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The U.S. Open Race Heats Up

Pool and Billiards News — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 08:51:15 +0000

The U.S. Open Race Heats Up
U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships / Chesapeake, VA

The contest for the main prize at the 36th U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships is heating up in Chesapeake, VA, with only 8 players going into Friday’s matches without a loss and 24 players vying for their piece of the $175,000 prize fund.

Reigning champion Darren Appleton looks a good bet at this point—he has breezed through his first four opponents to match up with Johnny Archer, who won the Open in 1999. Archer put on a clinic in his evening match against Antonio Lining, holding the Filipino to 3 to win their match.

Shane Van Boening, champion in 2007, is still going strong after a close call over India’s Raj Hundal 11-9 to move on to best reigning world 9-ball champ Yukio Akagarima 11-8. Van Boening’s next challenge will come from Shawn Putnam, who overcame Hall of Famer Earl Strickland 11-8 earlier.

Japan can be proud of hometown hero Kenichi Uchigacki, who has triumphed over former winner Tommy Kennedy, Harvey Shognosh, Kevin Bailey, and Filipino Jundel Mazon to reach the final 8 without a scratch, only to face down formidable opponent Lee Vann Corteza 11-9. Uchigacki’s next opponent, Larry “The Truth” Nevel, earlier bested one of Europe’s best, Mark Gray, in a narrow 11-9 victory.

Alex “The Lion” Pagulayan had an easy day of it, first defeating Stan Shuffett 11-4 and then going to to whitewash fellow countryman Warren Kiamco 11-0. Pagulayan’s next match will be against former 14.1 champ Huidji See, who earlier sent Rodney Morris to the one-loss side 11-8 after Morris had just sent Nick Varner west 11-5.

Live real-time scoring of the U.S. Open 9-ball is being provided by ProPool.com at InsidePOOL TV.

2011 U.S. Open 9-Ball Tournament Brackets
Day 1 Results
Day 2 Results
Day 3 Results
Day 4 Results
On the one-loss side, Niels Feijen of Holland eliminated Hall of Fame inductee Ralf Souquet 11-8. Dennis Hatch is still alive, after ousting Hunter Lombardo 11-4 and then Chris Bartram 11-6. China Open champ Chris Melling was sent home after an 11-7 loss to Naoyuki Oi. Hall of Famer Nick Varner is still alive, having eliminated Raj Hundal 11-7, while Charlie Williams ousted two-time champion Mika Immonen 11-3.

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

2011 PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters Field of Champions Announced

Pool and Billiards News — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 18:43:12 +0000

2011 PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters Field of Champions Announced

POOL FANS in Manila can look forward to one of the finest line-up of current and recent champions ever assembled when the 2011 PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters takes place at the SM City North EDSA Mall in Metro Manila, Philippines from Saturday 3rd to Monday 5th September.

Promoters Matchroom Sport has pulled out all the stops to put together a field that includes the current World 8 Ball, 9 Ball and 10 Ball Champions, as well as the Beijing Open and China Open winners.

The popularity of pool in the Philippines is such that there are four representatives from the home nation, surely making them favorites to lift the coveted trophy on the final day.

In addition there are past and present US Open winners as well as some popular Masters Champions from the 18 year history of the event. All in all 16 greats from around the world will be converging on Manila to vie for the $20,000 top prize from the total purse of $66,000.

The format is race-to-8, winner breaks, and all matches will be televised live throughout on Solar Sports in the Philippines. Matchroom Sport TV will subsequently produce 15 x 1 hour highlight shows for global distribution.

Commented Matchroom Sport Chairman Barry Hearn, “I think it’s fair to say that this is one of the strongest fields ever assembled for the Masters. There will be no easy matches and every player here is a champion.

“It will be hard to back against the Filipino players in front of what will be huge crowds in Manila, but with the strength in depth of the line-up, they all have a chance.”

