Grudge Match on the Horizon

Grudge Match on the HorizonEighteen players returned for today’s matches at the North American Open 8-Ball Championship, but two-thirds will head home after today’s rounds, having earned $30,000 each. After today, the increments continue to increase, with $350,000 being doled out for first place.Continuing his winning streak, David Matlock went up against Filipino heavyweight Francisco Bustamante in the morning round, reaching the hill with Bustamante at 3. Matlock seemed to have trouble closing the deal, missing a few shots that should have gone, but when Bustamante came up dry on his break with the score 7-6, Matlock capitalized, clearing the table for his win.IPT discussion forumDay 6 image gallery“I should have had a six-to-one lead and was feeling real good until that,” stated Matlock afterward, “then I just made a mistake and it ended up being eight-six. I felt like I was going to win after I got that far ahead, and I knew it would be really hard to lose from there. I knew I would have opportunities—it was just a matter of taking advantage of them. You know, Francisco with his break—I am lucky to get back to the table. The rest of the matches are all tough. This is the toughest day and it’s getting tougher. These are all great players.”
Dennis Orcollo, winner of the Bellflower, CA, qualification event to get his IPT card, came through the first round with flying colors. He bested Ronato Alcano, who won a hill-hill nail-biter last night over Earl Strickland, by the brutal score of 8-2. “He played bad and missed a lot of shots,” Orcollo reported. “Now I am confident because I got the first match.” Evgeny Stalev dealt an 8-5 loss to Australia’s Quinten Hann, who whirled through yesterday’s rounds with four wins out of five. “Marvelous Marlon” Manalo bested fellow countryman and crowd favorite Alex Pagulayan 8-6, while Efren Reyes won a hill-hill match over Rodolfo Luat. The remaining Brits split this morning: Daryl Peach lost 8-6 to Ralf “The Surgeon” Souquet, while Darren Appleton, recent BCA Master 8-Ball winner, won a hill-hill match against Larry Nevel in which he broke and ran out the final two racks for the win.On the television tables, which were last to finish, Marcus Chamat of Sweden dealt Gabe Owen an 8-6 loss, while Thorsten Hohmann came out ahead of his hill-hill bout with Rico Diks of The Netherlands after Diks scratched in the last round and gave him ball in hand. “It was hard to make balls on the break, so it was hard to stay focused,” the effervescent Chamat said. “Playing-wise I was good. It’s hard to stay in stroke when you can’t make a ball on the break, though. Towards the end I thought he was going to win because I could not make a ball on the break, but he made two big mistakes that cost him. It’s much better to win the first than lose, that’s for sure. I feel confident, I have my corner man here, and everything is okay.”On the flip side, Hohmann reported after his match, “I wasn’t feeling confident the entire game, maybe because it was the first match of the morning. My alignment was bad and my execution was not the best … too many unforced errors. Another eight-seven escape like yesterday, I was supposed to lose both matches on the hill, my opponent always gave me chances again. He scratched three or four times and my break was working, so I should have beat him eight-four. “My next opponent is Pagulayan, and I haven’t played him since the World 9-Ball Championships in 2003 when I beat him in the finals, and I think he is looking for revenge.”Round 5 Group 79Q. HannE. StalevE. ReyesL. NevelD. AppletonR. LuatGroup 80F. BustamanteD. MatlockD. PeachD. OrcolloR. AlcanoR. SouquetGroup 81M. ManaloA. PagulayanT. HohmannM. ChamatG. OwenR. DiksVisit Inside POOL Magazine for the latest pool and billiard news from the North American Open 8-Ball Championship.

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