Jason Klatt

Tournament Payouts:

1. $5,000 Jason Klatt
2. $3,000 Ryan Solleveld
3. $2,000 Edwin Montal
4. $1,500 Adam Smith
5/6 $1,000 Nick Kruger
5/6 $1,000 Louis Fazekas
7/8 $700 Paul Potier
7/8 $700 Brian Butler
9-12 $400 Alain Boutin
9-12 $400 Stan Tourangeau
9-12 $400 Bill Thompson
9-12 $400 John Horsfall
13-16 $200 Claire Gauthier
13-16 $200 PJ Massicote
13-16 $200 Ray Carter
13-16 $200 Shannon Ducharme

Sunday morning brought brisk temperatures and sweaty palms back to Breakers Billiards and Bistro to crown the Canadian 9-Ball Tour winner of event number five.

Presented by Indigo and Chapters bookstores and Cineplex Entertainment, the Canadian Tour featured a number of class players that had been flying under the radar all weekend, most notably Brian Butler of Edmonton Alberta, Jason Klatt and Ryan Solleveld of Winnipeg along with John Horsfall and Alain Boutin both of Vancouver. All seasoned campaigners who are no strangers to the limelight of top flight pool. They were alive and looking good in the winner’s side matches with Butler facing Nick Kruger of Vancouver, Horsfall matching wits against Winnipeg’s young Ryan Solleveld, Boutin playing fifth seeded Louis Fazekas from Sudbury and Jason Klatt, another young star from Winnipeg opposing the maestro Paul Potier of Vancouver. All matches started at 10am local time and players were forced to negotiate the daylight savings 1 hour time change taking away an extra hours sleep from their match preparations.

The A side final between Jason Klatt and Ryan Solleveld, started very tentatively as one would expect when two good friends compete against each other in an event of this significance. Klatt moved out to a 4-2 lead to keep the heat on Solleveld. That advantage increased when Klatt swiped the next three racks to move into the comfort zone at 7-2 in front. Solleveld still had a lot of fight in him as he won three of the next four racks to face a deficit of three racks at 5-8. He also had the knowledge that one more mistake would send him to the B side final. Solleveld snatched the next two racks to pull closer to Klatt and keep the pressure on trailing 7-8. Displaying a ton of heart, Solleveld held his nerve to win the next and force a final rack against Klatt. After winning the last three racks momentum was definitely on Solleveld’s side. A break and run out in the decider and Ryan Solleveld had completed a terrific comeback against Jason Klatt with a character boosting 9-8 victory.

The B side semi final with Adam Smith and Edwin Montal would be tightly contested as both players possess a fierce competitive nature. The first six racks were split with Montal breaking at 3-3. He took the next three racks with little resistance to secure an enviable lead at 6-3 over Smith. A recovery by Smith winning three of the next four racks brought him back to just one rack behind Montal at 6-7. Montal won the next to arrive to the hill and with the break to come, looked to book his spot into the last three. A few minutes later he could relax and settle back to wait for the conclusion of the Klatt vs Solleveld match to see who his next opponent would be. It was a good win for Montal as many pundits in attendance were picking Smith as the in-form player to beat.

The B side final between Edwin Montal and Jason Klatt was eagerly awaited by all the pool fans in Kelowna as it presented a high powered match up of talented shotmakers. It was a dream start for Montal stealing the first rack off Klatt’s break and then running the next three racks to open up a 4-0 cushion. Klatt hit back winning the next three racks to trim Montal’s lead to only one rack. It appeared as though Klatt had hit stride as winning the next rack brought the match back to 4-4. The next ten minutes did nothing to aid Montal in his quest to repeat as a winner in Kelowna as Klatt took the next three racks to move in front 7-4. Klatt had now won the last seven racks in succession. The lead was increased to 8-4 when Edwin Montal came to the table and promptly asked for a break. That move proved to be beneficial as Montal finally stopped the rot by winning the thirteenth rack bringing the score to 8-5 in Klatt’s favor. Montal grabbed the next pulling back to 8-6 down, but a dry break by Montal in rack fifteen brought Klatt the opening that he been waiting for. After laying a solid snooker on Montal he came to the table with cue ball in hand and ran out the rack to win the match 9-6 and set up a re-match against Solleveld in the final.

The final offered a chance for Klatt to avenge his earlier loss to Solleveld and erase the memory of a match that he felt he had let slip away. The race to eleven started on an even keel with both players sharing the first four racks. Solleveld gambled in the fifth rack following his break and opted for a kick shot instead of a push out. That decision proved costly as it allowed Klatt to clear the balls for a 3-2 advantage. With the momentum in his corner Klatt took the next to lead 4-2. The two finalists split the next two racks before Klatt made a nice billiard shot from the 8 ball on to the 9 ball to move three racks clear at 6-3. Showing some competitive fight, Solleveld dug in his heels to win the next two racks and stay within range of Klatt at 6-5 down. A dry break in the following rack from Solleveld paved the way for Klatt to re-establish his two rack cushion at 7-5. Klatt took the next only to have Solleveld respond with a tricky two-nine billiard to bring the score to 8-6 in Klatt’s favor. Klatt secured the next rack to go three in front and played a good snooker on Solleveld in rack sixteen only to see Solleveld play his best jump shot of the match, pocket the three ball and clear up to stay two racks adrift at 7-9. A break and run out in rack seventeen kept Solleveld in the hunt trailing by only one rack at 8-9. The next rack saw Klatt play a good safety and come to the table with a run out on offer to get to the hill at 10-8 in front. Breaking for the match Klatt failed to seize the opportunity and watched as Solleveld cleared up to trail 9-10. A gutsy clearance by Solleveld in rack number twenty meant that once again these two Winnipeg sharp shooters would be treating the pool fans in Kelowna to another hill-hill treat. The final break for Solleveld was successful but did not offer a shot on the one ball and a safety exchange followed. Failing to kick out of a snooker safely should have proved to be costly for Klatt but Solleveld failed to clear the remaining five colors and let Klatt off the hook. The final score read 11-10 for Jason Klatt over Ryan Solleveld but both these young stars will definitely be heard from in tour events to come and laid to rest that the future of pool is very bright indeed in Canada.

The Canadian 9-Ball Tour wishes to express its sincere appreciation to its presenting sponsors Indigo and Chapters bookstores and Cineplex Entertainment. We would also like to thank Canada Billiards and Bowling, Dufferin Billiards, Stan James the Sports Bookmakers, Simonis Pool Cloth and Aramith Billiard Balls for their continued support. We would also like to acknowledge Breakers Billiards & Bistro and all their staff in Kelowna for providing a first class facility and allowing us to offer the best possible conditions to all the competitors.