Sunday Afternoon at the World Pool League In an afternoon of drama at the N.O.T Building, Warsaw, it was Francisco Bustamante, Alex Pagulayan, Niels Feijen and Rodney Morris who emerged as the successful players to move into tonight’s play-offs of the 2004 888.com World Pool League. There were plenty of permutations available as the matches unfolded and it went down to the final rack of the final match as Morris and Pagulayan played out a draw. Francisco Bustamante 7 – 3 Niels Feijen The first match of the afternoon session featured two players already assured of spots in this evening’s semi-final line-up. Holland’s Niels Feijen, with two wins and a draw to his credit, faced Francisco Bustamante who had gone undefeated through his four games with two victories and two one pointers. Feijen won the lag and cleared from the break and then the Filipino did likewise before Niels made a school boy error as he put too much draw on the cueball, playing an elementary positional shot, and scratched to give Bustamante ball in hand and consequently the rack. The next two went with the break as Bustamante lead 3 – 2 and he produced the shot of the match in the next as he potted the 1 and 2 balls in the same shot gaining perfect position on the orange 5. Feijen had no clear shot on the 1 ball in the next and laid what looked like a good snooker but Bustamante not only escaped but potted the ball to take control of the table and run out to move into a 5 – 2 lead. Feijen took the next but Bustamante, who is increasingly looking tough to beat, ran out to get to six and take the two points necessary to ensure his position at the top of the table. Thomas Engert 6 – 4 Steve Davis In a must win game, Thomas Engert took the first rack as he guided a 1 / 9 combo in after Steve Davis failed to play safe after having no shot on the 1 ball in the opener. He added to that in the second game, clearing from the break Davis fortuitously took the next as he messed up a 8 / 9 carom but Engert took the safety option instead of banking the 8 ball, but he left the black available for Davis who made the long cut and finished perfectly on the 9. Engert took the next game with ball in hand after he had trapped Davis in an impossible snooker, but Davis took the next, although it was touch and go as the 9 ball hung around for what seemed an age before falling into the pocket. That took the score to 3 – 2 before Engert increased the lead to two racks as he ran out from the break. The match was shaping up into an exciting encounter and it was Engert who made the error in the next as he missed the blue 2, allowing Davis to run out and take the score to 4 – 3. However, the European champion took the next with a composed run out to grab a point and give himself every chance of qualifying. Davis took the next to leave the match finely poised at 5 – 4, with Engert needing the final rack from the break to qualify. There was drama, though, as Engert failed to make a ball and left the 1 ball on for Davis. He ran out of position on the 2 ball though and missed the pot, leaving Engert a golden chance to take the two points which he grabbed with both hands to win 6 – 4. However, sadly for Engert he was reliant on the final result of the session which failed to go his way. Rodney Morris 5 – 5 Alex PagulayanIn the final match of the afternoon, a draw was enough for both players to get through and that was how it finished after some uncharacteristic mistakes from both players in the early stages. In the end it was down to Alex Pagulayan to break and run out the final game to ensure his passage into the play-offs. Table After 15 MatchesPlyd Won Drwn Lost For Away Pts +/- 1 F Bustamante 5 3 2 0 29 21 8 +8 2 A Pagulayan 5 1 3 1 25 25 5 0 3 N Feijen 5 2 1 2 23 27 5 -4 4 R Morris 5 1 2 2 25 25 4 0 5 T Engert 5 1 2 2 24 26 4 -2 6 S Davis 5 1 2 2 24 26 4 -2 Tonight’s Semi-Final Line Up Francisco Bustamante v Rodney Morris Alex Pagulayan v Niels Feijen Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news from the World Pool League.
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