World Pool Masters First Round Results
Thomas Engert 8 – 7 Tony Drago
Alex Lely 8 – 7 Pei-wei Chang
Luc Salvas 8 – 6 Johnny Archer
Thorsten Hohmann 8 – 2 Marlon Manalo
Niels Feijen 8 – 7 Efren Reyes
Marcus Chamat 8 – 6 Mika Immonen
Oliver Ortmann 8 – 5 Steve Davis
Nick van den Berg 8 – 5 Alex Pagulayan
Thomas Engert 8 – 7 Tony Drago
DEFENDING champion Tony Drago crashed out of the 2004 PokerMillion.com World Pool Masters at the first hurdle at the hands of in-form German Thomas Engert. In a close match, there was only one occasion when either player established more than a single rack lead, but it was Engert who edged ahead at the only time it mattered – the final rack. Drago is well known for his speedy play and an opening rack break and run taking one minute set the tone, but a bad safety in the second allowed the Dueren-based Challenge of Champions winner back to the table. Drago went on to lead 4-2 and 6-4, but Engert’s 5-9 combination in the 13th rack allowed him a break and run for 6-6. Despite the Maltese man reaching the hill first, Engert came out on top from a lengthy safety exchange in the next and it was all down to a deciding rack. Although the balls did not drop kindly for Engert, he had found his stroke and completed a series of tricky pots to secure his place in the last eight.
Alex Lely 8 – 7 Pei-wei Chang
HOME hopes got off to a flyer as The Hague’s Alex Lely endured a few scares to edge out World Championship runner-up Pei-wei Chang of Taiwan in their PokerMillion.com World Pool Masters first round match. With plenty of support from his friends and fans in the crowd, Lely started out in aggressive mood as he won the lag and ran out to take the opener. He then executed a succession of crisp bank shots in the second to increase his lead and a solid break in the third saw four balls drop and from there he cleared to go to 3 – 0. A missed bank shot in the next saw Chang get to the table for the first time but an attempt on a safety went awry and let Lely back in. However, Lely missed a simple pot and with the 9 ball hanging over the bottom corner left pocket, a carom off the green six saw Chang open his account. Chang’s stay at the table came to a halt in the next as he tried and failed to pocket the red 3 by kicking off the side rail. Lely then ran out to go to 4 – 1. In the next rack, Chang had a further opportunity as Lely messed up on a bank shot and from there he took the score to 4 – 2. Lely took the next though as the situation worsened for the man from Taipei. Some quality potting in the next though, saw Lely’s lead shorten to 5 – 3 and another solid rack from Chang in the next saw the score go to 5 – 4. A good break and run then saw Chang level things up on 5 – 5 and he took the next two to get to the hill at 7 – 5. Chang looked set to win the match but with the balls clustered around the bottom left hand pocket, he failed to play a safety on the 6 ball. With the remaining three balls out in the open, Lely cleared to get back to 7 – 6. Lely then won the next frame to take the match to hill – hill and he held his nerve in the last to execute some tough pots to take the match. “I played great, said Lely after the match, “I didn’t used to be a front runner but I’ve learned how. I had a lapse of concentration to allow him to get from 5 – 2 down to 7 – 5 but I just tried to stay positive and if you believe in it hard enough, it will happen. “I enjoyed the match and tried to get everything going for me. I’ve got Thomas Engert in the next round and that’s OK for me.”
Luc Salvas 8 – 6 Johnny Archer
CANADA’S Luc Salvas edged his way into the quarter-finals of the 2004 PokerMillion.com World Pool Masters following a nail-biting 8 – 6 win over Johnny Archer. It was a game where both players made plenty of mistakes with quite a few misses but it was Salvas who made the early running as he moved into a comfortable 6 – 2 lead as a raced around the table, cashing in on some uncharacteristic misses from the American No.1. However, an Archer comeback looked ominous as the Canadian looked shaky under pressure and the Scorpion slowly reeled off the racks to get the score back to level pegging at 6 – 6. Archer looked favourite at this stage but had to push out in the next and following a safety exchange Salvas cleared to get to the hill. A run out in the next rack gave the Montreal-based potter the victory and revenge following his World Championship exit at Archer’s hands in July. Salvas can now look forward to 2003 World Champion Thorsten Hohmann in the next round.
