2010 in Review: What's a significant pool memory in 2010 for you?

[JAM]

from the spectators point of view the biggest thing for me was the mosconi cup,the atmosphere was awesome!!! as a player my biggest memory of 2010 definitelly was my 9:8 victory over ralf souquet from 2:7 down at european championship 9ball division.i was so excited after the match that i couldnt get any sleep two nights after that match...

How cool is that! What an achievement. Anybody who can hang with Ralf on a field of green is definitely hitting 'em strong!

 

[JAM]

I am not very familiar with the larger scene of pool, so I will be sharing something a bit smaller, on a personal level, so to speak. With unemployment in our country at a high, I was fortunate enough to be offered a position at the local pool hall I frequent. All I have to do is make sure all of the tables are in better than good condition, and organize the establishment's outside activites. Essentially I am the "Event Coordinator." I run a weekly 9-ball and 8-ball tournament on Wednesdays and Fridays, respectfully. Both of which each have their own break and run incentive of $20 to the first of each tournament, and a seperate break and run contest that was started out of pocket. I have arranged that many of the local league competitions are now hosted at this location, with a free lunch donated by local businesses. New tables are the next step, and hopefully one of our very own AZ'ers will deliver and install them. Maybe a stop by an Am tour is possible in the near future. So, for the sake of not yet achieving, let's pray that 2011 picks up right where 2010 left off for BJ's Billiards in Havelock, NC. It's rare to see an establishment in our community growing right now with everything that's going on. For my passion, for my love, I urge all of you to keep shooting, and keep supporting. Pool is my life, without all of you I am sure I would be a lost vagabond. To show my thanks, if anyone is around this area and would like to stop in, ask for Danny and mention where you found this post, I will make sure you are taken care of. Let's keep this dying sport alive. If that can happen, I will nominate being happy as my biggest achievement.

Out of all the posts in this thread, yours has really touched me. It seems like pool is quite healthy in Havelock, thanks to your efforts. Bravo! I wish you much happiness in 2011 and to keep pool alive and well at B.J.'s.

 

[JStarkweather]

Well for me, it was a great year for pool I think. I think I improved my game a ton by practicing & watching. There were some great matches too like Mika/Shane, Strickland/Kuo in the U.S. Open 10 Ball plus the finals going hill-hill.

The biggest thing that struck me about world was this: If I had told myself last year that this year you will be able to not only watch every single major tournament streaming in pool, snooker & 3 cushion billiards, but I would be able to see them in HD!! I wouldn't have believed it. For example last year I watched the AGIPI Billiard Masters on a decent quality stream that kept freezing every 3 seconds, it was awful. This year I watched it in HD, it was unbelievable. Same with a lot of major snooker matches. Last year I thought I hit the jackpot when one person put the effort to host a stream from the UK. I was actually able to watch live snooker in crappy quality. I just realized that about every match I watched this year via Justin.tv, or MyP2P,...was in great quality. Of course, for pool; I have never watched so many pool tournaments, both amateur & professional from my computer. I feel lucky to have all this at my reach. It helped boost the game big time this year both for players & for a lot of sponsors. Thanks to all who have/had hosted streams for us to watch action/tournaments & to hear more from commentaries about the game/players. UStream was the nuts this year! I hope this year will bring more.

 

[Island Drive]

Well for me, it was a great year for pool I think. I think I improved my game a ton by practicing & watching. There were some great matches too like Mika/Shane, Strickland/Kuo in the U.S. Open 10 Ball plus the finals going hill-hill.

