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Majid-Immonen-Drago all win at PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters

A Pro9 - Europe's No.1 Pool Player Resource Article

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Date: Sunday, May 11 2008 @ 08:49:49 UTC
Topic: 9 Ball



PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters 2008 Riviera Hotel & Casino 2901 Las Vegas Blvd, South Las Vegas, Nevada 8910909 USA www.rivierahotel.com www.playbca.com www.worldpoolmasters.com www.matchroomsport.com Friday-Sunday 9-11 May 2008
Photos � JP Parmentier / Matchroom Sports
Pagulayan KO's the Rocket at PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters Alex Pagulayan ( Philippines ) became the first semi-finalist at the PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters as he defeated Rodney Morris 8-6 at the Riviera Convention Centre, Las Vegas. It was an entertaining encounter that was thoroughly enjoyed by the Vegas crowd and Pagulayan enjoyed just the right amount of skill coupled with good fortune to see him across the line. �I enjoyed that absolutely,� said Pagulayan. �I was nervous and a bit shaky but I think I played well under the conditions and tried really hard to focus.� "Read more" for the details.

�In the end I had a bit more luck than him. Out there, under the gun, the table played tough but race to eight, with the TV and crowd, everything is tough,� he added. They shared the early racks but Morris broke and ran the seventh to move into a 4-3 lead but the match effectively became a race to four when Pagulayan took the next following a dry break from Morris. �Come on make some balls!� shouted Pagulayan after his next break shot and his wish was granted as two balls dropped. He played a tidy safety but Morris escaped. He could not escape the next snooker as he flashed at a table length kick and missed the blue 2 by a long way. With ball in hand Pagulayan cleared the table to go into a 5-4 lead. The Filipino scratched on the break though and with ball in hand Morris levelled it at five racks each. A dry break though left the 1 ball on for Pagulayan via a cross table bank and although he made it, the cue ball stopped too close to the 2 ball so he was forced to play safe. Pagulayan fouled as he tried to pot a hanging 3 ball via a bank off the top rail but missed the object ball completely. With ball in hand, Morris ran out to go 6-5 ahead. There was a ball on the break for Morris but he missed a bank on the 2 ball. Pagulayan overran the cue ball going from 3 to 5 but rescued the situation with a good pot and he cleared the table to level things at 6-6. A good quality snooker from Pagulayan forced Morris to play a two rail kick but he missed the 1 ball entirely. Pagulayan spurned his ball in hand opportunity as he missed a pot on the pink 4 but Morris missed a 4/8 combo himself and Pagulayan ran out to reach the hill at 7-6. Pagulayan pushed out in the next and the two players exchanged safeties before Morris jumped the 1 ball into the centre pocket. The 2 ball wasn�t available so he played a safe. Pagulayan went for the bank but fluked the 5 ball, landing perfectly on the blue 2. From there he ran the remaining balls to book his semi-final spot. Corey Deuel has made it through to the quarter-finals of the PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters as he overcame Germany �s Christian Reimering 8 � 5 in an error-strewn encounter at the Riviera . Both players made their share of misses although there was some stunning shot-making to counter it. Deuel was not overly impressed by his performance, �I didn�t play real good but I made a few good outs. I think I was rushing because of the shot clock,� he said. �Some of the shots I played were �make it up as you go along� shots but that�s part of my game. I enjoyed it but I was very nervous, but then I always get nervous. I felt like I was going to win though.� Deuel won a re-lag after referee Patricia Murphy could not separate their first effort. Deuel came up dry on the break and after a safety exchange, the American fouled and Reimering ran out to take the early lead. The next three breaks were also dry and they shared them to leave the score poised at 2-2. Finally Deuel made two balls of the break in the fifth game but Reimering got back to table but missed the 5 ball as Deuel ran out to take the lead. He took the next to put a two rack margin between himself and his opponent. Deuel made the 1 ball into the corner pocket off the break and looked good to run out but missed a fairly easy 6 ball into the corner pocket. It fell kindly for Reimering who ran out to get the score back to 3-4. Reimering made a ball on the break but missed on the two ball. Deuel played a majestic masse on the 3 ball, sending the cue ball arcing down the table and back to fall perfectly on the pink 4. He ran the rest of the table to go to 5-3. Yet another dry break allowed