PBS St Louis 2026 (Men’s World 8 Ball Championship, Mixed Doubles, Women’s Open, Bank Pool), 1-8 April, Half Million Prize Fund

[sjm]

Predator continues to provide good FREE streams yet the AZ wingnuts still bitch. WTF. I watched a lot of this event and have nothing but good to say about the stream quality, both video/audio and commentator wise. Not a huge 8b fan but this thing was well done.

In this thread, the Predator St Louis event has been almost uniformly praised.

As for the stream, the camera angles on the stream were far from ideal and most of the commentary was second rate. Regardless, this was a fine event, with deep internationally diverse fields, and even if watched with the commentary muted, as I usually did, it offered great entertainment. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

For what it is worth, I'd have happily paid for the stream, but the price of the stream in no way impacts any assessment of it.

In short, you are right, this was a fine event that was well done.

 

[middleofnowhere]

I thought Chris, Ben and Eric (Edit: Sorry, I forgot him) were pretty good. The rest I can do without. Mark is just annoying and the other others were often way too negative about the players.
Hard to listen to guys with a bad camera angle criticizing word champions who are at the table for their shot choices.

I wouldn't mind seeing the whole nickname thing go away completely. A few aren't bad if they are somehow related to their playing style or a play on their name, but anything that has to do with physical attributes or appearance is often cringy to begin with and won't age well as the player ages.
This goes for the men and the women. Seeing a middle aged, mostly bald man introduced as the South Dakota Kid is a bit of a stretch.

The best I ever heard I was at a tournament in Tampa and the tournament director Bill Stegall was introducing the final match. He said we have the final two players "On this side Gary Spath and his opponent One-Eyed Tony". I knew Tony a little bit and he really didn't like being called that, especially in front of a room full of like 300 people.

 

[mikepage]

The best I ever heard I was at a tournament in Tampa and the tournament director Bill Stegall was introducing the final match. He said we have the final two players "On this side Gary Spath and his opponent One-Eyed Tony". I knew Tony a little bit and he really didn't like being called that, especially in front of a room full of like 300 people.

And along the lines of the cognitive dissonance of a middle-aged SD Kid, Gary Spaeth's FATHER was the Cincinnatti Kid ;-).

 

[GideonF]

And along the lines of the cognitive dissonance of a middle-aged SD Kid, Gary Spaeth's FATHER was the Cincinnatti Kid ;-).

And let’s not forget that “Bata” Reyes is “The Kid”

 

[JohnnyOzone]

When the pay debate comes up in this sport or that, I now just sit them out.

I can't see the revenue, ticket sales numbers or number of viewers. I have no way to judge where the money is, especially in pool. Only the promotors see that info, and they will make their judgments accordingly. If the men or women don't like it, they will have to take it up with Predator.

Personally, I'd watch women's 10-ball day and night over men's 8 ball.

***

One of the older announcers can't help but refer to Duddy as the "Billiard Bombshell" every time he sees her. Every single time. Every single tournament. Never fails.

The younger announcers show more tact and never refer to her as such.

I guarantee she does not mind it being said. In fact, I'm pretty sure that she gave herself that nickname

 

[skogstokig]

Is Duong Quoc Hoang really a Martian ---- well, no more so than David Alcaide is a matador.

i asked a viet guy about that, because asians can sometimes be quite pitiless with nicknames, but the explanation wasn't due to his appearance as i thought, it's referring to his skills being out of this world

 

[middleofnowhere]

And along the lines of the cognitive dissonance of a middle-aged SD Kid, Gary Spaeth's FATHER was the Cincinnatti Kid ;-).

Joey was called that for a long time and he was only 55 when he died.

 

[middleofnowhere]

I guarantee she does not mind it being said. In fact, I'm pretty sure that she gave herself that nickname

If you check her out on line she has been a bit of a self promoter.

 

[decent dennis]

In this thread, the Predator St Louis event has been almost uniformly praised.

As for the stream, the camera angles on the stream were far from ideal and most of the commentary was second rate. Regardless, this was a fine event, with deep internationally diverse fields, and even if watched with the commentary muted, as I usually did, it offered great entertainment. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

For what it is worth, I'd have happily paid for the stream, but the price of the stream in no way impacts any assessment of it.

In short, you are right, this was a fine event that was well done.

And from what I understand they have already committed to two more years!

 

[GideonF]

i asked a viet guy about that, because asians can sometimes be quite pitiless with nicknames, but the explanation wasn't due to his appearance as i thought, it's referring to his skills being out of this world

This is what my Viet friend told me:


His nickname is Hoang Sao, sao is star in viet. He got it because he used to work at all poolhall called star club when he moved to Ho Chi Minh City. And over the years ppl noticed him for his skills and goofyness they started to call him Hoang sao hoa, "sao hoa" is Mars in viet. And now they just call him the Martian

 

[sjm]

i asked a viet guy about that, because asians can sometimes be quite pitiless with nicknames, but the explanation wasn't due to his appearance as i thought, it's referring to his skills being out of this world

Yes, but how could anyone be expected to figure that out? Calling someone a Martian in most parts would denote an alien appearance or mode of behavior (and would therefore be derogatory), not an alien skill set.

