2001 Ladbrokescasino.com World Pool Masters

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Fabio Petroni ( Ita )  3 - 7 Francisco Bustamante ( Phi )

Filipino star Francisco Bustamante became the first quarter finalist at the World Pool Masters as he raced past Fabio Petroni to hit the winning line by a margin of 7 racks to 3.
Petroni, the 29 year-old Roman, had earlier won the knockabout Pool Trickshot Masters, and he started out the more confidant of the two in the race-to-seven, alternate break format.
The 'soft break', which proved so popular under similar conditions at the W. C. in Cardiff, was nowhere to be seen as both players gave the it the full monty with the break cue.
After winning the lag, Petroni moved into a 3 - 1 as his break paid dividends whilst Busta struggled to get used to the conditions. However, the tables slowly turned as the German-based Filipino found his break and started to play the kind of fluid pool that is his trademark.
Commented Bustamante, 37, after the game, " It's good to get the first match out of the way. The short race can be difficult so it was a relief that my break started to really work well as the match progressed. I won this tournament in 1998 and I would love to win it again."

Radoslaw Babica ( Pol )  7 - 1 Ralf Souquet ( Ger )

Defending champ, Ralf Souquet, was a shock first round casualty here at Lakeside Shopping Centre as he was sent packing by improving young Pole Radoslaw Babica in the Ladbrokescasino.com World Pool Masters.
Babica, has made great strides over the past three years and a bronze medal in the European Championship, a top ten rating on the Eurotour as well as a unbeaten run in the preliminary stages of this summer's World Championship indicate that the 22 year-old from Poznan is ready for the big league.
Things started badly for Babica as he missed the 9-ball in the opening rack, but incredibly, Ralf did the same thing and from then on it was all Poland. 
Radoslaw now faces the winner of tonight's Allison Fisher v Quinten Hann clash.

Steve Knight ( Eng )  7 - 1 Chia-hsiung Lai ( Tpe )

Home representative Steve 'Knight Rider' Knight made short work of Chinese Taipei player Chia-hsiung Lai as he advanced to the quarter-finals of the Ladbrokescasino.com World Pool Masters at Lakeside Shopping Centre, Thurrock, Essex.
Lai, who reached the semi-final at this year's World Pool Championships, won the lag and took the first rack but a run of bad luck let Knight in and the South London-based UK No.2 dominated the remainder of the match with a controlled break and some excellent safety work.
Commented Knight, " It's always nice to play well in front of a home crowd and I thought my performance this afternoon was solid. They're all good players here nobody can take success for granted in this tournament.
"I've got Strickland or Lely next and they are both previous winners at Lakeside. Lely is supposed to be the easier match but that means nothing. If I can play like I played today then I've got a chance."

Quinten Hann ( Aus )  7 - 6 Allison Fisher ( Eng )

Allison Fisher, undoubtedly the most accomplished lady to have ever held a cue, failed by the narrowest of margins to make it through to the quarter-finals here at the 2001 Ladbrokescasino.com World Pool Masters as she lost to Australian Quinten Hann 7 - 6.
Fisher, 33, turned her back on the UK snooker scene in the mid-90's to seek fame and fortune on the US ladies pool circuit and came up trumps, winning multiple World Championships as well as Player of the Year awards.
This was her first tournament against the best men in the world and although she goes out, it was not without a fight. Hann, the 24 year-old snooker pro from Melbourne, opened up a commanding 4 - 2 lead, as Fisher came up dry on the break.
Fisher, though, roared on by a packed Lakeside crowd mounted a stunning comeback that saw her move into a 6 - 4 assisted by some brave shot-making. However, that was her last stand as Hann cashed in on a couple of Fisher errors to take the decisive last two racks.
Commented Hann, " I came here direct from Taiwan where I was playing in the World Games but I had plenty of time to acclimatise. Allison played very well but I had just enough at the end to pull through.  I've got Babica in the quarter finals and he is a fair player.

Marcus Chamat ( Swe )  7 - 4  Steve Davis ( Eng )

Steve Davis' pool heroics deserted him tonight at the Ladbrokescasino.com World Pool Masters as he went out in the first round at the hands of Sweden's Marcus Chamat. Having been an ever present in the event since its inception in 1993, Romford Slim's best showing has been the quarter finals.
Chamat, who played in the World Games in Japan last week, had a little too much for Davis and his rare errors were not sufficiently punished. He now faces tournament favourite Francisco Bustamante for a place in Sunday's semi-finals.
Commented Davis, " It's a shame I lost because the crowd were really starting to get into it but Marcus is a great little player and came good when it mattered. Maybe I'm a bit ring rusty; normally I'm at my most dangerous in an event like the World Championship where you can play your way into it. In a race to seven there's not much margin for error and with
the quality of field here you will get punished."