Reimering to get to the table and he looked good running out as the score moved to 5-4 in Deuel�s favour. A miss on a tough 1 ball gave Deuel a chance and he made no mistakes to get to 6-4 and give himself a real chance of victory. Deuel made two balls on the break but with no shot on the 1 ball, he sent the cue ball up table to leave his opponent snookered. Reimering made a one rail escape but left it on for Deuel. Both players had visits before a missed jump shot by the German left Deuel with an outside chance of a 3/9. He missed it and safety battled ensued before Deuel left one on for Reimering. He looked good for the rack before an elementary miss on the 5 ball gifted the rack to Deuel who moved to the hill at 7-4. Deuel pushed out in the next and Reimering tried to play safe but left it on for Deuel. The American�s run broke down and Reimering cleared up to move the score to 7-5. In the next, Reimering played a very precise safety that left the cue ball stuck behind the green 6. Deuel fouled escaping and with ball in hand Reimering pocketed the 2 ball and then left another tough snooker for Deuel to extricate himself from and he missed with a two rail escape. Reimering though, missed the 5 ball. It was a critical error as Deuel tried to leave his opponent in a snooker but the side of the ball was available for Reimering to attempt a tough pot but he missed it. From there, Deuel ran out the table to take the match 8-5. Mika Immonen, the 2001 World Pool Champion, enjoyed a comfortable 8-2 win over Daryl Peach to progress at the 2008 PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters. Peach, who himself won the World Championship last year in Manila, was never really in the match as he made too many unforced errors for a player of Immonen�s caliber. The Finn, who spends most of his time living and playing in the United States, has featured in the Masters many times over the years but has never made it to the business end of the tournament but on this form he will be one of the favourites for Sunday�s final. �I think I made just one error in the match while Daryl made a lot,� said Immonen. �He seemed confused out there and I gained confidence from his confusion. I was able to outsmart him and I felt really composed. �My next match against Corey will be exciting � we�ve played each other many times and it�s always a good game.� He now meets America �s Corey Deuel , who earlier beat Christian Reimering, in Sunday afternoon�s quarter-finals.
Visit the official site www.worldpoolmasters.com for more photos.
ENGLAND�S IMRAN MAJID put on a superb show to beat home favourite Shane Van Boening 8-4 to advance to the quarter-finals of the PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. Watched by his parents, who he flew over especially for the event, the �Maharajah� was at his best as he cashed in on a tough breaking table and some missed pots from Van Boening. �I played pretty good, better than I expected but not 100%�, said Majid after the game. �Shane missed two or three balls but I feel I�m more experienced in Matchroom TV events. �The table was breaking very hard. I tried it from the left and then the right but I had most of my success from the centre which I feel is the way forward,� he added. Van Boening got off to a good start as he comfortably broke and ran the opener but a dry break in the second allowed Majid to come to the table. With no pot available on the 1 ball he played a push out but it was not nearly tight enough and Van Boening pocketed the yellow 1 before snookering his opponent down table. With four of the balls clustered together, it was always going to be a tactical battle but it was the Englishman who prevailed to level it at one rack apiece. Majid looked confident in the third as he quickly ran through the table to take a 2-1 lead. A dry break though gave Van Boening a chance and he banked the 1 ball into the corner pocket to set up a well-executed run out to draw level. The buying guide of best orange juicer you may need. Another smooth run out from Van Boening took him into a 3-2 lead but another dry break let Majid back in. He played safe but Van Boening kicked out and got slightly lucky to leave Majid in a tough snooker. He fouled escaping and with ball in hand, the American ran out to get to 4-2. A failed bank on the 1 ball by Van Boening allowed the Londoner back in and he ran out to reduce the deficit to 4-3. A bad Van Boening miss on the 7 ball left three balls for Majid but he missed the black 8, trying to force position. The 8 ran safe though and Van Boening�s attempt at a snooker came up short as Majid potted the 8 and 9 to level at 4-4. On a roll now, Majid completed a run out from the break to take the lead for the first time. There was yet another dry break from Majid which gave Van Boening a chance but he missed the 1 ball and the Englishman cleared to get to 6-4. Another miss on the 1 ball from Van Boening lead to another run out from Majid as he reached the hill. Making it six racks in a row, Majid ran what was the final rack to crown a superb performance and dump Van Boening out of the event. �Having my parents in the crowd was a real inspiration and knowing they were in the audience really helped me get over the line,� said Majid. �They�ve never seen me play before and I felt I can�t miss a ball with them watching. I�m looking forward to playing Bustamante in the next round and over this format, I can beat anyone.�
