Stylez777
New member
(this is going to be a long post sorry)
A buddy and I got to go to the SBE yesterday (was so happy cause thought I wasn't gonna get to go) and when I first walked in I felt like I was in pool heaven! I was so overwhelmed for the first 1/2 hour I wandered around like a zombie not knowing what to do. I felt like a kid in a candy shop. There were SO many booths and cues I didn't know where to start.
So after I got settled a bit I stopped by the Predator and OB booths first to check out what was going on and watch some people hit balls or play a game, I got to test hit 2 predator cues which I was shocked that I really didn't like (both cues had a ton of vibration on the shaft and it just felt very off to me) at the OB booth I talked with the vendor a bit and told him I owned and shot with an OB cue just small chit-chat really but didn't think to ask if they had the new OB classic shaft to test hit. I had passed by the Fury cues booth but didn't stay long cause my buddy ran into an old friend and sadly I didn't get to go back over their till later when they had a $20 challenge to beat a pro and win a cue or get a T-shirt for trying and it was mobbed. (I was shocked that so many people chose to play 2 games of 9-ball over the 1 game of 8-ball vs her but was great to watch and she was very nice to everyone she had played. Thinking now I wish I did it for the experience)
My next stop was the Viking booth. I was at the Viking booth for like 2 minutes and wasn't impressed with their cues (no offense) and they didn't have a table to test hit any cues so I went over to the McDermott booth. The guy at the McDermott booth was really nice and knowledgeable and I got to test hit a cue with the G-core shaft with a Kamui Black S tip that had a pretty nice feel but still didn't jump out at me, it felt way better then the predator I hit earlier and again I was very shocked by this.
I went down stairs and just about this time they were starting the 3 o'clock matches for the Amateur open. The guy on the PA told them to start and for a minute you hear nothing but pool balls breaking and it was like the 4th of July fireworks going off! I got chills as it was a beautiful sound to hear! My buddy and I felt like shooting some games so we walked over to look around by the coin operated tables and it was packed! We watched people shooting as we tried to figure out...how do we play?? We felt like newbies cause everyone looked like they knew what they were doing and we had no idea what to do! We also didn't want to be those idiots who walk up to a table and say "uhh excuse me! what do we do to play??" So we tried to scope out someone to ask discretely how things worked. One guy said "throw up a quarter and wait till it's your turn" seemed simple enough till another guy had told us to make sure you know what they are playing for at that table cause once you put your quarter up you better have the money they are playing for at that table and better have the game to back it up. So now I was even more confused and felt like a bigger idiot. I wanted to shoot but I didn't want to walk up to a table and again be that idiot "how much are you playing for at this table??" especially with signs everywhere saying "no Gambling!" So we just kinda watched for a while and couldn't figure out what to do and decided to not be those 2 idiots and we didn't try to play.
I went back to look at more cues and watch people playing in the tournament and also to watch people shooting at 14.1 challenge and the different tables at booths. I looked at a ton of gorgeous custom cues that were so nice at first I was afraid to ask if I could test hit some, but eventually test hit a few that had tables at their booths and they seemed ok but where out of my price range. I stopped by the CueShark table to check out there tool that I heard raved about so much and it was all that it's advertised to be! I bought one and was VERY happy I did and the vendor was the owner of the company and he was a class act! Great guy to deal with. I talked with Gil over at his Cue Tattoo booth (another really nice/great guy to talk too) and damn if that's one of the nicest/coolest wraps I EVER seen and I am 100% going to get in touch with him on getting a wrap done for my playing cue!