Thorsten Hohmann 8 – 2 Marlon Manalo
2003 WORLD Champion Thorsten Hohmann blitzed his way past Marlon Manalo to progress to the quarter-finals of the 2004 PokerMillion.com World Pool Masters. Hohmann ran out the final five racks as the Filipino was confined to his seat after failing to make a ball on the break in the fifth rack. An error from the German in the opener gave Manalo an early break, but he missed the most elementary of shots on the 3-ball in the second and Hohmann finished the rack with a neat 8-9 combination. Although Manalo was able to notch up one more on the scoreboard, once the Hitman from Fulda was in to his rhythm, he didn’t look back and put in a dangerous performance to send out a message to the rest of the field.
Niels Feijen 8 – 7 Efren Reyes
EUROPEAN No.2 Niels Feijen upset the odds as he came from behind to put paid to the hopes of tournament favourite Efren Reyes at the PokerMillion.com World Pool Masters at Egmond aan Zee, Holland. With plenty of support for both players in the packed arena, Reyes took the opener after Feijen pushed out and then added to his tally in the second with a quality run out. However, Reyes scratched off the break in the next and with ball in hand, Feijen opened his account as he cleared the table to go to 2 – 1. Feijen though scratched himself trying to force position trying to get from the 1 ball to the 2 but Reyes inexplicably returned the favour as he over cut the 5 ball and scratched into the middle bag. Feijen ran out to level it 2 – 2. With a tough shot on the one ball, Feijen left Reyes a table length carom off two cushions to drop the hanging 9 ball and re-establish his lead and he then ran the next to increase his lead to two racks. Feijen was back to the table in the seventh and coolly ran out to get the score back to 4 – 3 and another top quality break and run in the next rack allowed Feijen to square the match as 4 – 4. The Dutchman crashed home his next break and saw four balls drop – unfortunately one of them was the cue ball and Reyes gratefully accepted the ball in hand to clear to the table and once again take the lead. Reyes ran the next to increase his advantage to 6 – 4 but a missed cross table bank by Reyes, once again let Feijen back to the table and he made another of his methodical clearances to pull one back. Feijen tried to stay with Reyes but a missed long cut on the 2 ball in the next allowed the Filipino legend back to the table and he duly obliged to get to the hill at 7 – 5. After a tactical safety exchange in the next, Reyes had the misfortune to scratch and Feijen made no mistakes in clearing the remaining balls. At 7 – 6 down, Feijen broke and made a ball to keep himself at the table and smart 5 / 9 combo took the match to 7 racks apiece. The Hague-based Feijen sealed a superb win as he broke and ran out the final rack to oust Reyes and move into a quarter final spot.
Marcus Chamat 8 – 6 Mika Immonen
THERE was controversy at the 2004 PokerMillion, com World Pool Masters as Marcus Chamat put paid to the hopes of Mika Immonen, courtesy of three golden breaks down the home straight to take the match 8 – 6 and book a quarter final berth against Niels Feijen. Both players were convinced that the rack deteriorated as the match progressed and Immonen was particularly disappointed with the outcome of the match, “Obviously there were gaps in the rack – it was neither solid nor tight. “It had been heading that way throughout the match and it’s a disgusting way to go out of the tournament having travelled half way round the world to be here.” Things had looked much brighter for Immonen earlier as following an initial 2 -1 lead for Chamat, he reeled of four racks to look good at 5 – 2. A missed 7 ball in the eighth rack, though, gave Chamat a chance at last and he cleared the remaining balls to get back to 5 – 3. Chamat had a chance to take the next but a terrible shot saw him scratch as he cut the 7 ball into the corner pocket. Immonen ran the remaining three balls to go to 6 – 3. The Finn, though, missed a poor 2 ball to hand the initiative back to Chamat and the Swede cleared the table to take the score to 6 – 4. The game’s first ‘golden break’ controversy arrived in the next as the pink 5 nudged the 9 ball over the line for Chamat and incredibly that same thing happened in the next rack to tie the match up at six racks apiece. Chamat almost completed a hat trick in the next rack but the 8 ball just knocked the 9 off course. A ball down though kept him at the table but a safety was his best option. Immonen, though, tied him up on the 1 ball but left a slight gap which Chamat exploited, playing a 1 / 9 combo to take the lead at 7 – 6. Yet another ‘golden’ took Chamat to victory as the 9 ball drifted its way inexorably towards the corner pocket. Afterwards Chamat was reticent in victory; “No player likes to win like that. Maybe something was wrong with the racking as the 9 ball was going straight into the corner. “I felt good in the beginning but made a couple of bad mistakes, but I really felt that I was playing well.”
