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Wikipedia / Rodney Morris

Rodney Morris (born November 25, 1970, in Anaheim, California) is a professional pool player, nicknamed "the Rocket". In 2016, he was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame. Morris won the 1996 U.S. Open Nine-ball Championship, 2003 World Pool League, 2006 UPA Pro Tour Championship (nine-ball), and 2013 U.S. Open Ten-ball Championship, among many other individual titles. In play, he and Shane Van Boening took the 2008 World Cup of Pool. He has also been a member of the winning Team USA in the Mosconi Cup events of 2003–2005, and was the Mosconi Cup in 2004.

Career

In 1996, Morris won his first major tournament by defeating Efren Reyes in the finals of the U.S. Open Nine-ball Championship. In 2001, after five years of not playing in a professional tournament, Morris came back to win the Sands Regency Nine-ball Open. In 2003, he won the World Pool League nine-ball tournament, besting Thorsten Hohmann, the reigning world champion.

He has represented Team USA in the Mosconi Cup on eight occasions, including the team's 2003, 2004, and 2005 victories against Team Europe in this annual nine-ball match. He received the Mosconi Cup's Most Valuable Player award in 2004.

As a member of the International Pool Tour (IPT), in July 2006 he was runner-up to Efren Reyes in the inaugural IPT World Open Eight-ball Championship which was held in Reno, Nevada. While Reyes earned $500K for first place, Morris won $150K for second. Morris did take the 2006 United Pool Players Association (UPA) Pro Tour Championship in nine-ball.

In July 2007, Morris was designated as the Lead Player Representative of UPA (now United States Professional Poolplayers Association), the men's governing body of professional pool in the United States.

In 2008, Rodney and Shane Van Boening won the World Cup of Pool nine-ball event in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

While Morris's career has been dominated by nine-ball competition, he has also been professionally active in ten-ball, and won the 2007 Steve Mizerak Ten-ball Championship, and 2013 U.S. Open Ten-ball Championship, among other events in the discipline. His eight-ball work has been less frequent, but includes a co-win in the 2010 Poison Doubles Eight-ball Championship.

Morris was honored with induction into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame in 2016.

Personal life

Morris is of Chamorro–Hawaiian descent. He married his wife Rheyannon in July 2020, and they reside in Rome, Georgia.

Titles & Achievements

References