I did stop by one custom cue maker to look at his cues and he was the rudest most arrogant guy I EVER met (will not mention names) but I asked to look at a cue and he was nice at first but when I said his cue didn't appeal to me and I was sorry and thanked him for his time he said "If you don't like my cue you must not know anything about cues, I make the best custom cues you'll find in this show." He just went on and on about his cue was the best and If I didn't agree with him he went on to just tell me I am not a real shooter, only real shooters play with his cue. My buddy and I were taken back by his statement I wished him luck and went on my merry way (only bad experience I had at the show)
I bought some T-shirts, some trinkets, my Cueshark tip tool but still had yet to find my new cue and I was getting disappointed. My friend who was with me had met a guy he used to know who asked me if I checked out the Mezz booth and I told him I hadn't and that I didn't really know much about Mezz cues. He walked me over to the Mezz booth and introduced me to Caroline and Sarah who were both extremely nice and informative. I was skeptical about Mezz cues partly because I didn't know much about their cues and nobody I know or seen owns one and that they are made in Japan. I have seen so many posts and talk to so many people who hate the cues that are massed produced in China and the cheap quality cues that come out of china that I related Japan with China. SO as I talked with Caroline about Mezz cues and listened with an open mind about the product I was impressed. Firstly the joint construction was nothing like any other cue I have seen. It fits together so snug and tight I was taken back! At first I couldn't even unscrew the demo cue!! The butt and shaft matched up PERFECTLY at the joint. Other cues I had seen had a slight raise or was off a tiny tad but you felt it, not with the Mezz. So I test hit 2 of their demo cues one had a double thread with an Alpha pro shaft that had a pretty good hit to it and then the other demo cue had the WD700 that when I hit it my brain went "WHOAA". I hit some more balls and was amazed! MY buddy even seen it on my face and asked me "You like that one huh? How's it hit?" I told him it was the best feeling cue I ever shot with. Even better then his Schon I have played with. I kept telling him he needed to try it (he has shot with the same Schon for 15 years) he eventually gave it a try and was shocked by how it hit (not enough to put down his Schon but enough to really get him thinking). I came back to the Mezz booth 3 times during the day as I had to get my brain over the fact that there were some great deals to be had on other model cues but this cue felt so amazing to me I HAD to buy it and to get over the fact that something made in Japan is not the same as something made in China (stupid I know) Caroline and Sarah both were so patient with me and pleasant to deal with. I finally bought the EC7-R1 model and I cannot wait to get on a table and shoot with it!
Overall my first SBE experience was a great one! (left out a ton of things or this post would be 10 miles long) Wish I had met some more AZer's (I probably did and didn't even know it) also wish I could have shot some games if I knew how things worked downstairs but all in all I cannot wait till next year and setup a 4 day trip in advance!
A buddy and I got to go to the SBE yesterday (was so happy cause thought I wasn't gonna get to go) and when I first walked in I felt like I was in pool heaven! I was so overwhelmed for the first 1/2 hour I wandered around like a zombie not knowing what to do. I felt like a kid in a candy shop. There were SO many booths and cues I didn't know where to start.
So after I got settled a bit I stopped by the Predator and OB booths first to check out what was going on and watch some people hit balls or play a game, I got to test hit 2 predator cues which I was shocked that I really didn't like (both cues had a ton of vibration on the shaft and it just felt very off to me) at the OB booth I talked with the vendor a bit and told him I owned and shot with an OB cue just small chit-chat really but didn't think to ask if they had the new OB classic shaft to test hit. I had passed by the Fury cues booth but didn't stay long cause my buddy ran into an old friend and sadly I didn't get to go back over their till later when they had a $20 challenge to beat a pro and win a cue or get a T-shirt for trying and it was mobbed. (I was shocked that so many people chose to play 2 games of 9-ball over the 1 game of 8-ball vs her but was great to watch and she was very nice to everyone she had played. Thinking now I wish I did it for the experience)
My next stop was the Viking booth. I was at the Viking booth for like 2 minutes and wasn't impressed with their cues (no offense) and they didn't have a table to test hit any cues so I went over to the McDermott booth. The guy at the McDermott booth was really nice and knowledgeable and I got to test hit a cue with the G-core shaft with a Kamui Black S tip that had a pretty nice feel but still didn't jump out at me, it felt way better then the predator I hit earlier and again I was very shocked by this.
