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.

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