GERMANY’S RALF SOUQUET claimed his sixth PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters title when he defeated the Philippines’ Dennis Orcollo in front of a packed house at the SM Mall North in Quezon City, Manila. The jubilant ‘Kaiser’ screamed with joy as he downed the final 9 ball, banishing a succession of heart-breaking defeats in the Philippines capital city.
 
Ralf lost to Ronnie Alcano in the final of the 2006 World Pool Championship in this same city and then he and Thorsten Hohmann were narrowly beaten in the final of the 2009 World Cup of Pool at the hands of Efren Reyes and Francisco Bustamante.
 
Souquet, 42, to be inducted into the BCA Hall of Fame this October, put in two stellar performances on the final day. First, he came from 7-4 down to beat Darren Appleton in the semi-final and followed that up by a solid performance to derail Dennis Orcollo who had looked so good over his previous three matches.
 
"It seems to be my tournament for whatever reason. I've made the final eight times and won six and lost twice. It's not only a dream come true but also the icing on the cake to win it here in the Philippines,” said a delighted Souquet. "It's the fifth final I've played in the Philippines but the first time I've won one, which makes it all the more satisfying!”

The match itself was tight is the early stages and at 3-3 it was all to play for. Neither player was making the most of the break before Orcollo nailed one in eighth game to set up a run out and establish a two rack lead at 5-3.
 
Souquet is one of pool’s premier fighters and he scrapped back into contention at 5-5 and then produced a superb break shot that saw four balls drop and leave him a shot on the lowest ball. From there he cleared to move into a 6-5 lead.
 
Sensing the momentum was swinging in his favour, Souquet broke and ran the next to reach the hill and put Orcollo under severe pressure. Ralf broke and ran the last rack for a famous victory.
 
"At the Masters you are playing 15 of the greatest players in the world and it's very tough from the first round on and you have to play at 100 per cent and if you can't do that then you won't win,” said.

"I could've lost all of my matches and the final was my biggest winning margin as I won 8-7, 8-6, 8-7 and then 8-5.

"The Philippines is the country of pool and it's where the sport is such a big thing. There are so many great players like Efren Reyes, Francisco Bustamante, Dennis Orcollo, Roberto Gomez and I could go on. It's just so tough to win a tournament here.

"But it's so great here as you have so many great fans that love the sport and the players are treated the way they should be."
 
The Final
Ralf Souquet (GER) 8 – 5 Dennis Orcollo (PHI)
Winner receives $20,000, runner-up receives $10,000
 
Semi Finals Results
Dennis Orcollo (PHI) 8 – 4 Fu Jianbo (CHN)
Ralf Souquet (GER) 8 – 7 Darren Appleton (ENG)
Losers receive $4,000
 
Quarter Finals Results
Ralf Souquet (GER) 8 – 6 Lee Van Corteza (PHI)
Darren Appleton (ENG) 8 – 4 Raj Hundal (IND)
Dennis Orcollo (PHI) 8 – 1 Chang Jung-lin (TPE)
Fu Jianbo (CHN) 8 – 5 Jason Klatt (CAN)
Losers receive $3,000
 
Round 1 Results
Ralf Souquet (GER) 8 – 7 Mika Immonen (FIN) ?Darren Appleton (ENG) 8 – 5 Efren Reyes (PHI)
Jason Klatt (CAN) 8 – 3 Francisco Bustamante (PHI)
Lee Van Corteza (PHI) 8 – 7 Huidji See (HOL)
Fu Jianbo (CHN) 8 – 4 Chris Melling (ENG)
Raj Hundal (IND) 8 – 3 Yukio Akagariyama (JAP)
Dennis Orcollo (PHI) 8 – 2 Tony Drago (MAL)
Chang Jung-lin (TPE) 8 – 3 Shane Van Boening (USA)
Losers receive $2,000
www.matchroompool.com

Dr. Louis Pannullo, Charlie Williams(Bronze), Mike Davis (Silver), Thorsten Hohmann (Gold), Alex Pagulayan (Bronze) & patron sponsor Dr. Michael Fedak during the closing ceremonies

Germany once again reigns supreme in straight pool as Thorsten Hohmann dominated the 71st World Tournament of 14.1.  USA's Mike Davis had no answer for Hohmann's precision game and knowledge of 14.1. Both players played their very first match of the event against each other, and met once again in the very end.
 
