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2009 CARLSBERG SCOTTISH OPEN 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Styx American Pool Bar
28 Victoria Road
Kirkcaldy
Scotland
Tel: 01592 265483
www.scottish9ball.com
www.styx.info

Saturday/Sunday 7-8 November 2009

2009 Carlsberg Scottish Open 9-Ball Champion, Stevie Capaldi, in action
Glasgow's Stevie Capaldi won his first Scottish Open 9-Ball title with a thrilling 11-7 victory over Stirling's Andy Morris to take the title, along with the �750 first prize.

"Read More..." for the details.

A total of 50 players turned up at Styx, Kirkcaldy for this year's Scottish Championships but what was lacked in numbers was more than made up for in the quality of players that were there to fight for the �2,000 prize fund. The format for the event saw all the players entered into the Double Elimination draw and play until 16 players remained - 8 players in the Winners' Bracket and 8 in the Losers' Bracket. These 16 players would then play in a Single Elimination format to find the winner.

Of the early matches, some of the stand-out results included Sanjay Varma's 8-6 victory over the highly rated Stuart McPhee and Jimmy Pollock's run of results to reach the last 16 undefeated. Pollock's, the first winner of the Scottish Championship title back in 2000, reached the last 16 with wins over Edinburgh's Remi Passiatore (8-4), number 3 ranked - and good friend - Davy Jack (8-2) and the ever improving Alan Greenshields (8-4).

Jimmy Pollock reliving the form of times past
There was, however, one incident that caused some discussion amongst those present. During Stuart Ellis' final Losers' Bracket round match with Cameron Bowes, Ellis played a shot on the 4-ball that resulted in both the cueball and object ball being wedged in the pocket. Both balls were touching the face of the pocket drop and it was ruled that Cameron would have to play from there. Everyone knew that as soon as the cueball was struck the 4-ball would drop into the pocket. What wasn't sure was what the cueball would do. Sadly for Cameron, the cueball bounced twice on the surface off the table before flying off, giving Stuart ball in hand.

The cueball and 4-ball are wedged in the pocket. If you look really closely,
you will see that neither ball is actually on the playing surface of the table.
By the time mid-afternoon on Sunday arrived, however, there were only 16 players left. They were:-

2009 CARLSBERG SCOTTISH OPEN 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Winners' Bracket Qualifiers	Losers' Bracket Qualifiers
Stevie Capaldi	Greg Alexander
Pat Holtz	Stuart Ellis
Ian Mackintosh	Kevin Irving
Paddy Mc Loughlin	Davy Jack
Andy Morris	Jayson Shaw
Fraser Patrick	Adam Smith
Jimmy Pollock	Sanjay Varma
Michael Valentine	Tam Walkinshaw

The draw for the last 16 produced a number of mouth-watering matches.

2009 CARLSBERG SCOTTISH OPEN 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
THE LAST 16 (Losers - �40)
Pat Holtz	9 : 7	Jayson Shaw
Fraser Patrick	9 : 2	Tam Walkinshaw
Stevie Capaldi	9 : 4	Greg Alexander
Iain Mackintosh	9 : 5	Kevin Irving
Adam Smith	9 : 6	Jimmy Pollock
Davy Jack	9 : 8	Paddy Mc Loughlin
Andy Morris	9 : 4	Sanjay Varma
Michael Valentine	9 : 6	Stuart Ellis

Jayson Shaw breaking another rack in his match with Pat Holtz
The stand out match of the round was the encounter between former winners Pat Holtz and Jayson Shaw. Holtz always seemed to have the upper hand in the encounter and managed to finally get past the tenacious Shaw by 9 racks to 7. Another excellent match was that between Scottish number 3, Davy Jack, and Irish number 1, Paddy Mc Loughlin. Paddy, one of a group of 4 players who travelled over from Ireland to play, had been 8-5 down at one point but managed to tie the match at 8 racks each before Jack managed to get the upper hand in a tense safety battle to progress to the Quarter Finals.

2009 CARLSBERG SCOTTISH OPEN 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
THE QUARTER FINALS (Losers - �80)
Fraser Patrick	9 : 8	Pat Holtz
Stevie Capaldi	9 : 6	Iain Mackintosh
Davy Jack	9 : 4	Adam Smith
Andy Morris	9 : 0	Michael Valentine

Adam Smith clearing up another rack
he stand-out result from this round was Andy Morris's 9-0 demolition of Michael Valentine. Morris pounced on a few early and uncharacteristic mistakes from Valentine and took full advantage of them. What makes Morris's result all the more remarkable is that the tournament was being played using the alternate break format. Fraser Patrick and Pat Holtz battled out a hard-fought hill-hill match with Patrick getting the better of the defending champion to progress to the semi finals.

