by Lea Andrews

It’s official: Either Donnie Mills or 2002 U.S. Open Champion Ralf Souquet—or both—will be racing to 13 in the finals of the 34th Annual U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships Saturday. The two men, who were part of the original field of 216 gathered at the Chesapeake Conference Center in Chesapeake, VA, October 18-24, will play for the hot seat tomorrow afternoon.

Mills, who had to get by England’s Karl Boyes to reach the final four, had to get by 1996 U.S. Open champion “Rocket” Rodney Morris to reach the hot seat match—no easy task, especially after being down 8-4. “In the past, I would’ve given up when I was down 8-4,” Mills later admitted, “but one thing I’ve learned about pool by playing a lot is that I knew there was a good chance the momentum would shift my way, so that’s why I just stayed confident and focused. And luckily the momentum did come my way.” Mills took six straight racks to get on the hill, though he made nothing on the break in rack 19. Morris played safe on the 1 ball and was out with ball in hand, but he broke dry in rack 20, leaving a difficult but do-able layout for Mills, who pocketed ball after ball down to the 9, where he found himself nearly frozen to the rail. “I was literally going to take my break right then,” said Mills, who feared a miscue. “But I went ahead and went with it.” His decision earned him the match 11-9.

Meanwhile, Souquet, who’d gotten by Chris Bartram 11-8, was battling it out with Filipino Lee Van Corteza, whom he’s played several times but has never, to the best of his recollection, defeated. Throughout the match, though, during which he stayed ahead 6-1, 7-3, 9-4, and 10-6, and which he won 11-7, that fact wasn’t on his mind. “Obviously you don’t want to think about it, but here and there, you have people reminding you,” he said pointedly, though good-naturedly. Souquet explained that against Corteza in the past, he hadn’t played very well, but today, “Finally, I played a bit better. I still made a few mistakes here and there, but so did he, and I think it was a deserved win.”

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Either Mills or 2002 U.S. Open Champion Souquet—or both—will be racing to 13 in the finals of the 34th Annual U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships Saturday.

Corteza moved on to “California Kim” Davenport, who’d earlier edged out his own friend and business partner, recent Hall of Famer Johnny Archer, by snapping the 9 ball in off the break at hill-hill. Backing it up with a hill-hill victory over Karl Boyes, Davenport seemed more than ready for another win. But Corteza was ready himself, and though Davenport won the lag and the first rack with a break and run, it was his only lead. Corteza got ahead 6-1, 9-3, and 10-5, and though Davenport made a fantastic jump on the 2 ball with a full cue in rack 16 and finished off the table to make it 10-6, his break in rack 17 was his last chance at the table. Nothing fell, and Corteza was out. “I feel very happy,” said Corteza about his win. “I played well.”

Also returning tomorrow is returning champion Mika Immonen, who took care of Morris 11-9 immediately following Morris’ loss to Mills. Immonen, who played seven matches between midnight last night and tonight, had been feeling the fatigue in the early evening and opted for a professional massage in the vendor area outside the arena. “It helped a little. I had to do something to get my legs loose,” said Immonen, who noted that the most important thing was that his arm was loose. And it was. And how does it feel to reach the final day, to defend the crown? “Unbelievable,” he said.

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by Lea Andrews

1996 U.S. Open champion “Rocket” Rodney Morris is vying for a repeat at the 2009 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, arriving on the final 16 on the winners’ side following a tight match-up with Corey “The Prince of Pool” Deuel. The two men are part of the field of 216 gathered at the Chesapeake Conference Center in Chesapeake, VA, October 18-24 for the 34th Annual US Open Championships.

Morris got off to a strong start against Deuel, leading the way at 6-3, but Deuel took rack 10 to make it 6-4, and back-to-back break and runs tied it up at 6 apiece. Nothing fell for Deuel on the break in rack 13, and after Morris’ push-out and some back-and-forth safeties, Deuel got control and seemed to be on his way out. When he got out of line on the 9, though, the tables turned. His bank attempt came up short, though the speed was just right to leave Morris with a very tough cut. He nailed it to get ahead 7-6, but Deuel tied it back up when Morris broke dry. Morris came out on top of rack 15, and his 9 on the break in rack 16 put him up 9-7. After getting ball in hand following a great safety on the 3 ball in rack 17, Morris was on the hill 10-7, but Deuel wasn’t ready to give up. He navigated the rack that Morris left on a dry break to make it 10-8, and after Morris found himself hooked on the 2 ball in rack 19, Deuel took ball in hand to get within one. But he could get no further. It was Morris who topped the safeties in the final rack, and though he came up short on position on the 9 ball, he sliced it in, urging it on with a shout as it dropped. “I felt nervous, as I always do,” said Morris of his match, “but that’s a good thing. The fact that I’m actually cued in and thinking the way I need to think is good.”

