Ryan Sadumiano Lands the Big Bounty
If you were not there to watch the final of the Bounty Hunter 9 Ball tournament, you missed out on witnessing probably the best final of the year so far, with both players using everything in their arsenal. It was a world class match to watch, (and I have seen a few). The precision, the determination, and the will to win from both contenders, had the healthy crowd watching on the edge of their seats! You could count the number of misses from both men on one hand.
Ryan had to bring his best game to beat the number one seeded player and pre-tournament favorite Marco Teutscher 9 frames to 7. In a closely fought match, the score sea sawed back and forth to 7 frames each with the lead changing numerous times. It was an uncharacterised self-snooker by Marco, with the last 4 balls over the pockets, that left the door open for Ryan to get to the hill, 8 -7, in in a race to 9.
In the championship frame Marco failed to pull off a safety leaving the 5 and 6 ball near the center pocket, with the 8 and 9 balls out in the open. Ryan knowing this was his best chance, and with the championship on the line, the nerves kicked in and he struggled to finish. Because of the pressure, he opted just to pot the last 3 balls and let the white ball run free into the unknown and take his chances from there, this tactic served Ryan well and once the 9 ball was put away, a relieved new champion emerged.
The last 6 tournaments Ryan has been knocking at the door, consistently making the last 8 and semifinal spots. This time the door was left ajar for Ryan to waltz on through and claim the best win of his career. Congratulations Ryan!!
Player of the day goes to Danny Kerkhoven. He is an extremely gifted player and had some very good wins over some class players. I have been waiting for him to shine through over the years and he is finally here.
Here are the results from the later stages of the tournament:
QUARTER FINALS:
Marco Teutscher beat Lincoln Muaulu 8 frames to 3
Mark Chiu beat Tony de Fontenay 8 frames to 3
Ryan Sadumiano beat Ming Lee 8 frames to 3
Jimmy Henry beat Marvin Padrigo 8 frames to 6
SEMI FINALS:
Marco Teutscher beat Mark Chiu 9 frames to 2
Ryan Sadumiano beat Jimmy Henry 9 frames to 3
FINAL:
Ryan Sadumiano beat Marco Teutscher 9 frames to 7
P.S. Beware of the wounded shark!