The eliminations of both Pat Holtz and Michael Valentine guaranteed that there would be a new winner of the Scottish Open.

Some of the crowd watching the end of the Holtz v Patrick match

2009 CARLSBERG SCOTTISH OPEN 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP
THE SEMI FINALS (Losers - �110)
Stevie Capaldi	10 : 7	Fraser Patrick
Andy Morris	10 : 3	Davy Jack

The semi finals were a real contrast to each other. The Capaldi v Patrick match was a real marathon with no player getting a sizeable lead until near the end when Capaldi managed to get the better of the safety exchanges that seemed to be dotted around the match.

The other semi final match, however, was a continuation of Andy Morris's phenomenal run through the tournament. Up to and including this semi final, Morris had not given up any more than 4 racks in any match. In fact, Morris was so dominant in his run that he now had a total score of 44 racks to 8 over his 5 opponents. It was a display of pool playing dominance that this reporter could not recall ever seeing in a SAPPA event.

2009 CARLSBERG SCOTTISH OPEN 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
THE FINAL WINNER - �750 :: RUNNER-UP - �350
Stevie Capaldi	Andy Morris

This year's Carlsberg Scottish Open Championship final was a much anticipated match up. While Morris was having the tournament of his life, it was his first time in the final. For Capaldi, it was his second time in the final, having previously been on the wrong end of a 9-3 scoreline against Geoff Dunn in 2003. For either of them, it would be their first Scottish Open title.

The finalists of the 2009 Carlsberg Scottish Open 9-Ball Championships
Andy Morris (left) and Stevie Capaldi
Rack 1
Capaldi won the lag for the opening break. He took advantage of this by breaking and running out the first rack.
Stevie Capaldi 1 - 0 Andy Morris

Rack 2
Morris broke but had to play safe afterwards. Capaldi won the ensuing safety battle after Morris scratched while escaping a well laid snooker and ran the rack to increase his early lead.
Stevie Capaldi 2 - 0 Andy Morris

Rack 3
Another tactical battle ensued from Capaldi's break. Capaldi managed to fluke a bank on the 2-ball. He then misses a relatively easy 4 but flukes a snooker. Morris manages to escape from the snooker leaving the ball in a makeable position. Capaldi makes the 4 but then misses the 5 ball. Morris clears up to put his first rack on the scoresheet.
Stevie Capaldi 2 - 1 Andy Morris

Rack 4
Awesome break from Morris who then misses the 1-ball but leaves Capaldi snookered. Capaldi fails to hit the 1-ball bringing Morris to the table who then fouls himself. Capaldi clears the table to extend his lead.
Stevie Capaldi 3 - 1 Andy Morris

Rack 5
Capaldi breaks off and makes a ball but then misses the 1-ball. With ball in hand, Morris clears up.
Stevie Capaldi 3 - 2 Andy Morris

Rack 6
A dry break from Morris is cleared up by Capaldi
Stevie Capaldi 4 - 2 Andy Morris

Rack 7
It's Capaldi's turn for a dry break that leaves the 9-ball hanging in the pocket. Morris pockets the 1, 2 and 3 and sets himself up for an easy 4-9 combination.
Stevie Capaldi 4 - 3 Andy Morris

Rack 8
After a good break, Morris misses the 2-ball allowing Capaldi in to clear up.
Stevie Capaldi 5 - 3 Andy Morris

Rack 9
After a good break, Capaldi tries to play a table-length bank shot on the 4-ball but misses it allowing Morris in to clear up.
Stevie Capaldi 5 - 4 Andy Morris

Rack 10
Morris has to push out after the break. Capaldi puts him back in but Morris can only leave the 1-ball in a makable position. Capaldi takes full advantage and clears up to extend his lead.
Stevie Capaldi 6 - 4 Andy Morris

Rack 11
Capaldi has a dry break. Morris scratches on the 2-ball allowing Capaldi to clear up.
Stevie Capaldi 7 - 4 Andy Morris

Rack 12
Morris pockets 3 balls from a massive break but is forced to play safe on the 2-ball. Capaldi makes a phenominal razor-thin cut on the 2 ball and takes his chance to run the rack out and extend his lead further.
Stevie Capaldi 8 - 4 Andy Morris

Rack 13
Capaldi gets the better of the early tactical battle in this rack but then runs out of position on the 4-ball. After a good safety on the 4, Capaldi is let back in after Morris leaves him a shot but Capaldi misses the 4, leaving it safe. Morris plays a good shot putting distance between the balls but Capaldi makes what is considered to be the best shot of the match so far to pocket the 4 - jacked up at one end of the table with the 4 ball about 3 inches from the other end, Capaldi unleashes the cueball at warp speed, pocketing the 4 and getting perfect shape on the 5. Capaldi finishes off the rack to get one step closer to the title.
Stevie Capaldi 9 - 4 Andy Morris