The Players

Yukio Akagariyama – Japan

Darren Appleton – England

Francisco Bustamante – Philippines

Chang Jun-ling – Taiwan

Lee Van Corteza – Philippines

Tony Drago – Malta

Fu Jianbo – China

Raj Hundal – India

Mika Immonen – Finland

Jason Klatt – Canada

Chris Melling – England

Dennis Orcollo – Philippines

Efren Reyes – Philippines

Huidji See – Holland

Ralf Souquet – Germany

Shane Van Boening – USA

The 2011 World Pool Masters is sponsored by PartyPoker.net, the world’s leading online poker school. Cloth is supplied by Iwan Simonis, Super Aramith balls by Saluc, tables by Star Xing Pai and the Official Cue is Predator.

Akagariyama Claims World 9-Ball Title

Pool and Billiards News — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 00:39:07 +0000

YUKIO AKAGARIYAMA WINS THE 2011 WORLD 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP WITH A BRILLIANT 13-11 WIN OVER RONNIE ALCANO

Story and Photo by Ted Lerner

(Doha, Qatar)—With a super cool demeanor and a red hot stroke, Yukio Akagariyama of Japan won the 2011 World 9-ball Championship, defeating the Philippines Ronnie Alcano in a tense and scintillating finals match on Friday night, 13-11.

Akagariyama won the title with a brilliant display of pressure packed 9-ball before a cheering partisan crowd of close to 1500 people, most of them Filipinos, at the Al Sadd Sports Club in Doha, Qatar.

The victory capped what has been a tremendous recent surge for the 36 year old. Back in May Akagariyama made it to the semi-finals of the World 10-ball Championship in Manila. Then in early June, he placed 5th at the China Open in Shanghai.

With a super cool demeanor and a red hot stroke, Yukio Akagariyama of Japan won the 2011 World 9-ball Championship, defeating the Philippines Ronnie Alcano in a tense and scintillating finals match on Friday night, 13-11.

In Doha Akagariyama played solid and steady all week. But he also had moments when mistakes crept into his game, especially late in matches during the knockout stages, when the pressure became too much to bear. But always the 36 year old from Nagano quietly sucked it up, and got right back down to business and made it across the finish line. It’s exactly what happened on Friday night.

The match had just about everything fans of championship 9-ball could ask for. The lead and the momentum swung both ways on several occasions, and the outcome was in doubt right up until the last ball dropped; both players made jaw dropping shots and strung racks together while showing absolute mastery of the table. Each player committed a handful of errors too, but under the weight of the moment this was to be expected, and in fact made the match an even more nerve jangling affair.

Alcano, who had just come off a definitive semi-finals win over compatriot Dennis Orcullo earlier, won the lag and immediately broke and ran for the first point of the match. Akagariyama, who advanced by beating England’s Mark Gray 11-10 in a thrilling semi final, tied it in the next rack after Alcano bobbled the 5-ball in the corner pocket.

In rack 3 Alcano fouled leaving Akagariyama a tempting 1-9 combination that rattled in the jaws of the pocket. With the 9 still sitting in the corner, Alcano sent the crowd into fits when he caromed off the one ball, and sent the cue down table, back up off of two rails and into the 9 which fell in for the win.

From there the pair stepped their games up a gear, as Akagariyama broke and ran, and then Alcano fired back with one of his own to go up 3-2. They split the next two racks with each converting one clutch pot after the next. At 4-4 the match was already shaping up to be a high quality battle of attrition.

Akagariyama grabbed his first lead in rack 9, and stamped his class on the match. Alcano left the 2 ball in the jaws, and the Japanese continued with his concise and steady shooting to move up by 1. In the next rack Alcano tried to jump but left the 2 ball open. Again, Akagariyama coolly picked off the balls and now led 6-4.

Alcano got one back in the subsequent frame with a break and run. But Akagariyama countered yet again with one of his own to move up 7-5. The 36 year old from Nagano was clearly focused like a laser, while potting balls with deadly accuracy and a fine rhythm. He was going to be very tough to beat on this night.

