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This
trip to Canada was only my second visit to this country to compete against
the best players there. I gladly accepted the invitation of the tour
promoter, TV commentator and former snooker professional Jim Wych to
participate in the first event of the 2007/2008 series. I travelled to
Canada only two days before the tournament started and this turned out to be
a disadvantage throughout the event. My body didn’t function well due to
the jet lag and made me miss several balls.
Having not been seeded, I played the first round
against Canadian Jeff Trudelle, but I played great and had a head start
winning 9-0. My second opponent was Jason Klatt (CAN) who was seeded fourth.
At the beginning, I was rapidly trailing 0-3, but could come back to 3-3.
Thanks to the winner break rule, which is virtually not played anymore in
international events, the match turned out to be a thriller. The Canadian
player could win the next racks and at 4-8, he looked like the winner. But
again I came back and levelled the match again at 8-8. In the decisive rack,
I could only play a safety and had to leave the table to my opponent. He hit
the 1 ball and left me with a difficult position. I had two options and
choose the one where I tried to pocket the 1 ball after a contact with the 9
ball in a corner pocket, trying to pocket at the same time the 9 ball in the
opposite pocket. But I missed this shot, hitting the 9 ball far too thin and
no ball travelled even near the pocket. Klatt pocketed the remaining balls
under the cheers of the some 100 spectators to finally win 9-8. Now, I had
to go the long and hard way through the loser’s bracket and had to play
right away against Chris Lee (CAN). I did not play too well, but managed to
win 9-4. In my next match against the Canadian Steve Tulley, my game was a
bit better and I entered the next round winning 9-2. Here, I was opposed to
Robin Bass (CAN), whom I defeated after a good performance 9-2, actually
playing my best match in the event. But then, I grew tired and lacked
concentration, since my body was still programmed to German time. This
became obvious in my next match against Vito Puopolo (CAN), since I missed a
few balls and did not make use of my many opportunities. At the end, I was
just tired and worn out and had to make do with my second defeat this day.
Losing 7-9, I finished on the 25th rank, just one round before the prize
money ranks.
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In
the winner’s bracket, Alex Pagulayan, who now plays fort he Philippines,
defeated the Canadian player Tyler Edey 9-5 and had entered for the second
consecutive time the final in of the tournament at the Bigwigs in
Newmarket, Ontario. In the loser’s bracket, it looked like a winning
streak for John Morra (CAN), who won 6 matches in a row, upsetting the
following players: D.J. McGinley (CAN 9-8), his son John Morra (CAN 9-6),
Jason Klatt (CAN 9-6), Dan Doerner (CAN 9-7), Jeff White (CAN 9-6) and
Edwin Montal (CAN 9-6). In the semi-final, he had to play Tyler Edey and
his run was finished. He lost 6-9 and finished on a great third rank.
In the final, Alex Pagulayan (PHI) met once more
Tyler Edey (CAN). At the beginning, the Philippine player shifted gears
and took a 5-0 lead. Edey fought back and the score evolved to 4-5, but
from here, Pagulayan took control again. At the end, Alex Pagulayan scored
this third title at the Canadian 9-Ball Tour winning 9-5 and now he can
travel to the US Open with a lot of self-confidence.
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