NEWS  February 20, 2007   Pratteln 9-Ball Open – Tot vs. Specchia

Already fort he 16th time, the Pratteln 9-Ball Open was organized and attracted some 160 participants from 9 countries to Switzerland. The tournament format was double KO brackets in groups until the final day. The last 32 players would play a single KO bracket in races to 11 with winner’s break and tapped balls.

The players Markus Chamat (SWE), Sandor Tot (SCG), Marlon Manalo (PHI) and Ralf Souquet (GER) had been invited and did not have to play the group qualification stage.

In round 1 of the KO bracket, I played Giacomo Scarpaci from Italy and after trailing 0-2, I scored a clear 11-2. I was not happy with my playing equipment, since I scratched twice, although the print of the cue tip indicated that I had hit the cue ball correctly. I think that this might have been due to the very dry air in the tournament hall. With this concern, I played the follwing draw shots a bit less aggressive and did not produce the desired results. This did not impact too much my next match against Switzerland's number one, Sascha Specchia, and I did not stand much of a chance during this match. At the beginning, I was not too lucky with my break, but after the 3-4 and an unlucky break foul, I only returned twice to the table – one time in a safety and the other time for a jump shot. The next time I had an opportunity to score was at 3-10, but the 8 ball did not fall and the match was finished. After this heavy 3-11 defeat, I was eliminated and finished on rank 9.

Specchia continued to play well and finally reached the final against Sandor Tot from Serbia-Montenegro. Tot made the pace and took a quick 3-0 lead. He managed to extend this lead to 9-4, but this score only revealed the fighting spirit of Specchia who managed to equal the score at 9-9. But this effort came a bit too late, Tot scored the next two racks and finally won 11-9.