Morra and Shaw on MR break rules and pocket size

jbart65 said:
Perhaps, but I think the current break rules are fine. Most players are getting the one ball in consistently, but it appears that fewer balls are going in on the break and the odds of good position on the next shot seem lower than in the past.

I am less concerned about the break rules than the pocket size and shot clock.
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To be honest, this debate has been going on for decades now. I even took a pool here eons ago about pocket size...I'd guess 12 years ago now....it got a massive amount of replies and kind of took on a life of its own. Fast forward to now, and I don't think pocket size matters much at this point. I don't think it will bring viewers or $ to the sport regardless at this point.
AtLarge said:
That was against Pagulayan in 2018 at Freezer's Ice House 10-Ball Challenge. The table was a Diamond and was said to have 4 1/8" corners!
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Amazing feat under any circumstances.
 
jbart65 said:
If one or two lucky shots help a player win a match, the other player must have given him too many opportunities.
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Then that "other" player probably is not the best & perhaps doesn't deserve the win

jbart65 said:
Luck in a game like pool may be unfair, but it's why 9-ball is more fun to watch than 10-ball in my view.
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IMO the greater skill of the participants = way less luck involved. The particular game doesn't matter one bit. Having said that will not reduce to 0% the chance of luck entering the equation.

jbart65 said:
In any case, luck is involved in all sports. And there is no doubt it adds drama, fair or not.
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How much luck did the Celtics have last night in closing out the Mavericks?

How bout Bryson DeChambeau winning the US Open?
 
garczar said:
Happens in any game/sport. Trying to eliminate it is waste of time. Golf requires both extreme precision but it also has a certain degree of luck. No one bitches about luck in golf but they squeal like stuck hogs when someone shits in a ball on a pool table.
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Sure luck happens, but doesn't / shouldn't define the outcome of an event.
 
skogstokig said:
so did svb and tyler after the spanish open last year, for what it's worth.

i would still like to float the idea of shortening the shot clock to 25 sec. the ultimate pool event in lousiana could serve as inspiration, even though 20 sec / 10 sec is a bit too carneval for big table 9-ball.
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The Ultimate Pool event in Louisiana was a great view. I didn't hear about it beforehand but just stumbled upon it on YouTube. (Well, they stuff everything pool in my face so stumble is a bit strong.) I've watched probably most of the matches. I loved the format.
 
Basically Shaw is an MR muppet that will say anything MR wants him to say, and while the opinions of the players matter to a degree, the opinions of the viewing public should carry weight as that is who the product is being marketed to. At the end of the day this IS supposed to be 9 ball which is the game of the gunslingers of the sport and going too small with pocket size changes it to where it isn’t 9 ball anymore. 9 ball is a fast and loose attacking game, not a tactical one. If everyone thinks it’s too easy then switch to 15 ball rotation, solves all the whining about the break that has gone on for 20 years now, and it isn’t an easy game. Otherwise just quit tinkering with it and play 9 ball.
 
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Colonel said:
Basically Shaw is an MR muppet that will say anything MR wants him to say, and while the opinions of the players matter to a degree, the opinions of the viewing public should carry weight as that is who the product is being marketed to. At the end of the day this IS supposed to be 9 ball which is the game of the gunslingers of the sport and going too small with pocket size changes it to where it isn’t 9 ball anymore. 9 ball is a fast and loose attacking game, not a tactical one. If everyone thinks it’s too easy then switch to 15 ball rotation, solves all the whining about the break that has gone on for 20 years now, and it isn’t an easy game. Otherwise just quit tinkering with it and play 9 ball.
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While I agree to a point that the MR contracted players won't piss in their own ponds, and therefore will more likely than not promote whatever MR has deemed the correct product to push. I also think the distinction that is the "viewing public" isn't regulated to those on AZB with a keyboard and a lack of arthritis to use it.

The viewing public has been failing pro pool for some time now, so why should MR give two craps about what a group of purists think...? MR is after a new/fresh viewing public who's only torch is the LED in their phones. The old guard can either accept that things have changed and enjoy, or turn their noses and miss out. MR is developing a product gauged toward a new and international audience. Their success isn't tied to what the aging NA male market thinks is appropriate.
 
I support tighter pockets.

I support anything that curbs Americans' attitude for impatience and instant gratification.
 
I'd like to see more round robin events where everyone plays everyone else. That's a better test for an elite field and removes luck from the draw. Requires a shorter field of elite players though. Can do double elim qualifiers to see who makes it to the round robin event.
 
nataddrho said:
I support tighter pockets.

I support anything that curbs Americans' attitude for impatience and instant gratification.
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that's a global, generational pandemic.. short attention span, instant gratification. preferably they would like to SAVE / LOAD the game too!
 
Colonel said:
Basically Shaw is an MR muppet that will say anything MR wants him to say, and while the opinions of the players matter to a degree, the opinions of the viewing public should carry weight as that is who the product is being marketed to. At the end of the day this IS supposed to be 9 ball which is the game of the gunslingers of the sport and going too small with pocket size changes it to where it isn’t 9 ball anymore. 9 ball is a fast and loose attacking game, not a tactical one. If everyone thinks it’s too easy then switch to 15 ball rotation, solves all the whining about the break that has gone on for 20 years now, and it isn’t an easy game. Otherwise just quit tinkering with it and play 9 ball.
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I agree the opinion of the viewing public is paramount and I am leery of too much change in nineball.

I think it is ridiculous, though, to suggest Shaw is a puppet who will say anything MR wants him to say. He did not initiate the conversation. Morra did, and was by far the most emphatic. Morra doesn't get a lot of love from MR and has never struck me as a puppet.

What's more, I have heard a number of other players back tighter pockets. SVB, Gorst, Filler, Ouschan, Woodward and FSR, among others.

Perhaps the players simply agree with MR on 4-inch pockets. Or at least the top ones ...
 
Found a few snippets of the conversation I heard between Morra and Shaw, but not all of it.

MORRA:
That's what I love about this break format. You can be hitting the break as good as possible but you're never guaranteed a shot on the Two. It just makes the game so much more exciting because there's safety battles and tough positions and balls are tied up.

SHAW
You can break really well and not get a shot at times.

MORRA

I think we've finally got the game where it needs to be - tight pockets, tough break.
 
Fore Rail said:
Sure luck happens, but doesn't / shouldn't define the outcome of an event.
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No way to accomplish that. Keep dreaming. If you want a luckless game play 14.1. 9b/10b will always have a luck factor. Even lily-white pure snooker allows flukes. So does Chinese 8b and no one bitches about that.
 
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