Strickland Defeats Corr in Feature Match at Joss Tour Finale

Strickland Defeats Corr in Feature Match at Joss Tour Finale Matches commenced at 11:00 a.m. on Day Two of the Joss Tour Finale. one early upset in the morning round for defending champion Alex “The Lion” Pagulayan came when Joey Korsiak knocked him on the “B” side 9-7.Keith "Earthquake" McCready and Joss Tour points leader and tour director Mike Zuglan engaged in a nail-biting set going all the way to hill-hill in a race to 9. Zuglan executed several impressive safety shots, slowing down a speedy McCready, leaving him benched early in the match. McCready maneuvered a tough combo to take an early lead 3-2, and after running a rack, he then made two more 9 ball combos, bringing the score to 6-2. Zuglan never gave up and fought back to find himself breaking on the hill-hill game, but he fumbled, allowing McCready to snatch the win.The afternoon matches drew a lot of spectators to Spot Shot Billiards to witness the 2004 BCA Open Champion and Joss Tour regular, Karen Corr, match up with Earl Strickland. When Joss tour director Mike Zuglan announced the 7:00 p.m. matches and said, "You'll only see it here on the Joss Northeast Tour," referring to the battle of the sexes, the crowd erupted in loud cheers and applause. This was the feature match, and nobody knew what would unfold when Strickland won the flip allowing him to break in the first game.
Strickland slammed the rack at full speed and came up empty, leaving the 9 ball hanging in the corner pocket. Corr attempted a 1-9 combo and missed, allowing her opponent to score first. Another dry break put Strickland in his chair, but another fumble by Corr gave Strickland his second game. Quickly he gained a 4-0 lead, but coming up empty on the break in the fifth rack gave Corr one game. Strickland took his time racking the balls, squeezing and pressing and fingering the balls to ensure Corr a fair rack, and she pocketed two balls on the break but missed a long shot on the 5 ball in the corner trying to get position, and Strickland wasted no time running out the rack, bringing the score to 5-1.On a roll, Strickland logged another rack, but in the next game he got snookered on a leave when the 7 ball rolled behind the 8 ball. Corr took advantage of this rare miss and added another bead to her score 6-2. She broke and didn’t make a ball, but the 1 ball was hidden. Strickland managed to make a good hit on the 1 ball but left it hanging deep in the corner pocket. Literally stuck behind the 8 ball, Corr studied the difficult leave. When she finally approached the table and took aim, the 1 ball mysteriously dropped before she could execute the shot. Strickland walked over to the corner pocket and placed the 1 ball deep in the pocket once more. Corr masséed the cue ball and pocketed the 1, and the spectators stood up and cheered loudly.In the tenth rack, Corr made three balls on the break and ran out, but in the following game, she scratched on the break. Strickland ran a few balls and then missed, allowing Corr to add bring the score to 8-5. She broke and came up dry in the final rack, and it was all Strickland steamrolling his way to the finish line.After the match, Strickland praised Corr’s shot-making capabilities and complimented her by saying, "She moves the balls better than all the girls, and she made a couple of really good shots that impressed me in the match."Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.

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