NEWS - 01-10-05 UPA Pro Tour Championships – Mediocre start after the Christmas Break

Owen-Reyes

The UPA had invited for the closure of the 2005 tour to the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, CA. The 64 players field was not fully complete, because at the same time, several other tournaments were played throughout the United States. But with 59 competitors, the field was good and the quality was there.

In round one, I played S. Lingelbach (USA), whom I managed to defeat after a fierce fight 11-8 (4-2, 4-7, 8-7). In my second match, I faced „Spanish Mike“ Lebron, who is back on the track after his difficult head tumour surgery. You should never under-estimate this 72 year old player, but when he is playing long shots, you can tell that he lost a bit of his sight. I took a rapid 7-0 lead and after a break foul, he scored a 1-9 combination. Then, Lebron managed to win another four racks before finally giving in 5-11. I round 3, my opponent was P. Potier from Canada. I obviously was still hibernating and could not improve my game as compared to the previous matches and simply played bad. Three times I did not run out a table in spite of a ball in hand situation and my 7-11 defeat was really embarrassing. I wanted to take my revenge in the losers bracket against B. Ferguson (USA) and I managed to do so, at least partially. A clear 11-5 success gave me new hope, especially since my next opponent was the UPA no. 1 J. Archer. I had a good start and took a 3-1 lead. „The Scorpion“ equalled the score and the match went back and forth until 7-7. Even if both players could not be really satisfied with their game, I managed to pull myself together towards the end and finally deserved to win 11-8. I kept the momentum in the next match against M. Davis and crashed him literally. Until the score of 7-1, I did not commit any mistakes and then something very strange happened to me. I missed a 100% sure 8 ball to take the 8-1 lead and in the second rack from here, I missed a 4 ball from the same angle. Davis sensed his last chance and played totally different from now on. Another two racks later I missed the third clear opportunity and the score had evolved to 7-7. I won the next rack and could then benefit from a mistake by the US player to enter the quarter-finals with a 11-8 win.

Arena

ESPN was covering the final day and this is why the remaining 8 players were asked for a long interview. The questions asked were not only the usual ones and the replies and opinions about the other players were very interesting. So, the mood was set for a hot final stage.
My next opponent was „The Rocket“ R. Morris. I started well again and was leading 3-0. But then the hibernation ghost came back and I played bad until a score of 3-6. The Hawaiian player who lives in Florida had broken his right middle finger the day before when playing basketball, but this did not seem to impact his game. The played up to the reputation of his nickname and made merciless use of my mistakes. I only managed to win three more racks and finally lost 6-11.
The 7th rank was a justified result because of my partially bad performance, but of course, I was not satisfied.
For the final matches with TV coverage, C. Deuel and „Kid Delicious“ D. Basavich (both USA) made their way on the winners side. Deuel won the match 7-5 and was the first player qualified for the final. In the semi-final on the losers side, it came to the clash between the „Magician“ E. Reyes (PHI) and U.S. Open 9-Ball winner G. Owen (USA). It was a real thriller with ups and downs on both sides. A perfect match for the TV broadcasting, in which both players had a chance to win in the decisive 13^th rack. Finally it was the US players, who, after a rail shot over two rails had the better end and entered the final of the losers bracket against Basavich with a 7-6.
Basavich managed to upset the U.S. Open Champion for the second time in this tournament and he gained the right for the re-match against C. Deuel winning 7-3. Deuel played a very relaxed game and took a rapid 4-1 lead. Then, he started committing mistakes and „Kid Delicious“ came back and even took a 5-4 lead. In the 10^th rack, Deuel made another mistake and left the 6 ball in the pocket. From my point of view, could have played a rather easy jump shot, but then he opted for the rail shot. He made the ball and placed the 6 ball in front of the opposite pocket at the foot rail. Now, Deuel had to play the jump shot, since the ball was too deep in the pocket to play a rail shot. He touched the ball, pocketed it and hit the 9 ball with the cue ball in such a manner that it fell into the middle pocket to equal the score at 5-5. Deuel also made the next rack and only needed one more rack to win the match. The had the break and so the chance to win, but again missed an easy 4 ball to knock out his opponent. Basavich made use of this opportunity and equalled the score. In the decisive 13^th rack, Basavich shot out the table until he had only the 8 ball and the 9 ball left on the table and he already seemed to be the new Pro Tour Champion. But he missed the 8 ball and gave away the victory. It was a final full of suspense and thrill, a perfect script for the TV and C. Deuel became the new UPA Pro Tour Champion.

Deuel-Basavich

Ralf-Kelly