Moore Upsets Defending Billiards Champion

Moore Upsets Defending Billiards Championby Rick DavisExcitement grew during the 7 p.m. round as the defending billiard champion, Alex Pagulayan, battled with Steve Moore on the one-loss side. Pagulayan started strong with a lead until some bad breaks opened the door for Moore, who until that point was shaking his head at cue ball as it rolled past his intended location. Eventually, after two hours of play, Moore came through to advance, eliminating Pagulayan 11-9. Discuss the U.S. Open 9-Ball ChampionshipU.S. Open 9-Ball Championships image galleryU.S. Open 9-Ball Championships Tournament BracketsMoore said, “It was shady for both of us—he scratched on the break four times, and that kept me in the match, even though he had a two-game lead on me until it was eight-seven and I finally took the lead.” With Moore’s final break he snapped in the 9 ball for the win as the crowd burst into applause. Moore noted, “I knew I had a chance, and it’s sweet when it goes on the break. Whenever you get the break on the hill you have to feel like you’re gonna win the game. All you need is a ball and the shot … luckily for me it was the nine that went in.”
In contrast to that match, Donnie Mills was the first to finish in the round as he obliterated Doug Bond 11-1, while crowd favorite Landon Shuffett took his final loss from seeded Jeremy Jones. Twelve-year-old Shuffett had won several matches but could not hold on even with the cheers of the crowd behind him. The nine o’clock round had a surprise as Brian Groce defeated "Rocket" Rodney Morris 11-4. The gaggle of other seeded players had an easier time. Corey Deuel, Raj Hundal, Earl Strickland, and Shawn Putnam each won their matches, giving away four racks or less.The remainder of the round is nearing completion as the 11 p.m. round begins to file in, where the rest of the seeded players will need to defend themselves from the bulk of the field that is in the hunt for the finals.Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.

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