It was more of the same for Akagariyama in the next rack as Alcano missed a makeable two ball and the Japanese methodically began to pick off the colors for what seemed like a sure 3 rack lead. But just as he was about to put a stranglehold on the momentum and the match, Akagariyam left himself poor position on the 9 ball and the cue ball scratched after the winning ball fell.

With the crowd cheering wildly, the scratch seemed to have the makings of a pivotal turning point but Akagariyama was obviously in the zone this night, and broke and ran the next frame with some sensational shooting. In the next rack he continued his measured assault, winning a safety battle then running the table after banking in the 1 ball to go up 9-6.

Alcano knew it was now or never and cleared off an errant safety to get one back. Alcano then executed a marvelous full table jump on the 1 with position of the 2, a shot that had the crowd going wild. With the run out he was now down by 1, 9-8 and the crowd started sensing the momentum swinging back to their boy. When Akagariyama missed a makeable 6 ball in the next rack, Alcano convi Read more ...

Akagariyama Claims World 9-Ball Title

Pool and Billiards News — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 00:39:07 +0000

YUKIO AKAGARIYAMA WINS THE 2011 WORLD 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP WITH A BRILLIANT 13-11 WIN OVER RONNIE ALCANO

Story and Photo by Ted Lerner

Four Players Left at World 9-Ball Championship

Pool and Billiards News — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:30:43 +0000

Four Players Left at World 9-Ball Championship

ORCULLO, ALCANO, GRAY AND AKAKARIYAMA REACH THE SEMI-FINALS OF THE WORLD 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER LEGENDARY DAY IN POOL HISTORY

Story and Photo by Ted Lerner

(Doha, Qatar)–After what has to be one of the most memorable and exciting days in the history of championship pool, the Philippines Dennis Orcullo and Ronnie Alcano, England’s Mark Gray, and Japan’s Yukio Akakariyama all made it into the semi-finals of the World 9-ball Championship in Doha, Qatar.

One semi-final will be an all-Filipino affair between former World 9-ball Champion Alcano, and the world’s current number one ranked player, Orcullo. The other semi-final will feature Gray vs. Akakarayima. Both race to 11, alternate break matches will begin at 3pm local time Friday, July 1(GMT +3). The race to 13 alternate break final will begin later at 7pm.

It would be hard to imagine that the last three matches of this year’s World 9-ball Championship could produce any more drama than has already occurred but the way things went Thursday evening, anything must be possible. Two of the race to 11 matches went to a sudden death decider. Another one went to the 20th rack. World class players were reduced to rubble under the tortuous pressure; normally gimme-type pots became impossible makes; the second you figured you knew what was about to happen, something unheard of occurred.

Dennis Orcullo is one of the final four players vying for the 2011 World 9-Ball title.

The day began at the Al Sadd Sports Club in Doha at 10am with 32 players remaining. By the time the quarter finals rolled around in the evening session, there had already been enough nail biting drama to last years. What happened in the quarter finals produced enough heart stopping moments to last a lifetime.

Actually there was one contest out of the four that produced almost no drama. Going in, the matchup between Orcullo and England’s Daryl Peach promised fireworks as both players were playing superb pool. But once the contest got underway, it quickly became apparent that Orcullo is in another class this year.

Orcullo raced out to a 5-0 lead and from there it was all but over. Orcullo had figured out the diamond and was making two and three balls on every breakout, and leaving himself an open shot on the 1 ball. On the rare occasion that he missed, he would leave himself safe. Peach simply had no answer and he got routed by the man playing the best pool in the tournament, 11-2.

“He played brilliant,” Peach conceded afterwards. “And Dennis doesn’t get rattled by the Filipino fans cheering him on like some of the other Filipinos. It actually does him good.”

Orcullo, the current World 8-ball champion, is seriously ready to cash in on Friday and someone is going to have to play their all time best to beat him.

