TheThaiger
Banned
The weather, obviously.
USA, all the way?
- Thread starter TheThaiger
- Start date
The weather, obviously.
Perhaps you missed the Hard Times Tournament, results?
Check it out it was over yesterday.
I'm saying that the standard of play in America is higher among larger numbers of players in more rooms than it was 30 years ago when I started. I'll see more A level and above players in a large local tournament now than back in the early '80s. That said, we don't have as many players in the top 30 as we did back then, either. That means European and Asian players have started moving in on those spots, but I don't think you'll find as many players in the next 200 slots that aren't Americans. I've spent a large portion of my adult life in Europe in the Army...although there are plenty of good players, there's NO comparison in terms of action, local tournaments, regional tournaments and average level of play from room to room. That's why so many of Europe's top players are living in the U.S. now. If we had a Crucible-worthy snooker player, I'm sure he'd move to the UK.
In my mind the only thing wrong with pool in the US is the lack of marketability. As a result only the very best of the best can make a living playing pool professionally in the US. The games needs something to make it the next big thing. Kinda like how texas hold'em got really big over a short period of time.
Maybe a reality show on TV were the loser is kicked off the show each week. I hate reality shows but if thats all it takes I will watch it. LOL!
Maybe a reality show on TV were the loser is kicked off the show each week. I hate reality shows but if thats all it takes I will watch it. LOL!
Pool needs the United States. Pool needs the UK. Pool needs all the help it can get. If every American stopped playing pool today, what do you think would happen? What would happen to predator cues? To lucasi? To players? What would happen to the industry and business side of it? Bankruptcy or severe downsizing is what would happen. I can't see that in any way being good for pool, so to answer your question, yes, pool needs the US. Its a silly question though. That's like asking if golf needs the US. We don't have the number one player anymore. More Europeans are taking the top spots. But at the end of the day, the US is good for golf, and golf is good for the US, and I think the exact same principle applies to pool.
Joe
Joe
On a per capita basis, North and South Dakota is tough to fade. They are foreign countries, aren't they?
Written by a proud North Dakotan so I can say this.
Actually the good ol' US of A must be doing something right, why else do top European pros keep moving to this country?? What it is I don't know. Maybe I'm being Amercentric and it has nothing to do with the game and everything to do with living in the American system. I actually would like an answer to the question. Curious.
This guy is the mother of all Internet trolls. If everyone would just ignore him, he would go away. People just keep feeding him though. If I was a moderator, he would go the way of ole SC5.
He doesn't even believe half the shit he posts. He gets his rocks off on the attention he gets.
JC
Coos Cues
Does the world of pool forums need a troll like "TheThaiger"? What does a member like him offer the rest of the readers?
Manners? Nope.
Pool Knowledge? Nope.
Thoughtful Posts? Nope.
Handsome? (stop laughing at the back) Nope.
Entertaining? I don't think so, but am happy to be corrected. (by any of his fans) Sure is quiet suddenly here.
JC
Although i did watch online most of the weekend and enjoyed every minute of it, were there really many top non US players there?
I don't think any of the top foreign guys would even consider crossing the world to win $4000 or whatever 1st was...lol. Hell even the defending champ Alex P. cancelled at the last minute, he probably figured (and rightly so) that he could make $4000 playing online poker for 5hrs sitting at home in his underwear.
Why the obsession with the Colonists, Thaig? Still feeling a little rejected, are we?
pj
chgo
pj
chgo
Yeah Appleton is just a weak player.. OK we had Nick Varner do the same thing 20 yrrs ago....
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Appleton is a fine pool player,but if he could be a fine snooker player he would be cashing in as we speak.
I don't often agree with what TheThiager says,or his tactics,but I believe many of his original post observations are correct other than the exception of SVB.
I don't often agree with what TheThiager says,or his tactics,but I believe many of his original post observations are correct other than the exception of SVB.
!
Why are Europeans moving to US to play?
Because let's face it...there are very few players in the world that can truly live off the tournament-winnings and even those can not count on making enough all the time. What US has in addition to some decent paying tournaments, is the gambling culture. This is a way to earn some extra income that is not always available in Europe. In some countries in Europe gambling is even frowned upon and while illegal, occasionally the laws are also enforced. So financial reasons are surely the biggest factor.
Per Capita top-notch players....while this is an useless exercise...let us explore it a moment...
What is a top-notch player? World-beater? Someone that has proven to be able to, or already has, get the top seat in an international event....US Open, DCC, WorldChamps.....even leaving out perhaps the most competitive organized tour in the world, the Eurotour.
So let us take a look at some of the usual suspects then and their populations
China: 1.3B
USA: 313M
Russia: 143M
Philippines: 92M
Germany: 81M
UK: 62M
Canada: 34M (since someone brought it up)
Taiwan: 24M
Netherlands: 16M
Finland: 5M
Malta: 0.4M
If you now take Malta (being the smallest to produce a world-class player (Tony Drago)) and compare other countries to it...
