Pool Cues, Billiards News, Billiard Instruction » S David

Van Boening Surges in Mosconi Cup Rankings

Pool and Billiards News — Fri, 27 May 2011 15:27:15 +0000

2011 US Mosconi Cup Rankings Latest

Shane Back in Business After Riviera Glory

Shane Van Boening, an ever-present in the US team at the past four Mosconi Cups, played his way back into contention for this year’s side with victory at the US Open 10-Ball Championship at the Riviera, Las Vegas.

‘The South Dakota Kid’ took down Spain’s David Alcaide 11-6 in the championship match to cap a great week. Van Boening’s win sees him climb to No.2 in the rankings from a lowly 10th spot.

Van Boening had recently returned from a lengthy sojourn in Asia which included a number of highly successful match ups in Manila.

Van Boening had recently returned from a lengthy sojourn in Asia which included a number of highly successful match ups in Manila. He played seven sets against the likes of Ronnie Alcano, Francisco Bustamante and Jeff De L una and was undefeated.

All that high quality practice stood him in good stead for Las Vegas, and with four events to go in the qualifying series, Van Boening will be favourite to take one of the top three automatic positions.

56.5 points clear at the top, though, is Mike ‘The Fireball’ Dechaine whose 7th place finish at the Riv ensured that he maintained his No.1 position. Corey Deuel, with seven Mosconi Cup appearances to his name, is zeroing in on Mo.8 as he finished third to jump two places into the coveted third spot, 55 points ahead of 2009 MVP Dennis Hatch.

Fallers include Shawn Putnam, Hatch and Earl Strickland who now finds himself in sixth spot. Johnny Archer creeps into the top ten for the first time.

The US Mosconi Cup Ranking consists of 10 events throughout the United States, culminating in the US Open in October. Points will be allocated as per the BCA Points List and each event will be weighted depending on total purse, size of field and number of top-ranked players competing.

Only players finishing in the last 32 of each event will be allocated points and players will be allowed to drop their worst finish of the ten event series. At the conclusion, after the 2011 US Open, the top three players will automatically gain entry to the Mosconi Cup side.

The remaining two players will be Matchroom Sport wildcard picks although the ranking will play a part in this.

American Mosconi Cup contenders take a break for nearl y three months and reconvene in Connecticut from 11 to 14 August for Turning Stone Summer.

The Ranking

1. ( – ) Mike Dechaine 432

2. (↑8) Shane Van Boening 375.5

3. (↑2) Corey Deuel 375

4. (↓2) Dennis Hatch 320

5. (↓2) Shawn Putnam 310.5

6. (↓2) Earl Strickland 290

7. (↓1) Charlie Williams 262

8. (↑3) Johnny Archer 247.5

9. (↓2) Mike Davis 245.5

10. (↓2) Stevie Moore 229.5

11. (↓2) Rodney Morris 225.5

12. ( – ) Robb Saez Read more ...

Van Boening Snares U.S. Open 10-Ball Title

Pool and Billiards News — Sun, 22 May 2011 03:40:41 +0000

Van Boening Snares U.S. Open 10-Ball Title

Shane Van Boening defeated Spain’s David Alcaide by a score of 11-6 to snare the U.S. Open 10-Ball title at the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. Van Boening picked up $15,000 for his performance while Alcaide earned $8,500. The finals of the 3rd U.S. Open 10-Ball Championship was between two highly decorated professionals from both sides of the Atlantic. After 6 days the field of 96 player, representing 10 countries, whittled down to U.S. favorite Shane Van Boening and Spain’s David Alcaide.

Van Boening defeated Spain's David Alcaide by a score of 11-6 to snare the U.S. Open 10-Ball title at the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV.

Starting the day four players returned for day six of the event. The first match featured Spain’s David Alcaide versus relatively unknown player, Dennis Haar from Terre Haute, Indiana. This was Haar’s first professional 10-ball tournament and his best finish in any big event. Haar cleared a path to the final four by way of defeating top players James Baraks, Mitch Ellerman, Mike Dechaine, and Jonathan Pinegar. Unfortunately, his efforts fell short against Alcaide who jumped ahead at 6-5. Haar jumped and hung a 1-ball for Alcaide to get on the hill. At 7-5, Haar missed a 4-7 combination that would cost him the match.