“I’m hungry to win this tournament,” Orcullo said after waylaying Peach. “I have a lot of experience and I know how to focus. I always want to play good in any tournament but this one is big.”

It was just about when Orcullo went off to relax that the other matches in the Al Sadd began to sizzle. On the far table Gray had jumped out to a 4-0 lead on the USA’s Shane Van Boening. The American had just come off an all time classic 11-10 thriller against England’s Darren Appleton and looked a bit flat. But then Van Boening stormed back to take a 5-4 lead. Gray struck back and, under pressure, played phenomenal pool to move up 8-5. Gray continued to play super smooth and pushed the score to 10 – 6. Then Van Boening kicked it into another gear.

After Gray fouled, Van Boening nailed a combination for the rack. The American broke and ran the next rack to make it 10-9. Gray had the break in the 20th frame but failed to get three balls past the head string. Van Boening, who seemed to have stolen the momentum, had the clear path to a tie and got down with the bridge for a fairly elementary cut on the 9-ball. To his horror, however, he missed the shot.

The two fought and agonized over that 9 ball for over 15 minutes until an errant safe by Van Boening gave Gray an open shot, which he potted for the win.

“I didn’t expect to be in the semi-finals,” Gray said afterward, as a devastated Van Boening slumped in his match chair for 30 minutes. “But I’m thinking I can win it. I usually play good on the big stage. And my confidence is really high right now. Who knows?”

At just about the same time that Gray and Van Boening had nearly gon Read more ...

Sweet 16 Set at World 9-Ball Championship

Pool and Billiards News — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:26:09 +0000

Sweet 16 Set at World 9-Ball Championship
Billiards Events Enters Round of 16

Story and Photo
by Ted Lerner

(Doha, Qatar)– Defending champion Francisco Bustamante of the Philippines barely hung on in his round of 32 match against relative unknown Indonesian player Setiawan Riyan, escaping with an 11-10 victory to move into the round of 16 at the World 9-ball Championship in Doha, Qatar.

Playing on the TV table, Bustamante looked to be cruising along as he led Setiwan 9-4. In the 14th frame, however, Bustamante was distracted by a press photographer snapping pictures nearby. From there on, the Hall of Famer seemed to lose his composure, and descended into a foul mood, as Setiwan slowly chipped away at the lead. Bustamante managed to get the score line to 10-7, but then made a handful of uncharacteristic mistakes that allowed the Indonesian back in the match. The Filipino great broke in the final rack and prevailed after Setiawan scratched after trying to escape a safety.

The defending champion only had five minutes to gather himself to do battle in the round of 16 with compatriot and world number 1 ranked player Dennis Orcullo. Orcullo, who desperately wants to win this title, earlier defeated upstart Filipino Marlon Caneda, 11-6 who had defeated Efren Reyes the previous night.

Earlier in the day inside the Al Sadd Sports Club there was plenty of thrilling drama in several matches to determine the final 16 players. In an all- Filipino shootout, Carlo Biado defeated Lee Van Corteza in an 11-10 scorcher. The first half of the match was tight, until Biado pulled away to go up 8-5. Corteza stormed back to take a 9-8 lead and was just about to go on the hill when he missed a makeable 9-ball. The match went to a sudden death rack and Biado kept Corteza in his chair for the win.

Biado now faces Japan’s hot Yukio Akakariyama in the round of 16.

Biado now faces Japan’s hot Yukio Akakariyama in the round of 16, which began at 3pm local time (GMT + 3 hours.) Akakariyama, who recently made it to the semi finals of the World 10 ball championship in Manila, defeated Croatia’s Carlo Dalmatin 11-8.

