2011 Ultimate 10-Ball Championship

Apr 25, 2011

The three-day Ultimate 10-Ball Championships have ended, with Allison Fisher and Mike Dechaine crowned the new champions in their respective divisions. Fisher came through a 54-player ladies’ field to best Kelly Fisher in the finals, while Dechaine bested Jeremy Jones in the 93-player men’s field. In the women’s hot seat match, there was no contest. Allison Fisher blew past Angelina Paglia to a 5-1 lead and only allowed her opponent one more game before winning 7-2.
Darren Appleton left the stage after another brutal match, this time against Charlie Williams. The players split the first two racks, but after that it was all Williams, who capitalized on every mistake made by Appleton. When Williams was up 5-1, Appleton was at the table but scratched and conceded the remaining four balls. He received a warning, as it is against the rules to concede racks, and they kept playing. Williams reached the hill in the next game, and when he fouled in the next rack on a jump shot, Appleton took a point, but when Appleton scratched on the break in the next, Williams cleared the table to win 8-2. Mike Dechaine made quick work of Jeremy Sossei in the other match 8-4.
In a slow-moving hot seat match between Jeremy Jones and Jason Klatt, the score seesawed to 7-6 in Jones’ favor. A defensive battle over the 1 ball ended with Jones playing a rather weak safe that led to a double-hill match. Another safety bout on the 2 ball in the final rack gave way when Jones saw an opening and took it, running out to win 8-7.
Paglia continued to struggle in the women’s semifinals, as Kelly Fisher was primed and ready to earn a rematch with A. Fisher, who had bested her hill-hill in the winners’ side final four. K. Fisher surged ahead and only allowed Paglia two games to her credit before winning 8-2. Dechaine continued on his rampage in the quarterfinals, facing off against Williams and shooting into the lead. Reaching the hill 7-3, Dechaine took his turn at the table when Williams came up dry on his break. It turned into a defensive maneuver, with numerous innings traded before Williams fouled, giving his opponent ball in hand. “The Fireball” blazed through the last rack and advanced to the semifinals 8-3.
The men’s semifinals and the women’s finals, both races to 10, started and ended at the exact same time. Dechaine held an early lead, but Klatt drew within a game at 3-2; meanwhile, the Fishers’ score was knotted at 2 each. Fisher was struggling with her game and missing uncharacteristic shots, while Dechaine and Klatt were into defensive maneuvering in their match. Klatt took the lead for the first time in the match at 5-4, while A. Fisher missed the 10 ball at 3 apiece and K. Fisher took the lead 4-3.
It was about this time that the referees introduced the shot clock to both matches. Klatt got another step closer when Dechaine fouled and he got ball in hand, but “The Fireball” won the next two racks after a foul by Klatt to make it 6-all. Meanwhile, K. Fisher had inched ahead to 7-4. A. Fisher dug deep and settled in to win the next three racks. A break and run by A. Fisher put her in the lead 8-7 with two to go. K. Fisher fouled and gave A. Fisher ball in hand in the next, which A. Fisher ran out to take the hill. A lengthy safety battle in the next rack saw K. Fisher leave A. Fisher an open shot on the 3 ball. A. Fisher had a tough move from the 4 to the 7, but she nailed it and had an easy out from there to win 10-7.
The men’s semifinal match seesawed to 9-7 Klatt, but then Dechaine outmaneuvered Klatt in two safety skirmishes to take the next two, making it double-hill. Dechaine broke in the final rack and made two balls and opted to play safe on the 1. It came down to the 2 ball, with Klatt playing a marginal safety. Dechaine had an opening and went for it, clearing the remaining balls to win 10-9.
In the men’s finals, Jones and Dechaine traded the first six racks with neither player notching more than one error each. Then Dechaine pulled ahead by three racks to make it 6-3 in the single extended race to 12. Jones restored parity, though, with several outstanding games. The players traded the next four racks, and then Jones took a deliberate foul after Dechaine left him a tough shot on the 1 ball, and Dechaine was able to run out to take the lead 9-8. When Jones scratched on his next break, Dechaine jumped up but missed a back cut on the 4 ball. However, Jones missed the 5, which Dechaine then hung in the side. Jones was back at the table and made it 9-all. “Double J” was the first to make it into double digits when he cleared the table after an empty break by Dechaine, but then Dechaine gained some momentum in the next when Jones left him a bank shot on the 9 ball, which he made for perfect position on the 10 to make it 10-all. Dechaine broke and ran the following rack to reach the hill. Though Jones made a ball on his next break, while attempting a short cut on the 4, it caromed off the 5 and just missed the corner pocket. With six balls left on the table, Dechaine ran out easily to take the title 12-10.
Article courtesy of Inside Pool
Live streaming and photos courtesy of www.ultimate10ball.com