In the winner side finals match between Van Boening and Corey Deuel, both players appeared to be “trading errors,” said TAR commentators. They exchanged racks until the score was 4-4 when Deuel hooked himself on the 7-ball. Deuel would win one more game to make it 5-4 before Van Boening took the next four, breaking and running on hill to win 8-5. Deuel and Alcaide would meet next for the semi-finals match, race to 9, win by two games.

In this match, Alcaide jumped to a quick 4-1 lead and appeared to be playing fast and loose. The gentlemen exchanged some defensive maneuvers over the next few racks until the score was tied 4-4. In an unbelievable turn of events, Deuel missed the 1-ball with ball in hand allowing Alcaide to take that game and the next one. Both players continued to struggle, exchanging racks until Alcaide took the set 9-6.

The final match was a race to 11, win by two games. Van Boening entered the finals undefeated. 2011 has been another banner year for Van Boening as he also recently ran over the competition at the Derby City Classic taking first in the One Pocket, second in 9-Ball and the Master of the Table honors in addition to taking 9th in the World 8-Ball Championship. Alcaide, long considered the top professional player in Spain, recently finished 3rd in the World 8-Ball Championship, 9th in the Beijing Open Men’s Division and was the first player from Spain to represent Team Europe in the Mosconi Cup. Alcaide came through the one loss side winning 7 matches in a row after a 3rd round loss to Scott Frost.

The nerves ran high into the finals between Van Boening and Alcaide. Alcaide took a quick 5-1 lead when a dry break would cost him two games. At 5-3, Van Boening returned the favor with a dry break but Alcaide was unable to capitalize. He missed a 6 ball that allowed Van Boening to close the gap and take the lead. In the middle section of the match, the spectators were treated to several safety battle games. However Van Boening prevailed and won seven games in a row to pull ahead 8-5 when Alcaide finally seized his opportunity with a tricky 6-10 combo billiard from the 3-ball. That would be the final game he would win. Van Boening turned it into high gear and kicked in the 4-ball at 10-6 followed by a safety on the 5-ball which led to ball in hand and the run out.

The 3rd U.S. Open 10-Ball Championship was sponsored by Mueller Recreational Products, McDermott Cues, Diamond Billiard Products, Simonis, Aramith, the Magic Rack, Billiards Digest and BreakRAK with direction by CSI Director of Rules and Referees Bill Stock with Ken Shuman from California and John Leyman from New York. The Action Report (TAR) live streamed the entire 6 days of the event with additional expert assistance by the team from Run Out Media.

CueSports International is dedicated to creating more choices for all players. CSI is the parent company of the BCA Pool League and the USA Pool League. CSI also produces independent events such as the U.S. Bar Table Championships, Read more ...

Dechaine Blanks Archer at 3rd U.S. Open 10-Ball Championship

Pool and Billiards News — Sat, 21 May 2011 00:34:40 +0000

Dechaine is Story of Day 4 at the 3rd U.S. Open 10-Ball Championship

Going into Friday morning at the 3rd Annual U.S. Open 10-Ball Championship the story on everyone’s lips was the outstanding performance by currently #1 U.S. ranked player “Fireball” Mike Dechaine. As the field gets smaller, the matches get tighter. Although moved to the one loss side earlier in the week by Kenichi Uchigaki, Dechaine has fired through the one loss side with a vengeance. After eliminating Earl Strickland during the 6 pm Thursday round, Dechaine then defeated “The Scorpion” Johnny Archer 8-0 in the 11 pm round, running seven consecutive racks to close out the set. Friday morning Dechaine then went on to defeat Jeremy Sossei 8-4 and Raj Hundal 8-5.

Arizona’s Mitch Ellerman is also sitting pretty after squeaking out a hill-hill win against Mike Davis. Ellerman broke and ran on the hill to advance. On the feature TAR table, “The Magician” Efren Reyes was struggling against Jonathan Pinegar. He found himself down 7-3. He claimed one more game to make it 7-4 and appeared to be coming back until he made the fatal error of bumping the 8 ball into a tricky position. He attempted to bank it in the side but left the shot and match for Pinegar. Reyes will now face Spain’s David Alcaide for a chance to stay alive.

