Brittany Bryant
It has been argued that a player coming from the one loss side has an advantage in a tournament that uses a single elimination final match format, as the player coming from the left side has not had to sit in the seat and get cold awaiting an opponent. This year's World Junior 9-Ball Championship will be another event that makes a case for the belief as both the Boys and Girls winners came from the one loss side to win their divisions.
The boys division saw US Open Hero Jesse Engel take the hot-seat with back to back wins over reigning champion Ruslan Chinakhov and then Spanish powerhouse Francisco Sanchez-Ruiz. The loss to Engel for the hot-seat appeared to get Ruiz's attention as he defeated Chinakhov 9-1 on the one loss side to earn another shot at Engel in the finals. Ruiz took control in the final match and eliminated Engel 11-6 for his first Junior Title.
The ladies division came down to two WPBA players as 2008 Champion Brittany Bryant faced off with WPBA hopeful Briana Miller for the hot-seat with Miller pulling off a 7-3 upset victory over Bryant. Bryant earned her second shot against Miller in the finals by defeating Russia's Anastasia Nechaeva 7-1 on the left side of the board. Bryant took the momentum of that win into the final match and defeated Miller 9-6 in the final match for her second World Junior Title.
