Yale Billiards is a ‘home’ room included Marcos Cecchetto, who lives 15 minutes away in Hamden, CT. He went undefeated to the hot seat of this ‘birthday’ tournament and became the ‘official’ event winner. Rebecca Hilton, who is the daughter of Yale Billiards’ owner, Bobby Hilton, won five on the loss side before she and Cecchetto negotiated a split of the top two prizes.
In races to 5 on the winners’ side (and a ‘brutal’ 3 on the loss side), Cecchetto faced five opponents on his way to the hot seat. Two of them, his first and last (before advancing to the hot seat match) put up a double-hill fight. He benefited from a forfeit in the opening round before surviving his opening-round, double-hill match against Richard Rebelo Silva. He went on to defeat Crystal “The Pistol” Atkinson (1) and Hector Miranda (3) to draw Nathanael Rocha in one of the winners’ side semifinals.
Also headed for the hot seat match was Fernando Perez, who opened up with victories over Nick Salmeri and David Andreoli, both 5-2, before shutting out Jon Behler and advancing to a winners’ side quarterfinal against eventual runner-up, Rebecca Hilton. He sent Hilton to the loss side 5-2 and advanced to take on Tom Schine in the other winners’ side semifinal.
Cecchetto locked up in his second, double-hill battle, prevailing over Rocha and advancing to the hot seat match. Perez joined him after sending Schine west 5-2. In what proved to be his last match, Cecchetto downed Perez 5-2 and claimed the hot seat.
On the loss side, racing to a miniscule 3, Schine and Rocha arrived to meet up with Jack Passamano and Rebecca Hilton, respectively, who’d both been sent to the loss side in their winners’ side quarterfinal match; Hilton by Perez and Passamano by Rocha. Together, Hilton and Passano had given up a total of only four racks in their combined, four loss-side matches. Hilton had defeated Reynaldo Salgado Rivera and David Andreoli, both 3-1 to pick up Rocha. Passamano eliminated Richard Rebelo Silva and Austin Cofrancesco by the same score to draw Schine.
Schine moved on to the quarterfinals with a 3-1 victory over Passamano, as Hilton was navigating her way through a double-hill match against Rocha. She prevailed to join and then defeat Schine 3-1 in those quarterfinals. In the final match of Hector’s 40th Birthday tournament, Rebecca Hilton fought and won another double-hill battle in her rematch against Perez to claim title to the first and at least as far as it’s related to Hector Sanchez, the last 40th birthday party tournament.
Hector thanked Bobby Hilton and his Yale Billiards staff for their hospitality, and “have been like family for the past 25 years, especially,” he said, “Jaime Pfaff, who worked from the moment the doors opened until closing time.” He also thanked all of the players who came out to help him celebrate, with “special thanks to Kimmy who helped to keep the tournament moving and Crystal “The Pistol” Atkinson for baking me a cake and helping with the tournament.” And yes, he told us, all 60 players did sing “Happy Birthday,” although due in part to the absence of Hector’s ‘usual’ photographer, who was engaged in an APA event over the weekend and who normally takes his tournament photographs, there were no celebratory photographs to accompany the tale.
“I’m hoping to do another ‘499 and under’ tournament soon, maybe this summer,” he said, adding that he is in consultation with Bobby Hilton about potential dates. And he knows that Shane Van Boening’s 45th birthday is coming up in June.
