Johnny Archer

Personal Background

• Name: Johnny Archer
• Known as: "the Scorpion"
• Sex: Male
• Age: 39 years old
• Date of Birth: 12 November 1968
• Place of Birth: Spring Hill, Florida, USA
• Country: united States of America
• Nationality: American
• Hobbies: playing pool
• Spouse: na
• Sports: Billiard

Achievements:

• 1992 WPA World Nine-ball Championship
• 1997 WPA World Nine-ball Championship
• 1999 US Open Nine-ball Championship
• 2000 Enjoypool.com Nine-ball Championship
• 2003 Brunswick Pro Players Championship
• 2003 World Summit of Pool
• 2003 AZBilliards "Money List" leader
• 2003 Sudden Death Seven-ball
• 2003 On Cue; Philippines vs. Rest of the World
• 2006 SML Open
• 2006 International Challenge of Champions
• 2007 Texas Hold 'Em Billiards Championship
• 2007 Turning Stone Classic VIII

Trivia:

• He is one of the most successful nine-ball players of the past fifteen years, having won the majority of the game's major tournaments at least once, culminating in him being named Billiards Digest Player of the Decade at the end of the 1990s. Archer is a two-time WPA World Nine-ball Champion, winning in both 1992 when he defeated Bobby Hunter, and later again in 1997 after beating Lee Kun-fang of Chinese Taipei (Taiwan). He was also a runner-up the following year, losing in the final to Takahashi Kunihiko of Japan. He was the 1999 U.S. Open champion, and has won over 60 professional tournament throughout his career.

• He has also been a regular on the successful US Mosconi Cup team, having joined them ten times, winning on nine of those occasions. The US's only loss with Archer in the team came in 2002, when they were beaten 9-12 by Europe. He has captained the American side since 2004, retaining the Cup on each occasion, the most recent a 12-12 draw in Rotterdam, Netherlands with the US retaining the trophy on account of being the current holders of it.

• Archer also won the 2006 US$50,000 winner-take-all International Challenge of Champions by defeating Thorsten Hohmann in the finals.

• In 2007, he won the Texas Hold 'Em Billiards Championship. While in the 2005 event, the entire purse was awarded to the winner, in the 2007 event, the purse has been split.

• September 3, 2003, the Ripley's Believe It or Not! TV show, Episode 418, invited Archer and Jeremy Jones to an challenge match in speed pool. The show had them timed against each other, to try to beat the record, which at that time stood at 1 minute 30 seconds to break a full rack of balls and then pocket all fifteen balls, and then move to another table and do it again. Archer was the victor. The event was recorded in a warehouse in Los Angeles where other challenge matches were also taking place to beat records.

• Archer has recently rejoined the staff at Inside POOL Magazine, where he writes a monthly instruction column. His instructional writings also appear at InsidePOOLmag.com.

Archer Wins Turning Stone Classic VIII

First I will give credit to AZBilliards.com for this artical once again. Our friend John Morra placed second in this 128 player event defeating Tony Crosby, Santos Sambajon, and Jose Parica to name a few. 17 year old Morra went all the way through the A side of this major pro event undefeated, a great accomplishment for any player, incredible for a 17 year old. We are so proud of him, I can speak for everyone that had been phoning me to see if I had any updates as we followed him through the weekend.

John Morra’s Cinderella-story run at the Turning Stone Classic VIII ended on a sour note when his game turned into a pumpkin and Johnny Archer fitted himself for the glass slipper.

After 17-year-old Morra scuttled tough Filipinos Santos Sambajon, 9-5, and Jose Parica, 9-8, to take the hot-seat, he met Archer in the final of the $25,000-added 9-ball event. A little stiff from a two-hour layoff, Morra failed to capitalize on the few chances Archer gave him and quickly fell into an 8-2 hole. Archer, 39, took his time in dismantling his young opponent, eventually emerging with a 13-4 victory.

“I could have used a couple more rolls, but he played better than me,” said Morra, a former BCA juniors champion who hails from Toronto.

Archer avenged his one loss in the 128-player tournament by beating Parica, 9-6, in the losers’ bracket final. He put an exclamation point on the victory by snapping in the 9 on his final break. Playing loose, gabbing with the crowd, and feeling confident after surviving the one-loss side, Archer seemed the sharper player from the start of the final.

“I think my experience played a part there,” said Archer, the consensus 1990s Player of the Decade and the most dominant American of the last 20 years.

“[Archer] is the toughest guy to beat in a final,” said Parica, who took home $3,800 for his third place finish. Morra won $5,300 for his best-ever finish in a major pro event, and Archer pocketed $8,000 for first.

Archer’s victory was his second in a row at the Joss Northeast Tour’s Turning Stone event, held twice a year at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, N.Y. He successfully defended his title from the Classic VII in fall 2006.