The matches went longer than expected, and lasted to 3:00 am (ouch) before finished. But a large number of die hard fans stayed till the very end including for the closing ceremonies.
 
"I really say thanks to the fans who stayed here to watch me play to the very end," said Hohmann in his appreciation for the fans.
 
USA's Mike Davis made a valiant effort. The 9-ball player who picked up the game just a few years ago made it through the round robin with 5 wins and 2 losses. Then he defeated Shaun Wilkie 200-133, Earl Herring 200-79, demolished legendary Mike Sigel 200-79, weathered a tough 200-166 match with Charlie Williams before facing Hohmann.
 
Thorsten went undefeated in the round robin stages with a perfect 7-0 record and then defeated Dan Mastermaker 200-25, Dennis Hatch 200- 83, Steve Lipsky 200-116, and came back from a huge deficit to win a thrilling match with Filipino Alex Pagulayan 200-172.
 
In the finals, Thorsten took a commanding lead right away which included a 100+ ball run. Mike was never able to recover from this hit. Fatigue also was a factor on both players as they had already endured tough semi-final matches. They had both pocketed 1500 balls each over the 5 days.  Towards the end Hohmann needed less than one rack to win the match but missed 2 times unbelievably to close it out. Davis was in no shape to put any significant numbers up anymore, and Hohmann pocketed the final balls to claim the championship once more. Hohmann won in 2006.

"This is definitely one of the most significant accomplishments for me," said Davis. "I've won a couple big 9-ball events, but this is major for me to make it to the finals of the World Tournament."
 
"I felt very good coming into the finals. I ran a hundred balls in each of my single elimination matches (5 in a row). But Mike made a very good effort, so he should be proud of himself. This title means alot to me," said Hohmann. With many 9-ball, 10-Ball, and 8-ball titles to his credit, he was asked was 14.1 his favorite game. His reply, "Oh yeahhhh!"
 
Checkout www.worldstraightpool.com for full group results and other 14.1 news from the event.

The 2011 World Tournament is proudly co-sponsored by Predator Cues, Olhausen Tables, Amsterdam Billiards, Andy Cloth, Aramith Balls, Kamui, Pool & Billiard Magazine, Sandcastle Billiards and straight pool aficionados Bill Austin of UT, Dr.Louis Pannullo, Ralph Rubin of MD.  Co-contributors Dennis Walsh, Dr.James Heller, Charles Eames, Mark Snodgrass, and Bill Marapolous.

P&B instruction columnist and Dragon Promotions owner Charlie Williams narrowly escaped defeat at the hands of Johnny Archer. 200-187. The USA will make the finals of the World Tournament of 14.1 for the first time as Mike Davis and Charlie Williams battle it out for the chance to make history. Or change it, depending on how one views the dominance by the Europeans in modern times.
 
Williams took an early 60 point lead, but Archer fought back to regain the lead. Then Williams returned the favor and too the lead again 130-91. Archer again came back. The lead see-sawed several times in the course of the match. Finally Archer stood on the threshold of victory needing only 11 balls. He had a great break shot set up, but he missed the ball and Williams came to the table needing 2 racks to win.  Relying on his famous shotmaking, Williams' controversial patterns made for some exciting shots. At the end, Williams shot a off an angle side pocket combo to close out the match. "Willie Mosconi is turning in his grave. I know. I'm sorry!" joked Williams.
 
"The shot clock was little fast and I think modifying it to an extension per rack is a good way to go. But definitely you need a clock sometimes because some players are really, really slow," said John Schmidt.
 