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Morris is vying for a repeat at the 2009 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, arriving on the final 16 on the winners’ side following a tight match-up with Deuel.

Also in the final 16 is British former snooker player Chris Melling, who missed the feel of his 12.5-ounce snooker cue with its 8-millimeter tip during his hill-hill victory over Japanese player Tomoo Takano, who was responsible for sending last year’s runner-up, Ronnie Alcano, west earlier in the event. “I wish I had it back, but on the other end, there’s so much more you can do with an American pool cue,” said Melling, who now plays 9-ball and 10-ball exclusively.

Jose Parica earned his spot in the final 16 with his 11-9 win over 2007 champion Shane Van Boening, while Karl Boyes made it with an 11-5 win over Charlie “Hillbilly” Bryant. Out of the competition is Oscar Dominguez, who fell 11-9 to Matt Clatterbuck; Cliff Joyner, who fell 11-4 to Majed Alazemi; and Oliver Ortmann, the 11-7 victim of fellow countryman Thorsten “The Hitman” Hohmann.

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Photo courtesy Rodney Andrews/Inside POOL

by Lea Andrews

Following an early loss to Preston Corley, Jason Jones made a strong move through the left side of the bracket to plow his way into the finals of the October 3-4 J. Pechauer Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour stop. The $1,000-added amateur/semi-pro event drew 23 competitors to Players Billiard Club in Columbus, GA.

While Jones was making his way through the one-loss side, the final four on the winners’ side emerged. Jim Rushing rode a 9-7 victory over Corley into the hot seat match against Jeff Jordan, who’d crushed Leon Whatley 9-1.

On the other side of the bracket, Erbe Luna got by J. Jordan’s brother Randy Jordan to face Jones, who was coming off a victory over Jimmy Lewis. Meanwhile, Randy Lee got past Marcus Goins and Clay Medlock only to fall 7-2 to Whatley. Jones, who’d avenged his earlier loss to Corley by putting him in fifth 7-4, allowed Whatley just one game to earn his spot in the semifinals against Rushing, who’d fallen 9-6 to J. Jordan in the hot seat match. Making quick work of the semis, Jones advanced to the finals 7-2.

Following an early loss to Preston Corley, Jason Jones made a strong move through the left side of the bracket to plow his way into the finals of the October 3-4 J. Pechauer Southeast Open 9-Ball Tour stop.

Results:
1st Jason Jones $640
2nd Jeff Jordan $375
3rd Jim Rushing $275
4th Leon Whatley $200
5th Preston Corley $50
Randy Lee

by Lea Andrews

After a grueling day of play, a 31-player field was whittled down to two men who agreed to skip the final set. Mike Aro and Joe Fego split first- and second-place money at the $500-added B-D Tri-State Tour event June 13, hosted by Comet Billiards in Parsippany, NJ.

Aro and Fego went as far as they could go in the winners’ bracket before first meeting up —they played the match for the hot seat, Aro having sent Allen Wong west with a score of 7-5, and Fego having done the same to Teddy Lubis 8-6.

On the one-loss side, Emily Duddy was making a splash, taking down Ben Sadowski 7-3 and Mike Crispino 7-2 before she and Gary Murgia, who’d just put Dave Shlemperis in seventh with a score of 7-4, met up with Wong and Lubis. Duddy was on a roll and she put Wong in fifth with a score of 7-4, while Murgia fell to Lubis 7-5. Lubis, always a very tough competitor in the Tri-State events, was another notch in Duddy’s belt on that day, and he finished in fourth with a score of 7-5.

The one-loss side semi-final would be a different story for Duddy, though. The hot seat match had seen Fego fall to Aro 7-2, and Fego was fighting to get back to where he’d been all day: the winners’ side. Duddy was in his way, but not for long, and he put her in third with a score of 7-4.

Fego was back on the winners’ side, where normally a single-race final set would decide first and second. Not this time, though—the exhausted men opted to split, saving their rematch for perhaps the next event.

After a grueling day of play, a 31-player field was whittled down to two men who agreed to skip the final set.

Results:
1st Mike Aro $430
Joe Fego $430
3rd Emily Duddy $240
4th Teddy Lubis $140
5th Allen Wong $65
Gary Murgia