Orem Makes Huge Comeback to Take Reno Open

Orem Makes Huge Comeback to Take Reno Openby Rick DavisThe 162-player field at the Reno Open was taken down to 8 Saturday afternoon. On the winners’ side, past U.S. Open winner Gabe “The Babe” Owen bested Justin Bergman to reach the hot seat match. Nearby it was a West versus East match-up, with California’s Tony Chohan defeating Carolina’s Sparky Ferrell. The two left on the winners’ side, Owen and Chohan, got to rest up until the final four began play Sunday. On the one-loss side, Cliff Joyner eliminated Ernesto Dominguez then Bergman to reach the quarterfinals, while Rich Orem met him there after defeating Bill Ganne and Ferrell.
As the top four converged Sunday, the final three rounds of play were sure to be exciting. On the winners’ side Owen continued his relentless play against Chohan to reach the finals and send Chohan west. Then, on the one-loss side, Orem had everyone’s attention as he knocked out Joyner 9-8 with a 9 on the break, then bumped off Chohan in another double-hill victory. Orem, who is originally from Alaska and now living in Florida, was an unlikely choice to rip the event to pieces. One of the unlucky third not to get a first-round bye, Orem won four winners’ side matches before taking a loss, then came back to take an additional seven matches on the one-loss side to make the finals. The true double-elimination format of the finals laid a rough road to travel for Orem, as he matched up against top pro Owen, who had been undefeated. Orem managed to slip by the first set double-hill to bring the event to a final set, where Orem defeated Owen again, this time 9-5, for an outstanding comeback against some of the toughest players in the game.Results:1st Rich Orem $12,5002nd Gabe Owen $60003rd Tony Chohan $32504th Cliff Joyner $21005th Justin Bergman $1400Sparky Ferrell7th Ernesto Dominguez $1000Bill Ganne9th Rafael Martinez $700Mike BanksTyler EdeyJose Parica13th Keith Bennett $500Jonathan PinegarRonnie WisemanGerardo Jamito 17th Mark Haddad $375Todd MarshTim HallSantos Sambajon Jr.Edwin MontalDanny PetralbaBobby HunterRaoul Alvarez25th Oscar Guerrero $275Ramin BakhtiariIke RunnelsJoey GebronDan WallaceJui-Lung ChenMark TaddShane Van Boening

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