The biggest thing that struck me about world was this: If I had told myself last year that this year you will be able to not only watch every single major tournament streaming in pool, snooker & 3 cushion billiards, but I would be able to see them in HD!! I wouldn't have believed it. For example last year I watched the AGIPI Billiard Masters on a decent quality stream that kept freezing every 3 seconds, it was awful. This year I watched it in HD, it was unbelievable. Same with a lot of major snooker matches. Last year I thought I hit the jackpot when one person put the effort to host a stream from the UK. I was actually able to watch live snooker in crappy quality. I just realized that about every match I watched this year via Justin.tv, or MyP2P,...was in great quality. Of course, for pool; I have never watched so many pool tournaments, both amateur & professional from my computer. I feel lucky to have all this at my reach. It helped boost the game big time this year both for players & for a lot of sponsors. Thanks to all who have/had hosted streams for us to watch action/tournaments & to hear more from commentaries about the game/players. UStream was the nuts this year! I hope this year will bring more.

I agree with Jam picking out that great post, and yours too brings to light what HD streaming pool offers the public that seems different than HD in any other sport.

The pool balls in HD look sooooooooooo good. When I watch TV in HD to me it doesn't look as good in many aspects as old TV.
One now notices the makeup, wrinkles, objects seemingly distorted of some form, but pool players being picky, perfectionists and always wanting everything just right, the visual image of HD pool is phenomenal and does show the little things we deal with ALL the time, with MUCH greater clarity, HD is probably our stepping stone to recognition, the public can maybe now actually SEE whats REALLY going on. Streaming and AZ itself are seemingly on a parallel course.

 

[Blackjack]

Appleton Vs Deuel...
needs to be in the time capsule.

 

[Gerry]

I have to agree with the other folks about the AWSOME streaming coming from TAR, Lenny, Big Truck, Accu-stats etc. These guys have IMO done more for pool in the last few years then anyone. To be able to turn on my laptop and watch a tourney I couldn't make it to is very cool. The jump in quality from 09 to 10 is astounding. HD rules!

Darren Appleton this year REALLY got my attention as stepping up to be among the elite world class players! What a solid player.

SVB getting the Cuetec sponsorship and switching to a new cue without missing a beat. I was amazed at Shane being able to switch equipment, and play the same as always!! thats not easy IMO.

I kind of missed the Phillipino guys this year. I saw some of them online, but I guess we don't have enough big money events? Maybe I just missed it when they were playing?

We live minutes from the Super Billiards Expo, and this year was a blast as usual. The 14.1 high run comp was PACKED by folks all day. 14.1 is still strong up here in the north east.

I think I'm going to start a pool log of happenings for 2011...I know I'm forgetting so many cool things that happened this year.

 

[Luxury]

Personally, getting the MVP with most break n runs in my Bca league which is extra $$$ was up there.

Also I rejoined the tap league after a 5 year hiatus just to see my old friends that used to torture me.

7 is the highest rating and I got wins against the three 7s I played and became a seven for the first time ever. Thanks Gary Helgason and Dan Louie for all the great instruction.

Most memorable viewing moment was Darren Appleton's cue breaking celebration at the Cup.

 

[Williebetmore]

JAM,
Oddly enough, it was a bar table match. At DCC 2010, Jeanette Lee and Larry Price matched up. Though I am obviously completely biased, it was one of the greatest performances I've ever seen in sports.

JL was pregnant (not yet publicized) and in the middle of a 10 week stretch of morning sickness (severe nausea and vomiting, not just in the morning...). She had to take breaks every 30 to 60 minutes to go throw up in the bathroom; had to put up with terrible abdominal and back pain; had to survive near continuous grumbling, moaning, and all around bad sportsmanship from her opponent (a really nasty guy); and still was able to grind out a victory over 2 nights play.

I still can't recall anything like it - but for me was the equivalent of Jordan with the flu putting down the Jazz, or Willis Reed coming out of the locker room unexpectedly to get the Knicks past the Lakers. There is "heart", and then there's "real heart." JL has more of it in her pinky than most in their whole body. JMO

 

[DogsPlayingPool]

The inaugural U.S. Open 10 Ball Championship played this year will come to be an historic event. I do believe this tournament is destined to become one of the major world tournaments, if not the most important.

Best shot: At the U.S. Open 10 Ball, Dennis Hatch hit an off-handed (righty), jump/combination on the 10 ball to win his match against I forget who. But I remember the shot.

