SJM at the 2021 International Open

sjm

sjm

Older and Wiser
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SJM at the 2021 International
I’ve just had a memorable and rewarding trip to the International in Virginia. Now it’s time to share my experience and reflect on the event itself, the play, the fan experience and the social side of the experience.

Thursday, October 21
I arrived at the Sheraton at about 7:00 PM. Practically no players were present, and I was told that most were at Q-Masters either playing in or watching the Straight Pool event. Of course, some had gone to Q-Masters to practice.

I unpacked, then dropped by the tournament room just to check it out, and it looked great. I caught up briefly with Pat Fleming. I then returned to my hotel room and went to bed early. With nine days of sweating matches ahead, sleep was going to be critical.

Friday, October 22
The 1-pocket got underway, but I split the day between straight pool at Q-Masters and the 1-pocket. The early play in one pocket was sometimes uninspiring, with quite a bit of dead money in the field. At Q-Masters, I sweated two lopsided, but well-played quarterfinals in which Chinahov topped Lechner and Fortunski topped Zielinski. The evening 1-pocket session included Pagulayan’s convincing win over Orcullo and a memorable tug of war between Dee Adkins and Jeremy Jones that came down to the final, lengthy, safety battle, won by Jones, earning him the 3-2 win.

Saturday, October 23
This was final day of 1-pocket. I opted not to attend the straight pool, but learned from others that it was won by Kelly Fisher and Josh Filler.

The one-pocket began with Appleton’s impressive win over Orcullo, eliminating Dennis. With the field pared down to eight, Gomez drew and beat Deuel. The great quarterfinal was Al-Shaheen’s conquest of Pagulayan. Omar attempted and made some very difficult shots but the most impressive was a long bank of the ten-ball with three rail shape to reach he short side of the stack and he ran out from there. Appleton and Jones also prevailed in their quarterfinals. In the semis, Chohan and Gomez won impressively to reach the final, ultimately won by Gomez.

Sunday, October 24
This was day one of both 9-ball and 10-ball. As a rule, the 9-ball matchups were lopsided, but there were a few matches that were competitive, all of which I only saw bit and pieces. Josh Roberts was sharp in a nice win over Gomez, and Al-Yousef topped DeLuna. Filler was tested to the max by Oscar Dominguez in a match I missed. I was told that Oscar's play was truly exceptional. Justin Bergman was a no show and forfeited.

The meat of the day for me was the 10-ball. Filler and Kazakis put on a great show in Filler’s come from behind victory. Grabe played well, easily besting Shaw. Immonen and Morra staged a competitive match that became a comedy of errors in the late stages, with Mika the one limping over the finish line. Al-Shaheen played well in a convincing win over Mario He. Orcullo and Gomez had just started when I opted for bed. I learned on Monday that Gomez was the victor.

Monday, October 25
This was day two of both the 9-ball and the 10-ball.

Things went pretty much to form in 9-ball, with John “Hennessee” Pinegar’s 10-3 drubbing of Pagulayan the shocker of the day. Tommy Kennedy’s win over Wiktor Zielinski, Alan Rolon’s win over Miezko Fortunski, and Shane Wolford’s win over Thorsten Hohmann were among the few upsets on my radar. All in all, I’d say the favorites had an easy time of it.

The 10-ball was electrifying. Van Boening and Corteza staged a thriller, won by Shane 11-8 with truly exceptional play. Pagulayan and Gorst then met and both were shaky. At 9-9, Alex fluked a ten ball and then ran a super-tough rack to compete the victory. Yapp was sensational in topping DeLuna. The match of the day, however, was surely Al Shaheen vs Gomez. Omar was magnificent in building a 7-4 lead, but Gomez found his game and rallied for double hill. Omar hit a near perfect break in the double hill rack, and appeared on the verge of victory when he hooked himself on the eight ball, an error that cost him the match. Finally, Filler was way too much for Dennis Grabe in the session’s last match.

Tuesday, October 26
This was day three of both 9-ball event and 10-ball.