Currently the favorite to win from here is Thorsten Hohmann of Germany. He faces 14.1 rookie but strong all-around pro Alex Pagulayan. The winner will wait for outcome of Davis and Williams.
 
Checkout www.worldstraightpool.com for full group results and other 14.1 news from the event. The 2011 World Tournament of 14.1 is proudly co-sponsored by Predator Cues, Olhausen Tables, Amsterdam Billiards, Andy Cloth, Aramith Balls, Kamui, Pool & Billiard Magazine, Sandcastle Billiards and straight pool aficionados Bill Austin of UT, Dr.Louis Pannullo, Ralph Rubin of MD.  Co-contributors Dennis Walsh, Dr.James Heller, Charles Eames, Mark Snodgrass, and Bill Marapolous.

Rodney Morris is getting the hang of straight pool. Photo by Charles Eames

Could Rodney Morris be the greatest Hawaiian 14.1 player in history? Pool historians may need to start researching that since Morris is making a statement at The World Tournament of 14.1. Morris is one of only four players to go undefeated in seven straight matches in the round robin and win their groups. The event's first stage is now concluded and goes into the single elimination race to 200 with half the field eliminated.
 
Morris had notable wins over New York 14.1 local legend Danny Barouty and played a near flawless match on the TV table against Brandon Shuff. He defeated Shuff 100-19 in 2 innings.
 
"I'm starting to like this game," said Morris. " I just kept telling myself throughout my matches that if Charlie Williams could do it, it must be easy!"
 
Two players tomorrow who didn't have a perfect record are USA hopeful John Schmidt and Finland's Mika Immonen. Just days ago Immonen picked Schmidt as America's best chance to win the World Tournament. Now only one of these two 14.1 giants will make it past the match.
 
Other notable matches include defending 14.1 champion Oliver Ortmann versus Japan national champion Kunihiko Takahashi and the 12:00 pm live stream match between Ray Martin vs Max Eberle. Check out www.worldstraightpool.com for full group results and other 14.1 news from the event

The 2011 World Tournament is proudly co-sponsored by Predator Cues, Olhausen Tables, Amsterdam Billiards, Andy Cloth, Aramith Balls, Kamui, Pool & Billiard Magazine, Sandcastle Billiards and straight pool aficionados Bill Austin of UT, Dr.Louis Pannullo, Ralph Rubin of MD.  Co-contributors Dennis Walsh, Dr.James Heller, Charles Eames, Mark Snodgrass, and Bill Marapolous.  

Executive Billiards, manufacturer of the Delta-13 billiard ball rack, announced today that they are hosting a pool trick shots contest for novice and amateur players on YouTube.
“The Delta-13 International Amateur Trick Shot Contest” will give away over $20,000 in quality billiard accessories, including a 7' Diamond Sport pool table. Four winners will also receive airfare plus three nights stay in Las Vegas from May 11-12, 2012.

Pool Tricks Add Excitement to Home Recreation
“We are promoting artistic pool and trick shots during the four month contest to expose the home recreation market to this exciting sport. Young and old alike, who have access to a pool table, will find trick shots are a terrific activity to entertain family and friends,” says Terry Taggart, President of Executive Billiards.

The process for competing in the contest requires 4 easy steps:
1. Read the complete contest rules at www.delta-13.com.
2. Record a video of your trick shot.
3. Upload the video to YouTube.
4. Register your video on the delta-13 web site.

Trick videos will be judged and graded with a maximum point potential of 10 for each of five categories; Degree of difficulty, creativity and originality, execution, presentation, and video quality. World renowned professional trick shot artists will perform the judging. Florian “Venom” Kohler – France, Stefano “ Mr. Trick Shots” Pelinga – Italy, Paul “Professor-Q-Ball” Frankel – USA, and Tom “Dr. Cue” Rossman – USA, will be using their many talents to grade the registered videos.

