Gabriels Las Vegas 9-Ball Open Under Way at the Riviera

Gabriels Las Vegas 9-Ball Open Under Way at the Riviera By InsidePOOL StaffThe second annual Gabriels Las Vegas 9-Ball Open kicked off yesterday afternoon with a full field of 64 top male players. The event is being held at the Riviera Hotel and Casino in conjunction with the annual APA National Team Championships.Some of the players are real globetrotters, such as Ralf Souquet, who traveled from Taiwan to Connecticut to New York to end up in Las Vegas, all within two weeks. There are a few East Coast players here; among them, Frankie Hernandez, who caused a bit of an upset in the first round when he knocked Rodney "The Rocket" Morris into the one-loss bracket yesterday. Niels Feijen and Young Hwa Jeoung add to the tournament's international flavor, and a large portion of the Filipino contingent is here as well.
The format is alternate break, race to 10 games. The event is down to 16 players in the winners' bracket and will be down to 32 players in the one-loss bracket in the wee hours of Thursday morning. Thorsten Hohmann, recent dark horse winner of the World Pool Championship in Cardiff, Wales, won his first two matches and is going to face Jimmy Wetch on Thursday afternoon. U.S. Open champ Ralf Souquet had a notable match with John Stone at 5 p.m. Souquet was on the hill 9-2 when Stone staged a comeback the likes of which have not been seen in quite some time. With flawless play and nerves of steel, Stone fought to bring the score to 9-7 when a missed 4 ball allowed Souquet the chance he needed to get out for the final score of 10-7.Tomorrow's winners' bracket matches will be as follows:Thursday at 11 a.m.Francisco Bustamante vs. Tony RoblesMax Eberle vs. Mike MasseyThursday at 1 p.m.Corey Deuel vs. Niels FeijenCharlie Williams vs. Nick VarnerFrankie Hernandez vs. Efren ReyesMike Davis vs. Danny HarrimanJohnny Archer vs. Shawn PutnamThorsten Hohmann vs. Jimmy Wetch Visit InsidePOOL for the latest updates from the sport of billiards and pool.

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