In what could be one of the biggest surprises of the tournament so far, Britain’s Mark Gray took out compatriot Chris Melling in another 11-10 thriller. Gray knew he would have to play perfect pool as Melling has lately been the hottest player on the planet. The 37 year old ex snooker player did just that, and it was all he needed to barely squeak by. It was the second straight hill-hill victory over a major scalp for Gray, after he defeated Taiwan’s Kuo Po Cheng yesterday. Gray now plays the Philippines Antonio Gabica in the round of 16. Gabica, who lives and works in Qatar as a coach of the national team, outlasted Japan’s Naoyuki Oi, 11-6.

In other matches in the round of 32, the USA’s Shane Van Boening continued to impress as he manhandled the very capable Chang Jung Lin of Taiwan, 11-5. Boening moves on for a quality matchup with current US Open Champion Darren Appleton of Great Britain. Appleton earlier defeated the Philippines Alan Cuartero 11-4.

Germany’s Ralf Souquet continued to play very strong pool as he easily defeated Poland’s Mariusz Skoeneczy, 11-2. Souquet plays the Philippines Vicencio Tanio, who beat Lo Li Wen of Japan 11-6.

The Philippine veteran quietly surged ahead, beating Roman Hybler of the Czech Republic 11-5. Lining faces Japan’s Toru Koribayashi, who easily defeated the USA’s Hunter Lombardo, 11-4.

2007 World 9-ball champion Daryl Peach put in another blistering performance, waylaying Taiwan’s Fu Chei Wei, 11-1. That set up a round of 16 showdown with Ko Pin Yi of Taiwan, who easily beat France’s Stephen Cohen 11-3.

Ko’s teammate Chang Yu Lun also emerged victorious with an quality win against England’s Scott Higgins. Chang now faces the Philippines Ronnie Alcano in the round of 16. Alcano, the 2006 World 9-ball champion, came back from a 7-2 deficit, the defeat Raj Hundal of India, 11-9.

Thursday’s play a Read more ...

Billiards Stars Advance at China Open

Pool and Billiards News — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 17:45:32 +0000

Billiards Stars Advance at China Open
IMMONEN, ORCULLO AND SIX OTHERS THROUGH AS DAY 1 FINISHES AMIDST POMP AND PAGEANTRY AT THE CHINA OPEN

by Ted Lerner
(Shanghai, China)–Mika Immonen sure is getting a good workout here in Shanghai. Immonen, who two years ago commenced what would become one of the greatest winning streaks in the annals of pool, has advanced out of his group and into the knockout stage of 32 at the China Open with two grueling 9-8 victories as day one of the $275,000 event came to close at the Shanghai Pudong Yuanshen Stadium in suburban Shanghai.

In the morning session the Finn won a testy match against German Oliver Ortmann. Then Immonen came back later in the evening and slugged it out with recent Beijing Open champion Chang Jung Lin. The match got so heated that after Immonen sank the final 9-ball, Chang refused to shake his hand.

Day two of the China Open continues Thursday afternoon and after the second day’s matches, the knockout field of 32 for the men and 16 for the women will be completed.

“He dogged that 9-ball in the previous rack, then he dogged the 5 in the last rack,” Immonen said of Chang. “I didn’t do anything to him. It wasn’t my fault. I guess he’s just caught up in the heat.”
Joining Immonen in the final 32 will be Great Britain’s Chris Melling. Melling, who made it to the quarter finals of the World 10-Ball championship in Manila in May, defeated Toh Lian Han of Singapore and John Salazar of the Philippines. Also through to the final 32 is World 10-ball semi-finalist Yukio Akagariyama, who defeated Efren Reyes 9-4. Other players who won two and have qualified for the final 32 are Dennis Orcullo of the Philippines, Corey Duel of the USA, Fu Chei Wei of Chinese Tapei, Ahmad Taufiq Bin Murni of Brunei, and Wang Ming of China.

The men’s field started with 64 players playing in 8 groups of 8 in a double elimination format, race to 9, alternate break. The final 32 players will begin the play on Friday and will play race to 11, winners break.
The day’s biggest surprise came from World 10-Ball champion Huidji See, who went two and out to quickly end his stay in Shanghai. See barely saw daylight as he lost to Vietnam’s Vu Trong Khai, 9-5, then Great Britain’s Scott Higgins, 9-6.