Things started to get interesting in the 9-ball. SVB played brilliantly in a 10-4 drubbing of Oi and Al Shaheen played beautifully in beating Yapp. In the evening session, Strickland topped Polish star Konrad J in a double hill thriller, Souquet fell 10-8 to a very impressive Oliver Szolnocki, and New York’s Mike Yednak scored a fine win over DeLuna. Kazakis managed to dominate Gorst, prevailing 10-3. Albin Ouschan impressed with a 10-0 win over Dennis Grabe. The shocking match of the day was Donny Mills vs Lee Heuwagen, a loser side match. Heuwagen fluked a ball on a kick at double hill and appeared to be running out when he missed a 9-ball that I’d say was 99.9% to make and Donny survived, in as shocking a finish as I’ve ever seen in my years around the pro game.

Players qualifying for Stage 2 at the end of the day were Shaw, Strickland, Wolford, Orcullo, Al-Shaheen, Szolnocki, Aranas, Kazakis, Van Boening, Al-Yousef, Deuel, Chinakhov, Filler, Ouschan, Immonen and Lechner. Among the day’s casualties were Appleton, Chohan, Hohmann, Styer, DeLuna, Fortunski, Dominguez, and Poteet, all of whom were eliminated.

Tuesday offered the business end of the 10-ball. Immonen played well in a solid win over Pagulayan, and Yapp was too much for SVB in the last of the quarterfinals. It was on to the semifinals and Filler cruised over Yapp and Immonen won a tight one against Gomez. Filler scored a blowout win in the final over Immonen to claim his second title in just three days, as he’d just won the American 14.1 event. Could he do the impossible and also win the 9-ball event, I wondered?

Wednesday, October 27
With the one pocket and ten ball in the rearview mirror, 9- ball, at long last, had the stage to itself. The early sessions were the last of Stage 1.

The matches were not terribly competitive in the last round to qualify, but one match that was very interesting was Morra’s win over Gomez, a hard-fought affair with a lot of good play along the way. Chris Robinson put a scare in Fedor Gorst, reaching 7-7 before Fedor pulled away late.

The draw for Stage 2 was completed at 5:00 PM and the round of 32 delivered. In the evening’s first round, Orcullo rallied from 7-4 behind to top Pagulayan 10-9, ad Oi beat Shaw easily. In the next session, Morra and Kazakis staged a memorable tug of war in which Kazakis ultimately prevailed. Another good match was Corteza vs Szolnocki, a well-played match ultimately won by Corteza. The last session had Lechner’s surprising blowout of Yapp, but the match of the day was the last one, in which Justin Martin, with very impressive play, pushed Albin Ouschan to double hill and the final rack was a classic in which each managed to execute some fantastic shots. In the end, Albin made a wonderful out to secure the win.

The sixteen players left at day’s end were Oi, Grabe, Gorst, Orcullo, Al Shaheen, Corteza, Aranas, Kazakis, SVB, Zielinski, Al-Awadhi, Chinakhov, Ouschan, Filler, Immonen and Lechner.

Thursday couldn’t come soon enough for me. A final sixteen that included the last three World 9-ball champions (Ouschan, Gorst, Filler) and two of them drawing each other (Filler, Ouschan) is about all the serious fan could ask for.

Thursday, October 28
The day kicked off with a junior match on the stream table, and I sweated the whole thing, mostly to support the competitors, named Tate and Martinez. Each had their moments of brilliance. Their demeanor was impeccable and sportsmanship solid in a double hill affair won by Tate. Good luck to them and the other juniors who competed as they reach for pool’s higher echelons.

This was day five of the nine ball event and there were just eight matches played, specifically to establish the eight quarterfinalists. In a brilliant display, Dennis Grabe shot about .940 TPA to top Naoyuki Oi. Filler and Ouschan staged a memorable one, too, in which Ouschan’s all-around play was exceptional. Filler was hurt by a couple of non-compliant breaks and Albin kicked in two different two balls, which led to two runouts. Although I didn’t see it, Al Shaheen rallied from 6-1 behind to top Corteza. The match of the day, though, was the last one which pitted Orcullo and Gorst. Both played well, and each executed numerous very difficult shots. Orcullo fought hard for the win to advance to the quarterfinals in what may have been the most entertaining match of the week to that point.

