World 14.1 championship - semifinal, race to 200
The first moment of consequence is when See misses at 19/5 ahead, but is lucky to leave Kempter safe. They trade safeties and See misses a bank shot on the seven, and Kempter misses back, so See runs out for 23/5 ahead.
See runs another rack with ease for 37/5, and another for 51/5. His run is 32, and he's playing the patterns nicely to this point and shows a nice playing rhythm. In the next rack, See must slow roll a fifteen in the corner to keep things going, and hits it well, and the rest is easy for 65/5. Makes breakshot but fails on a long 11 ball, jawing it to bring Kempter back to the table trailing 66/5, but Kempter runs just two. See clears for 77/7 and breaks them. He nearly loses the runout when he runs into the break ball late in the rack, and is somewhat fortunate to recover, but he leads 91/7 and the run is now 25. Makes the breakshot, but now he's jacked up on the 12 in the side and he's not up to the challenge, so Kempter retruns to the table trailing 92/7.
Kempter knows he'd better get going, but runs his second consecutive two, so See returns to the table up 92/9. See is careless, managing just six balls for 98/9, and surely Kempter will get started now. Right? Wrong, for Kempter runs just five for 98/14. Three open tables have added up to just nine balls for Kempter! See runs a rack easily for 112/14, but loses the pattern in the next, and only a rail first effort on the fourteen in the corner will save him. He hits it superbly and runs out for 126/14. Runs 10 more and plays an excellent safety at 136/14. Kempter then plays what, I think, may have been the most wreckless shot of the week by any player, going to the bottom rail and trying to kick in a combo of the six ball into the top corner, and misses the pocket by a few inches. A backscratch had been available that would have put him on even footing in the safety battle, so the wild gamble was, at least in my view, very ill-advised.
See clears the last few balls on the table and tacks on another rack for 154/14, but he's way too straight on the breakshot and he attempts a wild stun shot at maximum speed to get a piece of the pack, missing both the ball and the pack. So it's back to safety play and See earns the first shot.
Our patron sponsor, pool's wonderful benefactor, and my good friend, Randy Goldwater, boldly predicts that See will run 46 and out, but after running 42 cleanly, he gets wrong on the last breakshot, and fails to hit the rack, so it's back to safety play at 197/14. Kempter wins the safety battle and runs a most inconsequential 27, and moments later, See secures the 200-41 win.
See played respectably, but I suspect it will take a slightly better effort than this in the final for him to snap off this tournament.
The first moment of consequence is when See misses at 19/5 ahead, but is lucky to leave Kempter safe. They trade safeties and See misses a bank shot on the seven, and Kempter misses back, so See runs out for 23/5 ahead.
See runs another rack with ease for 37/5, and another for 51/5. His run is 32, and he's playing the patterns nicely to this point and shows a nice playing rhythm. In the next rack, See must slow roll a fifteen in the corner to keep things going, and hits it well, and the rest is easy for 65/5. Makes breakshot but fails on a long 11 ball, jawing it to bring Kempter back to the table trailing 66/5, but Kempter runs just two. See clears for 77/7 and breaks them. He nearly loses the runout when he runs into the break ball late in the rack, and is somewhat fortunate to recover, but he leads 91/7 and the run is now 25. Makes the breakshot, but now he's jacked up on the 12 in the side and he's not up to the challenge, so Kempter retruns to the table trailing 92/7.
Kempter knows he'd better get going, but runs his second consecutive two, so See returns to the table up 92/9. See is careless, managing just six balls for 98/9, and surely Kempter will get started now. Right? Wrong, for Kempter runs just five for 98/14. Three open tables have added up to just nine balls for Kempter! See runs a rack easily for 112/14, but loses the pattern in the next, and only a rail first effort on the fourteen in the corner will save him. He hits it superbly and runs out for 126/14. Runs 10 more and plays an excellent safety at 136/14. Kempter then plays what, I think, may have been the most wreckless shot of the week by any player, going to the bottom rail and trying to kick in a combo of the six ball into the top corner, and misses the pocket by a few inches. A backscratch had been available that would have put him on even footing in the safety battle, so the wild gamble was, at least in my view, very ill-advised.
See clears the last few balls on the table and tacks on another rack for 154/14, but he's way too straight on the breakshot and he attempts a wild stun shot at maximum speed to get a piece of the pack, missing both the ball and the pack. So it's back to safety play and See earns the first shot.
Our patron sponsor, pool's wonderful benefactor, and my good friend, Randy Goldwater, boldly predicts that See will run 46 and out, but after running 42 cleanly, he gets wrong on the last breakshot, and fails to hit the rack, so it's back to safety play at 197/14. Kempter wins the safety battle and runs a most inconsequential 27, and moments later, See secures the 200-41 win.
See played respectably, but I suspect it will take a slightly better effort than this in the final for him to snap off this tournament.
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