I just got home from the WPM 9-ball in Vegas, where I shot some pictures some of you may have seen. I had never seen Alex play before and he has all the heart in the world. He was down 6/3 in the finals with Mika and he NEVER looked like he was behind. I've seen a lot of players, even at that level, that get behind in a short race and they mutter in the corner, make hand gestures, talk to themselves, in short make mental excuses for being behind. Alex showed none of that, perfect composure while he waited his turn.
When he did gesture, it more likely looked like this:
I got there on Sat. so I missed his match with Mark Gray but his matches with Morris, Bustamante and Immonen were all FANTASTIC. And when the dust settled The Lion roared like this:
How can you NOT love this guy??? A great mix of talent, personality and class.
After the tournament I stopped by the TARPIT and paid to watch the Sunday night race to 30 of the 100. I was watchin' Shane warming up for about 1/2 an hour when Alex showed up, ran in, jumped on and over the spectator tables surrounding the Diamond and with a HUGE smile said lets GO!
In the midst of the excitement over winning the WPM and the prospect of facing THIS:
Alex still took the time for this:
I ended up getting something to eat and with an early flight out I didn't see much of the Alex v SVB match, but after the grind of the finals followed by the elation and relief of the win, I'm sure it was tough playin' a marathon session with Shane. What I do know is if it ends up commin' down to "heart" nobody's gotta like it, not even Shane.
I'm only allowed 10 pics per post and I took over 500 pictures (ya gotta love digital), I don't wanna bore everyone with them (if I haven't already) but I'll prob'ly post a few more in the coming days. If anybody wants to see any in particular, let me know.
(Previous posts of World Pool Masters) pictures here and here
Joe
When he did gesture, it more likely looked like this:
I got there on Sat. so I missed his match with Mark Gray but his matches with Morris, Bustamante and Immonen were all FANTASTIC. And when the dust settled The Lion roared like this:
How can you NOT love this guy??? A great mix of talent, personality and class.
After the tournament I stopped by the TARPIT and paid to watch the Sunday night race to 30 of the 100. I was watchin' Shane warming up for about 1/2 an hour when Alex showed up, ran in, jumped on and over the spectator tables surrounding the Diamond and with a HUGE smile said lets GO!
In the midst of the excitement over winning the WPM and the prospect of facing THIS:
Alex still took the time for this:
I ended up getting something to eat and with an early flight out I didn't see much of the Alex v SVB match, but after the grind of the finals followed by the elation and relief of the win, I'm sure it was tough playin' a marathon session with Shane. What I do know is if it ends up commin' down to "heart" nobody's gotta like it, not even Shane.
I'm only allowed 10 pics per post and I took over 500 pictures (ya gotta love digital), I don't wanna bore everyone with them (if I haven't already) but I'll prob'ly post a few more in the coming days. If anybody wants to see any in particular, let me know.
(Previous posts of World Pool Masters) pictures here and here
Joe
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