Efren Reyes v Thorsten Hohmann and Rodney Morris v Hui-kai Hsia - that is the semi-final line-up as the 2003 StanJames.com World Pool League reaches its conclusion at the SGGW, Warsaw, Poland this evening.
All four players had done enough over the preceding two days to secure a berth in the top four and today's matches were all about jockeying for position to see who plays whom.
In the afternoon's opener, Malta's Tony Drago finally recorded a League in the battle to avoid the wooden spoon.
He cruised past Germany's Oliver Ortmann by 8 - 2 to complete the German's wretched weekend, as he lost all five of his League matches, scoring a paltry 16 racks in the process.
With the difference between fifth and last place a sizeable $1000, Drago came out firing, winning the first two racks with a couple of speedy clearances.
A drawn out third rack contained plenty of safety play and a few mistakes but it was Ortmann who finally gained control to win it. He took the next with a break and run to level it but from then on it was all Drago.
He got his break going well and raced around the table like a potting machine. Ortmann's infrequent visits resulted in errors as Drago piled on the misery. He even completed a rack in less than 50 seconds as he made four balls on the break.
In all fairness to Ortmann, he was suffering from an appalling head cold that affected his balance and he did well to complete the match.
Defending Champion Efren Reyes confirmed his dominance of the round robin section with a 7 - 3 win over Hui-kai Hsia. That put his record at four wins and a draw from five starts.
Hsia, who had looked so powerful winning his opening three games, made a number of unforced errors which is fatal against a player of Reyes' skill and imagination.
The Filipino star, who was supported by a twenty-strong contingent of his countrymen, looked in control at all times as he ran through the racks and he will certainly be the favourite tonight to retain his title.
Hsia will need to re-group and try and find his form from Friday if he is to get past Rodney Morris, who did just enough in his match against Thorsten Hohmann, to clinch second spot and avoid Efren Reyes.
Hohmann took the points with a 6 - 4 win, but both players will have to step up the pace a little if they are to win this title tonight.
Sunday Afternoon Results:
Tony Drago (Mal) 8 - 2 Oliver Ortmann (Ger)
Efren Reyes (Phi) 7 - 3 Hui-kai Hsia (TPE)
Thorsten Hohmann (Ger) 6 - 4 Rodney Morris (USA)
Tonights race to 8, alternate break semi-finals:
Efren Reyes v Thorsten Hohmann
Rodney Morris v Hui-kai Hsia
Final Round Robin Standings:
| Plys | Won | Drwn | Lost | For | Away | Pts | +/- | ||
| 1 | Reyes | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 20 | 9 | +10 |
| 2 | Morris | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 28 | 22 | 6 | +6 |
| 3 | Hsia | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 27 | 23 | 6 | +4 |
| 4 | Hohmann | 5 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 27 | 23 | 6 | +4 |
| 5 | Drago | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 22 | 28 | 3 | -6 |
| 6 | Ortmann | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 16 | 32 | 0 | -16 |
