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Bracket Analysis

Any regular to tournament play is most likely a dedicated bracket watcher. Who do I play next? Who is in my bracket? How far can I go before I run into the big guns? These questions are somewhat allayed in the pro ranks if the seeding is done precisely. However, quirks do appear. This years Open was no exception. Undoubtedly the worst draw of the week pitted last year’s Open Champion Corey Deuel against John Horsfall, a winner of several pro events, in the first round. Normally the sizeable field at the Open (215 players entered this year) means that the better players will almost certainly advance through at least a couple of rounds before facing a big name opponent unless, of course, they are extremely unfortunate.

The Foreign Contingent

Powerhouse players such as Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante could not compete due to commitments to play in the Asian Games. Former World Champions who failed to show included Fong-Pang Chao, Takeshi Okumuru, Oliver Ortmann and Kunihiko Takahashi. Talk about poor scheduling overseas. Despite the absence of a good many foreign stars, the finals were between two foreigners for the first time in Open history, again proving the highly international flavor the American game of 9-Ball has acquired. All told, 20 foreigners earned a paycheck by finishing in the top 64.

Germany’s Souquet won while countryman Thorsten Hohmann finished in 49-64^th. Canada’s Pagulayan was the runner-up while Luc Salvas ended in 13-16^th. Other Canadians in the money included Ronnie Wiseman (9-12) Edwin Montal (17-24^th), John Horsfall (33-48^th), Eddie Galati (33-48), Paul Thornley (33-48^th) and Danny Hewitt (49-64).

It never comes as any surprise when the Philippinos do well. Even without Reyes and Bustamante, five of them still finished in the money. They included the highly touted Ronnie Alcano (7-8^th), veteran Santos Sambajon (9-12^th), Rudolfo Luat (17-24^th), former Player of the Year Jose Parica (25-32^nd), and Ramil Gallego (49-64^th).

Sweden’s Marcus Chamat finished at 17-24^th. Russians Stalev (17-24^th), Zolotilov (25-32^nd) and Stepanov (33-48^th) served notice that the Russian’s disciplined approach to producing top athletes in the Olympics works at pool as well. Even Hungary was well represented by Sandor Tot’s 17-24^th.

Corey Deuel’s Defense

Of the 26 players who have attempted to defend their U.S. Open title, only Nick Varner in 1990 has met with success. So even though Corey Deuel put up a spirited defense of his 2001 U.S. Open crown, it is no surprise that he failed in his bid to repeat. Deuel lost a heartbreaking double hill match to Strickland in the fifth round on the winner’s side. If he could have best the Pearl, he would have been the favorite over Jimmy Wetch and then Danny Harriman to reach the finals of the winners bracket against Souquet. So close, and yet so far. Deuel was eventually eliminated by the always-tough Kim Davenport to land in 13-16^th.

Deuel’s Matches

Deuel 11 – John Horsfall 5

Deuel 11 – Derrick Moore 0

Deuel 11 – Greg Ridenour 4

Deuel 11 – Rudolfo Luat 4

Deuel 10 – Earl Strickland 11

Deuel 11 – Evgeny Stalev 3

Deuel 7 – Kim Davenport 11

The Contenders

Five Time Champ Strickland Earns Third Place

Earl Strickland, who always puts on a show, would have been perfect for television, but Pagulayan, who has been on the watch list as a potential superstar, prevented the Pearl from advancing to pool’s big show. Strickland, a recent winner over Francisco Bustamante at the world championship in Cardiff, Wales, is a solid contender for Player of the Year, and a win here could have just about cinched POY honors. Strickland had a relatively easy ride through the first three rounds with a bye and two lopsided victories. He then prevailed in close contests with Frank Ruby (11-7) and Corey Deuel (11-10) before drubbing Danny Harriman (11-4). Souquet sent Strickland to the loser’s side with an 11-8 win. Strickland bested Jimmy Wetch (11-8) before Pagulayan ended his quest for a sixth Open (11-7). Strickland’s third place finish earned him $10,000.

Former Champ Morris Is Back on Track

Rodney Morris, a former Open winner and a master of position and pattern play, is making up for four years of lost time. Morris prevailed against a strong field at the Hard Times Summer Jamboree. A fourth at the Lexington All Stars was one of his several strong finishes this year. After Morris beat Sandor Tot in the fourth round (11-4) and Luc Salvas in the fifth (11-10) of the winner’s side, Danny Harriman sent him to the loser’s bracket (9-11). Morris then eliminated Davenport (11-9), Jimmy Wetch (11-7) and Dee Adkins (11-10) before Pagulayan sent him home (11-6). Morris was consoled with a check for $7,000.

The Broadcast on PPV

The finals of the U.S. Open were telecast live on pay-per-view, a rare treat for fans of the game. The cost was a tremendous bargain at $9.95, or about $3.30 an hour. If you split the fee with a friend or two, the cost was next to nothing. And three hours of pool sure beats watching events like boxing’s “The Bite” (the Tyson fiasco) at $50. Dish Network and iNDemand broadcast the finals. The production team included Pat Fleming and his crew at Accu-Stats, and Rob Sykora and the Billiard Channel. Early indications are that TV audience was light, which could be attributed to the lack of a large promotional budget. Although there were a couple of obvious flaws, from an artistic point of view, the telecast was largely a success. And should the producers do it again next year, they will certainly learn from this year’s initial effort. The broadcast was allotted three hours, with no overtime. The first 25 precious minutes were spent were spent on a variety of activities before the first rack was broken. The opening was quite snazzy and very professionally done. A Norfolk bagpipe band performed a fitting tribute to 9-11. There were rather lengthy interviews with Souquet and Pagulayan, which could have been tightened considerably. And during the match, valuable airtime between games was spent on interviews with promoter Barry Behrman and pros Kim Davenport and Shannon Daulton. None of these aforementioned events would have been particularly intrusive except that the telecast, as it turned out, had no margin for error.