“The Lion” Alex Pagulayan took an early exit settling for 13th- 16th place after losing to Darren Appleton. This was after Pagulayan defeated California’s Corey Harper after arriving late to his match and receiving a one game penalty, then being down 5-0 and 7-3. Appleton meets up with Germany’s Ralf Souquet next. Souquet had to forfeit his winner-side match against Corey Deuel due to a minor car accident earlier in the day.

On the right side of the bracket, Shane Van Boening and Scott Frost will face off in the hot seat match. Frost has played consistent all week knocking to the one-loss side: Darren Appleton (8-4), Tony Robles (8-5), David Alcaide (8-4) and Charlie Williams (8-5). Van Boening also had a near flawless record on his way to the hot seat match tossing Donny Mills (8-4), Danny Harriman (8-3), CJ Wiley (8-3), Brandon Shuff (8-0) and Dennis Haar (8-5).

For the complete brackets of both the 35th BCAPL National 8-Ball Championships and the 3rd U.S. Open 10-Ball Championship visit the CSI CueSports Tournament System at www.ctsondemand.com. The Action Report (TAR) is providing PPV live streaming at www.theactionreport.com.

The events are sponsored by Mueller Recreational Products, McDermott Cues, Diamond Billiard Products, Simonis, Aramith, the Magic Rack, Billiards Digest and BreakRAK with BCAPL tournament direction by Bad Boy Billiard Productions and U.S. Open 10-Ball tournament direction by CSI Director of Rules and Referees Bill Stock with Ken Shuman from California and John Leyman from New York.

Twelve Remain at U.S. Open

Pool and Billiards News — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 21:48:10 +0000

Twelve Remain at U.S. Open
U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships / Chesapeake, VA

by InsidePOOL Staff

Only 12 players remain of the 256 who kicked off the week at the 35th U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships in Chesapeake, VA. The $50,000-added event began last Sunday and will crown a winner Saturday.

Ever since his unexpected defeat in the first round by Mike “Fireball” Dechaine 11-3, 2007 champion Shane Van Boening has been a man on a mission. Having eliminated excellent opponents such as 2004 winner Gabe Owen, Keith Bennett, Manny Chau, Chris Bartram, and Brandon Shuff with ease, it seems Van Boening is only priming himself for attacking the finals from the west. In the last afternoon round Friday, Van Boening found himself matched up against 1999 winner Johnny Archer. Van Boening took a three-rack lead but watched it evaporate as Archer came back and knotted the score. Then it was Archer’s turn to take the lead 7-4, but at that point Van Boening wasted no more time and surged ahead, winning seven games in a row to take the match 11-7.

Jesse Engel knocked off Strickland and Sigel before falling to Melling. Not too shabby for only being eighteen years old.

Francisco Bustamante, who was inducted into the BCA Hall of Fame the previous evening, rebounded from his hill-hill defeat by David Alcaide and crushed Chris Melling in the afternoon round 11-3. Bustamante’s next match will be against the loser of the Ralf Souquet / Jason Klatt match.

The legendary Efren Reyes finally exited the building. He suffered an 11-5 loss to Darren Appleton on the winners’ side, eliminated fellow Hall of Famer Nick Varner 11-8, and then was himself eliminated by countryman Warren Kiamco 11-4.

Appleton remains undefeated, having bested 2001 winner Corey Deuel 11-8 to reach the winners’ side final four. His next match will be against Spain’s David Alcaide, who defeated Thorsten “Hitman” Hohmann 11-5.

Mika Immonen, hoping for his third U.S. Open title in a row, defeated Lo Li-wen, 2010 U.S. Open 10-Ball Championships runner-up, 11-7. Lo will face off against Kiamco on the one-loss side in the first evening round.

View U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships 256-player tournament brackets (updated continuously)

View U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships Final 8-player tournament brackets (updated continuously)

Live streaming provided by Accu-Stats.

Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.

2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Gallery 1

272 Photos

2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Gallery 2

150 Photos

2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Gallery 3

132 Photos

Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

40 Photos

2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Gallery 4

162 Photos

2010 U.S. Open 9-Ball Gallery 5

368 Photos

Rising Pinoy Star Lee Van Corteza Wins Predator Billiards Event

Pool and Billiards News — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 18:14:07 +0000

By Marlon Bernardino with additions by Dragon Promotions

Lee Van “The Slayer” Corteza of the Philippines hacked out an 8-5 victory over Rodney “The Rocket” Morris of the United States in the finals to capture the Predator Sweet 16 Tournament at the Block, SM City North Edsa, Quezon City Tuesday night.