Rack 14
After a good break from Morris, it becomes clear that the pool gods are against him in this match with an unfortunate scratch on the 1-ball. Capaldi clears up to make it onto the hill.
Stevie Capaldi 10 - 4 Andy Morris

Rack 15
Capaldi breaks off and is in first but snookers himself on the 4-ball. He tries to jump out of the problem but fouls, giving Morris ball in hand from which he clears up.
Stevie Capaldi 10 - 5 Andy Morris

Rack 16
After a dry break from Morris, Capaldi scratches on the 1-ball. Morris clears up with ball in hand to pull another rack back.
Stevie Capaldi 10 - 6 Andy Morris

Rack 17
After a good break from Capaldi, he plays a loose safety shot on the 4-ball allowing Morris to claw another rack back. Maybe the pool gods are with him after all?
Stevie Capaldi 10 - 7 Andy Morris

Rack 18
Morris unleashes a huge break, pocketing 3 balls. He runs the rack with ease but misses the 9-ball, leaving it hanging and giving Capaldi the Scottish Open title.
Final Score: Stevie Capaldi 11 - 7 Andy Morris

Stevie Capaldi, winner of the 2009 Carlsberg Scottish Open 9-Ball Championships,
receiving the trophy and his prize money from Mike Keddie of Styx
As ever, it was a great Championships and there are a number of people who need to be thanked:-

To all the players who travelled from far and wide

To Ross McInnes, Tam Talent and Billy Edmond for organising and running another excellent Scottish Championships

To Carlsberg for their continued support of the Scottish Open 9-Ball Championships

And finally, to Mario and all his staff at Styx, Kirkcaldy, for being such great hosts and putting up with us all during the weekend. As ever, they went above and beyond the call of duty and their hard work is always much appreciated by all the players.

We look forward to seeing you all next year.

2009 CARLSBERG SCOTTISH OPEN 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
ROLL OF HONOUR
2000	Jimmy Pollock
2001	Geoff Dunn
2002	Geoff Dunn
2003	Geoff Dunn
2004	Michael Valetine
2005	Jason Shaw
2006	Pat Holtz
2007	Scott Higgins
2008	Pat Holtz
2009	Stevie Capaldi

SCOTTISH AMERICAN POOL PLAYERS ASSOCIATION
2009/10 Season Calendar
BLACK BOTTLE SAPPA TOUR EVENT N0. 1	Rileys American Pool and Snooker - Stirling 57-59 Upper Craigs Stirling Stirling FK8 2DT Telephone: 01786 446363 www.rileysltd.com Saturday/Sunday 16-17 May 2009
BLACK BOTTLE SAPPA TOUR EVENT N0. 2	Reardons Snooker and Pool - Southside Reardons Southside 1060 Pollokshaws Rd Glasgow Scotland G41 3EA Telephone: 0141 632 0007 www.reardonsnookerandpool.com Saturday/Sunday 8-9 August 2009
BLACK BOTTLE SAPPA TOUR EVENT N0. 3	Rileys American Pool and Snooker - Edinburgh 25 Jocks Lodge Meadowbank Edinburgh Midlothian EH8 7AA www.rileysltd.com Saturday/Sunday 5-6 September 2009
Scottish Open 9-Ball Championships	Styx American Pool Bar 28a Victoria Road Kirkcaldy Scotland KY1 1DS Telephone: 01592 265483 www.scottish9ball.com www.styx.info Saturday/Sunday 7-8 November 2009 Please note change of date
BLACK BOTTLE SAPPA TOUR EVENT N0. 4	The Q CLub 101 St. Georges Rd Glasgow G3 6JA Telephone: 0141 333 9035 Saturday/Sunday 12-13 December 2009
BLACK BOTTLE SAPPA TOUR EVENT N0. 5	Reardons Central American Pool and Snooker Centre 24 Hope Street Glasgow Telephone: 0141 221 4646 www.reardonsnookerandpool.com Saturday/Sunday 9-10 January 2010
BLACK BOTTLE SAPPA TOUR EVENT N0. 7	Rileys American Pool and Snooker - Kirkintilloch 22 Cowgate Kirkintilloch East Dunbartonshire G66 1HN. Tel: 0141 7778108 www.rileysltd.com Saturday/Sunday 6-7 March 2010

Check out the Pro9.co.uk Calendar for more tournament dates.

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