Saturday afternoon it's Shane vs. Francisco. They start out close through the first part of the matchup, then Shane pulls away for a 6-3 lead. Busty wins the next game to make it 6-4. He breaks dry and Shane shoots the one in and ends up perfect for a 2-10 combo. 7-4. In the next game, both players miss the eight, but Bustamonte gets out to make it 7-5. He follows up with a break and run to make it 7-6. He misses a kick at the two in the next rack and Shane runs out to get on the hill. He crushes the break making four balls and ends up straight in on the one and runs out. Francisco takes fourth place money.
In the evening it’s Shane vs. Lee Van Corteza. They start out close: 5-4 and then 5-5. Lee breaks dry in the next game and Shane runs out. 6-5. Shane is really hitting his break well and makes three and runs out to make it 7-5. The next rack he makes two balls and runs out. 8-5. Shane’s next break puts three balls down, but he’s frozen to the one. He spins to rails for a kick and lays own a perfect safe. Lee kicks two rails and hides the one. Shane misses the one rail kick and Lee runs out to make it 8-6. Lee makes a ball on the break, but misses a cross-side break on the two and leaves Shane straight in on the two, but he jaws it. Lee kicks in the two but bumps the three ball behind the six. He almost kicks in the three and leaves Shane tough. Shane lays down a perfect safe on the three but Lee finally gets a shot and runs out. 8-7. Lee breaks dry. Shane plays a safe on the one, but Lee returns with a kick that hides the one. Shane shoots a two-rail kick that leaves Lee straight in. But, Lee bobbles the six in the side, only to have Shane miss a cross side bank. Lee slices in the six and gets out to make it hill-hill. The final game Lee fails to make a ball on the break. Shane is hooked on the one and rolls out. Lee shots and misses the one and Shane misses another cross side bank. Lee almost bobbles the nine, but holds on to get out for the win. Shane takes third.
The finals are a race to 13. It’s Lee Van Corteza vs. LoLi-Wen. (I have no clue now what the proper alignment and spelling of his name is, so my apologies.) It quickly, no, make that slowly, turns into a long drawn out affair. After an hour and 45 minutes they have played 11 games and it stands at 7-4, Lee. After some polite admonishments from the TD, where I believe the words “shot clock” were threaten, the pace picks up noticeably and after another hour it is 11-9, Lee. Li wins the next game to make it 11-10. He then makes a ball on the break, but eventually it is Lee who runs out from the one to make it 12-10. Lee breaks dry and Li runs out. 12-11. The next rack Li makes two balls on the break and plays a good safe on the one. Lee gets the first shot at the ball, but misses it and Li runs out. Hill-hill. The last game, Li makes a ball on the break, but bobbles the one in the side. A shot later he has jammed himself up against the three. He spins off the ball and hides most of the three. Li attempts a jump shot that fails and Lee runs out. Lee Van Corteza is the U.S. Open 10-Ball Champion.
Just in case you missed the numbers, the total payout for this event is $89,000, with $20,000 for first, $12,500 for second, $8,500 for third, and $5,700 for fourth. Lee also gets an entry into the U.S. Open 9-Ball later this year.
So, well, that’s it. Oh yes, akaTrigger’s team has finished tied for 5/6th, losing the Lighthouse Pub. It’s been a haul and I'm toast. Burnt toast. So I'm signing off for a few days. I’ll probably have a few random thoughts later on that’ll come to mind to share. But for now, I’d just like to thank Mark Griffin for all the fun the last few days. I hope some of you have enjoyed the reports and found of the info illuminating. See y’all in a few days.
Lou Figueroa
In the evening it’s Shane vs. Lee Van Corteza. They start out close: 5-4 and then 5-5. Lee breaks dry in the next game and Shane runs out. 6-5. Shane is really hitting his break well and makes three and runs out to make it 7-5. The next rack he makes two balls and runs out. 8-5. Shane’s next break puts three balls down, but he’s frozen to the one. He spins to rails for a kick and lays own a perfect safe. Lee kicks two rails and hides the one. Shane misses the one rail kick and Lee runs out to make it 8-6. Lee makes a ball on the break, but misses a cross-side break on the two and leaves Shane straight in on the two, but he jaws it. Lee kicks in the two but bumps the three ball behind the six. He almost kicks in the three and leaves Shane tough. Shane lays down a perfect safe on the three but Lee finally gets a shot and runs out. 8-7. Lee breaks dry. Shane plays a safe on the one, but Lee returns with a kick that hides the one. Shane shoots a two-rail kick that leaves Lee straight in. But, Lee bobbles the six in the side, only to have Shane miss a cross side bank. Lee slices in the six and gets out to make it hill-hill. The final game Lee fails to make a ball on the break. Shane is hooked on the one and rolls out. Lee shots and misses the one and Shane misses another cross side bank. Lee almost bobbles the nine, but holds on to get out for the win. Shane takes third.
The finals are a race to 13. It’s Lee Van Corteza vs. LoLi-Wen. (I have no clue now what the proper alignment and spelling of his name is, so my apologies.) It quickly, no, make that slowly, turns into a long drawn out affair. After an hour and 45 minutes they have played 11 games and it stands at 7-4, Lee. After some polite admonishments from the TD, where I believe the words “shot clock” were threaten, the pace picks up noticeably and after another hour it is 11-9, Lee. Li wins the next game to make it 11-10. He then makes a ball on the break, but eventually it is Lee who runs out from the one to make it 12-10. Lee breaks dry and Li runs out. 12-11. The next rack Li makes two balls on the break and plays a good safe on the one. Lee gets the first shot at the ball, but misses it and Li runs out. Hill-hill. The last game, Li makes a ball on the break, but bobbles the one in the side. A shot later he has jammed himself up against the three. He spins off the ball and hides most of the three. Li attempts a jump shot that fails and Lee runs out. Lee Van Corteza is the U.S. Open 10-Ball Champion.
Just in case you missed the numbers, the total payout for this event is $89,000, with $20,000 for first, $12,500 for second, $8,500 for third, and $5,700 for fourth. Lee also gets an entry into the U.S. Open 9-Ball later this year.
So, well, that’s it. Oh yes, akaTrigger’s team has finished tied for 5/6th, losing the Lighthouse Pub. It’s been a haul and I'm toast. Burnt toast. So I'm signing off for a few days. I’ll probably have a few random thoughts later on that’ll come to mind to share. But for now, I’d just like to thank Mark Griffin for all the fun the last few days. I hope some of you have enjoyed the reports and found of the info illuminating. See y’all in a few days.
Lou Figueroa
