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Rodney Morris

{{Short description|American pool player; BCA Hall-of-Famer; U.S. nine-ball and ten-ball champion.}}

{{Use American English|date=December 2023}}

{{Use MDY dates|date=December 2023}}

{{Infobox pool player

| name = Rodney Morris

| honorific_suffix =

| nickname = "The Rocket"

| image = Rodney Morris.JPG

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption = Morris {{circa|2007}}

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1970|11|25}}

| birth_place = Anaheim, California, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| sport country = {{USA}}

| professional = 1993

| game = Nine-ball, ten-ball, eight-ball

| best finish = Semi-finals, 2005 WPA World Nine-ball Championship

| major wins = {{unbulleted list

|1996 U.S. Open Nine-ball Championship

|2003 World Pool League

|2006 UPA Pro Tour Championship

|2013 U.S. Open Ten-ball Championship }}

| minor wins =

| other wins = {{unbulleted list

|Doubles: 2008 World Cup of Pool (with Shane Van Boening)

|Team: 2003, 2004 ({{abbr|MVP|most valuable player}}), 2005 Mosconi Cup (with Team USA) }}

| world champ =

| website =

| medals =

{{Medal|Competition|World Games}}

{{Medal|Bronze|2005 Duisburg|Individual}}

}}

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 {{cuegloss|doubles}} 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 {{abbr|MVP|most valuable player}} 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.{{cite web |url= http://www.azbilliards.com/2000storya.php?id=1348 |title=Morris Takes League Title |work=AZBilliards |access-date=August 14, 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110613202554/http://www.azbilliards.com/2000storya.php?id=1348 |archive-date=June 13, 2011}}

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),{{cite web |url= http://internationalpooltour.com/ipt_content/ipt_players/bio/Morris_Rodney.asp |title=Rodney Morris Player Profile |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080504063445/http://www.internationalpooltour.com/ipt_content/ipt_players/bio/Morris_Rodney.asp |archive-date=May 4, 2008 |work=InternationalPoolTour.com |access-date=August 3, 2007 |url-status= usurped |publisher=International Pool Tour}} 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.{{cite web |url= http://www.azbilliards.com/2000storya.cfm?storynum=4524 |title=Rodney 'The Rocket' Morris, UPA Representative |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071219203230/http://www.azbilliards.com/2000storya.cfm?storynum=4524 |archive-date=December 19, 2007 |work=AZBilliards |access-date=August 3, 2007}}

In 2008, Rodney and Shane Van Boening won the World Cup of Pool {{cuegloss|doubles}} 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,{{cite web |url= https://www.azbilliards.com/tournament/5073-us-open-10-ball-championship-2013/?action=results |title=US Open 10-Ball Championship 2013 Results |date=2013 |work=AZBilliards |access-date=February 28, 2021}} 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

{{reflist}}

External links

  • {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20130126143733/http://www.internationalpooltour.com/Players/Bio_Morris_Rodney.aspx Player Profile]}} (IPT)
  • {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080216150643/http://www.internationalpooltour.com/players/spotlight_morris.aspx Upcoming matches]}} (IPT)
  • [http://www.worldpoolmasters.com/players/morris.asp Industry profile of Rodney Morris] (World Pool Masters)
  • [http://www.mosconicup.com/article_detail.asp?article_id=7 Rodney Morris interview] from the 2006 Mosconi Cup website

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{{succession box |before=Reed Pierce|title=U.S. Open Nine-ball Champion|after=Earl Strickland|years=1996}}

{{s-end}}

{{s-start}}

{{succession box |before=Efren Reyes|title=World Pool League champion|after=Francisco Bustamante|years=2003}}

{{s-end}}

{{s-start}}

{{succession box |before=Dennis Orcollo|title=U.S. Open Ten-ball Champion|after=Ko Pin-yi|years=2013}}

{{s-end}}

{{Navboxes

|title=Rodney Morris in Mosconi Cup

|list1=

{{2003 United States Mosconi Cup team}}

{{2004 United States Mosconi Cup team}}

{{2005 United States Mosconi Cup team}}

{{2006 United States Mosconi Cup team}}

{{2007 United States Mosconi Cup team}}

{{2008 United States Mosconi Cup team}}

{{2010 United States Mosconi Cup team}}

{{2011 United States Mosconi Cup team}}

{{2013 United States Mosconi Cup team}}

{{2016 United States Mosconi Cup team}}

}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Rodney}}

Category:American pool players

Category:1970 births

Category:Living people

Category:World Games bronze medalists for the United States

Category:World Games medalists in cue sports

Category:Medalists at the 2005 World Games