The quarterfinals were set and on Friday, it would be Grabe vs. Orcullo, Al Shaheen vs Aranas. Van Boening vs Chinakhov, and Ouschan vs Immonen.

Friday, October 29
This was day six of the nine ball event and there were just four matches, each of which would land the winner in the semifinals. In the first match, Orcullo and Grabe both played well, with Orcullo advancing. Aranas jumped out to a big lead against Al Shaheen, and as we’d seen all week, big comebacks are rare in alternate break format. SVB demolished Chinakhov in their quarterfinal. Albin Ouschan carved a masterpiece in the fourth quarterfinal, shooting a .966 and Immonen had little chance to beat him.

The semis were set. Aranas would play Orcullo and SVB would play Ouschan, and the winners would meet for the title.

... continued in the next post.
 
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SJM at the 2021 International (continued)

Saturday, October 30
This was day seven of the 9-ball and the title was up for grabs. Would Aranas win his first major? Would Orcullo finish the finest year of his career by winning yet another event? Would SVB win his first major title since 2016? Would reigning World Champion Albin Ouschan bag two of the three major events of 2021? It was time to answer these questions.

Up first were Aranas and Orcullo, and Aranas jumped out to a good lead. I felt that his illegal break at 6-4 ahead changed the tide of the match, and Orcullo seized the momentum and, ultimately, the match to advance to the final.

Up next were SVB and Ouschan. a well-played affair, but Shane struggled with his cut break, scratching twice and committing one illegal break. That said, however, Albin played sensational pool and was the very deserving winner.

The final was a blowout in which Orcullo was a little off and Albin was sensational in winning the final and the title. Nicely played!

Summing up the Week’s Play in the Pro Events
Gomez eked out the victory in 1-pocket, and Filler was dominant in the 10-ball, in which Immonen’s second place finish was heartwarming. There were some nice stories written in the 9-ball, among them Immonen’s deep run to finish fifth. Grabe’s rebound from a 10-0 loss in Stage 1 to Albin Ouschan to ultimately finish tied for fifth was impressive, too.

In the end, however, Albin was dominant in victory and richly deserved the $30,000 first prize.

The Basics of the Fan Experience
The Sheraton Waterside hotel isn’t my favorite. There’s no gift shop, just one restaurant, and, possibly excepting the buffet breakfast, the food is just passable. All that said, I’ve always preferred to stay in the host hotel at any tourney to support the event producer, the venue sponsor and, of course, for the convenience.

The pool event was a big winner. All the credit to Pat Fleming and his team for staging a truly outstanding event. The addition of the 1-pocket and the 10-ball added a lot of zest to the event. To be fair, though, the one pocket field was not strong, in part because it coincided with the American Straight Pool event, but the Bigfoot field was a gathering of the super-elite.

There was a huge monitor at each table displaying the score of each match in progress that could be seen from quite a distance, so keeping abreast of the matches was easy. The Accu-stats arena was set up impressively. As importantly, and this is an improvement over past events in this venue, downtime between matches was minimized, adding to the fan experience.

Pat Fleming has brought this event to a new and higher level, and thanks to him and his staff for making the event so memorable.

The Social Experience
I caught up with many friends briefly and numerous players. I had breakfast one morning with Billy Incardona and Mary Kenniston. I had lunch with Max Lechner and Mario He, too. I also managed to catch up with Mark Wilson, Greg Sullivan, and Mike Massey, but only briefly in each case. I did get some quality time with Nick Varner and Mike Panozzo, too. Finally, I caught up with Bobby Chamberlain, and we had a good chance to talk about the high run event he is staging and I wished him the best. Although I exchanged pleasantries with many of the players, the only top players I caught up with at length were Darren Appleton, Jayson Shaw, Mika Immonen, Dennis Grabe, Josh Filler, Pia Filler, Tyler Styer, Alex Kazakis, Kelly Fisher, Ralf Souquet, Albin Ouschan, Mario He, and Max Lechner.

I was fortunate to have a couple of good friends on either side of me in the playing arena in Kathy from NY and Jerry from Wisconsin/Arizona, and their presence helped me to enjoy the event to the max. Thanks to both of them.