Best streak: What did Sigel have, something like 30-40 games in a row?

 

[meximan2469]

Happy New Years to all.....

2010 was a great year for me as a pool fan/ industry member....

In no particular order...

- Watching Mika vs Shane live at Amsterdam in Manhattan
- The Mosconi Cup in London
- Earl vs Engel, Mika's 6 pack to open vs Klatt, and Darren and Corey at the US Open 9 ball.
- Mika vs Gomez at the US Open 10 Ball, Filming the hill/hill finals
- Florian and Mike Massey trickshot exhibition at the SBE
- Selling out of almost every stitch of clothing at the BCAPL
- Oliver Ortmann winning the 14.1 championship while thinking of his mother home in the hospital the wholetime.
- Mika vs Charlie tennis match and then footrace at Flushing Meadows
- Shooting a rack in NYC with Mika's cue
- Partying at Turning Stone nightclub with some of the games best
- Filming a day in the life of Earl Strickland...
- Hanging at the circle bar at thr Riv in Vegas and getting sloppy with the Big Dog J-Cin....
- Watching Busti play dippy for 25K at Pool Sharks


Here's to a great 2011 starting with my first trip to Derby. :smile:

 

[nathandumoulin]

Thanks...

Congratulations...

Happy...

Here's...

This...

It...

How...

Out..

lol JAM, the only forum member who can post an 8-pack. No one else can type fast enough to make that many consecutive posts in a single thread before anyone else has sufficient time to respond.

As for 2010, it's depressing to think how many of the years key billiard-related moments I was apart of, how I've seen and witnessed more in a single year than most people will ever get to do in their entire lives.....and yet all I can think about is how much the year has left a bitter taste in my mouth. Seeing this thread has really made me struggle, but at the same time, it's forced me to review my year and focus on the good for a bit. So thank you for that.

Rather than tell about one fond memory I have, I'd rather simply thank a few people for making many of my trips enjoyable.

JCIN, Mika, Rodney, Raj, Luke Riches of Matchroom sports, the Griffins, Ashley Nandrasy, Dave from Runout Media, Angel, Jason Klatt, Sarah Rousey, Roberto Gomez, and many others.

Now on to 2011....and I pray it brings a more favorable result than 2010.

 

[FranCrimi]

For me, 2010 was a return to my roots. When I first started playing pool, the game was 14.1. Shortly after, it switched to 9-Ball. I love 9-Ball but I never really got to play enough 14.1. I knew that Danny Barouty was keeping 14.1 alive in NYC, but I had no idea how alive it was until I joined his 14.1 league this year at the Amsterdam Billiard Club.

This season, Danny topped his record number of participants with a whopping 120 people in his 14.1 league at Amsterdam. He has 2 sessions on Monday nights and one on Saturday. I hadn't played competitive 14.1 in way too long, and it has been totally refreshing, and I'm loving it!

We're now into the playoff season and I can't wait to get to the pool room to practice! Haven't felt this way about playing in a very long time.

Thanks so much to Danny Barouty and the Amsterdam Billiard Club. (And they even know how to keep score on the beads. Yahoo!...)

 

[JAM]

Appleton Vs Deuel...
needs to be in the time capsule.

I like that idea: a pool time capsule for 2010.

 

[JAM]

Well for me, it was a great year for pool I think. I think I improved my game a ton by practicing & watching. There were some great matches too like Mika/Shane, Strickland/Kuo in the U.S. Open 10 Ball plus the finals going hill-hill.

