I just can't say enough about Jesse Bowman this last weekend at the Dr pool tournament in Oconomowoc,Wi.
The nine ball was handicapped with players going from 7 to 10 according to their ability. In the nine ball it was easier to play a safe and hook a player. In the eight ball it wasn't that easy. All these guys at this tournament could run out a rack of eight ball.
Just an example. I'm playing a guy that is rated a 5 in the 8 ball. I'm rated an 8. It is alternating breaks. This guy that is a 5 is going to get to break 6 times for sure and if he wins the flip he will break 7 times if the match goes to the hill.
I play almost perfect and run out from my first 3 breaks. The 5 I'm playing breaks and runs 3 out of 6 racks that he breaks. We end up in a hill hill match that I won by getting out on a real tough rack.
I could see what a grind this was going to be.
I never sat and watched Jesse Bowman play every match but I watched bits and pieces here and there. The few I watched were hill hill matches. I don't know how many of his matches went hill hill but I'm sure there was more. I know he had to bite,scratch and kick to win match after match after match.
These players in this tourny that were 5's 6's and 7's can play, especially on a bar table. And then you have the roll factor. These tables played ok for bar tables but you do find a bad rail here and there. It's just the way it is on valleys or any table that gets played alot.
Sometimes your playing 1 or 2 or 3 rail shape and you find just one bad spot and your shape is terrible leaving whoever it is to just run out an open rack. Really tough.
I hope I described good enough just how tough this was. And I don't care how many players and people say Jesse is superman this and superman that. He does play awful good. But to win a tournament like this you had to dig down even deeper. You had to use your knowledge to think quickly and play your shape so you didn't have to move the cue ball around very much. Not like you would normally play shape but kind of like you are playing marbles.
Jesse Engle said to me at one point, Bowman plays some weird shape sometimes. But it wasn't weird. He was playing the shape on the shot so he had the least possible chance of a rail or roll effect what the outcome was. Every once is a while you still get hooked or out of shape but the odds work out in the long run.
My hat is off to Jesse Bowman not only for winning this tough handicap tournament but the long grind and just never giving up on any shot. The sheer determination is what gets a player to the end of this big one.
Great Job Jesse. You deserve this great win and of course the great money that goes with it.
You have the heart of a lion my friend.
I for one can't wait for the chance to compete again against a player like yourself again and again and again.
And if everyone didn't know this already. He's also a pretty nice guy.
great for the game............
The nine ball was handicapped with players going from 7 to 10 according to their ability. In the nine ball it was easier to play a safe and hook a player. In the eight ball it wasn't that easy. All these guys at this tournament could run out a rack of eight ball.
Just an example. I'm playing a guy that is rated a 5 in the 8 ball. I'm rated an 8. It is alternating breaks. This guy that is a 5 is going to get to break 6 times for sure and if he wins the flip he will break 7 times if the match goes to the hill.
I play almost perfect and run out from my first 3 breaks. The 5 I'm playing breaks and runs 3 out of 6 racks that he breaks. We end up in a hill hill match that I won by getting out on a real tough rack.
I could see what a grind this was going to be.
I never sat and watched Jesse Bowman play every match but I watched bits and pieces here and there. The few I watched were hill hill matches. I don't know how many of his matches went hill hill but I'm sure there was more. I know he had to bite,scratch and kick to win match after match after match.
These players in this tourny that were 5's 6's and 7's can play, especially on a bar table. And then you have the roll factor. These tables played ok for bar tables but you do find a bad rail here and there. It's just the way it is on valleys or any table that gets played alot.
Sometimes your playing 1 or 2 or 3 rail shape and you find just one bad spot and your shape is terrible leaving whoever it is to just run out an open rack. Really tough.
I hope I described good enough just how tough this was. And I don't care how many players and people say Jesse is superman this and superman that. He does play awful good. But to win a tournament like this you had to dig down even deeper. You had to use your knowledge to think quickly and play your shape so you didn't have to move the cue ball around very much. Not like you would normally play shape but kind of like you are playing marbles.
Jesse Engle said to me at one point, Bowman plays some weird shape sometimes. But it wasn't weird. He was playing the shape on the shot so he had the least possible chance of a rail or roll effect what the outcome was. Every once is a while you still get hooked or out of shape but the odds work out in the long run.
My hat is off to Jesse Bowman not only for winning this tough handicap tournament but the long grind and just never giving up on any shot. The sheer determination is what gets a player to the end of this big one.
Great Job Jesse. You deserve this great win and of course the great money that goes with it.
You have the heart of a lion my friend.
I for one can't wait for the chance to compete again against a player like yourself again and again and again.
And if everyone didn't know this already. He's also a pretty nice guy.
great for the game............
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