Efren Reyes ( Phi )  7 - 2  Tony Drago ( Mal )

Efren Reyes, a finalist here at Lakeside in 1999, made his way into the last eight of the Ladbrokescasino World Pool Masters with a comfortable 7 - 2 over Maltese tryer Tony Drago
Reyes, who can make pool look effortless when he is on song, won the lag and found himself 5 - 0 up before Tony potted a 9-ball. Reyes, never a hard breaker at the best of times, employed a deft soft break that spread the table nicely.
Although, Drago managed to pull a couple of racks back, there was never any doubt as Reyes, backed by a strong Filipino contingent, coasted to victory.
Commented Reyes, " I was lucky. Every time I broke the balls rolled for me
and when he broke he didn't have much luck. Hopefully I can win the
tournament."

Mika Immonen ( Fin )  7 - 2  Thomas Engert ( Ger )

Mika Immonen, the reigning World Pool Champion, completed the quarter final line-up at the Ladbrokescasino.com World Pool Masters with a competent 7 - 3 victory over European Ranked No 3 Thomas Engert of Germany.
Immonen, making his Lakeside debut never looked in any trouble as Engert succumbed to a succession unforced errors. First he missed a 9-ball, then an elementary 8 and then he scratched on the break to present the match to Immonen.
Commented Immonen, " I did one unforced error but other than that I played perfect. A couple of times I didn't make a ball on the break but it didn't prove too crucial. Once you are 5 - 0 up it is very hard to be caught with an alternating break format.
" I like playing in the shopping centre; it's a good crowd and it's easy to watch from all the levels. It gives the public the chance to see top grade pool."

Quarter Final Line-up
Radoslaw Babica (Pol)  v  Quinten Hann (Aus)
Francisco Bustamante (Phi)   v  Marcus Chamat (Swe)
Earl Strickland (USA)  v  Steve Knight (Eng)
Efren Reyes ( Phi)  v  Mika Immonen (Fin)

Quarter Final Matches

Radoslaw Babica ( Pol )  7 - 2  Quinten Hann ( Aus )
Earl Strickland ( USA )  7 - 5  Steve Knight ( Eng )
Francisco Bustamante (Phi)  7 - 6  Marcus Chamat (Swe)
Efren Reyes ( Phi )  7 -  2  Mika Immonen ( Fin )

Earl the Pearl, a winner at Lakeside in 1997 and third betting favourite for the title, moved into the semi-finals at the expense of remaining UK hope Steve Knight here at the Ladbrokescasino.com World Pool Masters.
Knight, who has established himself over the past two years as a world-class player, had chances but could never quite break Earl's grip on the match.
Commented Knight, " I was disappointed with my performance; it was like night and day compared to my last match ( a 7 - 1 win over Chia-hsiung Lai ) when I played really well. Earl played a bit patchy as well but he came with it in the last part of the match and I missed a bad 2-ball to go 6 - 6 with my break to come. Before the tournament I fancied Mika and Bustamante and I'll stick with that."
 
In the final match of the day, 5 - 1 tournament favourite Francisco Bustamante beat effervescent Swede Marcus Chamat  by 7 racks to 6. He meets young Polish star Radoslaw Babica in tomorrow's semi-final.

In the battle of World Champions, 1999 winner Efren Reyes knocked out 2001champ Mika Immonen to fill the final semi-final spot at the 2001 Ladbrokescasino.com World Pool Masters. In the event, Reyes backed by a sizeable Filipino contingent in the crowd had an easy time of it as Mika's errors proved telling.
Reyes now faces Earl Strickland in what will be a cracking semi-final match-up later this afternoon.
Commented Reyes, " It's nice when there are so many people from the Philippines in the crowd cheering me on  and  they certainly helped me. Mika was a bit unlucky but I am happy to be playing Earl, who is a great player, this afternoon. "

Semi-Final Results

Francisco Bustamante ( Phi )  7 -  3  Radoslaw Babica ( Pol )
Earl Strickland ( USA )  7 -  0  Efren Reyes ( Phi )

German-based Filipino star Francisco Bustamante is still on to win his second Masters title as he cruised into this afternoon's final with a 7 - 3 over up-and-coming Polish player Radoslaw Babica.
Babica, a 22 year-old from Poznan, has made tremendous progress over the last couple of years and can now compete with the best of them in Europe. Bustamante, though, a winner here at Lakeside in 1998, was too strong on the break and controlled the match from start to finish. Babica earns £3000 as a losing semi-finalist.

