Dechaine goes undefeated to win first George ‘Ginky’ Sansouci Memorial Pro event

Mike Dechaine

He’d been down by two at 7-5 and 8-6, but in the finals of the first annual George ‘Ginky’ Sansouci Memorial Tournament on Sunday, June 26, Mike Dechaine fought back to win four in a row and keep a one-loss side challenge by Dennis Hatch at a two-game distance through to the end. The $2,000-added Pro event, run concurrently with a $3,000 amateur event, won by Raj Vannala, drew 32 entrants to Amsterdam Billiards in Manhattan, NY, and marked the first collaborative effort on the part of three northeast tours – The Predator Tour, the Tri-State tour and the Mezz Pro Am tour.

It was a grudge match there at the end, because it was Dechaine who’d sent Hatch packing to the west from among the winners’ side final eight. Dechaine moved on to face Jeremy Sossei from among the winners’ side final four, as his eventual hot seat opponent, Joey Testa, faced Zion Zvi. Dechaine defeated Sossei 7-3, while Testa was working on Zvi, sending him west 7-5. Dechaine gained the hot seat with a 7-2 win over Testa and waited for a long time for Hatch.

Hatch moved over, downing first, Frankie Hernandez 7-4 and then, Shawn Morgan 7-2 to pick up Zvi. Sossei drew Shaun Wilkie, who’d gotten by Tony Robles 7-5 and Jorge Rodriguez in a double hill battle. Hatch ended Zvi’s day with a 7-3 victory, as Wilkie survived a second straight double hill battle with a win over Sossei. In his third straight, double hill matchup, Wilkie was dropped into fourth place, and Hatch moved on to meet Testa.

Hatch dispatched Testa rather handily 8-2 in the semifinals, and turned to face Dechaine for a second time. It was clear from the outset that neither of these men were going to go down as easily as either of their last two opponents. They battled back and forth, one game at a time to a 5-5 tie, before Hatch took a slim, two game lead.

Dechaine pulled within one, and then, after sinking five balls on his subsequent break, he failed to make another. Hatch moved out in front by two for a second time. It was 8-6. A combination of top notch shooting and some missed opportunities by Hatch, put four games in a row in Dechaine’s pocket, and he was on the hill. He rattled the 1-ball in a corner pocket early in the next rack and Hatch jumped on it, and every other ball left on the table, to pull back within one.

Hatch sunk one ball on the subsequent break, and missed his first shot at the 1-ball. As though he had heard Hatch’s footsteps in that 19th rack run-out, Dechaine stepped to the 20th rack, and immediately bounced a long-table bank shot at the same 1-ball, and then jumped a ball to make a cross side bank.  Some safety play followed but with four balls left, Dechaine squeezed the cue ball past an intervening ball and banked his target into a corner. With the voice of Tony Robles, being picked up in the UStream background, whispering “This it is! This is it!” Dechaine continued to work his way around the table. He completed the rack and his undefeated day, to become the first George ‘Ginky’ Sansouci Memorial Tournament champion.

By Skip Maloney – AzB Staff – 2011-06-27