Looks like the stream has started. The first match of the day is two amateurs, Ogiwara vs. Toku. I have never heard of them, so I couldn't tell you how the match will be.
i can contact someone who's participating in All-Japan and ask him if Shane is playing.
btw, carlo biado is leaving this morning for Japan. i just hope Shane's playing and probably meet biado in the brackets. :grin-square:
The best seasoning comes from being in the bloody pit with the best players in the world...not tucked off in some corner of Hometown, USA with your Mosconi team and 7 fans.
Good point. I wonder if Shane's ever considered matching up before. A former league player like that.. must be easy money for others. Now that he's getting older, he can only get worse.
Ha. I was all excited when I heard SVB was going to be there, and then disappointed when I learned he wasn't. What a terrible decision.
Skip a world class tournament with a chance to overtake the #1 WPA ranking to practice and/or bond for a team exhibition? Is this some type of joke?
The best seasoning comes from being in the bloody pit with the best players in the world...not tucked off in some corner of Hometown, USA with your Mosconi team and 7 fans.
Mark Wilson should really know better than this...IF he had anything to do with the decision (like forcing Shane to stay home) or on the other hand as his coach he should have been encouraging him to go...IMO.
Oh well. Best wishes to all either way.
P.S. Shane, those years tick by fast, and your window for competing at the very top of the world class level will decline quickly. Quicker than you may anticipate.
In Shane's defense, the decision could have been made to help bring his teammates up to speed. Shane has plenty of seasoning, the rest would probably benefit more by playing sets for a week with Shane than following him to Japan and getting their confidence crushed by an unknown Taiwanese or Filipino in the qualifiers (Shane is probably the only one that would have a spot in the main event).
I'm pretty sure Shane had a difficult decision to make, and in the end, chose what he felt was the best choice for him. Rather than question it, I choose to respect that.
I feel like this year's Mosconi Cup players are already showing themselves to be a great team, which is something that has been sorely missing in the past.
I wholeheartedly agree. It would have been good for pool to see SVB here. And it would have been good to have had all of these Asians at the US Open.I believe you folks put too much stock in the Mosconi Cup. It's a paid exhibition team event made for television. Nothing more.
The All Japan is a world class WPA sanctioned individual tournament. For those not paying attention, pool is largely an individual sport.
I was merely making the point that Shane should be there, not that the whole team should be...
My belief is that it is more important for SVB and the game in the US for him to do well in ALL WPA ranking events and possibly hold the #1 World Ranking.
That is all. Best wishes,
~Razor
I believe you folks put too much stock in the Mosconi Cup. It's a paid exhibition team event made for television. Nothing more.
The All Japan is a world class WPA sanctioned individual tournament. For those not paying attention, pool is largely an individual sport.
I was merely making the point that Shane should be there, not that the whole team should be...
My belief is that it is more important for SVB and the game in the US for him to do well in ALL WPA ranking events and possibly hold the #1 World Ranking.
That is all. Best wishes,
~Razor
Cannot aggree more. In spite of what AZB forums like to think, in reality MC is a blip on the pool radar.I believe you folks put too much stock in the Mosconi Cup. It's a paid exhibition team event made for television. Nothing more.
The All Japan is a world class WPA sanctioned individual tournament. For those not paying attention, pool is largely an individual sport.
I was merely making the point that Shane should be there, not that the whole team should be...
My belief is that it is more important for SVB and the game in the US for him to do well in ALL WPA ranking events and possibly hold the #1 World Ranking.
That is all. Best wishes,
~Razor
Getting back on topic...
Day 2 of the qualifiers is shaping up to be the rise of the amateurs. All the seeded Japanese pros have been knocked out except for one, while Filipino player Faraon and two Taiwanese players are still battling for a spot in the main tournament. The rest of the remaining players are all Japanese amateurs, so it looks like at least a few of them will be getting through.
On Facebook, the tournament page mentioned that Shane cancelled his entry. I wonder what happens to his spot?