The big winners had to be Dennis and Shane, who both had some monster wins. And Tony C. booked several nice winners as well.
Dennis continues to amaze me with his excellence at 9-Ball and Ten Ball. Simply the best player in the world roday! He gave nice spots to a great young champion in Chris Bartrum. Doubtful that anyone else could have given up these games and won. And there was serious money on the line both times.
Shane beat a terrific player at his game, when he took down Darren at Eight Ball. Also for some massive bucks. Shane just keeps getting better and better. Fast approaching the day when he can play Johnny, Rodney and Corey even. They are still the the highest rated American big guns. Sorry to say, they are the underdogs against the top filipino and Chinese guys.
In 9-Ball and Ten Ball worldwide, it begins with Dennis, Alex, Marlon, Ronnie and Busty. Yang is in the mix too. All others are a notch behind. I see Shane as the great American hope to challenge these masters. If he continues to progress as he has, in two years he may be playing even with Dennis.
I had the pleasure of flying back to Los Angeles with Dennis this morning. He showed me photos of his lovely wife and handsome four year old son. He also has a one month old daughter. I am sitting on the plane with the best pool player on the planet and talking pool with a few other people aboard. He sleeps soundly in the next seat. I tell them this small man is the best player in the world. The looks on their faces makes it clear I am not to be believed. They humor this older man (me) who is obviousy delusional.
Just goes to show you, when you meet a stranger and they tell you a tall tale, do not discount it too quickly. When Dennis awakes I tell him that the man on the other side of the aisle is an avid pool player, and wants to play him some. He just smiles. Dennis is so humble, you would never know he has this special talent. To him, it is just his job to travel halfway around the world and bring home the bacon.
At Derby City, with champions everywhere, no one has any interest in challenging Mr. Orcollo to a game. When his name is mentioned as a possible opponent, the blood rushes from the faces of these great players. I watched the last two hours of the final match up with Bartrum. Dennis missed exactly ZERO balls in this time. He did get out of line a couple of times and was forced to kick or play safe, which he did quite well.
What he did do during this time frame was run out from anywhere and everywhere. It seems that if he gets on the first ball, the rack is over. Devastating if you are his opponent, and demoralizing if you are thinlking of playing him. He will have to content himself with winning tournaments and getting the occasional game in Asia, or giving up big weight to play here.
I'm glad to watch. The last player who I saw play this speed was Parica in his prime. And you know what he did to all the top players in the 80's. Same thing, he gave up weight and busted them.