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IN THE MOST entertaining match of the competition to date, Malta�s Tony Drago edged out Niels Feijen 8-7 to advance to the last eight of the 2008 PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters. In front of a good crowd at the Riviera Hotel, it looked to be going Drago�s way, but Feijen dug in and staged a comeback before faltering in the deciding rack to give his Mosconi Cup team mate the opportunity for victory. �What a game! If I�d have lost that I would have been very disappointed. Niels is a real fighter and such a great player,� said Drago. �Since the Mosconi Cup last December, I don�t feel as if I can lose a game. That gave me so much confidence as a pool player. �I was very nervous before the game but I was as calm as anything during it. Really, I was enjoying the nerves. �The game changed as I outplayed him in the first half and he outplayed me in the second, but it was a very good win for me. �The American fans are great and they love their pool and I�m looking forward to playing Ko in the next round. �He�s a tough player and he won�t be afraid of me. He�s going to try and blow me away and I�ll be trying to do the same to him.� They shared the opening two racks before Drago broke and ran to take a 2-1 lead. A dry break, a regular feature of this tournament, followed for Drago. Feijen though, hooked himself on 5 and the Maltese player took full advantage to move to 3-1. A foul by the �Tornado� in the fifth game gave Feijen ball in hand and he cleared to get the score back to 2-3. Drago took the next two, the second with a break and run to move into a 5-2 lead. He made three balls on the break but fluffed his shot on the 2 ball. Feijen though left it on and Drago ran out to increase his lead to 6-2. Two good run outs from Feijen reduced the deficit to 4-6 but a poor safety by Feijen allowed Drago to get to the hill at 7-5. Both were making mistakes but Drago lost position missing the subsequent 6 ball and Feijen ran out to get back to 7-6. Nerves crept in for Feijen as he missed the 3 ball but fluked the 8 ball but then missed the 6 ball as he ran out of position. It ran safe and Drago scratched kicking out of trouble. With ball in hand, Feijen cleared to take the match to hill-hill. Feijen made the 1 ball into the side pocket off the break but was forced to push out. Knowing that Drago does not carry a jump stick, the Dutchman pushed to a jump shot. He missed the pot on the blue 2 and it spun into the open. Drago dispelled his nerves to run the table and take the match 8-7. IN ANOTHER RIVIERA upset, 18 year-old World Junior Champion Ko Pin-yi performed surperbly to defeat five-times Masters champion Ralf Souquet of Germany 8-3. Belying his youth, the confident Ko played like a seasoned veteran as he dismantled an out of sorts Souquet to advance to the quarter-finals. �Before the match I was very excited and a bit nervous. Souquet is a very good player with a great safety game, but he didn�t play so good today,� said Ko. �I played good today though. I had three good run outs and if I play like this tomorrow I have a chance to win the tournament,� he added. The 18 year-old, who also won the coveted Super Cup in Taiwan at the end of 2007, raced into an early 3-0 lead before Souquet stole the fourth game. Ko though, restored his three rack lead before the World 8 Ball Champion began to claw his way back. Some skilful safety play from Souquet gave him the seventh game on the three foul rule, as the 2 ball lay aside the 8 on the long rail. The �Kaiser� scratched off the break in the next to derail his revival and with ball in hand Ko ran out to get to 5-3 ahead. The super confident Ko ran out the next rack to surge into a 6-3 lead. Ko needed to play safe in the next but failed to tuck the cue ball behind the orange 5. Ralf though, misjudged his own attempt at a snooker and Ko banked the 2 ball across table to set up another excellent run out to reach the hill at 7-3. Unfortunately the Taiwanese came up dry on the break but his opponent missed the 1 ball into the centre pocket. Ko tried to kick it in but also missed before Souquet had his last shot of the match as he missed an elementary pot to give Ko a great chance. The youngster grabbed it with both hands to run out and take the match 8-3 to set up a quarter final clash with either Tony Drago or Niels Feijen.
The Stats

