The Final Four at the Reno Open

The Final Four at the Reno Open By InsidePOOL Staff The Reno Open is down to the final four players, who will begin their matches at 11 a.m. on Sunday morning. The Reno Open, which is being held at the Sands Regency in Reno, NV, began last Wednesday and will conclude on Sunday, December 14, 2003.Earlier on Saturday in the winners’ bracket, Cliff Joyner and Santos Sambajon, Jr., had a very tight match, in which the players traded games until it reached 8-7 Joyner. Joyner, who hails from Rocky Mountain, NC, is generally regarded as a one-pocket player but plays all games well, and when he hooked himself for the 5 ball in the last rack, he played a superb kick with authority and got out to win the match 9-7.
Elsewhere in the winners’ side, Mike Davis continued his onslaught and bested defending champion John Schmidt in a hill-hill match. Schmidt had a small lead at the start of the match, but the Maryland player soon erased that and went on to take the lead himself. Several mistakes on the behalf of the defending champ soon saw Davis on the hill with Schmidt one game behind him. Schmidt made nothing on the break, and after the two players traded innings, Davis sold out on the 9 ball and gave Schmidt that game to make it hill-hill. In the last rack, Schmidt pushed out, and Davis ran out to the 5-9 combo to win.In the one-loss side, Max Eberle bested Tony Annigoni, who had a terrific event, by the score of 9-3 after Annigoni went left-handed on the 3 ball and missed it. Reigning U.S. Open champion Jeremy Jones met Johnny Archer and went away with a seventh-place tie with Annigoni.Later Saturday evening, Eberle went on to play Schmidt while Archer met Sambajon. Eberle walked right through Schmidt, who seemed quite frustrated with his inability to put anything together. Although Eberle gave his opponent several opportunities, Schmidt gave up when the score reached 8-1 Eberle and conceded the match.Archer and Sambajon had a battle of epic proportions. At first it seemed to be all Sambajon, as the tiny Filipino easily reached a 6-2 lead in the race to 9. But the player from Georgia had other ideas, and although Sambajon reached the hill within the next three games, Archer kept inching along until the score reached 8-7 Sambajon. In the last rack, Archer came up dry on the break, and Sambajon played safe. A foul by Archer gave Sambajon all he needed, and with a fantastic draw shot for the 7 ball, Sambajon ran out for the 9-7 win.Sunday’s matches will be at 11 a.m. and be between Eberle and Sambajon in the one-loss side, while Joyner will meet Davis in the hot seat match.Visit InsidePOOL for the latest in the sport of billiards and pool.

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