DAY SIX SUMMARY

Fan-Tak-Stic!

Hot Japanese duo of Kunihiko Takahashi and Hiroshi Takenaka are the first men through to the last 16 after convincing wins on outside tables.

Takahashi, World Champion in 1998, overcame veteran Mexican player Ernesto Doninguez, by 9 - 3 on Table 4. The 33 year-old Tokyo-based shooter can now look forward to a next round clash with Kun-Chang Huang or Alex Lely and is guaranteed $4.000.

Hiroshi Takenaka, making his CIA debut, impressed against yesterday’s hero Fabio Petroni on Table 2.

The 20 year-old from Osaka is something of an unknown quantity but his 9 - 3 win today added to quality wins over the last five days make him a real danger man in the top half of the draw.

Takenaka’s reward is a last 16 match-up with either Steve Davis or Ching-Shun Yang, and the way he’s playing he will have nothing to lose.

Two Former Champs Through

Another former champion, Oliver Ortmann, is through to the last 16 after gutting out a 9 - 4 win over New York-based Puerto Rican Tony Robles in a scrappy match on the TV Table.

Neither player produced any sort of flow as the match dragged on for nearly two hours but in the end it was Ortmann’s greater experience that gives him the dubious honour of a last 16 clash with either Efren Reyes or Dennis Orcollo.

The Machine was brutally honest after the match: “That was absolutely my worst performance of the tournament so far. Tony didn’t play well either but in the end I played bad and won good.

“I got lucky out there and I will need to play better to beat Efren. Playing on the TV table is so different from playing upstairs. The heat and lights make the balls move quicker and they also slide across the cloth.

“So it’s a good chance of Efren next and that should be a good one. Although he is well into his 40’s he is just the most fantastic player. His positional play is absolutely the best but in 9-Ball everyone is beatable.”

On Table 3, 50 year-old Takeshi Okumura (Japan) produced a sensational comeback to oust Filipino hot-shot Ramil Gallego and secure a place in the next round against Daulton or Hung.

Okumura, a 1994 World Champion, trailed 8 - 3 in the race to nine match, but miraculously managed to reel of six consecutive racks to take the tie.

The normally unemotional Fukuoka-based player was jubilant as the 9-ball went down as Gallego rued missed opportunities. Okumura becomes the third Japanese player in the last 16.

Reyes Hands out A Lesson

The Master gave the pupil a 9-ball lesson as Efren Reyes advanced to the last 16 with a 9 - 6 win over fellow Filipino Dennis Orcullo.

The 23 year-old from Quezon City was making his championship TV debut and he held his own against the Magician. However, some unforced errors under pressure gave Reyes the type of opportunities he thrives on and he managed to put some space between himself and Dennis.

Orcullo managed to get himself back to 8 - 6 and broke in the 15th rack but he over cut the on the 5-ball and could only watch in agony as the cue ball rolled into the centre pocket.

With ball-in-hand and the remaining balls spread out, the victory was in the bag for Reyes and he now faces Oliver Ortmann in an intriguing clash of former champions.

Another former champion, Johnny Archer of Twin Cities, Georgia is through also as he held off a rampaging comeback by Holland’s Rico Diks who was 5 - 0 down early doors.

Diks then won seven straight racks to go ahead 7 - 5 but scratched on the break to give the Scorpion the opportunity he required. He took the next four to ensure a last 16 match against Stephan Cohen or Kun-Fang Lee.

US Giants Roll On

Earl Strickland v Jeremy Jones is the enticing prospect for pool fans across the Atlantic as both won through to the last 16.

Strickland won through after a competitive match against Korean Sin-young Park which he eventually won 9 - 6. Earl though, had lead 8 - 3 but a dry break gave Park the opportunity to get back to the table.

He managed to run three racks to put himself back in the game but Strickland was able to convert the fifteenth rack in his favour to go through.

During the match Earl had repeatedly asked the referee to check the rack (right) and was not happy about his lack of TV Table exposure.

“It doesn’t make any sense to me not playing on the TV table. It is much harder on the top tables and I prefer the conditions in the main arena, he blasted.

“I played quite well but when he started to come I was just praying that I’d get one more chance at the table. When he failed to make a ball on the break that gave me my chance.”

Jones, the 31 year-old Texan, had what looked like a tough one against rising German star Thorston Hohmann, currently ranked No.1 on the IBC World Tour.

Double J, though, drew on a stack of top level TV experience to apply the pressure to Hohmann who made sufficient errors to give Jones the initiative. Jones kept the 23 year-old from Fulda off the table and eventually ran out a 9-2 winner.

Dream Over For Davis

Steve Davis went out 9-4 at the hands of world-class Taiwanese Ching-Shun Yang on Thursday night.

Davis, who had set the arena alight yesterday, was no match for the shot-making ability of the 24 year-old from Kao Hsiung.

Yang won the opener but Romford Slim showed he could compete by winning a highly tactical second rack following a series of safety exchanges.

However after that it was all Yang as he showed the sort of form that may well see him in contention on Sunday.

Davis though, was not finished and he began to grab back the racks and keep Yang in his chair. The packed arena willed every ball home but in the back of Davis' mind was the fact that one mistake would hand Yang the match.

That happened in the 13th rack when an over run safety gave Yang the chance to close the match. He took it with both hands . . . even pocketing the winning 9-ball left handed.

Davis though had enjoyed the experience of competing with the best, “He played so well, his break was just vicious and he was deadly accurate among the balls.

“I had a decent chance at 6 - 1 but the ball seemed to come out of the pocket. I never really got off the ground though and he is such a dangerous player who I feel could go all the way.

“There are sixteen players left and they’re all in with a shout but the trophy looks like it will be going to the Far East or the US which is, I suppose how it should be.

“Where do I go from here in 9-Ball? I don’t practise the break because that is not part of my life and I realise in this game it is so important.

“I’ve reached the level of learning and tactics so what more do I need to do? Should I go to the US or get a coach? Would it make any difference? I don’t know. I’m strong enough in open play to make me a threat. It’s a dilemma that I am going to solve."