Wednesday matches are complete at the 28th Annual US Open 9-Ball Championship and the players are now ready for the break on Thursday as the area awaits the arrival of Hurricane Isabel which is expected to be the worst hurricane since 1933.
On the winners side Wednesday evening, former Junior National Champion Shane McMinn sent Max Eberle to the B-side with an 11-8 win.
On the TV Table, Johnny Archer defeated Mika Immonen 11-8. Carmine Sardo from Sardo Tight Rack is offering $500 to any player that can make the 9-ball on the break in a match and Mika was able to achieve that feat during his loss. Rodolfo Luat also pocketed a 9-ball on the break on Tuesday to earn $500.
Mike Davis looked to be heading to the one-loss side as he trailed Pablo Matheu 9-8 and Matheu was on the 8-ball, but a three rail scratch on the 8-ball allowed Davis back to the table and he won the match 11-10.
Jeff Pillon looked played well early in his match against Francisco Bustamante and led 6-5 at one point, but Bustamante took his game to the next level and won the next six games for the 11-6 win.
Scott Tellefson was as close as he could be to a victory as he was down on the 9-ball when leading 10-9 over Donnie Mills. It was not meant to be as Tollefson missed the 9-ball and lost the match 11-10.
Troy Frank trailed 5-time US Open Champion Earl Strickland 10-9 and got the match back to 10-10 with him breaking. Frank pushed out after the break in the case game only to have Strickland give the shot back to Frank. Frank missed the shot and Strickland ran out for the match.
Another TV Table match saw Frankie Hernandez race out to a 6-0 lead over Candian Champion John Horsfall. Horsfall went on to win 11 of the next 14 games for the 11-9 victory.
There are no matches scheduled for Thursday as the building has been evacuated by order of the city. As soon as we have confirmation of matches on Friday, it will be posted.
Brackets are online and are updated with all Wednesday results. We have posted the gallery from the players meeting as well as a gallery from the tournament itself. More pictures will be added to the gallery on Thursday.
Photo courtesy of Diana Hoppe - Pool Pics by Hoppe
