Efren-Hopkins..1990 Sands Regency
- Thread starter garczar
- Start date
I still can't get over the type of push stroke Allen has. It worked for him though.
I love how fast the rack and break go.
Standard 5” pockets.
Calling it a push stoke is being very generous. It’s what I call no stroke. Not so sure it worked for him. Maybe he got by. But, today’s field would clean his clock and hand him the left over parts. That’s why the match looked like Efren hired him to rack the balls.
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Calling it a push stoke is being very generous. It’s what I call no stroke. Not so sure it worked for him. Maybe he got by. But, today’s field would clean his clock and hand him the left over parts. That’s why the match looked like Efren hired him to rack the balls.
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Grady Matthews used to refer to pockets like these as "cavernous" and it made me laugh every single time.
Races to 15-17 winner breaks at the pro level would be fine with me. Fans like seeing multi-rack runs.
I agree with Allen being limited in rotation due to his stroke. However he was very competitive at straight pool.
I applaud him for getting as far as he did with a limited ability to move the cue ball.
AH played everything well. 1p and 14.1 he was a monster. Don't let that short jab-stroke fool you. He rarely got beat for serious $$. Not knocking Efren at all but a short race on a big bucket table doesn't really reveal much.
I haven't watched this match, everyone has bad days, but I remember the biggest criticism of Hopkins' 9 ball game was his break. He could run out given the opportunity but couldn't string racks together. Tough to beat Sigel, Hall, Varner, Reyes and Earl etc that way. Still he was usually near the top of the charts at most tournaments in the 70's and 80's.
He didn't do very well at Mandalay. Matchrooms 1st US Open.
I know right. People talking about getting his clock cleaned, floor wiped up, etc. didn't know Hopkins was a MONSTER for the $ and at almost every game.
Who? Hopkins? Did he even play in it? Just checked and AH wasn't in it. He may have played in a qualifier but he wasn't in main draw.
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I saw em play at Mandalay Bay, the 1st US Open that Matchroom produced. 40 tables in one room.
https://cuescore.com/tournament/bracket/?id=5185877 His name is not there. There were a few forfeits by US players but according to that bracket he never played a match. Sure you're not thinking about Earl? He did play.
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Anyone saying that Allen Hopkins couldn't hang in rotation games with today's players is high. Hopkins could play on any table, tight, fast, slow, and any game. Both a 9-ball and 14.1 world class champion, Allen spent some years known as one of if not the best one-pocket player in the world. A champion in any era would be a champion in... any era. He's a Hall of Famer as one of the all-time greatest players for a reason.
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I could be wrong zar but, I was most likely then the last Open on the E Coast. Yeah it was, I drove up from Tampa with a friend that turned out to be a coke head, I walked away from that man forever.