According to ESPN & World Masters Trick Shot Champion Tom “Dr. Cue” Rossman, “The Delta-13 International Amateur Trick Shot Contest should become a landmark competition for the sport of artistic pool. Players from around the world may showcase their artistic skills in 2 presentation categories, which will surely take trick shots to a new level in billiard excellence and magnetic fan appeal.”

All qualifying trick shot videos must include a Delta-13 regular or elite ball rack. The entire “Rules of Eligibility” can be found at www.delta-13.com. Winners will be announced on February 13, 2012.

Gold Sponsors who made this contest possible include :
Simonis Cloth, Aramith Balls, www.playbca.com, Poison Billiards, Diamond Billiards, Dr. Cue Promotions, Kamui Tips, Poolprodigystore.com, www.generationpool.com, and Tag Team Design.

Ray Martin had fans on their feet when he upset reigning World Champion Oliver Ortmann of Germany Today. Photo by Charles Eames

Hollywood could not have scripted this any better. Ray "Cool Cat" Martin, the 76-year-old BCA Hall of Famer and author of "99 Critical Shots" gave former world champ Oliver Ortmann his very first loss at the 71st World Tournament of 14.1. 

Ortmann had the lead at one point, but Martin kept the score close throughout the match. Both players engaged in several key safety exchanges, which seemed to throw the German champion off his rhythm. Martin won the bulk of these defensive exchanges using his fountain of old school knowledge.

Needing only a rack, Martin had a very difficult cut shot that would break the stack open. He made a terrific cut but the cue ball got kissed into the corner as well. Ortmann could not end the set however, and Martin was given another chance. Needing less than a rack, he faced another deep cut shot as his break shot, and made an incredible backwards cut into the side pocket and busted the rack open, but again the cue ball somehow found a pocket. Ortmann erred once more and Martin ran out what he needed for the win. The audience rose to their feet in joy!

"It feels really good. I can't play like I use to, but I'm happy I can still do it," said Martin of his historic win.

Ortmann continued to have a bad day as he ran into a red hot Sigel next. Sigel, talkative as always, managed to put together rack after rack. After many self oohs and ahhs, Sigel finished the match with a 100 ball run to shut Ortmann down 100-0. This is the first time anyone has shut down Ortmann in the World Tournament. Sigel remains undefeated and looks to be prime for the top ranking for his group.

Checkout www.worldstraightpool.com for full group results and other 14.1 news from the event

The 2011 World Tournament is proudly co-sponsored by Predator Cues, Olhausen Tables, Amsterdam Billiards, Andy Cloth, Aramith Balls, Kamui, Pool & Billiard Magazine, Sandcastle Billiards and straight pool aficionados Bill Austin of UT, Dr.Louis Pannullo, Ralph Rubin of MD.  Co-contributors Dennis Walsh, Dr.James Heller, Charles Eames, Mark Snodgrass, and Bill Marapolous.  For more information on player registration, sponsorship, or if you would like to submit a comment, please email worldstraightpoolchampionships@gmail.com or contact Dragon Promotions at 1-407-782-4978.

New Brunswick, New Jersey-  Dragon Promotions is making preparations for Hurricane Irene and possible issues caused by the impending storms. Players and fans are not to worry though, the event will go on this week. The 14.1 Warm-Up Tournament originally scheduled for Amsterdam Billiard Club will be moved to Sunday August 28 with players meeting at 2pm. The main event, 71st World Tournament, will begin with a players meeting at 9am on Monday morning August 29th.  The event will stay on schedule to end on September 2.
 
Fans will still be able to watch world class straight pool action Sunday with stars such as Thorsten Hohmann, Mike Sigel, John Schmidt, Jose Parica, Johnny Archer, Alex Pagulayan, Stephan Cohen, Rodney Morris, Kunihiko Takahashi, Ralf Eckert, Mike Davis, Max Eberle, Charlie Williams,  and many more competing.
 
Everyone is welcome to come Sunday and mix it up with top 14.1 stars like Niels Feijen!
 