Finland needs to have ~13 worldclass players
Netherlands: 40
Taiwan: 60
Canada: 80
UK: 155
Germany: 202
Philippines: 230
Russia: 357
USA: 782
China: 3250
Now ok......perhaps Tony Drago is no longer (or at the moment) good enough since he is back to snooker more (or so I have heard)...Mika Immonen is perhaps still good?
So for every top-class player Finland has, other countries have to have
Netherlands: 3
Taiwan: 5
Canada: 7
UK: 14
Germany: 16
Philippines: 18
Russia: 28
USA: 63
China: 260
A bit more closer to reality perhaps even though some of the numbers make me wonder quite a bit...
What does this all prove? F**k all!
If you would twist my arm to try to get me to draw any kind of conclusions here, it would be that this type of statistic says nothing.
Pool is too marginal of a sport to have any kind of statistically meaningful data.
Only if you had a sport with tens of thousands of registered players per country, measured frequently on internationally comparable scale for skill, mental ability (shotmaking), stress-handling skills etc. (which is impossible just in case anyone wanted to try), you could PERHAPS start to draw some kind of conclusions on if the players nationality having anything to do with the players capability.
Until someone proves me otherwise...I will declare that Malta is the King of the World when it comes to producing top-quality pool-players per capita!
Those are my principles and if you do not like them, I've got others! - Groucho Marx
cheers,
Kimmo
Why are Europeans moving to US to play?
Because let's face it...there are very few players in the world that can truly live off the tournament-winnings and even those can not count on making enough all the time. What US has in addition to some decent paying tournaments, is the gambling culture. This is a way to earn some extra income that is not always available in Europe. In some countries in Europe gambling is even frowned upon and while illegal, occasionally the laws are also enforced. So financial reasons are surely the biggest factor.
Per Capita top-notch players....while this is an useless exercise...let us explore it a moment...
What is a top-notch player? World-beater? Someone that has proven to be able to, or already has, get the top seat in an international event....US Open, DCC, WorldChamps.....even leaving out perhaps the most competitive organized tour in the world, the Eurotour.
So let us take a look at some of the usual suspects then and their populations
China: 1.3B
USA: 313M
Russia: 143M
Philippines: 92M
Germany: 81M
UK: 62M
Canada: 34M (since someone brought it up)
Taiwan: 24M
Netherlands: 16M
Finland: 5M
Malta: 0.4M
If you now take Malta (being the smallest to produce a world-class player (Tony Drago)) and compare other countries to it...
Finland needs to have ~13 worldclass players
Netherlands: 40
Taiwan: 60
Canada: 80
UK: 155
Germany: 202
Philippines: 230
Russia: 357
USA: 782
China: 3250
Now ok......perhaps Tony Drago is no longer (or at the moment) good enough since he is back to snooker more (or so I have heard)...Mika Immonen is perhaps still good?
So for every top-class player Finland has, other countries have to have
Netherlands: 3
Taiwan: 5
Canada: 7
UK: 14
Germany: 16
Philippines: 18
Russia: 28
USA: 63
China: 260
A bit more closer to reality perhaps even though some of the numbers make me wonder quite a bit...
What does this all prove? F**k all!
If you would twist my arm to try to get me to draw any kind of conclusions here, it would be that this type of statistic says nothing.
Pool is too marginal of a sport to have any kind of statistically meaningful data.
Only if you had a sport with tens of thousands of registered players per country, measured frequently on internationally comparable scale for skill, mental ability (shotmaking), stress-handling skills etc. (which is impossible just in case anyone wanted to try), you could PERHAPS start to draw some kind of conclusions on if the players nationality having anything to do with the players capability.
Until someone proves me otherwise...I will declare that Malta is the King of the World when it comes to producing top-quality pool-players per capita!
Those are my principles and if you do not like them, I've got others! - Groucho Marx
cheers,
Kimmo
USA will always shine brightly in the eyes of the rest of the world. There are those who are quick to shoot down the United States as losing its ground in the ranking of world power, but there is a reason why everybody wants to come to America to visit, live, or just hang out. It's more than the so-called "American dream."
Anybody who doesn't like the United States, including its citizens, can speak freely and express why. Try doing that in Iran, as an example, and see where you end up. Freedom of speech is a gift that not everybody enjoys.
People flock to our shores to receive an education. True, many of them return to their home country and flourish, but in the spirit of innovation and helping the future when it comes to environmental issues and technology, we all win in the long run when this happens.
In sum, it's okay that "TheThaiger" pokes a stick at the United States, because those of us Americans who are fortunate to live here are blessed in so many ways. And we know what time of day it is. Today, the United States and Britain are strong allies, which is a good thing. We make a good team when it comes to combating the terrorism and demons that exist in today's world. Truth be told, though, I think they're still pissed that we became the super power that we are, surpassing that British Isle long ago, and there was nothing they could do to stop us.
Yep, USA, all the way. We're still on a roll, even today!
"What does the world of pool offer the US?"
Perhaps that's a better question.
Our best athletes play other, more profitable sports... If they played pool, guess what it would look like.
Perhaps that's a better question.
Our best athletes play other, more profitable sports... If they played pool, guess what it would look like.