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The
5th edition of the Predator Florida Open was played for the first time in
the Bankshot Billiards in Jacksonville, the new home of T. Hohmann. The
event was integrated for the first time into the US ranking series of the
UPA and this guaranteed the excellent level of the participating players.
The 96 players field was not complete, since only 78 players had enrolled,
but the crowd and the players could be satisfied with the event. Here and
there, the players would have appreciated a bit more applause, but in the
only 9 months of existence of the club, the spectators had never seen so
many top players in a single spot and did not know exactly when to cheer.
This will surely improve next year. Hohmann, who had emigrated to the land
of unlimited possibilities four months ago and who had been engaged as the
„House Pro“, offered some players the opportunity to stay in „The
Dome“. With 7 people in the house, it sometimes felt like Big Brother, but
was charming. Thanks again to Thorsten and the hosts Dan and Dee for their
hospitality.
The
day before the tournament start, the main sponsor Dragon Promotions had
asked some of the top players for an afternoon to the „Boys and Girls
Club“ to play basketball, table tennis, frisbee and, of course, pool
billiards with the kids. All participants really enjoyed and this time,
nobody was hurt. In the evening, there were additional events such as the
„Challenge a Pro“, the sponsor’s Pro-Am and a Skins Tournament.
After a walk-through in
round one, I played W. Blacker (USA), the sales manager of the biggest car
dealership in Jacksonville. I played without committing any mistake and in
spite of the changing break, I could celebrate a 10-0 Whitewash. In round
three, I had to play a player of a different weight, M. Eberle. Again I
started without making mistakes and took a 6-0 lead. But after two break
fouls, the match became tight again. Another mistake, and the score had
evolved to 8-7. But finally, I won 10-8 and could enter the next round. In
this next round, I had expected C. Williams (USA) as my next opponent. But
he could not win against his country fellowman D. Broxson and lost 8-10. My
match against Broxson was levelled until 5-5, and only in the end and after
a mistake by my opponent, I could struggle my way through to win 10-6. In
round 5, I was opposed to another heavy weight, „Mr. 400“ J. Schmidt
(USA). Only a few months ago, the player from California who now lives in
Florida had pocketed exactly 400 balls in one single run in straight pool
and so he had earned his new nickname. He did not play perfectly, but had a
good run and made perfect use of my 5 scratches. I lost 5-10. In the losers bracket, I
played M. Staubes (USA) and won 10-7. In the next match against J. Jones
(USA), I played again as at the beginning of the tournament and took a 5
racks lead. But with a bit of luck he came back into the match and I had to
struggle again. The final score of 10-6 was somehow clear, however, the
match could have had turned around. So, I was qualified for the final day of
the last 6 players. In the first match of the day, I played the current no.
1 of the UPA, S. Putnam, who had won 2 out of the last 3 tournaments. The
match went back and forth until the end. In the decisive stage of the match,
I could benefit from a mistake made by Putnam and ran out the last two racks
to finally win 10-9. Now, I had to play T. Hohmann again, the new BCA Open
champion. Thorsten made two mistakes and I did not commit even one. He
missed two jump shots, but left me both times with lucky safeties. Twice,
upon my break, the cue ball was kicked in one of the head corner pockets and
this sealed my 4-10 defeat. I did not commit any mistake and had to accept
my fourth rank – the chocolate medal. Hohmann was really unlucky when he
tried to qualify for the final. After trailing 3-7, he turned the match into
a 9-8 lead, but finally lost 9-10 to M. Davis (USA). In the final of the
winners bracket, J. Archer (USA) had already won against M. Davis and this
scenario was the same at their second clash. The match was very even until
7-7, but at the end, two mistakes by Davis made the difference. „The
Scorpion“ won 11-8 and won the Florida Open for the third consecutive
time.
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