Took my son Jin to his first SBE

So I took Jin and my younger son Kenji to Oaks SBE event. Arrive early AM (red eye flight) Thursday and went by hotel and no early check in available. Went on over to the event. Keep in mind this was our first attendance of a major event.

The events that happened for Jin were overwhelmingly awesome. Jin felt a little intimidated with all the tables..... Within minutes, they spot Emily Duddy and run up to her.... She was great with my kids and I was thankful of that as not all players are too friendly/social. This kickstarted their week in such an exciting way. We went on to meet a few AZB'ers and other FB'ers as well throughout the week..... some great people.

In the morning, vendors setting up. Met Aryanna Lynch, Alex Pagulayan, watched Gary for a minute but left as we didn't want to distract him during his match.

While wandering, we saw the breakrak.... Jin tried it, they wanted 5 bucks. After 3 breaks, they yelled out in first place? I guess it was a contest for the lowest variance in mph of 3 breaks. 10.1 10.2 and a 10.3 Jin won 100 bucks in cash on the spot after a few minutes remaining went by for the contest.

Stopped by the Pechauer booth and Joe installed his extension...

Ended up meeting Asia finally in person she took Jin to Lights Out Billiard Apparel..... twice because she wanted to get Jin a present. For those who know him, he doesn't accept free things unless he did something to earn it. So it took a little bit of talking to him and a couple of trips before he finally picked out a wallet. Jake Lawson and his (wife/gf?) were very kind and threw in some extras. Jin really likes his LO chip (head/tail).

We had seen Jayson Shaw earlier and he told Jin he wanted to play him later when he had more time..... Well, later came and they played. Another Friend K was there.... the Asian woman in the pic, was so funny as they were playing just before. She didn't know who he was. Conversation went like this:
K: why are people watching?
me: Because that Jayson Shaw
K: is he good at pool?
Me: he is one of the best in the world!
K: you mean like a pro?
Me: yes one of the best hahahaha..... did you not know?
K: I had no idea!!
She then asks him
K: do you know how to play really good?

Anyway, what was best about this was the hand shake..... a genuine true handshake man to little man. Both looking each other in the eye.... just from different elevation haha

A game on the 10', however he didn't do so well, was super nervous with so many around. I don't know who the other guy was but im sure he was someone as he was a pure run out player.

Alex Pagulayan saw Jin later and yelled over to say hi again..... Then asked if Jin wanted to play a game, Jins answer was obvious haha. During the game, his sponsor 3 Seconds Cue case tells Alex that he will give Jin a case if he wins..... Funny thing is, we were looking for a light weight case that we could lug around for that week. But we wanted a light weight but good quality case. 3Seconds Cue Case will be available here in the US soon, I should have bought one for myself lol.. Thank you to Alex P and Takuya for this!! And yes, we got it signed by Alex later as well.

A fella came to Denver recently and told us at the pool hall about Shane Wolford.... got us in contact with him and at SBE we finally met and they played a few racks. Great upcoming champ and good personality.

We saw Mike D again...... he was nice in the first meet but on his way to a match but we saw him again and Jin asked him if he could play him a game. I gotta say this..... Mike D in person with kids was awesome. He didn't just hurry with one game and run off, he stayed around to play a few racks with Jin. Jin is a huge fan of the show The Hustlers....so this was an awesome experience playing Mike. Mike used Jins cue and commented about how good it hit and did some crazy things with the cue ball with Jins cue.

So the matches started Saturday.... Jin was super nervous, playing for less than a year and against some 12 year olds.

Jins first match went great, he really stepped up and his cue ball control and decisions were phenomenal. I wouldn't say it was an easy win but he dominated. Next up was a kid out of New York who was 12 as well and played with a Southwest cue (mine and many peoples dream cue). That went just as well and Jin pulled it off. At this point I didn't know what to think.... to be honest, with this field, I was expecting Jin to just get knocked out first round.

The next morning came the top 8 semi finals.... he played another 12 year old and had his chances but went for a couple of banks in the first set that cost him. The second set he was on hill and just came up short when he had the chance. His tournament ended..... He was really hurt, I felt so bad for him. He put his heart out there and focused like never before...... I told him lets take a few days break from pool. He of course said no, we need to get home so I can practice more. He is determined to bring home one of those fancy trophies next year.

Aterwards was just some pics with other pros like Jorge R and then we had been chatting with Christine who introduce Mika Immonen to Jin.

And lastly... Jin and Kenji both got to play April Larson..... I will say this, she is a 100% sweetheart with my little ones. Such a good role model for any young player. I cannot say enough positive things about her......

This wrapped up SBE..... we had another day in PA before leaving. Monday, we ended up eating at Wahlburgers and walking out I found 100 bucks haha. We then googled pool halls and found Fuscos The Spot and stopped on by. We saw Mooney (another guy we met at SBE and Jin played) and he introduced us to Earl Strickland. Earl was actually very nice, signed the cover of a magazine, took a pic with Jin and then complimented him on his mechanics and shot making watching for a while.

We are back in Denver now, but already making plans for next year. For now, Jin will get ready for the VNEA junior nationals and then the BEF nationals in July.

Thanks everyone for the kind words....

And yes, Jin gets more motivated after each missed shot/loss. He made some decisions that cost him but that's part of the learning process. He knows he will make some choices that may cost him but it'll help him learn better in the long run. It's extremely important that he remains a respectable player, never forgetting what others have done for him along the way. He is very nice and polite, almost too nice where it causes some issues in school but I told him to not change.

We got home after 3am this morning and he was already back on our table practicing some shots he struggled with over the last week when I had woke up.

Next stop is VNEA nationals in June then the BEF nationals in July. But the SBE is what he wants bad now.