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ON PLAYING a LEGEND
by Kirstin Pires

Tommy Karabatsos plays pretty well. The 42-year old room owner from the Chicago suburbs didn't embarass himself on the Camel Pro Billiards Series, and he's won some respectable Viking and McDermott tournaments, and came in second in the U.S. Snooker championship in 1998. And he managed to get through four rounds here at the U.S. Open undefeated. But at 9:00 on Thursday, he drew Earl Strickland. Four-time U.S. Open Champion Earl Strickland.

"Twenty years I been waiting to play Earl, and I get him in the U.S. Open," said Karabatsos. "I'm thinking I'm going to beat him 11-0. I got it all planned out in my mind. Then reality struck."

Karabatsos pointed out that he had a chance early on, "I made a great kick to tie 1-1," he said.

The usually unperturbable Karabatsos pondered whether Strickland had sharked

him some. "I lost my composure a bit," he said. "He got under my skin." But it wasn't the mercurial Strickland's antics that shook Karabatsos. "It's his
game that bothers me," he muttered. "He runs out."

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"I've got a long way to go here, yet," Strickland said, when asked if there was room to embroider another year on his green blazer.

Since 1978, Billiards Digest magazine has been the pool world’s best source for news, tournament coverage, player profiles, bold editorials, and advice on how to play pool. Our instructors include superstars Nick Varner and Jeanette Lee. Every issue features the pool accessories and equipment you love — pool cues, pool tables, instruction aids and more. Columnists Mike Shamos and R.A. Dyer examine legends like Willie Mosconi and Minnesota Fats, and dig deep into the histories of pool games like 8-ball, 9-ball and straight pool.