In all honesty, I was often an introvert during the event, frequently keeping to myself, having some meals alone and typically retiring to my hotel room early, not partaking of the late-night social activities at the bar and elsewhere, but that was to change in the last two nights.

I had two drinks with Kelly Fisher after Friday's BCA HOF dinner had been completed, fulfilling my promise to her that, although I rarely drink, I’d share a drink with her that evening. That second drink was unplanned!

On Saturday night, Albin was buying the drinks and all present sat at a single round table and the chit chat, that lasted about an hour and a half was both warm and friendly. Among those present, other than the champion himself, were BCA Hall of Famer Darren Appleton, Billiards Digest Editor Mike Panozzo, and a few others whose company I greatly enjoyed.

The BCA Hall of Fame Dinner
Held on Friday, this was an exciting occasion for me as both Kelly Fisher and Thorsten Hohmann are friends of mine for over fifteen years.

I was lucky enough to be seated at a table that included Jeremy Jones, Shane Van Boening and Billy Incardona, and the chit chat was warm and friendly.

As usual, Mike Panozzo presided skillfully over the proceedings. He opened with a few words about pool’s lost year in 2020 and, amusingly, proclaimed the “ghost” to have been the player of the year. A video was then shown paying tribute to BCA Hall of Fame inductees of yesteryear, and it was wonderful to reflect on those who had paved the way in professional pool.

Allison Fisher spoke well in introducing Kelly Fisher, and brought the house down with the comment that Kelly’s competitive resume was unmatched, then memorably adding “well, almost.” Allison spoke of their friendship, which spanned their snooker days as well as their pool days.

Kelly Fisher spoke beautifully, and spoke of her pool life in the context of her entire life. In her case, a career in pool had come unexpectedly. She reflected on the road that brought her to America. She and Val Finnie had been competing at snooker in England when the ladies snooker tour folded in 2003. Neither played pool, but inspired by the examples of Allison Fisher and Karen Corr, who learned pool once they arrived in America, they decided to come to America. The rest is history for Kelly.

Kelly’s path to greatness had been more arduous than most of us realized, but in speaking of that path she was engaging, humble, and thankful and won the crowd over. She’s a lovely lady in many respects, and we all got to know her a little better at the hall of fame dinner

Ralph Eckert introduced Thorsten Hohmann and showed a humor that most of us had not seen before in him. He reflected on Thorsten’s early days playing league pool in Germany and how Thorsten honed his skills before bursting into pool’s mainstream when he won the 2003 World 9-ball Championship. Ralph, a mentor to Thorsten, reflected on an instance in which Thorsten barraged him with questions about pool noting that Thorsten ‘s inquisitive nature had been a secret ingredient in his trip to pool greatness.

Thorsten spoke well, and gave credit to the many influences in his career, most of whom were present. He related that as a youth, he’d had some sort of psychological disorder and that he was put in a mental hospital for a year, amusingly adding “I guess it worked.”

Thorsten was very comfortable in the presence of two of his early influences in Eckert and Souquet, and spoke of Charlie Williams as an early influence. He further spoke of his earliest days playing pro pool, and his experience sharing rooms in humble hotels and inns with other players. He gave everyone a good laugh when speaking of how often he and Hunter Lombardo had to sleep together at tournaments, sometimes stuck in a room with a single bed. Hunter was quoted as having said that he’d slept with Thorsten more than with any woman he’d ever met, and everyone had a good laugh.

Thorsten also scored with a reflection on how the hall of famers were all starting to show their age, quipping that Souquet had lost his hair, Appleton had lost his hair and Earl had lost his marbles, a comment that brought the house down.

Thorsten, usually a man of few words, found his comfort zone on the podium, and shone in the spotlight, Thorsten showed that a man can simultaneously be proud and humble, but it is the humble side of him that we who know him usually see. It was nice to get a glimpse of the other side of this uniquely talented, high quality, man.

Finally, BCA Hall of Famers present and seated at the dais included Mike Massey, Jeanette Lee, Gerda Hofstatter, Nick Varner, Ralf Souquet, Mika Immonen, and Pat Fleming.

Without getting emotional about it, I’ll share that catching up at some length with Jeanette Lee, my dear friend of about 25 years, was exciting.

