Alex Pagulayan (Photo courtesy of Dave Thomson Mediumpool.com)
The Canadian Championships continues at Shooters Snooker and Sports Club in Toronto. The Open 9-ball event had 34 players competing for the title with the winner guaranteed a spot in the World Championships. With many of the previous 9-ball champions not in attendance, the event was wide open.
Moving through the top half of the bracket was Jason Klatt with wins over Bruce Lilly (11-1), Andy Aupin (11-10), Brad Poorman (11-4) and Jason Thomas (11-7). In the lower bracket, Alex Pagulayan was in fine form after just winning the 8-Ball event. Alex had wins over Dwayne Thompson (11-4), John Morra (11-7), Rob Phillips (11-10), and Dave Martin (11-3).
In the “hot seat” match, Pagulayan made quick work of Klatt with a convincing 11-4 win. Klatt then faced Rob Phillips from Alberta in the b-bracket finals. Phillips would have to settle for 3rd place after losing to Klatt 11-6.
In the finals, Klatt then faced Pagulayan once again for a shot at the national title. With the match tied 1-1, Alex won 8 of the next 9 games leading the match 9-2. Jason managed to swing the momentum into his direction winning the next five racks to bring the score within two at 9-7. The players traded the next few racks before Alex closed out the match with a break and run in the last game. Pagulayan wins his third Canadian 9-Ball title with a 15-9 score.
9-Ball Open Results
1st – Alex Pagulayan
2nd – Jason Klatt
3rd – Rob Phillips
4th – Mario Morra
5-6th – Dave Martin
5-6th – Jason Thomas
7-8th – Andy Aupin
7-8th – Brad Poorman
This article originally appeared at thepoolscene.com