The biggest thing that struck me about world was this: If I had told myself last year that this year you will be able to not only watch every single major tournament streaming in pool, snooker & 3 cushion billiards, but I would be able to see them in HD!! I wouldn't have believed it. For example last year I watched the AGIPI Billiard Masters on a decent quality stream that kept freezing every 3 seconds, it was awful. This year I watched it in HD, it was unbelievable. Same with a lot of major snooker matches. Last year I thought I hit the jackpot when one person put the effort to host a stream from the UK. I was actually able to watch live snooker in crappy quality. I just realized that about every match I watched this year via Justin.tv, or MyP2P,...was in great quality. Of course, for pool; I have never watched so many pool tournaments, both amateur & professional from my computer. I feel lucky to have all this at my reach. It helped boost the game big time this year both for players & for a lot of sponsors. Thanks to all who have/had hosted streams for us to watch action/tournaments & to hear more from commentaries about the game/players. UStream was the nuts this year! I hope this year will bring more.

So, pool in the wonderful World Wide Web is making progress. That's great for the pool fans around the world for sure.

What is the difference between UStream and Justin.TV? I am not familiar with that, or MyP2P either, for that matter. :embarrassed2:

 

[JAM]

Personally, getting the MVP with most break n runs in my Bca league which is extra $$$ was up there.

Also I rejoined the tap league after a 5 year hiatus just to see my old friends that used to torture me.

7 is the highest rating and I got wins against the three 7s I played and became a seven for the first time ever. Thanks Gary Helgason and Dan Louie for all the great instruction.

Most memorable viewing moment was Darren Appleton's cue breaking celebration at the Cup.

Your post puts an exclamation point on what I have come to realize about pool in recent times. The leagues is where it's at. People enjoy competing. Sweating matches may be attractive to some pool aficionados, but actually getting out there and hitting balls, the competitive spirit, well, that's when it becomes fun.

Everybody keeps mentioning Darren Appelton on this thread. He could be AzBilliards' MVP for this forum. :grin-square:

Congrats on your great play in 2010.

 

[JAM]

JAM,
Oddly enough, it was a bar table match. At DCC 2010, Jeanette Lee and Larry Price matched up. Though I am obviously completely biased, it was one of the greatest performances I've ever seen in sports.

JL was pregnant (not yet publicized) and in the middle of a 10 week stretch of morning sickness (severe nausea and vomiting, not just in the morning...). She had to take breaks every 30 to 60 minutes to go throw up in the bathroom; had to put up with terrible abdominal and back pain; had to survive near continuous grumbling, moaning, and all around bad sportsmanship from her opponent (a really nasty guy); and still was able to grind out a victory over 2 nights play.

I still can't recall anything like it - but for me was the equivalent of Jordan with the flu putting down the Jazz, or Willis Reed coming out of the locker room unexpectedly to get the Knicks past the Lakers. There is "heart", and then there's "real heart." JL has more of it in her pinky than most in their whole body. JMO

Wow! Thanks for sharing that about Jeanette Lee. She is truly a fan favorite wherever she goes. Pool could use about 10 more just like her.

 

[JAM]

The inaugural U.S. Open 10 Ball Championship played this year will come to be an historic event. I do believe this tournament is destined to become one of the major world tournaments, if not the most important.

Best shot: At the U.S. Open 10 Ball, Dennis Hatch hit an off-handed (righty), jump/combination on the 10 ball to win his match against I forget who. But I remember the shot.

Best streak: What did Sigel have, something like 30-40 games in a row?

I must have missed that one-handed Hatch shot. That must be been the nuts! I wish I'd have seen it.

Mike Sigel did enjoy a nice run at that tournament. I did catch a few of those games.

Seems like more and more tournaments are happening closer to the West Coast. I'm envious. Since I don't fly and drive every single place I go, well, it looks like I'm missing out on some cool pool happenings.

I don't care for Vegas too much, but I did absolutely enjoy the drive going there, seeing America up front and close. It is an experience that I will never forget. Vegas has a lot of distractions for pool players, I guess.

My real beef, though, with Vegas is that I don't care for those barkers on the sidewalks hawking prostitutes to passerbys, giving out fliers to men who are walking with their loved on on their arm. It is insulting. Maybe this is enjoyable for some, but it is definitely not my cup of tea.

 

[JAM]

2010 was a great year for me as a pool fan/ industry member....

In no particular order...

