Parica and Wiseman Alone Unbeaten; Archer Lurks in Atlanta

Parica and Wiseman Alone Unbeaten; Archer Lurks in Atlanta By Paul Berg, InsidePOOL Staff WriterWhile October’s chill has crept into the nights of Georgia, Atlanta’s fire burns brightly tonight. Johnny Archer is The Pool Room’s house pro in nearby Marietta, and since losing his first match Thursday to Japan’s Go Takami, he’s eliminated six opponents to stay alive on the one-loss side.The Predator Pro Open is the last stop for the UPA this calendar year, and on the unbeaten side, Jose Parica and Ronnie Wiseman are guaranteed big points no matter how their hot seat match Sunday afternoon winds up. Parica advanced through Nick Varner in a classic duel of two of the smartest players in the game, which saw Varner’s 7-6 lead collapse to a display of kicking defense from Parica that was punctuated by his smart runouts. Wiseman squeaked by Katami in a very nervous finale to a lackluster set. Although the 11-10 victory provided drama, Ronnie described it as the first poor set he’s played on a run through Scott "The Freezer" Frost, Rodney Morris, and Young Hwa-Jeong.
Varner has the unenviable position of falling into Archer’s path. Hot off a $25,000 win at the Sudden Death 7-Ball Challenge in Baltimore, MD, Archer brought the made-for-television check home and hung it at the ball counter. He is also a favorite to win his second UPA event in a row, even out of the one-loss bracket. After his amazing Sunday last week in Manhattan, Archer added a great Saturday of heart for his home crowd, stopping Mike Davis 11-7 with a closing two-piece, besting Jeong 11-9 in a tight contest, and coming alive to win the last eight games against Gabe Owen. Archer trailed 6-3, but reversed the momentum in an 11-6 win.Owen was riding a tide of emotion himself, having won a case game bout with his close friend Jeremy Jones and then a strong 11-5 elimination of Minnesota veteran Jimmy Wetch. He didn’t have a solution to Archer’s play, which grew stronger throughout a four match day. In his first match of Saturday, Archer showed Buddy Hall no mercy with an 11-3 performance.Takami will face Max Eberle in the other match to determine a fifth place finisher. “Miracle Max” is also carrying over from a great showing in New York, and knocked off Fury teammate Rodney Morris 11-3 and Danny Hewitt 11-8 to reach the final six. Archer has the advantage of sleeping in his own bed, but any of the six looks capable of taking home the $8,000 for top honors.Results:7th/8th – Danny Hewitt/Gabe Owen ($1,600 each)9th/12th – Tony Crosby/Young Hwa-Jeong/Rodney Morris/Jimmy Wetch ($1,000 each)13th/16th – Mike Davis/Danny Harriman/Jeremy Jones/John Schmidt ($400 each)Visit InsidePOOL for all of the latest in the sport of billiards and pool.

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