Looking over the past year, there have been many great pool happenings and memories created.
I had a tough time deciding whether it was the Matchroom Nineball World Pool Cup in Kielce, Poland, or the Spanish Open in Luga, Spain. After reviewing a few of the screenshots and Matchroom Taka Images, the Spanish Open is my number one favorite memory for 2023.
A fun moment between matches at the 2023 Spanish Open was Eklent Kaci and his younger brother, Kledio being interviewed together. The interviewer asks Kledio if he's ever beaten his older brother in pool, and Kledio says no, but Elkent starts to chuckle and says that's not true, that Kledio has beaten him a few times. They both laughed. I love these human interest stories in pool. They make it fun.
Runner-up Marc Bijsterbosch from Holland made three golden breaks in a row on his way to the finals, which was awesome, and watching the 31-year-old Dang Jin Hui lift the trophy was heartwarming to see his joy, as he'd not been active on pool's tournament trail in a while.
Francisco Sanchez Ruiz's father competed in the event, shown here with Francisco's good buddy, David Alcaide.
But what made it special for me was the audience participation in Luga, Spain, singing in between matches, dancing in the aisles, and raising their hands in glee. I'll never forget that. It was beautiful.
What's yours?
I had a tough time deciding whether it was the Matchroom Nineball World Pool Cup in Kielce, Poland, or the Spanish Open in Luga, Spain. After reviewing a few of the screenshots and Matchroom Taka Images, the Spanish Open is my number one favorite memory for 2023.
A fun moment between matches at the 2023 Spanish Open was Eklent Kaci and his younger brother, Kledio being interviewed together. The interviewer asks Kledio if he's ever beaten his older brother in pool, and Kledio says no, but Elkent starts to chuckle and says that's not true, that Kledio has beaten him a few times. They both laughed. I love these human interest stories in pool. They make it fun.
Runner-up Marc Bijsterbosch from Holland made three golden breaks in a row on his way to the finals, which was awesome, and watching the 31-year-old Dang Jin Hui lift the trophy was heartwarming to see his joy, as he'd not been active on pool's tournament trail in a while.
Francisco Sanchez Ruiz's father competed in the event, shown here with Francisco's good buddy, David Alcaide.
But what made it special for me was the audience participation in Luga, Spain, singing in between matches, dancing in the aisles, and raising their hands in glee. I'll never forget that. It was beautiful.
What's yours?
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