Dennis vs Ko, race to 100, 20K.

Spotty play on day one by both players, neither was at his best. Dennis started breaking good and got more comfortable the last third of the match today, and he got a bunch of good rolls after being down 23-20. He won 13-5 from that point, a pretty decisive way to finsih the day. I look for them both to play better on day two.
 
Spotty play on day one by both players, neither was at his best. Dennis started breaking good and got more comfortable the last third of the match today, and he got a bunch of good rolls after being down 23-20. He won 13-5 from that point, a pretty decisive way to finsih the day. I look for them both to play better on day two.

I was being sarcastic with my last post because I hate excuses. Props to Dennis for leading on day 1. I look forward to day 2 of this matchup.
 
Think it might have hurt Ko mentally when Dennis dogged the 9, left a reasonable shot on the 9, and Ko dogged it right back... then Dennis made the kind of bank that the average player gets punished for trying.

Thank god it's not an ahead set. It's clear these guys could play for a week and be within a couple of games of each other the whole time.
 
Ball down on the break by Dennis. No out.

Gets back to the table after the safeties.

Orcullo gets out, and looks good doing it.

Dennis finishes the night:


33-28 Dennis

Good night for the 1st night!!!

Orcollo (816) is 15 points above KoPY (801).

This means the most likely score at this point is 32-29 Orcollo.
 
Think it might have hurt Ko mentally when Dennis dogged the 9, left a reasonable shot on the 9, and Ko dogged it right back... then Dennis made the kind of bank that the average player gets punished for trying.

Thank god it's not an ahead set. It's clear these guys could play for a week and be within a couple of games of each other the whole time.

You mean the 10 ball miss in rack 48. I doubt that affected him mentally. He was probably more upset with these relatively easy missed pots.which cost him few games-
Rack 44- missed 1 ball
Rack 52- missed 4 ball
Rack 57- missed 5 ball

For two thirds of Day 1, Ko broke better, played better safeties. Both made many errors with Dennis piling at least half dozen fouls/BIH
Dennis deserved the lead on Day 1 after much better break, fewer potting errors and great banks in final lap of Day1.
They are both better adapted to the table and breaking better so expect free for all and higher quality play on Day 2. Day 1 averaged 8 minutes per rack which is very slow so expect faster play on Day2
It is race to 72 with Dennis leading 5-0
Momentum is with Dennis though I think Dennis will need much bigger lead to stop Ko :smile:
 
You mean the 10 ball miss in rack 48. I doubt that affected him mentally. He was probably more upset with these relatively easy missed pots.which cost him few games-
Rack 44- missed 1 ball
Rack 52- missed 4 ball
Rack 57- missed 5 ball

For two thirds of Day 1, Ko broke better, played better safeties. Both made many errors with Dennis piling at least half dozen fouls/BIH
Dennis deserved the lead on Day 1 after much better break, fewer potting errors and great banks in final lap of Day1.
They are both better adapted to the table and breaking better so expect free for all and higher quality play on Day 2. Day 1 averaged 8 minutes per rack which is very slow so expect faster play on Day2
It is race to 72 with Dennis leading 5-0
Momentum is with Dennis though I think Dennis will need much bigger lead to stop Ko :smile:
Great post.

Ko delivered the biggest package (5 pack), even though Dennis was breaking pretty amazing in the end.

Great stuff so far.
 
cloth

I am so used to watching these types of matches on Diamond Tables with the Blue Cloth, and to me, The Blue Cloth is much better on the eyes watching these matches..Just my opinion, I know we each have our own opinion, just thought I would mention it and if anyone else felt the same as I did. It might not be the table, Gold Crown versus Diamond..I think it's the brightest of the Blue that comes through..What do you all think ?
 
Is anyone else frustrated they are playing on 4" pockets?

I know they are superstars in the rotation world and the best ball pocketers on Earth, but I really would rather watch this match played on something (more) regulation or a little looser 4.25".

Now don't get me wrong, I think they are playing great, but the slower and cautious play is not what I want to see from two of the world's best players (if not the best).

Unfortunately, I passed out at 19-19 and didn't see the improved performance by both players towards the end of day one, but I was frustrated with the pace of the match. The players seemed like they could not get in a rhythm because of the table, not because they weren't shooting well.

Meh.

Hopefully tonight I will be proven wrong and they come out guns blazin' and someone else puts together a few packages and makes it look more fluid. I have no dog in this race, so I just want to see punch, counter punch, action.

-Ben
 
Is anyone else frustrated they are playing on 4" pockets?

I know they are superstars in the rotation world and the best ball pocketers on Earth, but I really would rather watch this match played on something (more) regulation or a little looser 4.25".

Now don't get me wrong, I think they are playing great, but the slower and cautious play is not what I want to see from two of the world's best players (if not the best).

Unfortunately, I passed out at 19-19 and didn't see the improved performance by both players towards the end of day one, but I was frustrated with the pace of the match. The players seemed like they could not get in a rhythm because of the table, not because they weren't shooting well.

Meh.

Hopefully tonight I will be proven wrong and they come out guns blazin' and someone else puts together a few packages and makes it look more fluid. I have no dog in this race, so I just want to see punch, counter punch, action.

-Ben

I 100% agree with you. Anything tighter than 4 1/4 inch pockets is not enjoyable for me to watch. Yes, it takes skill, but it takes away from what we should expect from the best -- which should be packages of racks strung together playing on slightly tighter than normal equipment.
 
Is anyone else frustrated they are playing on 4" pockets?

I know they are superstars in the rotation world and the best ball pocketers on Earth, but I really would rather watch this match played on something (more) regulation or a little looser 4.25".

Now don't get me wrong, I think they are playing great, but the slower and cautious play is not what I want to see from two of the world's best players (if not the best).

Unfortunately, I passed out at 19-19 and didn't see the improved performance by both players towards the end of day one, but I was frustrated with the pace of the match. The players seemed like they could not get in a rhythm because of the table, not because they weren't shooting well.

Meh.

Hopefully tonight I will be proven wrong and they come out guns blazin' and someone else puts together a few packages and makes it look more fluid. I have no dog in this race, so I just want to see punch, counter punch, action.

-Ben

i agree
whenever there is a long rotation match on the 4inch pockets it is a bore fest, no packages and over cautious play.
 
I 100% agree with you. Anything tighter than 4 1/4 inch pockets is not enjoyable for me to watch. Yes, it takes skill, but it takes away from what we should expect from the best -- which should be packages of racks strung together playing on slightly tighter than normal equipment.

Guess you missed the 5 pack by Ko.
 
Guess you missed the 5 pack by Ko.

No I didn't miss it. But Ko had WAY too many unforced errors, that would have never occurred on more "normal" equipment.

EDIT: I should point out, that I predicted with these conditions that there would be at least one 5-7 pack during the match.
 
I don't think the % of misses were that much more than on a regular 4.5" pocket table. It was 61 games, theres going to be some misses. I think usually 2-3 misses by the loser during a race to 9 match(about 15 total games). Here there was 4x as many games.

The biggest difference was the % of dry breaks. They were breaking a lot better during the last 1/3 of the night yesterday.

It would be nice if they move up the match up an hour and start on time.
 
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4 1/4" Really don't make a HUGE difference. Misses are misses and to me, the only time a table "gets em" is when a ball rattles and stays up. I have seen Dennis run racks on a 4" Diamond.
 
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