Ultimate pool brackets and results

Oh, let's add this too.
Heart break for Gerson Martinez Boza In on the 8-ball to go up 6-5 with the break and loses on a technicality!!! In Ultimate Pool USA, if the cue ball is frozen to a ball, you must shoot away from it. Gerson shot the shot like anyone would in international 8-ball competition but it was a foul in the Ultimate Pool rules. He loses the rack, then scratches his following break and never gets back to the table. Congrats to Tyler Styer for making it to the Finals.


Gerson should've known the rules, it's that simple.
 
I think they are trying to make it seem larger than it is. Whatever the 10ball event, I think I remember it being 5k for first (I could have been wrong and it was another one of the side events, but one of them was 1st 5k.)

Payouts need to be obvious to people entering (at least what is added and with a firm cut off date, they can tell how much the payouts are.) In the Derby they manage to do it and they have buybacks, surely whoever is at top of the UPL can devise a way to advertise xyz for 1st through 32nd.

Last one on this topic, they are very heavy on the promotion of the $112k to the team that wins, it is in bold print, videos, and posts. IIRC the rest of the payouts if you were say 4th and down were not great at all. For a league that relies heavily on amateurs, I'd think you would pay down pretty well to allow for people to take off a week from work, and get to a place that is not as accessible as the Westgate or the Derby.
3-4 each got 20k
5-8 each got 10k
9-16 each got 3k
17-32 each got 1k

not too shabby!
 
I got the feeling from Margaret Styer's post-match interview over Emily Duddy that they were not really competing for any kind of large purse. She says she's just there to have fun, and my guess is probably because she's getting guaranteed show money.

Good catch. Now I'm even more curious about the payouts and various arrangements.
 
What about the other open/shootout events?
They had printed payout sheets available at the event, I never look at them. I believe the Open paid 20k for first and 10k for second. The Shootout probably paid 5k or so for first. The women's shootout didn't have a very big prize pool at all but I don't believe they charge an entry fee for that.
 
Gerson should've known the rules, it's that simple.
Well, sort of. If an event has "unusual" rules -- out of the ordinary and maybe one some of the players have never encountered before -- in my view it is no good to just say, "You should have read the rules. They are available on-line." The tournament management should make sure that there is a good chance that all players understand the special rules. Was there an effort by the tournament management to make sure the special rules got disseminated?
 
Well, sort of. If an event has "unusual" rules -- out of the ordinary and maybe one some of the players have never encountered before -- in my view it is no good to just say, "You should have read the rules. They are available on-line." The tournament management should make sure that there is a good chance that all players understand the special rules. Was there an effort by the tournament management to make sure the special rules got disseminated?
Agree Bob. When you take every normal pool rule and turn them upside down, a players meeting should be MANDATORY to attend if you are playing.
 
Well, sort of. If an event has "unusual" rules -- out of the ordinary and maybe one some of the players have never encountered before -- in my view it is no good to just say, "You should have read the rules. They are available on-line." The tournament management should make sure that there is a good chance that all players understand the special rules. Was there an effort by the tournament management to make sure the special rules got disseminated?

Agree Bob. When you take every normal pool rule and turn them upside down, a players meeting should be MANDATORY to attend if you are playing.


Both excellent points.
 
Well, sort of. If an event has "unusual" rules -- out of the ordinary and maybe one some of the players have never encountered before -- in my view it is no good to just say, "You should have read the rules. They are available on-line." The tournament management should make sure that there is a good chance that all players understand the special rules. Was there an effort by the tournament management to make sure the special rules got disseminated?
I have no idea if they warn pro players new to UPL. In my experience in the league they did try to cover the rules. It seemed to me they are proud of them and went into some detail explaining most of them. The frozen ball rule is a bizarre and IMO bad rule. They didn’t hide it though and did explain it. Some rules they didn’t cover well. Others they explained more than once. They have a lot of rules. Somehow I missed the loss of game foul for handing the cue ball from the ball return to my opponent after a scratch. But the opponent didn’t call me on it and for once the rule about only the opponent calling fouls was observed, so we played on and only got the lecture/ explanation after the match. As I said, I never took to their rules or format.
 
Well, sort of. If an event has "unusual" rules -- out of the ordinary and maybe one some of the players have never encountered before -- in my view it is no good to just say, "You should have read the rules. They are available on-line." The tournament management should make sure that there is a good chance that all players understand the special rules. Was there an effort by the tournament management to make sure the special rules got disseminated?
Except Gerson had won the event...twice. He should have known the rules.
 
Shooting away from a frozen ball is simply a made up, bullshit rule for what purports to be a major US pool tournament.
 
Except Gerson had won the event...twice. He should have known the rules.
If the situation has never come up when he was around, he would have no way of even knowing that it might be an issue. His English is spotty enough that he needs an interpreter to do interviews, so I could see how he both didn't know and couldn't possibly have known he didn't know something.

I played UPL for quite a while before I learned that rule...through watching the tournaments on youtube, not from my actual league sessions.
 
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Shooting away from a frozen ball is simply a made up, bullshit rule for what purports to be a major US pool tournament.
The only justification I can imagine for the rule is to minimize arguments. Frozen/close balls is the source of probably 80-90% of arguments I see in league--what's a double-hit, when can I hit it straight on, if I jack up isn't it ok, no even through the cue ball shot down table at the same speed as the object ball it wasn't clear what happened, etc, etc. By having a draconian unforgiving rule on the matter it at least simplifies one aspect of the game (the frozen OB issue). The very close but not frozen issue is still there, though.

Yeah, I'm trying to justify it, but it's still ridiculous.
 
It's ONLY a rule in the tie breakers, not the regular games/matches.
i guess it makes sense, the tie breaker is a six ball sprint

i believe that in fast shot clock pro snooker, the players always wait for all balls to stop before they shoot
 
The only justification I can imagine for the rule is to minimize arguments. ...
Actually, it is a standard rule in the UK, where Ultimate Pool is from. It originally comes from snooker and it went into UK eight ball a long time ago because it all they knew. The rule is absolutely traditional to them.
 
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