FINAL | Highlights | 2021 US Open Pool Championship

They're here in our finalists and they're both dangerous combinations, but I feel Carlo wanting it in the state of really wanting it. Like he said, never been to this final before. He's gotten close where I look at Aloysius as a very dangerous opponent, because it seems he's enjoying the moment and that combination of in the moment. Yeah, that's a very dangerous combination. Youthful exuberance as well. Race to 13 here, by the way, Jeremy, how does that change the dynamic? Well, it just settles the guys a bit more, but they're both very aware of what has happened on this table. There's been a lot of racks run. We've had a few matches like the last where there were some exchanges, but it's going to be all about sitting your opponent down in that chair. Lovely looking stroke there. Great start for Beato. Of the two, Yap has been the more prolific breaking runner. But in this instance, it is Carlo Beato who gets off to a flyer. Maybe off the eight, though. Watch out for the what did you call it, the bumblebee coming off the one with the cue ball into the nine, nine off the eight. Oh, how about just making the one coming all the way around for perfect position on the three. What a shot. And I get a feeling of a three roll for Carlo, meaning you know, he when you watch the interview, it was very personal to him that he had never made this final before. Now in the final, you may see him loosen up. On the epitome of the 50 yard line, he might pinch it back to go into the top right corner with that little stroke that he could let it out. Come three rails around between the eight and nine. Looks like he's following his ball. Big shot here. Oh, he hit it sweet. Boy, he really did. That's the center of the hole jacked up down to zero. U.S. Open final as well as open finals. Lovely little shot there. Can't really do a whole lot to get closer to the eight, it appears. OK, that's what I meant earlier about. He really likes to be above the ball, which is the smart way to play the game. But a lot of people would have settled there for the distance. But a little comfort here. I would dare to say most would have settled. One thing about this young 25 year old commitment is definitely involved in every swing of the cue. Carlo Aviano hooked himself with a positional shot. The jump shot didn't work. Point that our semifinal showed that Carlo doesn't back off much. Very aggressive player. These are indeed treacherous. It's like he's taking it on unless, of course, he can squeeze it by the two. That's that beep in the backswing. He didn't back off of it, Jeremy, like you said, and he struck it beautifully. Jeremy, so often when you get into a kick fest with a Filipino, you're going to be kicked in a different sense. Actually, reigning world nine ball champion. Nice, confident stroke there. Yeah, he looks a little short of the mark, though. Still looks good, though. That's where you play it, though, Nick. You know, you know, you were a pool player at one time. You stay above that nine because falling behind the ball, the shot becomes way tougher. Lesser of two evils of sorts. Right. And it's down. And Carlo Aviano is back in front by a couple of racks. Different options. He can slide across it heavy and come to this side of the nine. He can long rail bank this ball, which I'm not in love with. I like the safety here, I believe. Anyways, it looks like he may be playing the bank. Wow, I hit it sweet. Well, indeed, he played it. And what a shot it was. And that's the atypical kind of shot that really tells me about our game as a sport. You know, day in, day out, you may say safety, but we're here in the finals. And his gut instinct said, I need to bank at this one. And that's one of the many things I love about watching Yap play. Have to kind of settle. Sometimes you get in spaces that don't come up all the time, you know. So main thing for me is keep the cue ball off the rail. I think as long as he's off the rail, he'll be able to recover. Well, you know, so there is we there's no recovery from there. That's just perfect. Now, again, it's a good thing about a young man like Aloysius is doesn't really take much for granted. Yeah, he can't quite drag the cue ball in with a lot of left. Can he, Nick, and maybe hit the one a little heavier? He's fooled me so many times with that kind of stroke. It looks like he is going low with left. I think he's drawn it maybe into the three. Watch out, corner pocket. Watch out, corner pocket. Oh, what a stroke. Really hasn't been many doubts at all, right? No, absolutely clean. No, just as we say that, he does. Oh, my. Oh, no. So you'll get a little bit of emotion there. He knows he's used his extension, though, so he's got to get on with it. Oh, he's a funny young man. That's for sure. Been to dinner with him a few times and got to hang out with a mutual friend. And he's a lot of fun. All business at the moment, but knows he got away with one there. Yeah. Oh, sweet, that stroke. He's got such an expressive face, isn't he? Great camera work as well, by the way, on that seven going in, just toppling into the pocket. But the next two balls didn't topple. They went in with authority. And right now, playing with authority in general is Aloysius Yad. That camera angle tells me he does have a little piece, a little piece to try to. Oh, he's curving it. Oh, you're right, Jeremy. So watch out for the point. If he hits it full, though, he's going down by the three with the cue ball like that. Oh, what a shot. Oh, my goodness. What a shot. It's just marvelous. Ethan broke the three out for