Reno 9-Ball Reaches Finals; 8-Ball Begins
by Rick Davis
The finals of the 9-ball division for the U.S. Bar Table Championships are set and will feature Jonathan Pinegar against Gabe Owen at 8 p.m. local time. For the 111-player field, this second of three events has offered much excitement for the week-long event that filled the Sands Regency Hotel and Casino.
On the winners’ side Pinegar had a great run that started by defeating Filipinos Jose Parica and Rodolfo Luat. Pinegar then slipped through a few more matches before besting Steve Moore then John Morra to reach the hot seat match. In all, Pinegar took seven matches to reach the finals. Morra also had a strong run, although he did not face any of the top pros, giving him a somewhat smoother run. Other highlights included Moore sending Cliff Joyner to the one-loss side in the event’s first round, then a clash of pros in a corner of the chart saw Shane Van Boening, the winner of the 10-ball division, send Scott Frost west while Larry Wilson sent Owen over at the same time. Following that match Wilson shocked everyone by defeating Van Boening, who was the sure favorite until that point.
On the one-loss side both Van Boening and Owen made a quick run to the top eight laying waste to the other competitors, while nearby Moore and Luat each took command of their quarter of the chart to make the top eight. Since the winners’ side was already set, the one-loss kept grinding through, and Owen eliminated Van Boening while Luat ousted Moore but then fell to Oscar Dominguez. A quick jump later and Owen knocked out Dominguez in the quarterfinals then eliminated Morra in the semifinals to get a shot at the title.
While the evening rounds give the final 9-ball players a break, the third and final division of 8-ball got underway with over 140 players. This final division will break in the evening for the spotlight 9-ball finals then resume over the weekend to end the trio of events. Early action has Owen, Van Boening, Luat, Moore in the top caste of players still on the winners’ side.
Stay tuned to InsidePOOLmag.com for updates throughout the weekend on this exciting event.