Heartbreak and Elation in Wednesday’s Last Round

Heartbreak and Elation in Wednesday’s Last Round“I’m in!” Raj Hundal shouted in the almost-deserted tournament room after finding out he made it through the day. “I’m in!” Hundal was one of many players waiting for the results from other matches to determine if he would be going home early or playing another day at the North American Open 8-Ball Championship. Of the original 200, 60 returned to Wednesday’s matches and 36 will return the following day.Hundal ran three racks including a break and run-out to go double-hill against Earl Strickland. Then he broke and ran to the 8 but missed when shooting it down the length of the long rail, and Strickland ran out for the win.IPT discussion forumDay 4 image galleryShannon Elizabeth image galleryMatch scheduleAfterward, Strickland said, “We were tied for a while, then I hit him with a little flurry. The eight rolled off on him, I thought he should have shot it harder so it didn’t roll off but the ball before that, when he shot the two, it boing’d. But he missed the eight ball to lose the match seven-seven. It was really a hard match, but it should never have been that close.”
One of the biggest stories of the evening was the evening match-up between Rafael Martinez and Steve Moore. Martinez went into the match undefeated throughout the event, while Moore needed the planets to align correctly to advance to Thursday’s rounds. A Raleigh, NC, qualification event winner from Duluth, GA, Moore had only won one match throughout the day. The chance of his advancement rested on his defeating the thus-unbeaten Martinez and Niels Feijen losing his last match against Carl Morris.They traded the first four racks, but Martinez, brandishing a Sneaky Pete that was pure green to the joint, rattled a stripe, and Moore cleared to take the lead. He showed no signs of the pressure he must have been under as he calmly picked his way through racks, steadily building up his lead. Though he came up dry on a couple of breaks, Martinez never capitalized, and Moore was soon 5-2 up. Everything came together—his break started working consistently, and he broke and ran the last three racks for an 8-2 victory and dealing Martinez his first loss in “I was just concentrating on my game,” said Moore, watching the Feijen/Morris match out of the corner of his eye. “He made a few mistakes at the beginning, and I just took control at the end. He really didn’t have much of an opportunity. Yeah, I knew he was undefeated, but that didn’t really matter to me, because these matches … it’s all about who breaks the balls the best and stays focused.”Unfortunately for Moore, Feijen won 8-4, and Moore missed advancing by slightly more than 1%.Corey Deuel played snooker legend Ronnie O’Sullivan on the television table and bested him in a hill-hill match that sent O’Sullivan back to the U.K. Surprised by O’Sullivan’s prowess, Deuel said, “The guy came out strong like a bat out of hell. He was breaking really well in the beginning and hit me with some racks. I missed a couple straight in-balls and started pretty slow, then towards the end a found a good rhythm and started playing better.”Dark horse Jason Kirkwood matched up with Nick “The Kentucky Colonel” Varner and dusted him 8-2, saying afterward, “My last match went pretty well, I finally started seeing the balls a little better. I was struggling earlier today, and this was a good one for me. I was real happy to play good. I think I just finally woke up. I feel great.”Charlie Williams plagued Gabe Owen with his slow play throughout their match, though Owen tried to put an end to it by sliding through it with an 8-2 win. “It went well, I won. We had a little controversy there,” Owen reported. “Charlie plays real slow, and I was warned to let the ref know if he was slow. But the lady that ref’ed me, she hates me, and the feeling is pretty mutual. I told about it so she gives him a warning, then when it’s time to penalize a game, she tells the head ref she gave us both a warning and I wasn’t playing slow. She hosed me at the King of the Hill. So I asked for a different ref.“I was up three to two, and I won a brutal safety game, then I broke and ran two from there and after that the lights were out. I don’t even know about my group tomorrow—it’s a relief, I'm just gonna get some sleep … I didn't get any last night, just could not get to sleep.”Notable players who did not advance include Johnny Archer, Dennis Hatch, Vilmos Foldes, Nick Varner, Charlie Williams, and John Schmidt.Round 4 Group 74Group 75Group 61Group 63Group 65Group 67R. LuatV. FoldesR. MorrisL. NevelB. HunterGroup 68R. MartinezS. MooreD. AppletonC. MorrisN. FeijenGroup 69S. SambajonA. LelyL. HeuwagenA. PagulayanJ. KucharoGroup 70C. WilliamsG. OwenM. ManaloR. AlcanoS. EllerbyGroup 71M. HillT. HohmannE. StalevP. PotierS. MondayGroup 72D. MatlockM. JuvaM. ChamatN. Van den BergJ. PinegarVisit Inside POOL Magazine for the latest pool and billiard news from the North American Open 8-Ball Championship.

Pool Balls and Billiard Balls at LOW PRICES!!!

About the Author:
Inside Pool Magazine publishes billiard news. Definitive Synergy creates pool and billiard management software.