dessert. Well, that was maybe a little, you know, unintentional. But, you know, that's all feel. But that was entirely the plan to come across it and slide the cue ball safe. When you get into the the safety bear pit with the Filipinos, better bring some armory. Well, they're playing the game, Jeremy. Yeah, and that's why the tighter pockets, the wooden rack, you know, matchroom pool. They really understand. It's about keeping the integrity in the game. That way we see all the game. And, you know, it's so true. These last few matches, he's looking at it. Jeremy is airing out. He's shooting it. That's for sure. Slightly off the rail, which is similar to the two ball bank that Aloysius buried. Maybe he feels like he can run some racks. I'm not going to get it. He's going to give up a cupcake of an out to maybe a three game lead for Yap. Don't know your assessment, but that seemed to me to be extremely risky. Well, I think he was an underdog. But, you know, it may have been a bit of frustration falling well short for the bank shot. And, you know, sometimes when someone kicks out of a few safeties, Phil, you can start to lean towards maybe taking on a bit of a rough decision offensively. But don't you feel like Yap's going to put two or three more together after this one? I kind of do. Hard not to, the way he's been going about his business. Put six together on Shane. Put seven together on Joshua Filler on an outer table. Filler remarked after the match that he was something of a mere spectator. Yeah, well, so far in this match, he's gotten snookered off the break once and it felt unlucky, right? So it's almost got to be unlucky again. Now the break is spooky, indeed. Nine ball down, 6-3 lead. Lloyd just did go for a jump shot with the bridge in his last match, which is awfully rare. He is having a go at this, Jeremy. I'm not really sure how he can aim so well. Wow. Watch that cue ball. It's going to keep going. And it may have caught him. It's close, so we're going to see a big swerve shot here. Maybe he can get at it. He still has the jump cue in his hands. And note that he used his extension last shot. And I'm surprised if he would jump this instead of swerve it. It was, of course, lovely. And he is jumping just over the point. Easy to curve this cue ball accidentally. Uh-oh. And behind the purple five with the cue ball. Carlo once again looks towards the gods. You have to say what run is going. The majority of it is going in the direction of Yapp. Amount of playing and trying to cut off the kick. He's special. I mean, he really is a special young player. Can he kick four rails here? He's going to try and come between the four seven tight between the four six back between the four six to the fourth rail and lay on the two ball. Oh, good call, Jeremy. And and as he's just gotten there, watch the rail. Fantastic try. Well, those who booed, did they boo the rules? Did they boo the referee? Both were adhered to perfectly. No rail hit. It was cruel. But they are the rules. Well, what I like and being because I've done it is like shots like that, just that extra little authority on the ball. He's not trying to hope it in. He's not trying to make the pocket bigger by easing it down the rail. He's committing and shooting. So true. He's the one in control. He doesn't allow the moment, right moment or anything to daunt him. And like you said, not a whole lot of hoping going on. Eight to three, Phil. My. Yeah, this gap is now getting into serious territory on the two. What's it going to do? Well, there, Carlos is going to look to the full gods again and say, what the heck is going on around here? I'm playing a guy that's not missing. And he finally snuggers himself. He doesn't leave me much. We've been on both ends of this. We all have before. But you never get used to it, let's say that around the world route. Can he slice this or is it? Yeah, you don't want to bet against him here, but he does have a miscible ball. Indeed. So mine, the side mine, both sides, I suppose. Yeah, the corner three in the side. There's a bunch of scratch possibilities. We hit it thick. Well, now's the time. Carlo Beato. Indeed, it is. The crowd lets him hear it, Phil. One of the turning points in his semifinal against Dennis Acolio was when Acolio into that same pocket undercut a nine ball. That one hung in the jaws. This one didn't, but Beato should knock it in regardless. Have we just seen a pivotal moment there from the eight to the nine? It looked as though Yap was going to gain position. He didn't. Then he undercut the nine. Are we looking at a nine ball going towards the corner here? I think maybe. No, he's going to play the mild one on perfect speed. It looks like beautifully executed. Well, these guys, you know, aren't just playing safeties, but look at the kick shots. They're leaving the sixes in the way. It's got to come to the bottom cushion, a very funny way to kick at the ball. Unless he decides, I like this shot that he's looking at myself, he's thinking about kicking to the top rail way wide of the six and applying some left English. This will be a pretty shot if he pulls it off. Yeah, I got to arc the cue ball a bit. No, he didn't get it. He's got to route the cue ball up and down. A pair of inside English. No, he hit it sweet. He's going to right between the six and nine. That's outstanding there. Cloyce is in his chair, just kind of buying his time. Some traffic here between the two and the three. Can he hold it? Well, the thing is, for sure, they can never take a U.S. Open title away from you. Yeah, well, that's for sure. And the Carlos seems to be one of the Filipinos