The competition here is exciting. Every match offers a full plate of goodies.
Mark Jarvis defeated Max Eberle. He took a lead from the beginning, but then Max seemed to string a few games together. Mark triumphed at the end.
Young Gun Matt Krah faced U.S. Open Champion Rodney Morris. A tough draw for the kid. Rodney was in good form and made four 9-balls on the break and took the win, 11 to 7.
I watched a match between Marlon Manalo from the Philippines. I cannot remember the name of his opponent. Every time Marlon would miss, he left a PERFECT safety. When he broke the balls, the cue-ball actually came to a dead stop in the center of the table as if it had brakes. I think a good nickname would be Marvelous Marlon, and this is the player to watch at this year's U.S. Open.
Buddy Hall arrived, and EVERYBODY called his name when he entered the Chesapeake Conference Center. He has a strong fan base, with many folks enjoying his company from previous Opens. Buddy plays his first match tomorrow.
Larry Nevel is playing strong, just like he did at the Carolinas Open. I saw his name tag and realized for the first time that his real name is "Leron." He is making cue sticks now with Reeves Cues in South Carolina, and he lent Keith McCready one of his cues to check out during the tournament.
Action Jackson at Q-Masters. Keith and Hennessee teamed up against Sylver and "Charlie" from Texas for a friendly game of one-pocket. They ended up losing one game, but plan on a rematch tonight. It was late, and all players wanted to prepare for their tournament matches the next day.
When we left Q-Masters, B.J. Ussery was spotting a player from Florida named Donnie Mills the 8-ball for a very large chunk of change. Donnie Mills had spanked Ronnie Wiseman last night EVEN.
Little John is in action every single night. Little John and Sweden's Marcus Chamat are supposed to play a set tonight, with Little John getting spotted 6 and the last three. Little John told Marcus to stack it up as high as he wanted.
Also at Q-Masters, Rodney Morris and Tang Hao were practicing for many hours, gearing up for the tournament in front of a crowd of onlookers. At Q-Masters, there is a whole wall of elevated seating. The seats are very similar to movie theater seating, quite comfortable.
Ernesto Dominguez is here with his son Oscar. They graciously allowed me to snap their picture, which I will post up when I return home.
Mika Immonen was playing on the TV table late in the night against Ismael Paez. Ismael had him stuck right from the start, and Mika put it in turbo charge and ran a 6-pack. Mika won the match, and both players were giving it their all. GREAT match, and it was recorded by Accu-Stats, one I would highly recommend checking out. Incredible!
It doesn't get much better than this, here at the U.S. Open. I have to say I am truly impressed and can't wait for tomorrow. There are some excellent matches up ahead.
JAM