In Conclusion
It was a wonderful nine days. If you were there and I caught up, it was nice seeing you. If you were there and I missed you, that’s a shame. If you weren’t there, perhaps I’ll see you at a tourney down the road.

My greatest memories of the week were Filler’s dominance in the ten ball and Albin Ouschan’s wonderful run to the 9-ball title in which his play was especially brilliant in his last three matches.

We've known for a while that Albin Ouschan was on a trajectory for the BCA Hall of Fame one day, but he strengthened his case once again this week. I hope I'm lucky enough to still be alive when his turn comes.

Another thing that I found unforgettable this week was watching Orcullo. I’ve never seen Dennis play with this much joy. He ended up with silver in the 9-ball, but he won the fans over.

Some very young Americans I’d never seen play before made a nice impression in the 9-ball. Nathan Childress was impressive in reaching Stage 2. Shane Wolford was sharp in reaching Stage 2, and he put a scare in Fedor Gorst in the Round of 32 before being put away late. Eric Roberts and Landon Hollingsworth also showed promise. These four might be ones to watch.

It’s all in the rearview mirror now. It’s time to unwind.
 
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Thanks for taking the time to write that report up! It definitely seemed like an awesome event! Ralph/Thorsten's speeches are on online for everyone that wants to see them! I don't have the link handy, but I'm sure google can help there! Both were pretty captivating. 30 minutes went by pretty quickly!

-td
 
It seems I've failed to make mention of the format, the equipment and the rules.

The Equipment
The tables played well. To the naked eye, the pockets looked exactly the same size as at the US Open, but I felt they played a little looser. The were few skids or balls rolling off, so thumbs up on the equipment. Perhaps the only possible area for improvement is that the bridges in use were not the best.

The Format
Nine ball had a field of 128, with Stage 1 featuring double elimination down to the last 32. I think that's too many, with 25% of the field advancing to Stage 2 a little too generous for my taste. Stage 2 was single elimination.

The Break
The three point rule was in effect, and virtually everyone was cut breaking. I think I saw more scratches on the break this week than I've ever seen before at a major event, so the players struggled a bit with the breaks. There were just a few too many illegal breaks for my taste, with some of them caused when the referee, unintentionally, gave a bad rack, possible even when the template is in use. I have long felt that the three point rule is too strict a measure to protect pool from soft breaking, and nothing I saw this week would cause me to reconsider.

The template was used in Stage 1 and again in Stage 2. There were neutral rackers , but I've long contended that when the template is in use alternate break is necessary, and I was pleased to see that the alternate break format was used in both Stage 1 and Stage 2.
 
why not simply have a speed sensor for the break. they are cheap and accurate nowadays. set a certain speed and place to break from ,,,and if you fall short of it the balls are re-racked and the opponent can break.
or could add he could make you continue if he chooses.
 
Thanks so much for this report Stu. I love all your capsule summaries of each match you watched. You make it clear that even great players have their good days and bad. I wonder how you felt about the tournament being dragged on for what seemed like one or two extra days, when it could have ended earlier.

I'm glad you took the time to tell us about the HOF banquet and how eloquent the players were. It's nice to hear that they have such good personalities besides being great pool players. I'd like to see the video of that event if it is available.

Reading your report made me wish I had been there. But alas, that is not in the cards for me right now. I'm stuck in Cali for the forseeable future, only venturing as far as Vegas this year.

Most of all Im glad to hear that you are well and healthy, and enjoying your life. You are a prize in the billiard world and in my personal HOF!
Thank you Stu!
 
Thanks for the writeup. I want to watch the HOF now.

Was there a former professional named Childress? The name rings a bell, but before my time. Is the junior player of any relation?
 
td873 said:
Thanks for taking the time to write that report up! It definitely seemed like an awesome event! Ralph/Thorsten's speeches are on online for everyone that wants to see them! I don't have the link handy, but I'm sure google can help there! Both were pretty captivating. 30 minutes went by pretty quickly!

-td
Click to expand...
(y)
 
iusedtoberich said:
Thanks for the writeup. I want to watch the HOF now.

