Printer Friendly Verision

Online Tournament Coverage

U.S. OPEN CHAMP DEUEL ELIMINATED
by Mike Mazek Jan 12, 2002, 3:00 PM EST

Cory Deuel's hopes of claiming his first major tournament title of 2002 were lost at the Derby City Classic on Saturday morning. Canadian road player Claude Marrie overcame a 6-4 deficit to win 7-6 in Round 8 of the 9-ball division. "I still can't believe it," said Marrie, who has played in only a handful of tournaments since switching from snooker to 9-ball six years ago. "I never played with those big guys yet. With time I hope that thing that I got, the nervousness, will go away."

Other Saturday morning winners included Buddy Hall and Mika Immonnen, the final undefeated players remaining in the tournament. Hall and Immonen, though, drew each other in Round 9 of the tournament to be held this afternoon.

The Saturday afternoon lineup is as follows:

Scott Frost v. Tommy Stephenson
Buddy Hall v. Mika Immonen
Rodney Morris v. Jose Parica
Claude Marrie v. Billy Young
Ralf Souquet v. Johnny Archer

Tournament Notes

Cory Deuel may have not been familiar with Claude Marrie, but Marrie certainly knew Deuel. In particular, Marrie vividly remembered the only time he ever played Deuel, in a small tournament in Naples, Fla. "I was really nervous the first time we played," recalled Marrie. "I made a mistake when it was 10-10 in a race-to-11, and he got out on me. So I had that in mind this time. I thought, 'I had you last time, and I wasn't going to let the same happen.' But I still did it. I made the same mistake, I gave him a chance. But this time I was able to win."