All fans and players of any skill level can join in the Warm-Up for $75 and get a rare opportunity to play in the main arena of The World Tournament. The Olhausen Tables with Andy Cloth and Aramith Balls will be new so come out and experience the feeling of world class 14.1 action with the pros at The Hyatt Regency!
 
Both tournaments are sponsored by Dr. Michael Fedak and Amsterdam Billiard Club. Predator Is the Official Cue of the events.
 
"It's really unfortunate timing for this storm to hit on our big day with the pros, but stuff happens. We apologize to the fans and players but are happy to still support both events in New Jersey," explained Greg Hunt of Amsterdam Billiards. New York City and much of New Jersey Has mandatory evacuation and major roads are being closed down, along with all mass transit. Despite this, Greg Hunt, of Amsterdam Billiards and from Dr. Michael Fedak will add $3000 into the  Warm-Up one day event.
The bottom line: The best straight pool action will still be ongoing all week and everyday!
 Sandcastle Billiards will be inviting all the pros and fans over for a night of fun Saturday August 27th. Located only 5 minutes away from the Hyatt Regency, for a mere $20 gets you in to play pool free all night. Starting Sunday through Friday just bring your Official Program Book of the World Tournament of 14.1 and you will get the same special all week!

The junior field, over 100 strong!

Over 100 students have traveled from 26 states, all eyeing the title that will stay with the winner for a lifetime. Many participants are familiar with the venue since this is the second year in a row the Junior Nationals are being held at Northern Illinois University’s Huskies Den.
Players began by enjoying an evening of entertainment by the World famous Jeanette “The Black Widow” Lee.  Ms. Lee took on challengers and spent most of the evening signing Black Widow cue balls and posters that she generously donated to every player in the event.  To top off the evening, an adult/child tournament run by volunteers Tammy and Mel Leonard far exceeded the team participation from last year, and jumped from 32 teams to 63 teams!

Tournament play suspended at 6pm for the banquet. Over 240 guests enjoyed an evening of good food and entertainment.  BEF Executive Director Laura Smith opened by recognizing special guests in the audience that included sponsor Ivan Lee of Simonis Cloth, Christian Riddle of NIU, Tom ”Dr. Cue” & Marty Rossman and BEF board member Roy Pastor.  A full course meal was followed by speaker “The Black Widow” sharing her personal struggles with scoliosis throughout her life and career, to teach the kids the importance of perseverance in gaining what you want in life. Next up was the wonderful performance of a local youth theater group, “The Dreamers.” Following this, the “Academic All American” awards were presented to an impressive 39 Junior National participants who were honored for achieving at least a 3.5 grade point average in the previous school year.  Random prizes were given throughout the evening and the banquet came to an end with the viewing of a video presentation.  Several top WPBA pros sent encouraging messages to the participants and photos from the previous year played to music. Thanks go out to Kyle Smith for putting this video together.

Following the banquet, players watched Dr. Cue dazzle the onlookers in a trick shot show that repeat viewers are never tired of watching. Dr. Cue’s Trick Shot event will allow players to try their hand at winning the title of “Junior National Artistic Pool Champion.” 

Play continues through Sunday... stay tuned for results!

Story and Photo by Ted Lerner

(Doha, Qatar)—With a super cool demeanor and a red hot stroke, Yukio Akagariyama of Japan won the 2011 World 9-ball Championship, defeating the Philippines Ronnie Alcano in a tense and scintillating finals match on Friday night, 13-11.

Akagariyama won the title with a brilliant display of pressure packed 9-ball before a cheering partisan crowd of close to 1500 people, most of them Filipinos, at the Al Sadd Sports Club in Doha, Qatar.

The victory capped what has been a tremendous recent surge for the 36 year old. Back in May Akagariyama made it to the semi-finals of the World 10-ball Championship in Manila. Then in early June, he placed 5th at the China Open in Shanghai.
In Doha Akagariyama played solid and steady all week. But he also had moments when mistakes crept into his game, especially late in matches during the knockout stages, when the pressure became too much to bear. But always the 36 year old from Nagano quietly sucked it up, and got right back down to business and made it across the finish line.

