USA Billiards Team Moves in Finals of World Cup of Pool

USA Billiards Team Moves in Finals of World Cup of PoolVietnam Billiard Team Hopes ExtinguishedThe USA billiard team secured their place in the first ever PartyPoker.com World Cup of Pool final as Vietnam ’s dream run came to an end.The American pairing of Earl Strickland and Rodney Morris defeated the Vietnamese side of Thanh Nam Nguyen and Chi Dung Luong 8-7 to set up a mouth-watering match against Philippines for the trophy and $60,000 top prize.Who do you think will win? Discuss World Cup of Pool here. View the World Cup of Pool Tournament BracketsUnseeded Vietnam, who had defeated three seeded teams to reach the final, were close to pulling off another huge shock but a crucial miss in the 15th by Thanh Nam Nguyen sealed their fate.
A relieved Strickland said, “I missed a ball at the beginning of the match and that was important as we would have blown them off the table. Rodney also missed a three but that’s the nature of the game.”USA won the lag but made a poor start as a miss on the red three brought Vietnam to the table and Chi Dung Luong later pocketed the 9-ball as the underdogs took a surprise lead.But it did not last long as Vietnam lost position from the break and a fine pot from Strickland to sink a difficult 8-ball gave Morris the opportunity to make it 1-1, which he did.A good safety shot from Strickland in the third led to an error from Chi Dung Luong to give Morris a shot at the 1-ball and USA ran through the rest of the balls to move 2-1 in front.That advantage quickly extended to two racks when Chi Dung Luong overcut an attempt at the 1-ball and left it hanging over the top pocket as America made no mistakes for 3-1.The fifth rack was full of errors as each player missed shots but the final misplaced shot came from Morris as he failed to leave the brown seven safe and it became 3-2.A failed 1-8 combination from Morris should have seen the match become tied at 3-3 but Thanh Nam Nguyen lost position on the pink four and ended up fouling to give the US ball in hand and they restored their two-rack lead.The advantage extended to three soon afterwards when America broke and ran out before Vietnam did like wise to leave the score at 5-3.USA also took the ninth and at 6-3 ahead the game looked as good as over. However, Vietnam have shown their character and fighting spirit throughout this tournament by coming from behind to win each of their previous three matches and they were not prepared to give up in the semi-final.They had a stroke of fortune in the tenth as Strickland missed the 8-ball when he failed to roll it down the side rail to make it 6-4.Each country won one of the next two racks before America restored their three-rack advantage for what looked like a crucial 8-5 lead.However, a great shot on the 9-ball in the 14th from Thanh Nam Nguyen kept Vietnam ’s dream of reaching the first ever World Cup final as the score moved to 8-6.America broke in the 15th rack and should have run out by Morris failed to send the red three into the top right pocket and Vietnam took advantage of the present for 8-7 in another enthralling semi-final.USA had two opportunities to take the next rack but each time lost position and were forced to play safe before a stunning table-length pot on the red from Thanh Nam Nguyen looked to take it to hill-hill. But the same player went from hero to villain with his next shot. Playing with the cue behind his back, Thanh Nam Nguyen missed the orange five and left it hanging over the tournament with one of the worst misses of the entire competition. That miss proved costly as that was Vietnam ’s last shot in the World Cup as Morris sunk the 9-ball for victory and a place in the final.

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