Corteza of the Philippines hacked out an 8-5 victory over Morris of the United States in the finals to capture the Predator Sweet 16 Tournament at the Block, SM City North Edsa, Quezon City Tuesday night.

In the first semi-finals, Netherland’s top champion Niels Feijen took on USA #2 Rodney Morris. Feijen had earlier defeated #1 USA Johnny Archer, but that wasn’t enough to stop Morris. Morris took the 8-5 win to reach the finals. In the other semi-finals, Spain’s David Alcaide faced home country favorite Van Corteza. Alcaide won the lag and first break, but it was all Lee Vann from there on out as he cruised to a 8-3 easy win.

In the finals, it is arguable that the best playing Filipino currently was matched against the best playing American. Lee Van had won the last major in America while Morris has been in his fourth finals in five weeks.

The pride of Davao City Corteza, whose stint here is supported by Kopiko and Energen, silently prayed for an opportunity to return the table when he was down 4-0 according to Negros Billiards Stable (NBS) coach Christopher Palses, came back from the grave via seven (7) consecutive racks to seized the 7-4 lead in the race-to-8 finals in the event organized by Dragon Promotions and supported by Predator CEO/ President Karim Belhaj.

Morris played well in the finals but just came up short.

Morris won the 12th racks to cut the lead at 7-5 count before Corteza took the final rack to escaped an 8-5 victory.

For his latest feat, Corteza claimed the top prize of 10,000 Euros while Morris went home the runner-up prize of 6,000 Euros.

“I pity the fool, I want a re-match!”, exclaimed Morris jokingly afterwards. “All the Filipinos play great and you really have to play great to beat the. That’s why it feels good when you do. He played great against me and deserves this.”

“ I would like to thank Sir Jonathan Sy and coach Christopher Palses who always helping my local and international tournament alongside Kopiko and Energen,” said Corteza, currently ranked as No.2 in the world, and his dream to win the WPA World 9-Ball Title.

Corteza celebrates after his victory.

NBS president Jonathan Sy lauded Corteza’s latest feat in a separate interview: “He deserves this… I’m really happy for him. This proves once again that the Filipino can be at par with the world’s best cue artists.” “World 9-ball title na lamang ang kulang,” added Sy, also the chairman of National Collegiate Billiards League (NCBL).
Semi-Finalists Niels Feijen of the Netherlands and David Alcaide of Spain didn’t go home empty-handed won 4,000 Euros each for reaching the Final Four.

The Predator Sweet 16 is the completion of the Predator billiards competition that was postponed in Spain in 2009. The Last 16 hosted by long-time billiards patron Sebastian “Baste” Chua at the famous Star Billiards Center in Grace Village, Quezon City. The Semi-Finals and Finals was held at the Block, SM City North Edsa, Quezon City, the venue of Predator 10 Ball Championships which starts on Wednesday.

Champion: Lee Vann Corteza of the Philippines (10,000 Euros)
2nd Place: Rodney Morris of the United State (6,000 Euros)
Semi-fimalists: Niels Feijen of the Netherlands and David Alcaide of Spain (4,000 Euros)

Photo Courtesy of Chito Ines

Americans Shine at Predator World Tour Stop

admin — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 08:15:29 +0000

Americans Prove to be a Force in Lloret

By Cristina De La Garza

The Predator World Tour event in Lloret drew 88 players, including a record setting field of 12 Americans. Over 20 countries are represented in this race to 8, 10-ball event. The tournament is being conducted with WPA rules and 16 players are seeded according to the current tour rankings. The number 1 seed, David Alcaide took an early trip to the one-loss side in the early rounds of day 1 and will have to take the long road if he wants to defend his ranking in his home country.