The match had just about everything fans of championship 9-ball could ask for. The lead and the momentum swung both ways on several occasions, and the outcome was in doubt right up until the last ball dropped; both players made jaw dropping shots and strung racks together while showing absolute mastery of the table.

Alcano, who had just come off a definitive semi-finals win over compatriot Dennis Orcullo earlier, won the lag and immediately broke and ran for the first point of the match. Akagariyama, who advanced by beating England’s Mark Gray 11-10 in a thrilling semi final, tied it in the next rack after Alcano bobbled the 5-ball in the corner pocket.

In rack 3 Alcano fouled leaving Akagariyama a tempting 1-9 combination that rattled in the jaws of the pocket. With the 9 still sitting in the corner, Alcano  sent the crowd into fits when he caromed off the one ball, and sent the cue down table, back up off of two rails and into the 9 which fell in for the win. From there the pair stepped their games up a gear, as Akagariyama broke and ran, and then Alcano fired back with one of his own to go up 3-2. They split the next two racks with each converting one clutch pot after the next.  At 4-4 the match was already shaping up to be a high quality battle of attrition.

Akagariyama grabbed his first lead in rack 9, and stamped his class on the match.  Alcano left the 2 ball in the jaws, and the Japanese continued with his concise and steady shooting to move up by 1. In the next rack Alcano tried to jump but left the 2 ball open. Again, Akagariyama coolly picked off the balls and now led 6-4.??Alcano got one back in the subsequent frame with a break and run. But Akagariyama countered yet again with one of his own to move up 7-5. The 36 year old from Nagano was clearly focused like a laser, while potting balls with deadly accuracy and a fine rhythm. He was going to be very tough to beat on this night. It was more of the same  in the next rack as Alcano missed a makeable two ball and the Japanese methodically began to shoot for what seemed like a sure 3 rack lead.  But just as he was about to put a stranglehold on the momentum and the match, Akagariyam left himself poor position on the 9 ball and the cue ball scratched after the winning ball fell.

With the crowd cheering wildly, the scratch seemed to have the makings of a pivotal turning point but Akagariyama was obviously in the zone this night, and broke and ran the next frame with some sensational shooting. In the next rack he continued his measured assault, winning a safety battle then running the table after banking in the 1 ball to go up 9-6.  

Alcano knew it was now or never and cleared off an errant safety to get one back. He then executed a marvelous full table jump on the 1 with position on the 2, a shot that had the crowd going wild. With the run out he was now down by 1, 9-8 and the crowd started sensing the momentum swinging back to their boy. When Akagariyama missed a makeable 6 ball in the next rack, Alcano convinced them it was so, running the table to tie the match at 9.

Alcano continued his fine run in the next frame when he broke and confidently started potting the remaining balls. But suddenly he was stopped in his tracks when a full table 8 ball bobbled in the jaws. As the crowd gasped in horror, Akagariyama stopped the bleeding and regained the lead, 10-9.
Next Akagariyama  made a gutsy  shot on the 1, leaving perfect position on the 2 ball, and a path to a 2 shot lead. But just when it appeared he had grabbed back the momentum, Alcano pulled the same extraordinary shot in the subsequent game and moved one down at 11-10. Alcano won a safety battle in the next rack, and then ran the balls to tie the match at 11-11.

The World 9-ball title was now a race to two and Alcano had the upper hand as he had won the lag and would be breaking for the hill. But with an open table, Alcano missed a very makeable 2 in the side pocket. The former two time world champion couldn’t believe what hit him and neither could the fans. Akagariyama stepped in and executed some tough shots to make it to the hill. ??With one rack to go for the world title, Akagariyama couldn’t have asked for a better break and opening layout. As he had all night, he calmly and methodically ran out to take the World 9-ball championship without any further drama. ??

