Saturday at the World Pool League

Saturday at the World Pool League With nine of the round robin matches completed at the 2004 888.com World Pool League it is Dutchman Niels Feijen and Francisco Bustamante of the Philippines who have emerged as the front runners. They are almost sure of semi-final spots while at the other end of the table it is Rodney Morris and Thomas Engert who are looking in danger.With three more matches to be completed this evening there is everything to play for. Steve Davis 6 – 4 Rodney MorrisDefending champion Rodney Morris of the USA has it all to do after going down 6 – 4 at the hands of Steve Davis in a match dominated by safety play.
Davis now has three points from three matches, whilst Morris’s tally of a single point will mean that he has to go out with all guns blazing in his final two matches tonight and tomorrow.With the table breaking nicely, the first six racks went with the break and with both players holding just one point from their first two games, the closing games were critical.Morris went into a 4 – 3 lead as he crashed home the break, made two balls and left the remainder lying perfectly for the easy run out.Disaster struck for Davis in the next as he banked a difficult 1 ball into the middle pocket but scratched trying to draw back for the blue 2. However, with a difficult lay out, Morris’ shot to nothing on the 5 ball did not work out as it finished hanging in the jaws. From there, Davis completed the run out to take the match to 4 – 4.One of Davis’ strong suits is his safety game and he kept it tight in the next rack to exert the pressure on Morris and force the necessary error that allowed him to take control of table and take the rack against the break.Another millimetre perfect snooker by Davis in the final rack, forced Morris to deliberately foul and, with ball in hand, Davis played a delicate carom off the 1 ball to drop the 9, take the rack and close out the match 6 – 4.Afterwards, Davis was delighted with a victory which considerably boosted his chances of making Sunday’s play-offs; “It was a really enjoyable match. I’m still weak in the breaking department and that can make it a bit of an uphill battle.“I’m also less experienced with my positional play but my safety is good and in this type of company I’m competitive if nothing else.” Alex Pagulayan 5 – 5 Francisco Bustamante Filipino pool legend Francisco Bustamante did his 888.com World Pool League chances the power of good as he came back to snatch a point against Alex Pagulayan and leave himself top of the table on five points.With both players breaking well, honours were even after four racks but then the diminutive World Champion started to pull away as he won the next three racks to guarantee himself a share of the points.Bustamante, however, battled back to take the final two games and make himself a near certainty to go through to Sunday evening’s semi-finals. Niels Feijen 6 – 4 Thomas EngertWith European Champion Thomas Engert in desperate need of a win against Niels Feijen, it was imperative that he got a good start but it was the Dutchman to take the initiative as he won the sixth rack against the head to take a 3 – 2 lead after the openers had gone with the break.They shared the next two racks as each ran out from the opening shot and a high quality break and run in the next from Feijen put him on five racks and left Engert struggling at 5 – 3 down with a win beyond his grasp.With a point in the offing, Engert took the next rack, making a difficult clearance under pressure. However, with Feijen allowing the German back to the table in the last rack, Engert messed up a relatively easy safety to give Feijen the chance to clear the table and secure both points.Afterwards Engert was disappointed in defeat; “In all three matches I’ve had no luck on the break. I made balls but always had a difficult shot on the next ball. I need my luck to change tonight and I may consider breaking from the other side.”Feijen is now looking the part and sees victory within his grasp; “I’m playing pretty solid and feel very relaxed.“I’ve played in all the big events this year and the more you’re in the arena the easier it becomes. I feel I can win this tournament; there are six players and I’m playing good enough and breaking well which is a big thing so you keep the other guy off the table.” Table After Nine Matches Plyd Won Drwn Lost For Away Pts +/- 1 F Bustamante 3 2 1 0 17 13 5 +4 2 N Feijen 3 2 1 0 17 13 5 +4 3 S Davis 3 1 1 1 15 15 3 0 4 A Pagulayan 3 1 1 1 15 15 3 0 5 T Engert 3 0 1 2 13 17 1 -4 6 R Morris 3 0 1 2 13 17 1 -4

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