Billiards Digest — Pooldawg Stroke of Genius, Pool Videos

Player: Rodney Morris
Event: 2008 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship
Date: Oct. 24, 2008

If you ever find yourself playing Rodney Morris in the late rounds of a major championship, there’s one thought you never want to cross the Rocket’s mind after you play safe:

“Well, this ain’t no good for him.”

Unfortunately for Warren Kiamco, such was the case at the 2008 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship. On the hill with a 10-8 lead, Kiamco played a safe that left the cue ball glued to the short rail. But the 1 ball rolled into the clear, just a few inches north of the footspot. Quickly surveying the layout, Morris saw an interesting opportunity.

“I knew if I played to scratch, I couldn’t miss the 9 ball,” he said of his jump shot on the 1. “My first thought was, ‘Well, this ain’t no good for him.’”

The 1996 U.S. Open champ wasted no time going for it. He approached the table with jump cue in hand and lined up the two-way shot. The cue ball popped up over the 2, skidded into the 1 ball with plenty of top spin, then headed directly for a carom on the 9 ball. Both the 1 and the 9 balls split the corner pockets, giving Morris the rack.

“That was a good boost,” Morris said. “That started my little comeback to get it to hill-hill.”

He took the next two racks to tie the match up at 10 games each. But in the case game, with the momentum clearly on his side, Morris barely missed a bank on the 2 ball, bouncing it off the point of the side pocket. Kiamco regrouped and cleared the final seven balls for the win.

See January's shot: Reyes' "Greatest Shot Ever"
See February's shot: Varner's "Astonishing" five-rail draw
See March's shot: Strickland’s two-rail kick-combo on the 9
See April's shot: Van Boening’s jump-kick safety at the U.S. Open
See May's shot: Souquet’s force-follow in Derby title match
See June's shot: Davenport Doubles the Points
See July's shot: Reyes’ Cross-Side Bank Break
See August's shot: Deuel’s Electric Draw at U.S. Open
See September's shot: Frank’s Killer Kick at Derby City
See October's shot: Deuel's Big Idea
See November's shot: Hogue’s Bank-a-thon
See December's shot: Cohen Gets Creative
See January's shot: Reyes Takes a Turn
See February's shot: Deuel, Part I
See March's shot: Deuel, Part II
See April's shot: Martinez Makes A Move
See May's shot: Harriman's Drawing
See June's shot: Efren's Jump-Draw
See July's shot: Rafael's Long Way Home
See August's shot: German Ingenuity

(Check out Accu-Stats’ full library of great shots and amazing matches at www.accu-stats.com)