Elimination Rounds Commence in Chesapeake
US Open 9-Ball Championships / Chesapeake, VA
by Lea Andrews
The field of 216 who arrived Sunday for the start of the 34th Annual US Open 9-Ball Championships has just begun to whittle its way down, as day three has seen the first eliminations of the event, though many are still going strong on the winners’ side. Action at the Chesapeake Conference Center in Chesapeake, VA, continues through October 24, when the last man standing will don that green jacket.
CJ Wiley, who moved west after a first round 11-4 loss to Marlin Manalo, is now out of the running after falling 11-8 to Tom D’Alfonso. Upcoming one-loss side matches are Holland’s Niels Feijen versus Curtis Coleman, Pat DiBuono versus Kenichi Uchigaki, bank pool champ Danny Harriman versus Jason Richko, and Thorsten Hohmann versus fellow countryman Oliver Ortmann.
Still moving along on the right side is Ryan McCreesh, who survived a hill-hill battle with Craig Houghton by breaking and running the final rack.
Still moving along on the right side is Ryan McCreesh, who survived a hill-hill battle with Craig Houghton by breaking and running the final rack. “I broke perfect. On a break like that, this guy’s in trouble,” said McCreesh, who has a strategy for his upcoming match with world 10-ball champion Darren Appleton. “Break good, play good safes, and don’t miss,” he said with a laugh. Mike “Fingers” Badsteubner is ready for his winners’ side match versus Manalo after keeping Nick Varner from notching up the final game in their hill-hill match. Badsteubner, who’d gotten up 9-3, found the momentum of the match changing and Varner mounting a comeback, tying it up at 9 and reaching the hill first 10-9. “At that point, I wasn’t having any of that. I gave him seven games—I was determined not to give him the eighth game. If he wants it, he’s got to take it. I’m not going to hand it over.” When Varner’s 2-8 carom slid on him, keeping him from getting a rail, Badsteubner seized his opportunity. “At that point I knew it—it was over. I took a breath, got down on the shot, and ran the rack out.” Now that Badsteubner is in the money rounds, to what he calls ‘the business end of it,’ “I’m ready to knock some people out,” he said with confidence.
View the U.S. Open 9-Ball Double Elimination Tournament Brackets 1 (updated continuously)
View the U.S. Open 9-Ball Double Elimination Tournament Brackets 2 (updated continuously)
View the 2009 U.S. Open image gallery
View the LIVE STREAM from ACCU-STATS
Still to come in the third-round winners’ matches are Keith Bennett versus Charlie Williams, Daryl Peach versus Rafael Martinez, and Earl Strickland versus Zion Zvi.
Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.