Easily the biggest profile match of the day was between Johnny Archer and Francisco Bustamante, both Hall of Famers. Archer routed the Filipino great 9-2.
“We were both making balls on the break,” Archer said. “But he missed a few shots, and I was shooting good. I’m happy.”

The women’s division, which comprises 48 players, race to 7, had a completely different feel than the men’s event. That’s because in China, the women pool players are light years more popular than the men players. Clearly cuteness and charm sell in China which was evidenced by the fact that throughout the first day, every single television match featured the women. And Asian women at that.

One of the more popular TV matches feature China’s very own World 9-ball champion Fu Xiao Fang vs Singapore’s Chai Zeet Huey. Spurred on by over 100 school children in the audience, Fu performed perfectly and won going away, 7-0. Korea’s glamorous Ga Young Kim drew an adoring crowd on the 2nd feature table, and won easily over Chan Ya Ting of Chinese Taipei, 7-3. Defending champion, and quickly rising Chinese superstar, 17 year old Chen Siming also won handily and will face Ireland’s Karen Corr on Thursday.

In a match of high profile veterans, Chinese Taipei’s storied veteran Liu Shin Mei took down Hall of Famer Allison Fisher, 7-3.

The day and evening sessions with 20 tables in action were sandwiched around a lavish opening ceremony with pomp and pageantry as one can only see in China. At one point several dozen tuxedo clad pool referees, along with each and every Read more ...

See the New World Ten Ball Champion

Pool and Billiards News — Sun, 15 May 2011 21:31:07 +0000

See the New World Ten Ball Champion

Huidji See began our first semi-final match with a 4-2 lead over Yukio Akakariyama in the race to 9 games. A behind-the-back shot on the 9 ball left him a bit rough on the 10 in the next rack but he was able to put it away in the corner pocket to go 5-2. See missed a cut on the 1 ball in the next rack but Akakariyama could not capitalize on the opportunity as he missed the shot he had to bring See back into play. But See also missed the 1 and Akakariyama played a safe that left only a bank into the corner. See jawed it and Akakariyama had the chance he needed to get going and gain some confidence and poise. But he fell out of line on the 2 ball and again a safety was in order. He failed to snooker See but left only a bank or a safety opportunity. See chose the safety and Akakariyama missed his jump shot. See looked to clean up but scratched on the 6 ball and left Akakariyama a road map out. He would not falter from here and brought the score closer at 5-3 as the nerves began to show in the arena.

Akakariyama broke and ran the next rack and our margin was down to a single game. He played a great safe on the 1 ball in the next rack that gained him ball-in-hand and, with that, he sailed through the rack that tied us at 5 games apiece. Now it was a short race to four games to determine who would gain entry to the finals. Akakariyama made his first shot in the next rack but was snookered from the 2 ball by the 3. He made a good hit but See was able to put an in-jail safety on him. Akakariyama fouled his shot with no hit and See had the opportunity he needed. He went through the rack easily to lead 6-5. See them made three balls on the next snap and faced an open table that he managed cleanly to lead 7-5. See again made three balls on the break and things began to look impossible for Akakariyama as he was just not getting to the table at all. In moments the score was 8-5. He did get to the table n the next rack but not with any golden opportunities. He played a safe on the 2 ball trying to create one but See jumped, made the hit, and left him tough. Akakariyama made a very thin cut on the 2 ball to get going and knew that to win from here he would have to keep See in his chair. But he had no decent chance at the 3 ball and had to play safe. See returned the favor and Akakariyama pocketed the 3 in the wrong pocket to give See the option of shooting or returning him to the table. See gave the table back. A brief exchange of safeties ensued that left Akakariyama with the first opportunity to find a pocket. But the 8 ball was snuggled up next to the 9 and could not be massaged away. Akakariyama had no choice but to play safe with only three balls left on the table. See missed the shot on the 8 with which he was left but left only a bank into the side that Akakariyama could not convert. See should have been out from there but missed an elementary shot on the 10 ball for the win. Akakariyama made it and had new life at 8-6 and owning the break in the next rack.