PARTYPOKER.NET WORLD POOL MASTERS 2007

THE LAST 16

Rodney Morris (USA)

8 : 3

(GER) Thomas Engert

Alex Pagulayan (PHI)

8 : 7

(ENG) Mark Gray

Francisco Bustamante (PHI)

8 : 1

(ITA) Bruno Muratore

Imran Majid (ENG)

8 : 4

(USA) Shane Van Boening

Ko Pin-Yi (TPE)

8 : 3

(GER) Ralf Souquet

Tony Drago (MLT)

8 : 7

(NED) Niels Feijen

Corey Deuel (USA)

8 : 5

(GER) Christain Reimering

Mika Immonen (FIN)

8 : 2

(ENG) Daryl Peach

PARTYPOKER.NET WORLD POOL MASTERS 2007

THE QUARTER FINALS

Alex Pagulayan (PHI)

8 : 6

(USA) Rodney Morris

Francisco Bustamante (PHI)

0 : 0

(GBR) Imran Majid

Ko Pin-Yi (TPE)

0 : 0

(MLT) Tony Drago

Corey Deuel (USA)

0 : 0

(FIN) Mika Immonen

PARTYPOKER.NET WORLD POOL MASTERS 2007

THE SEMI FINALS

Alex Pagulayan (PHI)

0 : 0

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0 : 0

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PARTYPOKER.NET WORLD POOL MASTERS 2007

THE FINAL

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0 : 0

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This is the first time in the competition's 16-year history that it will be staged in the USA and the players will be competing for a $62,000 prize fund, with the winner receiving $20,000. US Open winner Shane Van Boening faces experienced former Mosconi Cup player Imran Majid of England, while Corey Deuel is up against Euro Tour veteran Christian Reimering of Germany. England 's current World Pool Champion Daryl Peach has a tricky looking opener against 2001 World Champion Mika Immonen ( Finland). Mosconi Cup team-mates Tony Drago (Malta) and Niels Feijen (Holland) will play each other in Round One, while there will be an intriguing encounter as five-times Masters champion Ralf Souquet (Germany), meets 18-year-old World Junior Champion Ko Pin-yi of Taiwan. "I believe this is the highest quality field that we have had in the Masters and looking at the first round matches, it is impossible to pick eight winners.� said a spokesman for event promoters Matchroom Sport. "All the players will have to be at the very top of their games to progress and we are all looking forward to some exciting matches over three days of intense competition." On the Friday evening the World Pool Trickshot Masters will be taking place at the same venue with six leading players entertaining the crowd with a variety of tricks and stunts. FIXTURES Friday, May 9 Afternoon session. Round One 1pm - (1) Thomas Engert (Germany) v Rodney Morris (USA) 2pm - Mark Gray (England) v Alex Pagulayan (Philippines) ( 8 ) 3pm - (5) Francisco Bustamante (Philippines) v Bruno Muratore (Italy) Evening session World Pool Trickshot Masters (featuring Alex Pagulayan (PHI), Daryl Peach (ENG),Ralf Souquet (GER), Mark Dimick (USA), Stefano Pelinga (ITA), Bogdan Wolkowski (POL) Saturday, May 10 Afternoon session Round One 1pm - Imran Majid (England) v Shane Van Boening (USA) (4) 2pm - (3) Ralf Souquet (Germany) v Ko Pin-yi (Chinese Taipei) 3pm - Tony Drago (Malta) v Niels Feijen (Holland) (6) Evening session Round One 7pm - (7) Corey Deuel (USA) v Christian Reimering (Germany) 8pm - Mika Immonen (Finland) v Daryl Peach (England (2) Quarter-final 9pm - Engert or Morris v Gray or Pagulayan Sunday, May 11 Afternoon session Quarter-finals 1pm - Bustamante or Muratore v Majid or Van Boening 2pm - Souquet or Ko PY v Drago or Feijen 3pm - Deuel or Reimering v Immonen or Peach Evening session 7pm - Semi-final 1 8pm - Semi-final 2 9pm - Final The 2008 PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters - The Players 1. Francisco Bustamante ( Philippines ) 2. Corey Deuel ( USA ) 3. Tony Drago ( Malta ) 4. Thomas Engert ( Germany ) 5. Niels Feijen ( Holland ) 6. Mark Gray ( England ) 7. Mika Immonen ( Finland ) 8. Ko Pin-yi (Chinese Taipei) 9. Imran Majid ( England ) 10. Rodney Morris ( USA ) 11. Bruno Muratore ( Italy ) 12. Alex Pagulayan ( Philippines ) 13. Daryl Peach ( England ) 14. Christian Reimering ( Germany ) 15. Ralf Souquet ( Germany ) 16. Shane Van Boening ( USA ) RELATED ARTICLES AT WWW.PRO9.CO.UK 2008 Majid, Immonen and Drago through at PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters Engert, Muratore and Gray eliminated at PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters Site Starts Today PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters 2008 - Draw announced Final Names Added to Starting Line Up 2008 PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters Announced 2007 TV Schedules for the PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters 2007 PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters 2007 Challenge the Champions! Side Event - World Pool Masters 2007 WIN TICKETS AND HOTEL ACCOMMODATION!!! WIN FREE TICKETS to the PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters - Tickets Draw announced for PartyPoker.net World Pool Masters 2007 Players announced for 2007 World Pool Masters