Earl Strickland
If anyone had been doubting the resurgence of Earl Strickland, the mighty Pearl has put the quit on those doubts this week at Turning Stone XXI. In his first three matches his opponents have scored a TOTAL of 3 racks against him. He is playing fast and deadly pool with the cue ball totally under his control and the shots just keep coming. His match last night was against a very strong Ron Cosanzio.
Cosanzio had shown his speed by defeating Mike Dechaine in the first round but against Strickland he was just a helpless spectator. Strickland put him down 9-2. Today Mr. Strickland faces a tough challenge when he faces Jason Klatt. Klatt has been displaying fine form (as usual) and has dispatched Larry Nevel and Randy Labonte to the left of the charts already this week, but Strickland Is a taller hill this week and the fans should be in for a great match when these two face off today.
One of the more dramatic races of the week happened Friday night when Karen Corr took down Dennis Hatch 9-8. The match was close throughout and had its tense moments as when Hatch requested, counter to the rules, a second bathroom break. Corr stood firm and refused the request and went on to win the match after Hatch came back from 8-6 down to tie things at 8-8.
Other names still alive with both bullets left include Chris Bartram, Jeremy Sossei, Martin Daigle, Greg Antonakos, Dave Fernandez and Brandon Shuff. Shuff defeated Karen Corr in the last round Friday night 9-3 so he is certainly one who bears close watching.
World number 1 player Thorsten Hohmann is moving undisturbed through the field. Like Strickland, no one has been a serious threat to his prowess and there are already murmurings of what will happen when he winds up facing Strickland. Both men are supremely confidant and this could be an historic match-up if and when it occurs.
Play continues today and you may find the Live Stream from Accu-Stats, brackets and live scoring HERE.
