NEWS  July 8, 2008  Doha International 9-Ball Open – A medal rank

For the first time, the Doha International 9-Ball Open was played in Qatar with a field of 96 players. The format was a double KO bracket in races to 9 with alternating break. Due to the very large pockets, the players were more or less obliged to run out every table from the break. As one of the seeded players, I had a walk-through in round 1 and was opposed in round two to the Japanese player Hayato Hijikata. Although I lost the right to the first break, I could take control over the match and take a 6-3 lead. Then, the cue ball fell upon my break and the Japanese player came back. In spite of two position mistakes, he somehow managed to clear the table. He then shot an ace and my next break was a black break. Hijikata could win this rack as well, and even if he had two consecutive lucky positions, he scored the points. Again, he shot an ace and again, the cue ball fell upon my break. With another ace, he sealed my 6-9 defeat. Although I had played well, I just had one single chance to win the match after already leading 6-3. In the loser’s bracket, I was then opposed to Mazen Berjawoui from Lebanon. I played a real bad match with loads of shot and position mistakes, but never was in danger to lose the match. Winning 9-4, entered the next round against Bashar Hussain from Qatar. At the beginning, the match was balanced, but then I could take control of the match and earn a 3 rack advantage. I even increased this lead and finally won 9-5. Now, a spot in the final KO field of the last 32 players was at stake and my opponent was once again Hayato Hijikata, due to an error in the bracket setup. Again, I lost the first break and had to watch my opponent start with another ace. But from now on, I was in control of the action and took at 6-1 lead. A black break allowed my opponent to score once again, but when he scratched his break shot, I could regain the former lead. I had the break in rack 10 and the table was wide open, but the 8 ball traveled right before the cue ball, so I had to play a jump shot or a push-out. Hijikata returned the push to me and I pocketed the 1 ball. Bad luck – the cue ball fell into the middle pocket and the Japanese player scored the 3-7. Upon his break, Hijikata played a push-out for a jump shot, which he pocketed when I had returned the push-out, and the score evolved to 4-7. A black break of mine brought him even back to 5-7 before I scored the 8-5 upon a black break of my opponent. My next break was better and I took my revenge 9-5 and had earned my spot in the final round of 32 players. 

The draw brought the clash against „Magician“ Efren Reyes (PHI) and the match was played on the TV table and a huge crowd. Although I had lost the right of the first break, I scored the first point and then increased the score to 2-0. I won 4 of the next 6 racks and the score was 6-2 now. Reyes came back to 4-6, but I made use of the next opportunity to lead 9-4. In rack 14, I could have decided the match, but after a very difficult 7 ball, I missed the next “penalty shot” on the 8 ball. Reyes scored the 6-9, before I finally made point 10. In the next rack, I could have scored again, but my position on the 4 ball was a bit short. I could pocket the ball, but could not help the cue ball travel towards the corner pocket. At 10-7 and upon my own break, I scored the 11^th point, and won match 11-7. The next day, the newspapers talked about “a lucky win”, saying that I had played soft breaks. I don’t know what the journalists might have watched and how they interpreted my words after the match.

In spite of a stupid position mistake on the 9 ball, I managed to win the next rack and the pressure was again on Appleton. He had the break in rack 20 and played a bad position from the 1 on the 2 ball. He played an excellent safety with a rail shot, so that I had to think for a while if I was to attack the 2 ball with a rail or a jump shot. I opted for the jump shot and for the first time, I was lucky, because I pocketed, with a legal shot, not the 2 ball, but the 5 ball into the middle pocket. The remaining balls were not too much trouble, but in such a situation, even easy balls can become a real burden. But I kept my nerves and entered the quarter-finals against Alex Pagulayan (PHI) winning 11-9.

This match was played again on the TV table and the hall was sold-out. Around 95 % of the crowd came from the Philippines and it was obvious who they would support. The match turned out to be a fierce fight and none of the players could take more than a one rack lead. I lost the right to the first break and at 2-2, I had my first opportunity to score a break against Pagulayan. But I missed an almost straight 7 ball and, after a safety played by my opponent, another rail shot on the same ball. The next opportunity only occurred at 7-7, but once again, I missed because the cue ball fell into the middle pocket when pocketing the object ball. So, I had to hope for another mistake upon my opponents break and I had to win the racks where I was breaking. At 9-9, it happened, because „The Lion“ missed a rail shot on the middle pocket and left me with an easy 1 ball. I took the 10-9 lead and, with my own break to come, had the opportunity to win the match. I pocketed one ball and had to play a long 1 ball with the risk of pocketing the cue ball in the middle pocket. But I hit the 1 ball perfectly and could prevent the worst. The other positions were perfect, so I could win 11-9 to earn a spot in the semi-finals against Dennis Orcollo (PHI).

The match started slowly and I had the better start when taking the lead at 4-2. But then, I missed the opportunity to score the 5-2, because the cue ball traveled right into the middle pocket upon my break. From this moment on, I was not in the zone anymore and missed three almost identical balls. Even if I was not trailing by more than 2 racks, I could not come close anymore. At 8-10, I was unlucky, because the cue ball was pushed towards the cushion upon my break. I could not run out this table which otherwise was fully open and could only try to play a rail shot position. But the cue ball traveled a bit too far, so that I had to attempt a rail shot with integrated safety option. Orcollo had a tough position, but was lucky enough that he missed his 5-7 combination by so much, that the 9 ball was pushed into the opposite pocket. By losing 8-11, I had to bury my dreams of the final and had to make do with a third rank for the second time within just a few days.

The second semi-final between Niels Feijen (NED) and Shane Van Boening (USA) was a clear affair for the Dutchman who booked the spot in the final with an undisputed 11-4. But in the final, things were different and Dennis Orcollo scored a clear 13-5 and won his second major title in 2008, defending by the same token his rank on the WPA world ranking. Niels Feijen, with his second place, should have also defended his second rank in this ranking. Because the results of the 8-Ball WC are not yet booked in the world ranking, I will certainly made a huge leap after my title in Fujairah and rank 3 in Doha. Currently, I am ranked 8^th in the world ranking.

On the way home, via Istanbul, I was traveling in the same plane as the soccer team of Fenerbahce Istanbul with their new coach, European cup winner Luis Aragonés from Spain. The team of the Brazilian superstar Roberto Carlos was on the way to the coaching camp in Kitzbühel, Austria.