Was there a former professional named Childress? The name rings a bell, but before my time. Is the junior player of any relation?
Click to expand...
There used to be an event called the Clyde Childress.
 
jay helfert said:
I wonder how you felt about the tournament being dragged on for what seemed like one or two extra days, when it could have ended earlier.
Click to expand...
There was unanimity among the many fans and players with whom I spoke that the event went on a day too long. Thursday was the day that didn't add up for most us, as the round of sixteen was the only one played in the nine ball event, and it seemed that the quarterfinals should also have taken place on Thursday. I think the schedule was intended to accommodate the juniors, who used up many of the tables on that day, but in my heart of hearts, I still believe that the nine ball event could have easily fit in two rounds of play that day.

Still, the positive was that they were able to play all four quarterfinals on the stream table on Friday, and this was a big positive for those following the event on stream, who could enjoy the commentary of Mark Wilson, Jeremy Jones and Billy Incardona during all the quarterfinal matches. For those of us in attendance, it meant we, too, didn't miss any of the action in that round. In view of this, I wasn't much bothered by how drawn out the late rounds were, but there's no question that this event lasted a day longer than was absolutely necessary.
 
sjm, Howdy;

Thanks for bringing us all along for the 50 cent tour. Have read several of your
Post event write-ups.

Thanks again, stay safe and healthy.

hank
 
jay helfert said:
.... I wonder how you felt about the tournament being dragged on for what seemed like one or two extra days, when it could have ended earlier. ...
Click to expand...
I found it a little long, but if the main point is to provide matches for the paying spectators it's reasonable. You may remember that the US Open (9-ball) at Mandalay Bay played the final 16 one match at a time so all 15 matches could be broadcast. The point was to pay the bills.
 
As I think about this event more and more, I feel I've overlooked one noteworthy aspect of the tournament.

How about those players from Kuwait? They have been a big story in 2021. Omar Al Shaheen was already on everybody's radar after his silver medal at the World Pool Championships, but there were three players from Kuwait who reached stage two at the International 9-ball event. Omar finished tied for ninth, as did Bader Al-Awadhi. Abdullah Al-Yousef tied for 17th.

I think we all need to pay some more attention to the emergence of a fine contingent of players from the middle east.
 
sjm said:
As I think about this event more and more, I feel I've overlooked one noteworthy aspect of the tournament.

How about those players from Kuwait? ....
Click to expand...
Yes, that is a remarkable development. In the same vein, how about Singapore and Albania and the squad from Poland?

I'm sure you remember the days when the US Open had zero or a few non-US players. In this tournament there were only eight Americans in the final 32:

Earl Strickland
Shane Wolford
Hunter Lombardo
Dee Adkins
Shane Van Boening
Corey Deuel
Josh Roberts
Nathan Childress

Only one of those made it through to the final 16.
 
sjm said:
As I think about this event more and more, I feel I've overlooked one noteworthy aspect of the tournament.

How about those players from Kuwait? They have been a big story in 2021. Omar Al Shaheen was already on everybody's radar after his silver medal at the World Pool Championships, but there were three players from Kuwait who reached stage two at the International 9-ball event. Omar finished tied for ninth, as did Bader Al-Awadhi. Abdullah Al-Yousef tied for 17th.

I think we all need to pay some more attention to the emergence of a fine contingent of players from the middle east.
Click to expand...

that's very true. i was a bit dismissive of both omar and szolnoki going deep in the world championship, but both have proven that wasn't just a fluke. i think szolnoki made it to the semis in the straight pool event
 
Wonderful Stu, thanks so much for your recap of the weeks action.

While my writing has improved reading yours is inspiration to me to keep working on mine. I have a long way to go.

To address a couple things you mentioned. I’ve notice the food at hotels in general since Covid has really slipped, Ive been to Denver, Fla, Sc, Atlanta, San Diego and they hotel food is fair at best these days. Also I get what you mean about going to these things and being introverted-I do much the same. Go to bed early and kinda keep to myself most of the time. I’m always nice to people and do enjoy seeing them for sure-but I’m not part of the “late night” crowd. There’s nothing wrong with just coasting along taking it as it comes.

Look forward to seeing you at Derby this year and thanks again for such a great write up.

Kindest regards
Fatboy
 
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