that really comes with it in the tournament play. You can always lose your money and get it back. You can't lose a trophy. It's gone forever in that particular year. Great stuff. The gap continues to shrink. It was eight three. Now it's eight six. Match on. I couldn't agree more. It's an astute find, Jeremy. These are the little things that that add up, of course. We do rate him to make this. He hasn't been totally done with this jump cue extension called. It seems to me that he's overhit most of them. So he's lost a little accuracy. I kind of didn't overhit that one, though. Double J. What a shot. If I may briefly, I was going to say, you defeated Perica in that final round, another great Filipino who came. Oh, so close. What a shot three times in the final. He lost maybe. So that's a tough, tough one to swallow. Illustrious career, though. Believe us, this is a lot more difficult than it may look on your screen. You just combination, you size it up like he's doing, and then you just have to trust what you're seeing, make the stroke. Oh, my. It's a combination of skill and nerve. It's taken the auto to the brink of being just one behind. You wouldn't want to get to the second rail here, a little dangerous. Yeah, usually just float. Better say a little something to it. Wow. Watch for the kick here. This ball kicks a little bit. Doubt he'll have any issue, but wants clean contact between the cue ball and the nine. You can see how outstretched he is. Beautiful camera work here. And he's got it. Mindful of the brown and the black for a look at the three, Jeremy. I don't think the purple is really, you know, unless you really stun the ball and not draw it. I don't think the purple is much of a problem. May end up on top of the three if he hits it really well. Oh, look at this. Oh, no. This has to slow down. But what a pure stroke that was. I mean, a little too pure, obviously, but my ball in hand is a welcome sight for Carlo Beato right now. Didn't like the cheering when he went in off. That's not good form. No, but, you know, it is the final Sunday. Even the fans emotions are a little strong, you might say, a long week instead of realizing how good you are, right? One thing that's nice about this shot is it affords very natural position on the pink after pocketing the six. Were he to do so? Yeah, I should play it at a lighter speed to open the pocket of hair. That's just lovely, though. Stellar second big combination in just a short span of time, both stinging. Aloysius Yap. Well, it's really been, you know, a short story at the beginning of this match with Carlo getting that lead, but past that, a tale of two stories completely different. Indeed, we can see how mindful he was of that a little thick, not touching the eight with his arm there, almost had an inverted elbow of sorts. One rail out. Yeah, he likes to use the second rail. We all do. But I think here you just coast into position, use a little talent with the speed. I don't know. It's going to take a rollout situation. It looks like it's going to take something of misfortune to get Carlo from the table. He's he's settled in. From three, one down. Yap won seven consecutive racks. Now, though, the boots, he's on the other foot. I want to get a maneuverable angle. Well, I liked Aloysius taking on the shot, but I think the shot selection got the best of him. And perhaps we don't all want the Hill Hill Thriller, the diminutive, mild-mannered Carlo Beato might be content to close this one out unchallenged. If he does, you'll hear more noise than you may have ever heard from a 37 year old Filipino world champion looking to add another huge title. I mean, I consider the biggest start to possibly lay claim to being perhaps the second greatest Filipino pool player of all time. It's it's all subjective and he hasn't closed it yet. Well, I'll tell you, if he does it, I think he was going to get there anyways one day and probably get this title anyways one day, but would certainly get him into the Hall of Fame. He's playing Hall of Fame pool. There's no doubt about that, that double J. That's exactly what Carlo did. Watch out. Oh, and nine balls dressing up for the U.S. Open title. Do you favor the combination or the count here, Jeremy? The overhead tells me probably the kiss shot, Nick, looks a little thin and stretched to be shooting the combination. Everyone on their feet. It's close. Which which way do you go? He can go through the one bank and the one back down. It looks like he's sizing up the combo and the extension has been taken. He's made two dynamite combinations already. I think it's the kiss shot, though, Nick. It's like he's lined up to play the kiss. Oh, percentages led towards a Filipino champion with four making it to the final eight. We thought Yap was going to overcome all of that. Looks like Carlo's going to get it done. Well, he's falling a little bit awkward, Jeremy. The bridge in his hand, not a ton of angle, a little stretch, not the easiest to follow through, not the easiest to punch. He's home. What a shot. The Philippines have another one. Yes, the Philippines are going to be back to pool preeminence. Traditionally jumping on the table. And who can blame him? Sent to the one lost side of the draw after losing his fourth match. But then with a heart of a Filipino lion, he's fought back and he fought back in this match. Yap, tremendous. Aloysius Yap led 8-3, but then the nine ball went astray and Carlo Biardo never looked back from there. He won 10 consecutive racks to capture this title. And he emulates the great Efren Reyes by being a U.S. Open champion from the Philippines.