Bank On It

Erasing a four-rack deficit, Cha scored the upset of the event — and her young career — against Van Boening.

But at the 112-player Predator event, a field expanded from last year’s total of 96, Orcollo didn’t get off to the start he imagined. After a 10-2 victory over Allen Hopkins, Orcollo looked all set to qualify for the knockout round of 32, leading Robles, 6-1. But his game quickly went from warp speed to idle, and Robles took the next nine racks for an astonishing 10-6 comeback victory. Orcollo, though, got things back in order and pounded American Jeremy Sossei, 10-2, to advance to single elimination.

While Orcollo’s match was a no-doubter, the last round of matches on the one-loss side (with 16 spots in the final bracket at stake) was a pleasantly thrilling surprise. In what spectators lauded as an instant classic, Shane Van Boening, America’s brightest star and the winner of this event in 2007, faced WPBA sensation Yu Ram Cha. A 21-year-old transplant from Korea, Cha earned the Classic Tour’s Most Improved Player in 2008, posting a number of top finishes in her first complete season on the women’s circuit.

But only recently has Cha matched up with the world’s best men. Part of the 16-player World Pool Masters a week before, Cha had drawn none other than Van Boening, who easily dismissed the petite pro, 8-2. Days later at the Predator event, thanks to a fortuitous series of results — including Van Boening being upset by Steve Folan of Great Britain and Cha edging Jeanette Lee in a hill-hill nail-biter — Cha got her rematch, this time playing 10-ball, a game that would seemingly favor Van Boening.

On a table adjacent to the main TV table, Van Boening held an 8-4 lead and looked set to close out the race to 10. But Cha inched back into the match, closing to within one game, 8-7. Cha buried a tricky jump shot, cutting the 4 ball along the rail, and tied it up, then broke and ran the last two racks for a stunning 10-8 victory.

Charlie Williams, who has been working extensively with Cha, couldn’t downplay the importance of the victory.

“Every top player has that one match they will never forget,” he said. “It might not win a tournament or anything, but if they beat this one guy or one girl in a match, they carry that match for the rest of their lives. I think this is that kind of win for Yu Ram.”

With a berth in the final 32, Cha joined Jasmin Ouschan and Allison Fisher as the first women to ever cash during the event’s nine-year history. Both Ouschan and Fisher overcame second-round losses to win a trio of sets on the left side.

While the three women were ousted in the first round of single elimination, they were hardly the only demographic to experience difficulties in the one-and-done bracket. The Americans, representing just less than half of the total field (though some entrants were regional players who had little hope of advancing), still had nine players among the final 32.

But only two of the nine earned spots in the quarterfinals. Johnny Archer, just weeks before being elected into the BCA Hall of Fame, advanced with wins over Manuel Gama, 11-4, and Shawn Putnam, 11-7.

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