SSP said:

If someone is practicing 2 hours a day and is making NO progress then they should see a PBIA billiards instructor, I believe vision center is the nastiest flaw in learning billiards, the reason is that when you are lining up a shot, if you are not truly straight you will be imparting english on the shot, you learn how to pocket balls but always with english, the nasty part is when you learn your vision center the shot looks EXACTLY like the one that is wrong, the difference is you are lined up properly now, my vision center is in the corner of my right eye, when I line up shots I have to use the corner of my right eye to see the shot line properly and when I am shooting the shot, it has taken about 8 months for this to be my new normal way of shooting, without this everything I learned didn't work properly, a friend of mine was a sharpshooter in the military, he is right handed but left eye dominant, check out John Morra's story, all I can say is I can't believe the difference it made for me.

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Take it or leave it. Whatever you are doing, just make sure you do it every time. Exactly the same. You can tell because the cue ball will react the same way. Once you have perfected exactly how to miss shots, you at least know you can be consistent. Now, look for each and every flaw, one at a time, and correct it. As you correct your flaws, you will start to get better. What are your flaws? You've got two eyes, don't you. If you still can't see, maybe get a coach. In the movie, Chariots of Fire, the coach, Mussabini , tells Abrahams that he needs to shorten each stride by a couple of inches. This is where knowledge comes in. Mussabini had "secret" knowledge that he, and only he, was offering Abrahams. I hope you can find a honest and sincere instructor who is not only in it for the money. One like Sax: "You either got it or you don't." And will cut you loose if you ain't got it.

The winner of the 2025 Hanoi Open is...............Rasson! This table seems to have befuddled the pros gathered here, with one exception, Moritz Neuhausen. It's like a U.S. Open course in golf, making the best pros look like amateurs. For those of you saying today's pros are so much better than yesterday's champions, I say hogwash. Buddy Hall would have eaten these guys for lunch. He was used to playing on tables like this at Trueloves in Oklahoma City and Greenway in Shreveport. Buddy won the biggest tournament at Hard Times on "Ernesto tight" 4" pockets. Buddy was the master of close position. On the Rassons anything longer than a half table shot was challenging, especially if the player tries to shoot hard and draw the ball. Miss, miss, miss all day long.

Watching this all I can say is that there is room at the top for more players like Moritz to take charge of pro pool. I have a feeling that as the prize money continues to increase we will be seeing more new faces who play even better.

As for the referee in this match. Clueless. When I see a ref running (or walking) around the table to stand behind the player I know he is completely inexperienced. He is there more for decoration than anything else. If a tricky situation came up he would be totally unprepared.

To the surprise of no one, Shaw and Hoang have been named to their respective Reyes cup teams.

gonna have a new open winner. pijus beat capito, now moritz v vergara

is the cue signed by either Pete or Osarah. if not is there a letter ?

sjm said:

Has Matchroom ever shown any interest in producing anything but World Class 9ball events for the best male players in the world? If a senior tour is coming, it certainly won't be produced by Matchroom.

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I saw you in the front row last night in a straight pool match from 2024 in st Augustine. I only mention it because there looked to no one at all watching. This was the final. Was attendance that bad the whole tournament.

westcoast said:

Depends on the age limit- he may be the best player over 60- although Bustamante would definitely challenge him. There are several guys in their fifties who would likely be favored against Earl. Part of the problem is that you never know when he will meltdown and basically quit

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ralf.

jax_joe said:

They aren't even streaming any of the round of 32. Pathetic.

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very strange decision.

AtLarge said:

Yikes, Filler trails Makkonen 3-7 in the L32. SVB is ahead 5-1 in his match.


Edit -- Those matches ended the way they were headed -- Makkonen over Filler 10-6 and SVB over Mantra 10-3.

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petri makkonen may be the strongest breaker in northern europe, and it is 8-ball on brunswick-y tables, filler doesn't have as much of an edge. good on petri.

ctran said:

for Hanoi Open, it's been the practicr from the first year
- refs rack only
- refs clean cue ball only by their gloves after each rack
- after the day they only use gloves or clean towel to clean the set of balls

I dont believe J Chua did the wax last year, evident showed om that match indicated that the table was newly played, and it was... last year the center table was only played in the final 2 days, first 4 days it was covered... unlike this year they used it from day 1 because they need tables to cover for day 0 postponement.

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good input, i hadn't thought of that, but it explains a lot. i don't mind it, different places different conditions.

skogstokig said:

they're using local refs in hanoi. this guy reffing the semi looks local too.

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Vietnam does not have the long pool history that the Philippines does and that is where the difference in experience lies. That said, I'm sure there are some good officials working the event. I've seen one for sure.

jay helfert said:

Proper position to start. He's never in the right place! I saw one Vietnamese official get into good position to see a close hit. Good on him. By the way you should see better officiating in Manila, if MR is smart enough to use local officials. They have many good ones here who have been playing and refereeing for years.

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they're using local refs in hanoi. this guy reffing the semi looks local too.

Mobiker said:

Capito might have caught a break on the lag. Labutis (bottom ball) seems to be closer.View attachment 856961

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A lot closer. There is a way to see who wins the lag and it is not by standing close to or over the balls. Once again, officiating problem.

Here is one that I had Pete make me in 2012. I just had 2 new shafts made for it. Ebony points into a grenadillo forearm. Nearly seamless smooth leather wrap. Black, blue, red, and natural veneers. 59.5” I think I’ve owned four or five Tascarella cues over the years. This one is the keeper though.