2004 VNEA National 9 Ball Championship - 27 May 2004
I stepped of a plane from a long flight from Sydney to Las Vegas to enter only my second ever 9 ball competition. The event was played on bar boxes which made it very tough, but in addition in order to qualify for the finals each player had to win a 16 player mini tounrament. I managed to win one of the first (and most difficult) qualifying tournaments at my first attempt to book my place in the last 128.
In the finals it was single elimination and I had to play a multi state champion in the first round, I played well and won 5:3. In the next round I had to play the guy who had played so well to knock me onto the losers side of the8 ball singles. I was lucky enough to get my revenge and advance to the next round. I had little sleep and was drinking many red bull energy drinks in order to stay awake but I somehow managed to make the quarter final. Here I had to play a guy who finished 5th in the 8 ball singles event. I raced to a 4:0 lead and had a simple run out for the match. On the 8 ball I simply had to screq the ball back for positon on the 9 ball. However somehow I managed to jump the cue ball which cost me the frame. My opponent then ran out the next frame to set up a decider. I had him in jail in the last frame full ball snookered with all the balls open. He decided to smash the white of the cushion into the opject ball and he was lucky enough to fluke another ball and he ran out for the win. I had missed a great chance to win the event but that's 9 ball!