American Junior player, Brendan Crockett defeated Spain’s David Simon 8-6 in the first round but was eliminated in the last round of day 2. Another notable win was American qualifier, James Davis Jr., who shut out Spanish Women’s Champion, Amalia Matas, 8-0 and will face Vincent Faquet in his next match. Stevie Moore and Neils Feijen had impressive wins on the TV table on day 2. Moore defeated Marcus Chamat 8-2 while Feijen sent Jeffery De Luna to the one-loss side in his first European tournament. In his first tournament back, Mike Sigel defeated Yukioi Akagariyama of Japan 8-6 and looks to be a favorite to advance to the redraw in the final 32.

The Predator World Tour event in Lloret drew 88 players, including a record setting field of 12 Americans.

At the conclusion of day 2, all four women have been eliminated and 10 of the 12 Americans in attendance are still going strong on the winners’ side. Exciting match ups for day 3 will include Johnny Archer against Charlie Williams, Neils Feijen against Ernesto Dominguez and Raj Hundal against Mika Immonen.

For more tournament news and live scoring please visit www.Predator10Ball.com. The Predator World Tour recognizes the following sponsors: Atlas Billiard Supplier, Bilhares Carrinho, Billard Master, Guitart Hotels, Kozoom Multimedia, Poison Cues, QK-S, Simonis Cloth, Tiger Products and Uni-loc.

Defending Champion Immonen Falls

admin — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:04:49 +0000

Defending Champion Immonen Falls
U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships / Chesapeake, VA

by Lea Andrews

With the action still going strong on day two of the 34th Annual U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, which is being held October 18-24 at the Chesapeake Conference Center in Chesapeake, VA, many big names remain undefeated after two rounds of play, while others have become early victims. All 216 players remain in the field, though elimination rounds begin Tuesday morning.

Still on the winners’ side is past champion Ralf Souquet, who notched up an 11-1 win over EJ Glode and an 11-4 win over Thomas Giddens. After shutting out Pat DiBuono, Steve Moore rolled over Stefano Ariavakis 11-1. Spain’s David Alcaide was almost as stingy with the 9 balls in his first two matches—he rode an 11-1 win over Scott Hershman to an 11-3 victory over Kaloyan Rusanov.

Bartram handed Immonen his first loss in his title defense.

View the U.S. Open 9-Ball Double Elimination Tournament Brackets 1 (updated continuously)

View the U.S. Open 9-Ball Double Elimination Tournament Brackets 2 (updated continuously)

View the 2009 U.S. Open image gallery

View the LIVE STREAM from ACCU-STATS

Defending champion Mika Immonen, who held Jerry Fitchett to six games in round one, will have to defend his crown from the left side of the bracket after running into a determined Chris Bartram in round two. Bartram got out ahead 2-0, 3-1, and 7-3, but Immonen managed to tie it up at eight games apiece. Talent and luck were both on Bartram’s side in the final racks, and he took racks seventeen and eighteen with a 2-9 combination and a 1-9 combination, respectively, and though Immonen claimed rack nineteen after Bartram left a safety on the 2 ball open, he couldn’t close rack twenty, which turned into a safety battle after Immonen missed position on the 6 ball. It was Bartram who came out on top, making a difficult shot on the 6 to earn the right to face Alcaide 11-9. Another fallen hero is 2004 U.S. Open champion Gabe Owen, who fell 11-9 to Abdullah Alyousef after being up 4-1. Runner-up that year, Thorsten “The Hitman” Hohmann also suffered a second-round loss to Jason Klatt 11-9. After falling 11-6 to Robb Saez, 2006 U.S. Open champion John Schmidt will face Don Steele on Wednesday, while Oliver Ortman , who fell 11-9 to Keith Bennett, will face Thorsten Hohmann, who managed just nine games himself against Jason Klatt.

Second round winners’ matches still to come are Jonathan “Hennessee” Pinegar versus Charlie Bryant, Tony Chohan versus Jose Parica, Darren Appleton versus Zaid Thweib, and Shane Van Boening versus Marvin Davis.

Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.