Afterwards, the low key new champion attributed the biggest victory of his 20 year career to his consistent training regime which, he said, led to self belief that he could ride out the inevitable rough patches and win the big prize. “I wouldn’t say I played perfect this week,” Akagariyama said through an interpreter. “I had some misses. But I had confidence. I’ve been playing well in the past few months. After the World 10-ball and the China Open I went back home and I trained hard, on my game and physical training. I had too much confidence.”

Alcano was left to rue what might have been. He knew he had come close to winning his third world title but realized that at this level, you can’t expect to cash the big ticket when you make elementary mistakes. “I missed four easy shots,” a clearly dejected Alcano said afterwards. “How can I win if I miss four shots? Maybe it was the pressure.”

Akagariyama collected $36,000 for the victory, while Alcano received $18,000.

Story and Photo by Ted Lerner
(Doha, Qatar) --It’s an all Asian final in Doha, Qatar as the Philippines Ronnie Alcano and Japan’s Yukio Akagariyama will face off for the 2011 World 9-ball Championship. The race to 13, alternate break match will begin at 7pm local time in Doha (GMT + 3 hours).

Earlier in front of a capacity crowd of over 1500 people at the Al Sadd Sports Club, Alcano defeated fellow Filipino Dennis Orcullo 11-9.  Akagariyama barely got by England’s Mark Gray in a nail biter, 11-10.  Playing on the TV table, Alcano jumped out to a 2-0 and stayed in front the entire match. He consistently made balls on the break and left himself shots. Orcullo, on the other hand couldn’t seem to find the same magic that he showed yesterday when he played Daryl Peach in the quarterfinals, and regularly found himself having to play safe after the break shot.

Displaying deadly accuracy, Alcano pushed the scoreline up to 8-4. After he moved to the hill at 10-6, Orcullo had one last fight back and closed the match to 10-9. Nothing was certain in the next rack as the two engaged in a safety battle. Orcullo left an opening for Alcano, who took advantage and cleared for the win.
Alcano seems to have found that smooth, deadly rhythm that he used back in 2006 to win the World 9-ball Championship in Manila. His hot streak continued then when he won the World 8-ball title a few months later in Fujairah, UAE.

Since then, Alcano has struggled to find his game. He finally kicked things into gear earlier this month in Shanghai when he reached the quarterfinals of the China Open. Alcano also said that he recently became a free agent, meaning he no longer has a manager back in Manila. He revealed that he is now being backed with financial support by none other than boxing great Manny Pacquiao, who helps Alcano with travel expenses.
“Manny is very  good,” Alcano said after his win over Orcullo. “All I need is just a little bit of Manny’s good fortune and I can win the World Championship. I just have to  win one more match.”

The other semi-final was a much closer match. Early on Gray just couldn’t seem to get any rolls off the break, while Akagariyma did and continued his low key but effective approach to the game and moved up by a 6-2 score line.
At 8-3 it looked like it would just be the Japanese’ day but then the Englishman kicked his game into gear. Gray got a few racks back and then the heat started affecting Akagariyama.  The match was tied at 8 when Gray had a clear run out but found bad position on the 8-ball. He potted it but then had to bank  the 9 and missed it.

“That was the turning point right there,” Gray said afterward. “If I get that 9, I’m up 9-8 and I can win it.” Gray wasn’t done yet, though. He was down 10-8 and then came back to tie. Then, breaking for the win and  a spot in the finals, the unthinkable happened. He scratched on the break, but only by a half of a millimeter of a roll on the cue. Akagariyama had an open table and calmly picked off the colors for the biggest win of his career.
The 36 year old Japanese has recently seen his stock rising on the world stage. At the World 10-ball championship in May in Manila he reached the semifinals.  He reached the quarterfinals in Shanghai earlier this month at the China Open.

The winner of the World 9-ball Championship receives $36,000 while the runner up receives. $18,000. For full results visit www.wpa-pool.com and stay tuned for finals coverage!