Congrats to John Schmidt
- Thread starter HollyWood
- Start date
For sure a cue must feel good in your hands- but in my opinion that would be a bit to easy, to search the cause for mistakes just using a *bad* cue.
Also i m sure (or better i could imagine) that professionals giving their sponsors *instructions* to *tune* their cues/shafts, so that they re satisfied with it.
Furthermore John has had perhaps just a bad day. He opened his own buisness-this let him less table time for sure.
Players like Shane or John don t care too much (in my opinion) about their cue-as long as its the right weight, straight and a good shaft.
just my humble opinion,
Ingo
Also i m sure (or better i could imagine) that professionals giving their sponsors *instructions* to *tune* their cues/shafts, so that they re satisfied with it.
Furthermore John has had perhaps just a bad day. He opened his own buisness-this let him less table time for sure.
Players like Shane or John don t care too much (in my opinion) about their cue-as long as its the right weight, straight and a good shaft.
just my humble opinion,
Ingo
You must not think too much of either of these guys if you think they would compete with equipment they feel puts them at a disadvantage.
When John was approached about using a Fury cue and being a professional player representative, the first thing that happened was he was given a number of test cues to solicit his opinions as to whether or not they felt right and he felt he could compete with one and win. No player that Fury sponsors has ever simply be given free reign. For players to truly represent a product, they must believe in it, and believe they can win with it.
After trying a number of them, he settled in with a model and modified his shaft to his liking, however it is STILL a Fury shaft. He will be the FIRST to tell you that NO sponsorship is worth more than winning tournaments. You are mistaken if you think that sponsorship in this industry can in any way surpass potential tournament winnings.
I was there and saw the finals. John was not on top of his game, but we ALL have off days. However, I was also there during the preliminaries when John ran rack after rack with his Fury cue. Did you happen to see any of those early rounds?
You say that all those Fury ads make you sick...well, I am stepping out of my box (normally I wouldn't even respond to such a post) and saying that its folks like you, who bash a product and a brand that are sincerely trying to contribute to this sport by helping players and events, as well as putting a product out there that is, in fact, very good and in many ways superior to its competition, that really irk me. Please tell me what experience you have playing with a Fury cue. Do you recall the tournaments that were won by players playing with Fury? Kelly Fisher has snapped off a few with hers. Rodney Morris took second in the Pro Player Championship in 2003 playing with one right off the rack. Lee Van Corteza won Turning Stone with one, and he isn't even a sponsored player.
You should investigate the quality of the cues before making rash statements like ones you have made.
I understand the potential for getting flamed for this post, but I felt compelled to let you know that Fury cues are no lesser a cue in terms of playability and offering anyone a chance to compete at a high level.
When John was approached about using a Fury cue and being a professional player representative, the first thing that happened was he was given a number of test cues to solicit his opinions as to whether or not they felt right and he felt he could compete with one and win. No player that Fury sponsors has ever simply be given free reign. For players to truly represent a product, they must believe in it, and believe they can win with it.
After trying a number of them, he settled in with a model and modified his shaft to his liking, however it is STILL a Fury shaft. He will be the FIRST to tell you that NO sponsorship is worth more than winning tournaments. You are mistaken if you think that sponsorship in this industry can in any way surpass potential tournament winnings.
I was there and saw the finals. John was not on top of his game, but we ALL have off days. However, I was also there during the preliminaries when John ran rack after rack with his Fury cue. Did you happen to see any of those early rounds?
You say that all those Fury ads make you sick...well, I am stepping out of my box (normally I wouldn't even respond to such a post) and saying that its folks like you, who bash a product and a brand that are sincerely trying to contribute to this sport by helping players and events, as well as putting a product out there that is, in fact, very good and in many ways superior to its competition, that really irk me. Please tell me what experience you have playing with a Fury cue. Do you recall the tournaments that were won by players playing with Fury? Kelly Fisher has snapped off a few with hers. Rodney Morris took second in the Pro Player Championship in 2003 playing with one right off the rack. Lee Van Corteza won Turning Stone with one, and he isn't even a sponsored player.
You should investigate the quality of the cues before making rash statements like ones you have made.
I understand the potential for getting flamed for this post, but I felt compelled to let you know that Fury cues are no lesser a cue in terms of playability and offering anyone a chance to compete at a high level.
I was at a famous cuemakers shop a few year back. On the wall was a <low end production cue> and I said to the cuemaker, your doing repair work on <low end production cue > ? Oh yeah that's xxxxxx's cue and I'm making shafts for it.
If you think the pros take a standard cue, screw it together and say let's go play SBE you are being naive. I also think this post is in bad taste and especially since it goes right to a business relationship that you are not party to. Let Schmidt decide what is best for him and stop trying to queer his sponsorship.
If you think the pros take a standard cue, screw it together and say let's go play SBE you are being naive. I also think this post is in bad taste and especially since it goes right to a business relationship that you are not party to. Let Schmidt decide what is best for him and stop trying to queer his sponsorship.
Does it really remind you of the days of Earl and Cuetec? Not that I'm a fan of Cuetec, but didn't he win most of his titles playing with that Cuetec? I know he's publicly said that cue "ruined his game", but that's Earl being Earl IMHO...he played at the top of his game during those 17 years.
I don't know anything about the player and sponsor involved but I would like to comment that cues are a funny thing.
Over the course of the 40 or so years I've played pool a few pool cues have passed through my hands, with which I just played way better with, for reasons I could never really put my finger on. Of course being the Joe Average Pool Player that I am I let them go and kept on buying different cues until I finally settled on a cue about 15 years ago.
