Owen Scores First Win, Others Earn Their Third

Owen Scores First Win, Others Earn Their ThirdJohnny Archer was watching Gabe Owen and Thorsten Hohmann’s match, and a lady leaned forward, put her hand on his arm, and said, “You’re still the best.” “Thank you,” Archer acknowledged humbly, “but I’ve got a lot of work to do.”Owen exhibited little trouble scooting past Hohmann with an 8-4 win—it didn’t help Hohmann, though, that he hung his last stripe while down 6-3, allowing Owen to reach the hill. Hohmann earned another rack, but it wasn’t enough.IPT discussion forumDay 6 image galleryMatch schedule for July 28, 2006“I’m worn out,” Owen stated with a smile. “I gave my first match away to Marcus, gave it away. I didn’t play that bad, I just gave away the last two games. Played good, six-six, missed a ball straight-in for the win, and then seven-six, I missed another ball. I mean, that just took the sails out of me. Manalo had several chances—I played my worst match probably last match against Manalo, and then I just played like perfect on Thorsten. Who knows? If I can win my next two, I might have a sliver of a chance, but it ain’t looking good.
“I’m playing pretty good. My worst match was my last match against Manalo, made so many mistakes there. Other than that, playing pretty good, but eight-ball’s always been my best game. If my break’s going, I think I play it as good as anybody out here.” Now sporting long locks reminiscent of Southern California surfers, Owen was asked what it would take for him to cut his hair. “If I win one of these IPTs, I’ll cut my hair. That’s what it’ll take. Who will I cut it like? Like Alex.”Dennis Orcollo is the only undefeated player in his group so far, besting fellow countryman Francisco Bustamante 8-4 in front of what is rapidly becoming a packed house. In the same group, Ralf Souquet is in second place with two wins, having just defeated David Matlock 8-5, while Daryl Peach earned his second win by besting Ronato Alcano 8-4.Also undefeated for the day so far, Efren “Bata” Reyes scooted past 2005 Derby City Classic 9-ball banks division winner Dave Matlock 8-5, while Marlon Manalo also notched his third win by besting Marcus Chamat 8-3. Rodolfo Luat won his second match 8-3 against Evgeny Stalev of Russia.Larry Nevel, hailing from Wisconsin, earned his first win of the day by defeating Quinten Hann 8-2—Hann still has no wins. Alex Pagulayan won his first match of the day as well, besting Rico Diks from The Netherlands. Dueling Mouths in the IPT Practice RoomIn the middle of the third round, poker star Mike “The Mouth” Matusow surprised IPT fans with a surprise visit. Matusow is one of the usual favorites in the main event at the World Series of Poker, and he stopped by to hang with Mike “The Mouth” Sigel. The pair of mouths argued the finer points of luck and skill within each of their domains then took to the pool table to play a quick game of 8-ball. Sigel gave some quick instruction on rules and technique, joking with Matusow as he showed him bridge techniques, “Relax, you’re too tense. You have pocket aces here, take it easy.”As Matusow increased his sharking, Sigel started missing balls. Some were obvious, while others were a surprise even to Sigel, who frowned at the crowd and said, “Why do you think I’m not in the tournament right now?” As each player took his turn, the other vocalized animatedly to the crowds and cameras … just what would be expected from poker and pool’s best-known mouths. Finally Sigel claimed the rack and exclaimed, “I was all in there,” to which Matusow retorted, “Yeah, you proved what a joker you are.” 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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