Racing the Clock

After the seventeenth game with the score Souquet 9, Pagulayan 8, the players were told that they would be on the clock the rest of the way to ensure the match would stay within the allotted time. The pace picked up, and so did the number of unforced errors, which is understandable enough considering all that was at stake. The producers had budgeted two hours and 20 minutes for actual play. There was every reason to believe the match would easily fit within this time frame as one player tends to dominate the other in the finals. This is shown by the average score in the previous 10 Opens of 10.6 to 4.7 (two finals were races to nine, the others to 11). The soft break, which created a more defensive game, also worked against the clock. This was verified by the inning count, which averaged 3.54 per game compared to an average 3.03 on my 500 Game Study. It took a full eight turns to decide the winner in three games. The fact that Souquet and Pagulayan had beaten 21 previous opponents in the tournament by an average of 11-6.3 also argued that one of them would get hot and beat the other by a wide margin.

The Announcers

The announcing team was comprised of Hall of Famer Mike Sigel, Bill Incardona, and Jim Wych. Sigel, who also presided over the BCA Open in May, is a winner of over 100 pro events. Although the others had to compete with him for airtime, he provided the kind of insights of one who has been there on numerous occasions and who knows the hows and whys of winning, so I thoroughly enjoyed his commentary. Incardona is Accu-Stats knowledgeable and colorful veteran of hundreds tapes for Accu-Stats. His wit and wisdom and often confrontational nature liven up any telecast. Wych is a former snooker star who works for Sky Sports. He added several gems of his own. My main objection to his approach is that he occasionally raises his voice to a level that seems more appropriate to wrestling than pool.

Announcers Quote Book

“The early nerves always play an important role in any final.” Jim Wych

“He’s keeping the game simple. He’s limiting the movement of the cue ball and he doesn’t mind leaving himself distance. Again, the sign of a confident pool player.” Jim Wych

“He’s looking like a pool playing robot.” Jim Wych on Souquet

“You’ve got to play in billiards like it means nothing when it means everything.” Jim Wych

“I always felt better if I played well and lost than if I played bad and lost.” Mike Sigel

“That’s why there is so much pressure in this sport. You never know when you’re going to get an opportunity.” Mike Sigel

“You think the heat’s on now, wait till they reach the 10 area.” Mike Sigel

“When I played I tried to get perfect on every ball. That’s just the way I grew up playing.” Mike Sigel

“Every time he comes to the post you know he’s going to put forth his best effort.” Bill Incardona on Souquet

“When you play well, the balls like you.” Bill Incardona

“9-ball is a test of skill, stamina, and courage.” Bill Incardona

“This is the U.S. Open and there are a lot of people watching and it’s hard to believe they don’t feel something.” Bill Incardona

“He should have been a poker player.” Bill Incardona on Souquet’s expressionless look.

The Finalists

Ralf Souquet

Ralf Souquet, a 33 year-old globe trotting pro from Germany, has successfully employed his quiet, methodical style of play to build a resume that now puts him in the company of the games very best players. Souquet’s first major title came at the 1996 World Nine Ball championship. His first significant full field win on U.S. soil was at the expense of Efren Reyes at the 1998 Sands Regency Open 27. He then added the 2000 U.S. Open 14.1 title over a star-studded field of hundred ball runners in New York City. Recently he’s been on a tear, winning two consecutive IBC events over Mika Immonen and then Johnny Archer. In last years U.S. Open, Souquet served notice he could handle the grueling marathon at the Open when he finished sixth after losing to Mika Immonen, the eventual runner-up to Deuel. Foreign players regularly win the most prestigious titles both here and around the world. But when it comes to the U.S. Open, for some reason U.S. players hold an overwhelming advantage. With his victory, Souquet earned $30,000 and became only the second foreign player to win the U.S Open, the other being Efren Reyes in 1994.
Flash: Souquet has just won the World Pool Master with a 9-4 victory over Efren Reyes.

Alex Pagulayan

Alex “The Lion” Pagulayan is a diminutive 24 year-old Canadian who originally resided in the Philippines. Pagulayan plays an aggressive game that fully utilizes his talents as a shotmaker. The Lion is no stranger to big time competition, winning the Sands Regency in Reno in December 1999. Other strong finishes include ninth in this years World 9-Ball Championships and fifth in Reno. He also earned a 9-12th in the 2001 edition of the U.S. Open.

Other high finishes include a fourth in last years Masters Tournament, a third at Reno in 2000, and second at the Lexington All Stars in 2000. At this years open, The Lion was looking his first major title, a breakthrough win that could catapult him into the upper echelons of the game, like Corey Deuel and Mika Immonen were able to do last year. Although he finished second and departed with $15,000, he showed his fans that it is only a matter of time before he starts adding major titles to his resume.

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