The best finals I’ve ever seen in my life was between Allen Hopkins and George “Ginky” San Souci at the 2005 Ocean State Championship at Snooker's (the old Snooker's) in Providence, Rhode Island. Oh, man, Regina's homemade meatballs at Snooker's. Yum!
It came down to the break in the finals. Neither one of them missed a ball. I have never seen two players shoot with such precision in a finals match. It was incredible. To this day, I still remember it as the best finals I’ve ever seen.
And it proves something about pool. It doesn’t matter how you stroke a ball as long as you pocket balls. What works for one player may not work for another. There’s no single “right” way to play.
Allen Hopkins was incredibly strong in his prime and was still strong even after retiring. By the time he played Ginky in this match, he was well past his prime, but he still loved competing. And that old champion was still in there.
What a match! What a memory! Ginky wins, Allen comes second, and Joe Tucker was third.
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Photo credit: Me!