Bustamante Continues to Impress at Philippines World Pool Championship

admin — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 11:24:14 +0000

Bustamante Continues to Impress at Philippines World Pool Championship
Filipino pocket billiards player Francisco Bustamante continued his impressive march through the 2007 Philippines World Pool Championship. The Filipino, known as Django, recorded his third straight-forward victory of the competition with a 10-1 triumph over Spain’s David Alcaide to advance into the last 64.
Bustamante has now gained a win in each of the three matches he has played, won 26 racks and only conceded five. In a packed press conference after the match, he admitted he was feeling very confident and happy with his performance so far.
Last year my play was not as good as this year, especially in my match against Thomas Engert in 2006, said Bustamante.
But this year I feel very good. I’ve been practising a lot and I’m in a way, way better condition now.
I’ve studied the soft break and it’s a big advantage. I tried using the hard break earlier (in the tournament) and was not getting much luck but now I can control the cue ball better and there’s always a wing-ball going in. So I will probably use it from here onwards.
Asked who he wanted to play, Bustamente replied: Anybody is alright but of course I don’t want to play Efren (Reyes) in the last 64 or 32. If I do play him I want it to be in the final. Whoever wins that would be ok as we are buddies.

Engert Snares Second World Pool Masters Title

admin — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 23:09:10 +0000

Engert Snares Second World Pool Masters Title
8 – 5 Win Edges Alcaide
Thomas Engert of Germany has won the 2007 PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters. Engert sealed a stunning 8-5 victory in a high-quality final against Spain’s David Alcaide at the Hotel Zuiderduin, Egmond aan Zee. This becomes Engert’s second Masters title after he had also claimed the glory in 2004.
“It’s always great to win a tournament, especially like this with the media and 16 of the top players around the world,” he said. “With it being a race to eight, it’s hard to win as you never know what’s going to happen. It’s a really big thing for me to win this tournament,” he added.
Alcaide, who defeated two World Champions Ralf Souquet and Oliver Ortmann on his way to the final, won the lag and then claimed the opening rack after a foul by Engert gave him ball-in-hand . However, Engert soon turned things round and won the next two racks for a 2-1 lead. But it was all square again as Alcaide hit a 5-9 combination after Engert missed a three-rail escape from a safety trap.
In the fifth rack, Alcaide secured perfection with a golden break as the 9-ball was kicked in by the five and powered into the bottom left corner, which regained his lead at 3-2.
Engert broke and ran through the balls in the sixth as the players were tied at 3-3 as the final looked to be developing into an epic. It edged in Engert’s favour as he claimed his fourth and then had the break in the next to have a chance for a two-rack lead.
He took it after a fine long shot to pot the 5-ball with cue close to the right-hand rail and now led 5-3.
These two players were part of the European team that competed in the 2006 Mosconi Cup and there was not much between them as Alcaide produced a fine break and then ran through the balls to trail only 5-4 in the race to eight match.
Engert gained some fortune in the next as his break shot saw the cue ball kicked by the five and headed towards the top right pocket, only to stop right on the edge.
Alcaide stole the next off of Engert’s break for 5-5 but then came up with a dry break of his own and that proved costly as Engert reasserted himself as he regained the lead. He then moved to the hill and only one rack from becoming the champion.
Engert was given a helping hand as Alcaide’s break was not fruitful and he shook his head on the way back to his seat, knowing that his tournament could be over. It was.
A 3-5 combination was the only tricky shot for Engert as he rattled home the 9-ball into the bottom left pocket for the title.
The big point is I made some hard shots on the table and they are tight pockets so it’s not easy to play on. I made these shots and that was a big reason I won,” said Engert.
“I’ve played here for the last three years and I was in good shape. But this year I’ve been struggling in tournaments and did not do so well in the Euro Tour.
“I lost some tight matches and it takes your self confidence away. But this is one of the biggest tournaments and broadcast on television. Matchroom Sport always does a really good job. I would like to be at such a tournament every week.
“It’s always great to win a tournament, especially like this with the media and 16 of the top players around the world. With it being a race to eight. It’s hard to win as you never know what’s going to happen. It’s a really big thing for me to win this tournament.
“It’s a different story to 2004 as in 2004 I was very confident because I was Challenge of Champions two weeks before and come here not afraid to lose. But this time I was struggling so it’s harder to win when you’re struggling.
In the first semi-final Alcaide defeated Scotland’s Pat Holtz 8-5 to claim a spot in the Masters final at his first attempt.
The Spaniard claimed the opening two racks. In both of them he was handed opportunities by his Holtz, who failed to get out of a snooker to give the Spaniard ball-in-hand in the first, and missed three pots in the second.
But Holtz then won the third and fourth racks after Alcaide failed to get tricky jump shots right. A 4/9 combination from Alcaide put him back in front and he extended his lead when Holtz left the brown 7 after failing with a bank attempt.
Alcaide moved three racks ahead at 5-2, but considering some of the fight backs that have been seen over the previous matches, still had a great deal of work to do to book his place in the championship match. However, he took another small step towards that goal by winning the eighth and would have the break in the next.
He sunk a ball off the break in one of the better attempts of this semi-final, but gave Holtz another opportunity by failing to down the blue 2. Later in the same rack Holtz curled the ball around the black eight to get out of trouble, although he still looked like losing the rack.
Alcaide was two shots from going to the hill but then scratched to give ball-in-hand to Holtz who had a simple task to make it 6-3. That appeared to affect Alcaide as a shocking shot in the next rack left the Scotsman an easy 1-ball and later scratched into the right side pocket. Those mistakes and some astute play from Holtz made it 6-4 but Alcaide then put one foot in the final by taking the 11th for 7-4.
All Holtz could do now is win off his own break and hope Alcaide made mistakes on his. Holtz did the first part by breaking and running through the 12th as the scoreboard showed 7-5 but he would then have to sit in his seat and hope. He got back to the table but could not do enough as Alcaide clinched the rack for his first appearance in a World Pool Masters final.
In the second semi-final, Thomas Engert, the 2004 champion, beat Nick van den Berg 8-4 to dash home hopes and set up a meeting with David Alcaide in the final.
Van den Berg made the first error when he missed the blue two and that helped Engert to take the opening rack in this race to eight.
The German, who had been struggling with an illness in the earlier part of the day, then doubled his lead, before van den Berg won his opening rack – to the delight of the home fans.
But Engert was soon to regain his two-rack advantage as a fine break left the balls well positioned for a routine run out.
Van den Berg then clinched his second rack but Engert regained control of the match by winning the next two. The latter saw van den Berg leave the 9-ball over the pocket leaving a simple shot for the German.
With the score at 5-2, van den Berg needed to raise his game if he was to delight the home supporters and make the final. But a poor safety saw him slump on to the table as he showed his disappointment as the match was slipping away from him.
Engert though was happy to seal another rack as he now lead 6-2, only two away from the final and with the alternate break format was now clear favourite to grab the glory.
Van den Berg was also having problems with his breaking and a dry break came at the start of the ninth with a shot at the 1-ball for Engert. The Dutchman was soon back in action as Engert missed the pink 4 with the rest and then failed with a jump shot on the same ball.
It became 6-3, although Engert produced a dry break of his own in the 10th. But it did not matter as a bad positional shot going from the four to the five meant van den Berg had to use the jump cue. As a result he missed the five-ball and Engert punished this mistake fully for 7-3.
He then had a shot to win the match but his attempted 3-9 combination failed as van den Berg kept his slight hopes alive by taking the score to 7-4.
But it proved to be in vain as Engert sealed an 8-4 victory and on course to repeat his previous Masters triumph.