Oliver Ortmann 8 – 5 Steve Davis
GERMAN veteran Oliver Ortmann put in a solid performance as he knew too much for England’s Steve Davis, eliminating him in the first round of the PokerMillion.com World Pool Masters. Davis, the former six times World Snooker Champion, gave it a good go winning four racks on the run in the early stages but Ortmann responded, reeling off six consecutive games to get over the line. The players shared the opening two racks before European Mosconi Cup captain Ortmann took the third after Davis missed a cut on the 1 ball to leave the table open. Ortmann himself left a hanger for Davis in the next as he missed a table length shot into a blind pocket. From there Davis cleared to level things up at 2 – 2. Davis, who is fighting for a spot in the 2004 Mosconi Cup team, broke and ran the next two racks as he began to settle into the match. An excellent snooker in the next rack saw Ortmann attempt a very tough jump shot across the top rail but he narrowly missed giving Davis ball in hand from where he cleared up to go to 5 – 2. Both players made mistakes in the next rack – Davis missed the 1 ball to leave it over the pocket and then Ortmann messed up a tough 2 / 9 combo. Davis, though, could not capitalise as he failed to make a long cut on the 2. Ortmann then cleared to go to reduce the deficit to two racks. From then on in it was one way traffic as Ortmann demonstrated what a cruel game pool can be as he ran the next four from the break to get to the hill. Davis made it back to the table in the next but it was only to try and extricate himself from a hopeless snooker. He failed and with the resulting cue ball in hand, Ortmann completed a solid victory. Afterwards Ortmann was delighted in victory, “Steve played well so I’m pleased to be in the next round. At 5 – 2 down, things could have got worse but I took my chances when I had to.” Davis added, “I played all right but he played better.”
Nick van den Berg 8 – 5 Alex Pagulayan
WORLD CHAMPION Alex Pagulayan was dumped out of the 2004 PokerMillion.com World Pool Masters at the first hurdle as he lost 8-5 to Holland’s Nick van den Berg. Van den Berg’s victory means the last eight at Egmond Aan Zee is made up of three Dutchman, three Germans, one Swede and Canada’s Luc Salvas as the only non-European. Mosconi Cup hopeful van den Berg swept in to a 3-0 lead thanks to a couple of missed shots from Pagulayan, but the Dutchman’s break never looked convincing and numerous dry breaks and scratches gave the Filipino-Canadian many chances to take control. But he spurned chance after chance and eventually a poor safety by Pagulayan, van den Berg cleared three balls to reach the hill. Although he came up dry in the next, Pagulayan didn’t look happy as he reduced the deficit to 7-4 and then 7-5 after a run-out. In what proved to be the final rack, Pagulayan ended up with no shot on the 1-ball and van den Berg escaped the snooker as well as fortuitously snookering his opponent. Pagulayan’s foul proved to be his final visit as the Dutchman capitalised to win his place in the last eight. “I played badly, Pagulayan said. “He gave me about 100 chances but I don’t know what’s wrong. “Since the World Championship I’ve been doing so much, maybe I need to slow down a bit but I played well in the On Cue – much better than today.”
Photo and report courtesy of Matchroom Sport
