Big Guns Blast at U.S. Open Billiards Tournament
Climax of U.S. Open first round features blistering blowouts and exciting upsets
by Paul Berg, InsidePOOL Magazine Staff
 Tony Robles 1999 Open champion Johnny “The Scorpion” Archer was the first to blank his opponent, Ken Robbins, and two more bagels were turned in during the next round at 9 PM. Jose “Amang” Parica also cruised to an 11-0 win over John Harris, while Niels “The Terminator” Feijen put together an identically scored masterpiece against Cameron Tahmasebi. Only slightly less oppressive was an 11-1 domination of Ryan Hershman by reigning World 9-Ball champion Ronato Alcano filled with multi-rack runs, solid breaking, and scant opportunities yielded when the running out paused briefly.
Past champions carried on the trend of blowouts. 2005 winner Alex Pagulayan routed Carsten Due 11-3, and defending champ John Schmidt defeated Finland’s lanky Joonas Ohtonen by the same margin. Germany’s “Surgeon” and the 2002 pay-per-view Open victor Ralf Souquet offered the very capable Scott Rabon very few awkward opportunities in a cue-control clinic, finishing the South Carolinian one-pocket ace off 11-2. Past Open champions Tommy Kennedy and Gabe Owen turned in solid 11-5 victories at the tables adjacent to Archer, while last year’s runner-up Rodolfo Luat bested Hunter Lombardo 11-5, a score that would end up repeated in both Billiard Club Network feature matches.
Bracket A1
Bracket A2
Bracket B1
Bracket B2
Tony Robles won the first over Mexican legend Rafael Martinez-Chavez. Next up, in one of two notable non-appearance forfeits, Cliff Joyner’s failure to make the trip to face feared Filipino Dennis Orcollo gave South Dakotan sensation Shane Van Boening the camera time, and he moved the beads to another 11-5 television table victory over Texas State champion Sylver Ochoa. Charlie “Hillbilly” Bryant also didn’t make the trip, and the absence of both great Texas players is felt, even with so many beasts of the baize in attendance.
Top local player Eric Moore got in on the runaway act, smashing Robert Pierce 11-3. Not every match was so lopsided, nor were the results all as expected. While Florida Pro Tour standout Robb Saez started hot with a 5-1 lead against old friend John Moody Sr., the advantage slipped to 7-5 with a few rattled efforts on the tight Diamond tables. Saez was able to hold on 11-7. English potter Raj Hundal won nine straight racks against Joey Testa to reverse a 6-2 deficit and win his first match. Other Europeans were not so lucky.
View or subscribe to the FREE podcast at iTunes
View the Billiards Podcast by Inside POOL Magazine list
Visit the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship image gallery
Mika “Iceman” Immonen fell 11-10 to Japan’s Naoyuki Oi, breaking and making a ball in the case game only to leave the 1 ball peaking out on a safety attempt. The unheralded Oi came with a courageous clearance to finish the upset. Nearby, Italy’s top-ranked Fabio Petroni fell 11-9 to Richmond VA’s Larry Kressel, who started his Open two years ago with a first-round upset of Danny “Kid Delicious” Basavich. French Canadian “Machine Gun” Luc Salvas lost by the same score to Hobson “Butch” Croft, a solid player from 9-ball talent-laden Florida. The last match time for the first round of the winners’ bracket perhaps will yield a few more upsets in store to go along with the arrival of the prime time players. Stay tuned to InsidePOOLmag.com for all the latest from the 32nd U.S. Open.
|