The Final
Thomas Engert (Ger) 8 – 5 David Alcaide (Esp)
(winner $20,000, runner-up $10,000)

Semi Finals
David Alcaide (Esp) 8 – 5 Pat Holtz (Sco)
Thomas Engert (Ger) 8 – 4 Nick van den Berg (Ned)
(losers $5,000)

Quarter Finals
David Alcaide (Esp) 8 – 3 Oliver Ortmann (Ger)
Pat Holtz (Sco) 8 – 5 Niels Feijen (Ned)
Thomas Engert (Ger) 8 – 7 Wu Chia-ching (Tpe)
Nick van den Berg (Ned) 8 – 7 Fabio Petroni (Ita)
(losers $2,500)

First Round

David Alcaide (Esp) 8 – 6 Ralf Souquet (Ger)
Oliver Ortmann (Ger) 8 – 3 Naoyuki Oi (Jap)
Pat Holtz (Sco) 8 – 6 Li He-wen (Chn)
Niels Feijen (Ned) 8 – 6 Imran Majid (Eng)
Wu Chia-ching (Tpe) 8 – 1 Tyler Edey (Can)
Thomas Engert (Ger) 8 – 4 Tony Drago (Mlt)
Nick van den Berg (Ned) 8 – 1 Jasmin Ouschan (Aut)
Fabio Petroni (Ita) 8 – 6 Ronnie Alcano (Phi)
(losers $1,500)