I think the pro player is pretty likely to be able to play with just about any cue. But I think, even for them to play at the highest levels of competition, there may be an intangible or two about certain cues that even they should take into consideration.
Lou Figueroa
If John just opened up a pool room, that could have something to do with matters.
I'd say unless John S. asked the OP to post his thread, it's done in poor taste.. John does post here on ocassion and he'd post this himself if he felt so let to do so. Did he ask you to speak for him or are you just assuming what you posted??
Just curious. Without sponsors like Fury as well as the others that actually support the players and the sport we would be hard pressed to find any tournaments for the professional players to play in! JMHO
Just curious. Without sponsors like Fury as well as the others that actually support the players and the sport we would be hard pressed to find any tournaments for the professional players to play in! JMHO
Sometimes you're the hammer, sometimes the nail.
We all know John is one of the best in the business of professional pool. His ability in 14.1 is nothing short of incredible. For whatever reason he didn't play his best , it was to be sure , a combination of things . Though one might have a more profound impact than other. It takes time to get use to a new cue. The hit , sound , feel. All these things are what makes it part of the person using it. I have read or heard somewhere that it usually takes up to 3 months to get use to a new cue. Hats off to John and D.A . Wish the match would have been 200 though. He just needed to find his rhythm.
I doubt very seriously that John would enter a tournament with a cue he didn't like. In fact, I doubt any pro player would do that. John is a pro, and his goal is to win. If he thought the cue was holding him back, I can assure you, he would have done something about it.
I've seen several pros win many tournaments using a Fury cue. I've seen a couple win quite a few tournaments with a Cuetec.
I can assure you that when John selected his cue, it was his choice. Nobody told him which cue he needed to use. If he didn't like one, there were plenty more for him to choose from.
And I would bet that if you asked him what went wrong, he would be the first to say he had a bad day. John can run racks with a cue off the wall.
Steve
I've seen several pros win many tournaments using a Fury cue. I've seen a couple win quite a few tournaments with a Cuetec.
I can assure you that when John selected his cue, it was his choice. Nobody told him which cue he needed to use. If he didn't like one, there were plenty more for him to choose from.
And I would bet that if you asked him what went wrong, he would be the first to say he had a bad day. John can run racks with a cue off the wall.
Steve
UNfortunately, your paying for a stream isn't going to pay John's bills. Sponsor's like Fury step up to the plate for professional players and should be respected and appreciated rather than denigrated.
I'm sure that John Schmidt's input will be appreciated by Fury Cues and their involvement with each other with only yield MORE positive things for both parties.
JoeyA
I'm sure that John Schmidt's input will be appreciated by Fury Cues and their involvement with each other with only yield MORE positive things for both parties.
JoeyA
My hat's off to companies such as Fury that sponsor great players like John Schmidt. If I were ever to be so lucky (or good enough) to find myself in a position to have that relationship with a company, I would do my best to play my heart out with whatever they had made available to me.
Just a small tidbit of information... A few years ago John was having Bobby Hunter make him a new cue. He was willing to sell me the cue he was replacing, minus the original shafts. That turned out to be a deal breaker, but that should tell you how John is with his equipment, he's not willing to part with something that works for him - and any player would understand that.
A few years later, John was sponsored by OB Cues - prior to that he had shot exclusively with his Bob Hunter cue. At the time, his high run was EXACTLY 400. The night that John received his OB1 Shaft, he eclipsed his high run with a 403 (I think he told me it was his third attempt).
John adapts very quickly to new cues and new equipment, in fact he even says that in one of his 14.1 High Run DVD's.
Just a small tidbit of information... A few years ago John was having Bobby Hunter make him a new cue. He was willing to sell me the cue he was replacing, minus the original shafts. That turned out to be a deal breaker, but that should tell you how John is with his equipment, he's not willing to part with something that works for him - and any player would understand that.
A few years later, John was sponsored by OB Cues - prior to that he had shot exclusively with his Bob Hunter cue. At the time, his high run was EXACTLY 400. The night that John received his OB1 Shaft, he eclipsed his high run with a 403 (I think he told me it was his third attempt).
John adapts very quickly to new cues and new equipment, in fact he even says that in one of his 14.1 High Run DVD's.
Nice post. I can't imagine anyone at a higher level playing with a cue that don't react the way they like.
A bit of a sidebar but I want to ask: Are you saying below, that John broke 400 because of the OB1 Shaft?
If so, I would find this difficult to reason as he obviously was capable of running over 400 having ran 400 previously. Because of this, I believe we must consider the gains that come from additional practice.
Thanks for the clarification.
If so, I would find this difficult to reason as he obviously was capable of running over 400 having ran 400 previously. Because of this, I believe we must consider the gains that come from additional practice.
Thanks for the clarification.
I believe he was simply giving an example where Mr. Schmidt adapted to new equipment quickly, therefore, negating the OPs assumption.
Carl
I believe he was simply giving an example where Mr. Schmidt adapted to new equipment quickly, therefore, negating the OPs assumption.
Carl
Exactly, Carl!
Rufus, just to be fair, I've seen John play really bad with really good equipment - just not as often.
I wholeheartedly agree. Earl was dominating 9 Ball using that white cuetec cue, and that all black break cue. I know - because I was a kid and taped all of the matches off of ESPN!
Do you mean the CueTec cues that earl modified with the custom made wood shafts and the sawing off of the butts and rubber frips + weight bands added. Yeah, he won a lot of titles under the CueTec brand but definitely not with any CueTec that a regular person could buy.