Morris Prevails In Quality Clash

Rodney Morris 8 - 7 Alex Pagulayan

In what was the match of the 888.com World Pool Masters, Rodney Morris and Alex Pagulayan put on a masterclass of high class 9-ball  which saw the American prevail to reach the championship match against England’s Raj Hundal.

It was a match of two halves as first Pagulayan ran out the first six racks in just 18 minutes and then Morris returned the favour taking the next six in 20.

In 15 racks of pool, neither player made a mistake and in the end it was Morris who edged it in the final stages.

Pagulayan won the all-important lag and carefully worked his way through the table to open up a 1- 0 lead and another good break saw the diminutive Filipino in the driving seat at two racks to the good.

Morris looked in further trouble as he watched his third consecutive rack from the chair as Pagulayan coolly took the pack apart and ran the table.

Yet another quality break from the 2004 World Pool Champion saw two balls down and a nice easy layout and he took full advantage to go to 4 – 0 and more of the same moved Pagulayan’s lead to 5 – 0.

There was more of the same in the next before Rodney Morris finally got out of his chair as Pagulayan snookered himself going from the 1-ball to the 2.

The Filipino fouled trying to escape and with ball in hand Morris cleared the table to record his first rack of the match.

Morris’s first break shot saw the 1-ball fall awkwardly but he confidently banked it across the table and left himself perfect on the 2-ball. From there he cleared to get to 6 – 2.

With fortunes rapidly reversing, the Hawaiian broke and ran out the next to further retrieve the situation.

In the next Morris was played a shot to nothing that saw the 1-ball run safe and Pagulayan fouled once again trying to get through. With ball-in-hand Morris ran out to reduce the deficit to 6 – 4.

Morris ran the next out from the break and more of the same the 12th rack saw the matched locked up at 6 – 6.

Despite being 6 – 0 down, the American was now favourite as the match became a race to two. However, Morris had no shot to pocket the 1-ball and his safety wasn’t quite good enough and it allowed Pagulyan to lay a deadly snooker.

Morris escaped but left and open table and from there Pagulayan cleared up to take himself to the hill at 7 – 6.

Just when he needed it, the Filipino’s luck deserted him as the cue ball was kicked in off the break and Morris gratefully accepted the ball-in-hand to take the rack and get to hill-hill.

The players shook hands before the final before Morris cracked open the pack and saw two balls drop off the break. Then, in what was to be a match-winnning shot, the American banked the 1-ball back down the table to set himself up for a victorious run-out.

“How can I play so good and lose? I’m not complaining though – that’s the way 9-ball is sometimes,” said Pagulayan.