Semi Final Line Up Cemented

admin — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 23:01:27 +0000

Semi Final Line Up Cemented
Spain, Scotland, Holland and Germany All Represented

Perennial underdog, Pat Holtz of Scotland, shocked the home crowd at the Hotel Zuiderduin in Egmond aan Zee as he toppled home favourite Niels Feijen 8 – 5 to advance to Sunday evening’s semi-finals of the PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters.
Holtz, the 38 year-old from Larkhall, had a tremendous run at last year’s World Pool Championship in Manila, and is still something of an unknown quantity in world circles.
‘It’s always an advantage being the underdog. It was the same when I played at the World Pool Championship in Manila. People don’t really know me and that suits me fine’, he said. The Scotsman was always in control as Feijen felt the pressure of being home town favourite
“I know he didn’t look that comfortable yesterday and there’s a lot of pressure playing in front of your home crowd. Everyone is supporting you and that means more expectations,’ added Holtz. Holtz now faces Spain’s David Alcaide in the evening’s first semi-final. “I haven’t watched Alcaide play this weekend. I just take it rack by rack. I’m a very confident person and if I play to my ability I fear no-one’, Holtz concluded.
Germany’s Thomas Engert, a winner of this tournament in 2004, got the better of Wu Chia-ching in a high quality hill-hill match-up with both players at the top of their game. The German had been suffering with fever before the match, but prepared himself well for what was to be a tough encounter.
The 2005 double World Champion from Taipei moved into an early 2-1 lead, although Engert brought the crowd to their feet with a spectacular four rail escape from a safety. Both players kept it tight throughout as they exchanged racks.
The match turned finally with Wu leading 7-6 in the race to 8 game. After breaking he had no pot on the 1 ball and tried to put Engert in a snooker. He came up woefully short though and left the German with a full ball pocket.
Engert took it and then ran the table to tie the match at 7-all. In the ultimate rack, Engert broke and ran to secure is spot in the last four.
My throat has been sore, I’ve had a fever and my nose has been running, said Engert.
But in pool you have a chance to win. When you play another sport like running you are done but in pool you have an opportunity.
The only thing you can do is concentrate and just try to win. This was a very good victory. In the beginning he played well and I didn’t get many chances to run out the game.
Then in the middle it changed and I got a good break and had a chance for a 3-9 combination. That gave me the lead and I thought to myself ‘I’ve got a chance to win’.
I took my chances and he made a big mistake when he led 7-6 and he had the option of a push out or safety. He played a safety, which I thought he did the wrong way, and he left the 1-ball.
In the final game of the session, Amsterdam’s Nick van den Berg kept alive the Dutch dream as he came from behind to take down Italy’s Fabio Petroni in a dramatic confrontation.
The Roman was always in control but faltered in the final stages to allow van den Berg to steal the match in the final rack.
“In the beginning I didn’t play well and I felt the supporters were disappointed but I made it 4-4 and had a big chance to go 5-4, but I felt the table was rolling off a bit so I hit it hard. He then went 5-4 and then 6-4,’ he said.
‘I’ve been seeing sports psychologists and they told me that if you don’t feel you’re playing that well, then go for it and give it 100%.
‘When I scratched I heard someone in the audience shout ‘9 ball break!’ and concentration over the break shot is one of the weak parts of my game, so I hit the break much harder and scratched.
‘I’m full of adrenalin right now. I need to go eat, away from the fans and then try and relax in my room before tonight’s semi final,’ he added.

First Round
David Alcaide (Esp) 8 – 6 Ralf Souquet (Ger)
Oliver Ortmann (Ger) 8 – 3 Naoyuki Oi (Jap)
Pat Holtz (Sco) 8 – 6 Li He-wen (Chn)
Niels Feijen (Ned) 8 – 6 Imran Majid (Eng)
Wu Chia-ching (Tpe) 8 – 1 Tyler Edey (Can)
Thomas Engert (Ger) 8 – 4 Tony Drago (Mlt)
Nick van den Berg (Ned) 8 – 1 Jasmin Ouschan (Aut)
Fabio Petroni (Ita) 8 – 6 Ronnie Alcano (Phi)