See was distraught in his chair. He could not believe that he had blown that shot. But at this stage the pockets become thimbles. He had to recompose himself if he was to win. Things began to deteriorate even more when he missed the 8 ball. But Akakariyama, who should have been out easily, scratched on the 9 ball and conceded the victory to Huidji See.

See is the new World Ten Ball Champion.

The second semi-final match found Jianbo Fu facing Carlo Biado. Biado seemed to be off to a fine start when he ran down to the 10 ball but he hung it in the corner to gift Fu with the first bead. Fu also took the next rack but then missed a 2 ball into the side in the third rack to bring Biado up to shoot. Biado made two tough bank shots to complete the rack and get on the board at 2-1. Neither player appeared comfortable at the table. They were missing shots that earlier in the week had been automatic for them. Their arms were clumsy from the tension. Both of them knew that the first one to get in stroke would take the win and so they concentrated on not giving up opportunities instead of on destroying racks. Fu capitalized on a missed 6 ball by Biado to claim his third rack and lead 3-1. It got uglier as both players became plagued with doubt and the balls refused to fall for either of them. The next rack was a miss-fest claimed by Fu to lead 4-1. Another missed shot on the 8 ball by Biado gave the next rack to Fu as well. Neither player was actually winning racks. They were losing them to one another.

When Fu took the next rack the world became a very dark place for Carlo Biado. He needed to win eight racks while holding Fu to only two. And Fu was beginning to get comfortable at the table. The lead he enjoyed was oiling his arm. Fu took the next rack to lead 7-1 and Biado looked as if he knew his run was Read more ...

Four Left With a Shot at Glory in Manila

Pool and Billiards News — Sat, 14 May 2011 17:36:17 +0000

Four Left With a Shot at Glory in Manila

The match of the tournament, one that had everyone on their feet, took place today between Dennis Orcullo and Jiaqing Wu. Orcullo appeared to have things well in hand, leading 7-0, when Wu caught fire and brought the match to double hill. Wu had the table but had a jump shot on the four ball. He made the table-length jump and then had to long-rail bank the five ball. That done, the rest of the table was his for the taking. But he missed a routine shot on the six ball that left Orcullo an opening. But the shot was tough and he missed it. He left no cherries however. Again, the only choice left for Wu was a table-length bank. When he missed it Orcullo came to the table to the roars of the crowd and cleaned up to take the win and gain his entry to the round of the great eight.

The first player to make it through to the final four was Huidji See.

He was joined there by the man he would face next, Carlo Biado. Biado had just destroyed Daryl Peach 9-1 and came to the table full of confidence. Our other two match-ups were Tony Drago (who had just beaten Jason Klatt 9-5) and Huidje See who had just gotten past Ko Pin-Yi 9-6 and Chris Melling (who beat Yu Lun Chang from the hill 9-8) and Yukio Akakariyama who had eliminated Tomoo Takano 9-5.

The first of these to make it through to the final four was Huidji See. See took control of the match early and never let go as he cruised to his 9-4 win over one of the best-loved players in the world, Tony Drago. The man that the odds-makers have to love best in this tournament is Carlo Biado. He showed no weakness as he galloped away from Dennis Orcullo to win 9-4. The third man to make it to the last day was Jianbo Fu. Corteza had been down in their match 7-4 when he began a charge that soon found him leading 8-7. But Fu came back to win the next rack and take us to double-hill. Fu then held on through a tough rack to win 9-8 and claim his seat. Our last man to make it to the semi-finals was Yukio Akakariyama when he took down Chris Melling 9-6.