In the second semi-final Earl 'the Pearl' Strickland completed the first white-wash of the tournament as he unexpectedly completed a 7 - 0 drubbing of Efren Reyes. With an alternate break format, a 7 - 0 is always a long-shot but Earl cashed in on Efren's repeatedly unsuccessful break shot to run away with it.
Strickland, who won this title in 1997 now meets Francisco Bustamante in 4.00's race-to-seven shoot out final. As well as the magnificent trophy the prizes on offer are £10.000 to the winner and £5.000 to the runner-up.

Final Match

Francisco Bustamante ( Phi )  7 -  6  Earl Strickland ( USA )

Francisco Bustamante today won the prestigious Ladbrokescasino.com World Pool Masters for the second time as he overcame Earl Strickland in a tense, exciting encounter that contained the whole gamut of stunning shots and shocking mistakes.
With the 350 seat arena packed and hundreds more watching on from the balconies, the atmosphere was expectant as both players made their way into the arena through a cloud of dry ice.
With the format a race to seven racks with alternate breaks, the all-important lag was won by Strickland and he crashed the cue ball into the pack to get proceedings underway.

Rack 1 - Earl got a ball down but had no shot on the 1-ball. A weak safety let Bustamante in and he dished up to take the opener.

Rack 2 - Busta made a ball on the break and then laid a safety on the 1-ball. Earl kicked out,  missed the pot but left the 1-ball safe. Francisco then left Earl a chance and he executed a tricky clearance to go 1 - 1.

Rack 3 - Strickland's break came up dry and Busta speared in a 2 - 9 combination to go 2 -1 up.

Rack 4 - the onus changed hands with mistakes, but Earl eventually cleared to take the match to 2 - 2.

Rack 5 - A succession of quality snookers and escapes saw both players in trouble but a four ball clearance put Bustamante back in the driving seat at 3 - 2 up.

Rack 6 - Francisco broke and scratched. With ball in hand, Earl cleared to go 3 - 3. With six racks gone, each one had gone against the break.

Rack 7 - Another dry break from Earl. A terrific shot on the 5-ball gave Busta a great chance but he ran out of position on the 8-ball, leaving a very fine cut which he missed. Earl cleared the 8 and 9 to take the lead for the first time at 4 -3.

Rack 8 - A quick rack saw Busta give the cue ball back to Earl with an error. Earl missed and Francisco cleared to go 4 - 4

Rack 9 - A great rack filled with great snookers, superb escapes and heart-breaking errors. Bustamante wins this one to regain the lead at 5 - 4.

Rack 10 - A great break and run sees Bustamante to the hill at 6 - 4.

Rack 11 - Earl breaks and is forced to push out. Busta takes the 1-ball but misses a relatively easy 2-ball into the side pocket. Earl makes no mistake with the clearance. 6 - 5 Busta.

Rack 12 - A rack that hinged on a succession of misses on the green 6. Busta clears to three balls then misses an easy six leaving Earl a fine cut into the top left bag. He misses and leaves the same shot for Busta. Incredibly, he fails and leaves the six hanging for Earl which he gratefully accepts and goes on to clear the 7 and 9. Down to the deciding rack.

Rack 13 - When it comes to the crunch, Strickland's break comes up dry. A safety exchange ensues before a great shot by Francisco puts him in the drivers seat. With a difficult clearance ahead, he holds his nerve to take the title and a check for £10,000.

Joked Bustamante, " Me and Earl played terrible; we missed a lot of balls but really he was a bit unlucky. He never made anything on the break while I did and I think that's what counted in the end."
"The Filipino people in the audience were amazing, there were so many of them it was like playing in Manila. I'm so pleased to win this championship again; I'm playing in the US Open next week so it will be great to arrive there with this title in the bag."

Strickland was bitterly disappointed but was able to joke after the match. He wins £5000.