Ryan McCreesh Grabs the Cash at the 2009 Maryland Open 10-Ball Championships

The 2009 Maryland 10-ball Open was held at All-Star Billiards in Frederick, Maryland on Saturday, February 21st.  The event featured a packed field of 64 talented amateurs and a few semi-pro players in this double-elimination event.  The tournament used BCA 10-ball rules where every shot is called, and there was a race to 7 on the winner's side and a race to 5 in the loser's side bracket. The event was co-sponsored by All-Star Billiards, Modern Amusements, Food Pro, and Tom Trott Custom Cues.
 
This event marked the return to competition for Manny Chau, who had not played pool for several months due to a nagging injury to his back.  Manny had made a very strong start in the 2008 season with three consecutive wins in the Tiger Pool Tour and some impressive top three finishes in other regional events, but had disappeared from the competitive scene in the fall of 2008.  Manny Chau said, “I couldn't even practice until a few weeks ago, but it feels really good to be playing pool again.”
 
After a long day of competition, four strong players emerged on the winner's side, local Virginia standouts Matt Clatterbuck, Joey Ryan and Alan Duty and Richard Keefe from Maryland.
 
Clatterbuck reached the final four with strong wins over Will Moon, Kevin West and Russ O'Baker.  Joey Ryan had played very strong all day including a quality 7 – 4 win over Tiger Pool Tour founder Danny Green, but Clatterbuck then knocked Joey to the loser's bracket 7 – 1.  In the other winner's side showdown, Alan Duty sent Richard Keefe to the west side. Then in the hot-seat match, Clatterbuck continued his dominant streak by beating Alan Duty 7 – 5.
 
Meanwhile, both Ryan “The Genie Man” McCreesh and Ken Rutman had been quietly working their way through the loser's bracket.  McCreesh came out ahead of Joey Ryan, although some spectators reported that McCreesh had engaged in some rude, loud talking while Joey was in the process of shooting, leading to a verbal exchange between the two players. Meanwhile, Ken Rutman posted a narrow victory over Richard Keefe, but then lost to McCreesh in the next round. At that point, Ryan McCreesh seemed to pick up momentum like a runaway locomotive, steamrolling over Alan Duty in the losers side final.
 
This set up a showdown between Matt Clatterbuck and Ryan McCreesh for the final championship match.  As the long day gave way to an approaching midnight, McCreesh continued his momentum by beating Clatterbuck 7 – 5.  Since this was Clatterbuck's first loss all day, they re-racked the balls for a race to 5 finals.
 
Local pool player and spectator Mickey Taff said, “It was an exciting atmosphere with more than 150 spectators in attendance.  At one point, Clatterbuck called a kick shot where he spun the cue-ball off the end rail and wove through traffic to pocket the object ball in the side pocket.  The entire crowd immediately jumped to their feet with a loud cheer!”
 
Mickey Taff continued, “But McCreesh was playing like an alien from another planet.  He was making every shot, and his cue-ball control was phenomenal. It was truly a great match to watch.”
 
In the end, Ryan McCreesh beat Clatterbuck 5 – 3 to claim the trophy and prize money for the 2009 Maryland Open 10-Ball Championships.
 
Larry Nicholson, owner of All-Star Billiards and tournament co-director said, “We've had a strong turnout for this event, we are planning to announce other events in 8-ball and 9-ball for later in 2009.”

The Maryland State Open 10-Ball Championship was sponsored by All-Star Billiards in Frederick, Maryland and co-sponsored by Modern Amusements, Food Pro and Tom Trott Custom Cues.  For further information about this event or to inquire about co-sponsoring a future event, please contact Larry Nicholson or Guy Yates at: 301-668-5668.