Four Players Remain at Florida Billiard Tour Finale
by Rick Davis
The Florida Pro Tour’s Second Annual Steve Mizerak Championship coasted through day two today as the remaining 32-player field was cut down to the top four.
Player of the Year Corey Deuel is in the hot seat match Sunday, where he faces Rodney Morris. Deuel defeated Dennis Hatch double-hill and Ronnie Wiseman 8-3 during day two, while Morris sent Gabe Owen and Thorsten Hohmann west 8-4 and 8-7, respectively. Deuel and Morris will face off in the final day of the event.
On the one-loss side Louis Ulrich was on fire. Ulrich eliminated Mike Davis 8-1 then Gabe Owen 8-6. Later in the evening he kept things interesting as he knocked out two more players, James Laderia and Wiseman, to reach the quarterfinals in day three. Meeting Ulrich in that match will be Mika Immonen, who sent his share of pros home from the event as well. Starting with Charlie Bryant 7-2, Immonen swept through the money rounds, eliminating Helena Thornfeldt 8-2, Tony Crosby 8-5, Johnny Archer 8-1, and Thorsten Hohmann 8-1. Immonen commented, “It seemed like when I didn’t make a ball, he didn’t have a shot, and when I made one, I had a good layout. I have played good the whole tournament, I played a lot of matches today and just relaxed and had a fun day. The key was to get comfortable with the tables.”
Most of the players didn’t share Immonen’s relaxed posture, and many were unhappy with the tables. After his final match Morris commented, “The tables play tough. The rails are springy—it’s hard to control the cue ball and the pockets are tight and wet. Every time you play on Diamonds you have to adjust … it’s the only table you have to do that to. You see more balls missed on these tables on then any other.” Many players relied heavily on their jump cues, as intricate kick shots could not be trusted.
View the Seminole Florida Pro Tour Finale image gallery (/gallery2/v/Pool+Tournaments/FLProFinale/)
Sunday will feature the final day of play, which holds the top four players and four big matches. While fourth place is guaranteed $3,500, no one wants to settle for that when the big $11,000 payout is still glittering in front of them.
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