I went down stairs and just about this time they were starting the 3 o'clock matches for the Amateur open. The guy on the PA told them to start and for a minute you hear nothing but pool balls breaking and it was like the 4th of July fireworks going off! I got chills as it was a beautiful sound to hear! My buddy and I felt like shooting some games so we walked over to look around by the coin operated tables and it was packed! We watched people shooting as we tried to figure out...how do we play?? We felt like newbies cause everyone looked like they knew what they were doing and we had no idea what to do! We also didn't want to be those idiots who walk up to a table and say "uhh excuse me! what do we do to play??" So we tried to scope out someone to ask discretely how things worked. One guy said "throw up a quarter and wait till it's your turn" seemed simple enough till another guy had told us to make sure you know what they are playing for at that table cause once you put your quarter up you better have the money they are playing for at that table and better have the game to back it up. So now I was even more confused and felt like a bigger idiot. I wanted to shoot but I didn't want to walk up to a table and again be that idiot "how much are you playing for at this table??" especially with signs everywhere saying "no Gambling!" So we just kinda watched for a while and couldn't figure out what to do and decided to not be those 2 idiots and we didn't try to play.
I went back to look at more cues and watch people playing in the tournament and also to watch people shooting at 14.1 challenge and the different tables at booths. I looked at a ton of gorgeous custom cues that were so nice at first I was afraid to ask if I could test hit some, but eventually test hit a few that had tables at their booths and they seemed ok but where out of my price range. I stopped by the CueShark table to check out there tool that I heard raved about so much and it was all that it's advertised to be! I bought one and was VERY happy I did and the vendor was the owner of the company and he was a class act! Great guy to deal with. I talked with Gil over at his Cue Tattoo booth (another really nice/great guy to talk too) and damn if that's one of the nicest/coolest wraps I EVER seen and I am 100% going to get in touch with him on getting a wrap done for my playing cue!
I did stop by one custom cue maker to look at his cues and he was the rudest most arrogant guy I EVER met (will not mention names) but I asked to look at a cue and he was nice at first but when I said his cue didn't appeal to me and I was sorry and thanked him for his time he said "If you don't like my cue you must not know anything about cues, I make the best custom cues you'll find in this show." He just went on and on about his cue was the best and If I didn't agree with him he went on to just tell me I am not a real shooter, only real shooters play with his cue. My buddy and I were taken back by his statement I wished him luck and went on my merry way (only bad experience I had at the show)
I bought some T-shirts, some trinkets, my Cueshark tip tool but still had yet to find my new cue and I was getting disappointed. My friend who was with me had met a guy he used to know who asked me if I checked out the Mezz booth and I told him I hadn't and that I didn't really know much about Mezz cues. He walked me over to the Mezz booth and introduced me to Caroline and Sarah who were both extremely nice and informative. I was skeptical about Mezz cues partly because I didn't know much about their cues and nobody I know or seen owns one and that they are made in Japan. I have seen so many posts and talk to so many people who hate the cues that are massed produced in China and the cheap quality cues that come out of china that I related Japan with China. SO as I talked with Caroline about Mezz cues and listened with an open mind about the product I was impressed. Firstly the joint construction was nothing like any other cue I have seen. It fits together so snug and tight I was taken back! At first I couldn't even unscrew the demo cue!! The butt and shaft matched up PERFECTLY at the joint. Other cues I had seen had a slight raise or was off a tiny tad but you felt it, not with the Mezz. So I test hit 2 of their demo cues one had a double thread with an Alpha pro shaft that had a pretty good hit to it and then the other demo cue had the WD700 that when I hit it my brain went "WHOAA". I hit some more balls and was amazed! MY buddy even seen it on my face and asked me "You like that one huh? How's it hit?" I told him it was the best feeling cue I ever shot with. Even better then his Schon I have played with. I kept telling him he needed to try it (he has shot with the same Schon for 15 years) he eventually gave it a try and was shocked by how it hit (not enough to put down his Schon but enough to really get him thinking). I came back to the Mezz booth 3 times during the day as I had to get my brain over the fact that there were some great deals to be had on other model cues but this cue felt so amazing to me I HAD to buy it and to get over the fact that something made in Japan is not the same as something made in China (stupid I know) Caroline and Sarah both were so patient with me and pleasant to deal with. I finally bought the EC7-R1 model and I cannot wait to get on a table and shoot with it!
Overall my first SBE experience was a great one! (left out a ton of things or this post would be 10 miles long) Wish I had met some more AZer's (I probably did and didn't even know it) also wish I could have shot some games if I knew how things worked downstairs but all in all I cannot wait till next year and setup a 4 day trip in advance!
Last edited:
