Mika's Marathon

After edging Archer, 11-10, Davenport (above) was knocked out in fifth place.

WHILE IMMONEN ran through the one-loss side without much fanfare, the role of crowd favorite turned from a starring role into a bit of an ensemble. Through the first few days, the Chesapeake Conference Center was abuzz with chatter over the early performance of Earl Strickland. The five-time champion looked sharp in his first four victories, throttling Michael Yednak, 11-2; Eric Hjorliefson, 11-5; and Zion Zvi, 11-4; before eking past journeyman Rafael Martinez, 11-10. Strickland, complete with fingers covered in athletic tape and weights strapped to his bridge arm, showed flashes of his former brilliance, all the while reprising his love/hate relationship with the U.S. Open fans.

But the Pearl's run to a sixth title met a quick demise, as Lee Vann Corteza knocked him to the losers side, 11-5. Then, under the lights of the TV table, Strickland couldn't shake veteran pro Charlie Williams, who pulled ahead late to get on the hill, 10-7. After a miss on the 2 ball with ball in hand, Strickland raked the remaining balls on the table, conceding the match and exiting in 17th place.

By the time Strickland was on the highway out of Chesapeake, another player was looking to recapture a little magic of years past. In recent years, Kim Davenport has only made sparing appearances at some of the major events in pool. The 1990 BD Player of the Year, Davenport has refocused his efforts, spending his time at the Marietta Billiard Club, a Georgia poolroom he owns with longtime friend Johnny Archer.

But seven years removed from his last major title, a win at the 2002 Reno Open, "California Kim" was chasing his first U.S. Open title. After a pair of easy wins, Davenport put together impressive run, edging Shawn Putnam, 11-8, Filipino Roberto Gomez, 11-10, and rising star Mike Dechaine, 11-8.

Rodney Morris then bounced the 54-year-old from the winners side with an 11-2 trouncing, but that was hardly the end of the road. In fact, his first opponent on the one-loss side was Archer, who was barely 24 hours removed from his induction to the BCA Hall of Fame, where Davenport introduced his friend and business partner.

Undoubtedly energized from the previous night's induction banquet, Archer was coming off a five-match winning streak when he prepared for the set with Davenport. At the tail end of the prolonged battle, he looked sure of making it six in a row, on the hill, 10-8. But on his way to what would have been the match-winning 9, Archer hung the 7 ball in the corner pocket. Davenport cleaned up that rack and ran out from the break in the next to knot the match at 10-10.

With a stream of fans walking toward the TV table to see the final rack, Davenport ended things in a hurry, dropping the 9 on the break - a heartbreaking end to what Archer hoped would be a second U.S. Open title. Davenport, meanwhile, was left in the awkward position of moving on at the expense of his friend.

"I don't think it matters for him, actually," Davenport said. "It was difficult for me, and I won. What am I going to do?"

But Davenport didn't have much time to contemplate the dramatic victory, as he was back at the table, this time facing England's Karl Boyes. And again, Davenport advanced in dramatic style with another hill-hill victory. But his fortune ran out in the next round, where Vann Corteza sprinted to an 11-6 win.

Ending his bid to become the oldest U.S. Open champion in the event's 34-year history in fifth place, a dejected Davenport hinted that his days as a player were about over.

"Well, that match officially retired me," he said as he strolled through autograph-seekers and well-wishers. "The cue is going back in the closet."

Not that he wasn't happy with his performance, but there were 212 players in the field - and only one will win his last match.

"You need to be young to play pool," he said. "If somebody told me I was going to get fifth coming into the tournament, I'd say sure. But it's just difficult to get this close and not win."

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