Player: Pia Filler
Event: U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship
Location: Atlantic City, N.J.
Date: September 18, 2021



Last month, Carlo Biado displayed the kind of defensive skills that wins titles — in that instance, the 2021 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship in Atlantic City, N.J. His particular entry into this catalog included precise control of both object ball and cue ball, placing each a table's length away in perfect alignment with a blocking ball in the middle.

This month, we're looking at that same tournament, but jumping from the semifinal to a second-round set between Germany's Pia Filler and Australia's Marco Teutscher. In the race-to-9, the Aussie didn't have an offensive option after sinking the 8 ball on the break, so he tucked the cue ball behind the 7 along the left long rail, as shown in the diagram. Filler had a natural angle at a one-rail kick at the 1, but it'd be difficult to do so without handing the table to her opponent.

The young German, though, found a way to keep the cue ball hidden from her opponent. Kicking off the head rail, she caught the right half of the 1 ball at just the right angle for the cue ball to roll nearly straight forward. It crept down-table and hid behind the 2-9 ball cluster in the bottom right corner. The 1 jumped off the long rail and into the 3, eventually coming to a stop across the table.

The mastery of this shot was entirely on her cue ball control. Being able to place it behind that cluster, Filler ensured Teutscher wouldn't have a clean look at the 1, no matter its direction after impact.

Unfortunately for Filler, the Australian rebounded from this temporary setback. He went on to win the next six sets for a 9-3 victory. But this effort shows the ordinary greatness that takes place in nearly every match at the international level.


(Video clip provided by Accu-Stats Video Productions.)

(Check out Accu-Stats' full library of great shots and amazing matches at www.accu-stats.com)