What Americans call an eraser (meaning a pencil eraser) the English call a rubber. I doubt an English pool player that had a habit of erasing the competition would like to be known as "the rubber," which, to an American might be interpreted as "the condom."

Having an ambiguous nickname is even worse than having no nickname at all.

 

[loggerhead12]

Yes, but how could anyone be expected to figure that out? Calling someone a Martian in most parts would denote an alien appearance or mode of behavior (and would therefore be derogatory), not an alien skill set.

Plus, he does kind of look like a Martian.

 

[sjm]

And from what I understand they have already committed to two more years!

Fantastic news. As already noted, the Predator Pro series is a hit!

 

[jasonlaus]

Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think Emily is a very lovely lady.

"Beerholder"

 

[jasonlaus]

I thought Chris, Ben and Eric (Edit: Sorry, I forgot him) were pretty good. The rest I can do without. Mark is just annoying and the other others were often way too negative about the players.
Hard to listen to guys with a bad camera angle criticizing word champions who are at the table for their shot choices.

I wouldn't mind seeing the whole nickname thing go away completely. A few aren't bad if they are somehow related to their playing style or a play on their name, but anything that has to do with physical attributes or appearance is often cringy to begin with and won't age well as the player ages.
This goes for the men and the women. Seeing a middle aged, mostly bald man introduced as the South Dakota Kid is a bit of a stretch.

Ditto. Pool nicknames are, with few exceptions, completely unnecessary, and are rarely descriptive of the player.

Yes, calling Elliot Sanderson "The Shouter" works, as he always shouts after a big win. Calling Jose Parica "the leader of the invasion" made perfect sense, as he was the first Filipino to join the American pro pool scene.

... but many nicknames are so arbitrary that you'd think they were chosen at random. For example, is Thorsten Hohmann really a hitman? At and away from the table, he is gentle, courteous and dignified. Is Duong Quoc Hoang really a Martian ---- well, no more so than David Alcaide is a matador.

We need not assign nicknames just for the hell of it.

Pardon my English but most nicknames are gay as f'k

I agree

 

[jasonlaus]

I think Nicknames are great.
J "walking tripod" Williams

Is this like a guy with no left arm being called "lefty"?

 

[jasonlaus]

Predator continues to provide good FREE streams yet the AZ wingnuts still bitch. WTF. I watched a lot of this event and have nothing but good to say about the stream quality, both video/audio and commentator wise. Not a huge 8b fan but this thing was well done.

Id actually like to see a doubles 8 ball without being able to talk to eachother

In this thread, the Predator St Louis event has been almost uniformly praised.

As for the stream, the camera angles on the stream were far from ideal and most of the commentary was second rate. Regardless, this was a fine event, with deep internationally diverse fields, and even if watched with the commentary muted, as I usually did, it offered great entertainment. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

For what it is worth, I'd have happily paid for the stream, but the price of the stream in no way impacts any assessment of it.

In short, you are right, this was a fine event that was well done.

One of the best events ever. I really enjoyed all of it. I did miss hearing Scott's voice(think he has surpassed JJ but that's the 1,2 combo).

I actually enjoy the 8 ball with the crap racks, feels like everyday

 

[jasonlaus]

Yes, but how could anyone be expected to figure that out? Calling someone a Martian in most parts would denote an alien appearance or mode of behavior (and would therefore be derogatory), not an alien skill set.

What Americans call an eraser (meaning a pencil eraser) the English call a rubber. I doubt an English pool player that had a habit of erasing the competition would like to be known as "the rubber," which, to an American might be interpreted as "the condom."

Having an ambiguous nickname is even worse than having no nickname at all.

If I were Interpreting it, it would be crazy high skill, alien like

 

[Kris_b1104]

If you check her out on line she has been a bit of a self promoter.

She's only a 589 Fargo lol.

#63 ranked woman in the US, with 15+ years of experience. Not sure what's so special about her, cause it ain't her game. She's very average. Her IG is "Billiardbombshell" and under her profile it says "Top 10 WPA ranked" and "Pro at Amsterdam Billiards" lmao. She's pretty popular in NYC though.

Maybe she gives good lessons

 

[GideonF]

She's only a 589 Fargo lol.

#63 ranked woman in the US, with 15+ years of experience. Not sure what's so special about her, cause it ain't her game. She's very average. Her IG is "Billiardbombshell" and under her profile it says "Top 10 WPA ranked" and "Pro at Amsterdam Billiards" lmao. She's pretty popular in NYC though.

Maybe she gives good lessons

I don’t get the hate. She obviously loves the game, and is using whatever she has to make her mark. The male pool audience tends to pay particular attention to female players that they consider attractive. Ewa and Janette took full advantage of this (while playing championship level pool).

I remember a decade or so ago there were a group of women from the NY area that marketed themselves. Jennifer Barretta, Borana Andoni and Emily (maybe others?). None of them were championship level players (9mm the closest) but they still promote the game.