- Watching Mika vs Shane live at Amsterdam in Manhattan
- The Mosconi Cup in London
- Earl vs Engel, Mika's 6 pack to open vs Klatt, and Darren and Corey at the US Open 9 ball.
- Mika vs Gomez at the US Open 10 Ball, Filming the hill/hill finals
- Florian and Mike Massey trickshot exhibition at the SBE
- Selling out of almost every stitch of clothing at the BCAPL
- Oliver Ortmann winning the 14.1 championship while thinking of his mother home in the hospital the wholetime.
- Mika vs Charlie tennis match and then footrace at Flushing Meadows
- Shooting a rack in NYC with Mika's cue
- Partying at Turning Stone nightclub with some of the games best
- Filming a day in the life of Earl Strickland...
- Hanging at the circle bar at thr Riv in Vegas and getting sloppy with the Big Dog J-Cin....
- Watching Busti play dippy for 25K at Pool Sharks


Here's to a great 2011 starting with my first trip to Derby. :smile:

Geezy peezy, your life is a pool-filled utopia. Good for you. Those are some very nice memories for sure. :smile:

 

[JAM]

lol JAM, the only forum member who can post an 8-pack. No one else can type fast enough to make that many consecutive posts in a single thread before anyone else has sufficient time to respond.

Hey, now, I responded to a few of your threads with good words in the past, but you seemed to have overlooked my complimentary posts. :frown:

True dat. My fingers have speed. It's an occupational hazard, I guess. :grin-square:

As for 2010, it's depressing to think how many of the years key billiard-related moments I was apart of, how I've seen and witnessed more in a single year than most people will ever get to do in their entire lives.....and yet all I can think about is how much the year has left a bitter taste in my mouth. Seeing this thread has really made me struggle, but at the same time, it's forced me to review my year and focus on the good for a bit. So thank you for that.

Rather than tell about one fond memory I have, I'd rather simply thank a few people for making many of my trips enjoyable.

JCIN, Mika, Rodney, Raj, Luke Riches of Matchroom sports, the Griffins, Ashley Nandrasy, Dave from Runout Media, Angel, Jason Klatt, Sarah Rousey, Roberto Gomez, and many others.

Now on to 2011....and I pray it brings a more favorable result than 2010.

Wishing you all the best in 2011. I thought after your tragic accident from the U.S. Open that you were going to be in a bad way for spell, but I was pleasantly surprised to see you sitting in the stands at the Mosconi Cup in England. I wish I could have gone. That must have been an experience of a lifetime. Good for you! :smile:

 

[JAM]

For me, 2010 was a return to my roots. When I first started playing pool, the game was 14.1. Shortly after, it switched to 9-Ball. I love 9-Ball but I never really got to play enough 14.1. I knew that Danny Barouty was keeping 14.1 alive in NYC, but I had no idea how alive it was until I joined his 14.1 league this year at the Amsterdam Billiard Club.

This season, Danny topped his record number of participants with a whopping 120 people in his 14.1 league at Amsterdam. He has 2 sessions on Monday nights and one on Saturday. I hadn't played competitive 14.1 in way too long, and it has been totally refreshing, and I'm loving it!

We're now into the playoff season and I can't wait to get to the pool room to practice! Haven't felt this way about playing in a very long time.

Thanks so much to Danny Barouty and the Amsterdam Billiard Club. (And they even know how to keep score on the beads. Yahoo!...)

Are you playing some now, Fran? That is wonderful. I'll be you are really enjoying it, getting back in the game. That Amsterdam Billiard Club sounds dreamy.

The best time of my life in pool was when I was actually playing. Today, I'm a railbird. I still enjoy sweating the matches, but it's not as much fun for me as it was when I was hitting 'em.

A few years ago, I tried to play some, and my muscle memory for stroking the ball was gone. My break was pitiful. I can remember trying to hit them with all my might, and the tip of the cue stick never made contact with the cueball. I came with a miss. How embarrassing it was. :embarrassed2:

Hope you share some of your experiences at the pool room with us. That would be great!