Player: Danny Harriman
Event: U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship
Date: October 18, 2009
IT's a little tricky to duck a big name when you're in a field as talented as the 2009 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship. It never hurts to draw a long shot in the first round, just to get comfortable and loosen up the elbow. But this past fall, Danny Harriman and Charlie Williams matched up in one of the more competitive matches in the early stages of the Chesapeake championship.
The two never strayed too far from one another, reaching ties at three, six and eight games. Williams dropped the 9 to go up, 9-8, but then came up empty on this next break. Harriman then opted to play aggressively, pocketing the 1 and going three rails for the position on the 2 ball shown in the diagram.
The cue ball was just inches away from straight-in on the 2, but the 3 ball was on the other side of the table. Without a clear route across the table, Harriman played this terrific draw stroke shot. With plenty of power and a little left English, he drilled the 2 ball in the bottom left pocket. The cue ball skidded across the table for a few inches before the backspin pulled it up to the head rail. From there, it went off the long rail before splitting the 7 and 8 balls en route to perfect position for the 3.
The beauty of this shot is the perfect mix of power and control. Hit the cue ball too softly, and it would draw back toward the head rail too quickly. Hit it with too much gusto, and the cue ball would roll across the table instead of heading along a path locked in on the 3 ball.
Harriman cleared the rest of the rack to tie the match, 9-9. But Williams took the next two to advance, 11-9. For all his brilliance, Harriman was then eliminated by Thorsten Hohmann two matches later.
(Video clip provided by
Accu-Stats Video Productions.)
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
See September's shot: Cluster Buster
See October's shot: Mighty Draw
See November's shot: On a Roll
See December's shot: Medina's Magic
See January's shot:
See February's shot: Corteza Cross-Side
See August's shot: German Ingenuity
See April's shot: Rafa's Rebound
See May's shot: The Prodigy
See June's shot: Doubling Up
See July's shot: Bank the Break
See August's shot: Busti's Solution
See September's shot: Winning Kick
See October's shot: Pulling Back
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