The initial match-ups for the final day will be Akakariyama VS See and Biado VS Fu. One of these four will end the day by hoisting the crown of World Champion high above their head.

Day Two Complete at World 8-Ball Championships

admin — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 20:06:44 +0000

Day Two Complete at World 8-Ball Championships

Jerry Forsyth

WPA Press Officer

The second day of competition at the Etisalat World 8-Ball Championships in Fujairah, UAE, began with a round of winner’s side match-ups. The Russian powerhouse, Ruslan Chinakhov, got his day underway with a satisfying 8-6 victory over David Alcaide after Alcaide had led the match early at 3-0. Ronnie Alcano also trailed early in his match against Mohammed Hosani and at one point trailed 5-1 only to dig down deep and rally to an 8-6 win.

Ricky Yang made t look easy as he trampled one of the strongest players in the world, Pei-Wei Chang, 8-2 and in a match that saw a lot of its time consumed with racking issues Karl Boyes ate up Won Sik Ham 8-3. Yukio Akakariyama easily handled Mehdi Rasheki 8-4 and Joven Alba never broke a sweat as he dominated Scott Higgins 8-3. Raymond Faraon then beat Vincent Facquet 8-3 and Lee Van Corteza finished the round by defeating Dennis Orcullo 8-5.

The second round, also winner’s side, had some great match-ups. Pin-Yi Ko vs. Shane Van Boening, Thorsten Hohmann, vs. Andreas Roschkowksi, and Huijdi See vs. Antonio Gabica among them. Van Boening was the first to finish, cruising past Ko 8-4 in a marvelous display of position play. Shortly later Jalal Sarkesi booked his seat into the final 32 with an 8-5 win over Mustafa Hassan in a match that was tied at 5 games apiece before Sarkesi found his high gear.

Ralf Souquet continued his winning ways with an 8-1 victory over Reuben Batista while Antonio Gabica kept it a bit closer in his 8-5 win over Huidji See. Niels Feijen bested Shaker Wahdan 8-5 while Stephan Cohen ended his match with an 8-4 win over Basher Hussein. Andreas Roschkowski came back from a 6-5 deficit against Thorsten Hohmann to win his match 8-6. Darren Appleton closed the round out with an 8-2 victory over Kenny Kwok.

Feijen bested Shaker Wahdan 8-5 while Stephan Cohen ended his match with an 8-4 win over Basher Hussein.

View the UAE WPA World 8-Ball Championships Group Brackets

This brought us to the do or die rounds on the one-loss side. Any loss here means your efforts are over and you can only look forward to being a spectator for the remainder of the event. The nerves begin to cook your arm. Marcus Chamat seemed impervious to the heat. He destroyed Ali Nashi 8-0 to begin the round. Neither did Mika Immonen break a sweat as he easily got past Lee Chen Man 8-2. Oliver Medenilla had more of a struggle then the score shows but took advantage of the opportunities when they came and won 8-3 over Majid Sultan.

Other matches were closer. Ismail Yaqob defeated Moein Khefri 8-5 and Saeed Al Mutawe beat Mohamed Al Assel by the same margin. Vincenancio Tanio slid by Khaled Sebata 8-6 while John Morra escaped a match that had seen many ties to win 8-5. Finally, Sandile Madlala lived for at least one more round when he inched past Hussin Sayeem 8-7.

The last group of the evening found Matteuz Sniegnocki defeating Sumit Talwar 8-4, Magid Al Azmi over Kang Lee 8-2, Kim Aquino beating Abdulatif Fawal 8-4, Francis Crevier over Abdullah Yousef 8-2 and Jeff de Luna besting Lu Hui Chan 8-6. Finally, Takhti Zarekani defeated Amin Fekry 8-6 while our last two matches went hill-hill. Marlon Manalo took Salah Al Remwy 8-7 and then Masaaki Tanaki defeated Omran Salem, also 8-7.