12-17 February 2012
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Saving the day for the USA
A gritty fight back leaves Max Eberle the lone
American left as the 2012 World 8Ball championship moves into the knockout
stages in Fujairah
Credit: Ted Lerner
Facing
elimination, and bearing the burden of having to carry the hopes of the
United States squarely on his shoulders, Max Eberle proved his mettle
tonight at the Fujairah Tennis and Country club, pulling out a hard
fought come from behind 7-4 win over Singapore's Kwang Chan Ken to
advance to the round of 64 knockout stage at the 2012 World 8-ball
Championship.
Eberle, who originally hails from Ohio but now resides in Las Vegas, is
now the sole American left in this year's World 8-ball Championship. The
single elimination knockout stage begins on Wednesday at 2pm (GMT +4).
All matches will be race to 9, alternate break.
Eberle went into his do or die late night match already knowing he had
to carry the flag for the red, white and blue. Moments earlier, Brandon
Shuff, the only other American in this year's competition, blew a golden
opportunity to take down the Nick Van den Berg of Netherlands on the TV
table. Shuff was clearing the table with the score tied at 5 and played
poor position with just three balls left on the table, leading to a
scratch. Van den Berg went up 6-5, then broke and ran for the 7-5 win.
"I dogged it,"
a gutted Shuff said afterward. Things were looking dire for Eberle as
well before he decided enough was enough. Leading 3-0, Eberle suffered
several dry breaks and soon found himself down 4-3. Then the fight back
began. "Mad
Max"
won four straight racks for the win.
"It was a gritty
win,"
a delighted Eberle said afterward.
"I had to bear down
and pull out some good run outs. I really fought hard and it feels good.
America still has hope. I have to pull it out for the USA."
It
won't be easy, though. Eberle has drawn none other than Hall of Famer
Ralf Souquet in his first match in the round of 64. That match is
scheduled for 4pm Fujairah time. (GMT +4)
Earlier, there were some tense moments out on the playing floor for
former World 9-ball Champion Daryl Peach. Peach found himself at deaths
door while facing 13 year old… yes that’s right - 13 year old Mohammed
Saed Saed of Qatar.
The
youngster was playing lights out pool in that fearless way that only a
juvenile can do, while Peach played horribly all match. Tied at 5 all,
Peach had only the 8 ball left to go up by one, only to scratch after
potting the black pearl. This put the kid on the hill with the break,
but he broke dry and Peach cleared. Peach nearly gave it away in the
decider, but fear and nerves finally caught up with Saed Saed and he
blew a certain win with awful position, leaving Peach an easy run out.
"That was the worst
match of pool I've ever played,"
a somewhat stunned Peach said afterward.
The
unique World Championship-style pressure seemed to infect many of the
tables in the evening session. Aoki Ryoji from Japan and Jayson Shaw of
Great Britain went down to the wire, with Ryoji pulling out a 7-6
squeaker. Hamzah Ali, the first and only pro pool player to come out of
the African country of Eritrea came from 6-3 down to take Spain’s Carlos
Cabello to a one game decider. Hamzah got down to the 8-ball but missed
a golden opportunity for pool glory when he missed, leaving a clear and
win for the Spaniard.
The
remaining three days of this year's World 8-ball Championship promise
plenty of nerves, tension and fireworks as most of pool's big names made
it through. It's almost assured to see a Filipino in the final four at
least as all nine Filipino players entered into the tournament qualified
for the final 64. These include defending champion Dennis Orcullo, Lee
Van Corteza, Roberto Gomez, Carlo Biado, Joven Alba, Elmer Haya, Ramund
Faoron, Demosthenes Pulpul, and Elvis Calasang.