Can Earl ever win it again?????????

cueball1950

cueball1950

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Can Earl "THE PEARL" Strickland ever win the OPEN again???? My answer is yes. If Earl can keep his wits about himself and play his game only and not his opponents game i feel that he can go undefeated. So lets hear your opinion. And PLEASE, Don't use this thread to bash him. Just give your honest answer if so...why????? if not.....why not???? mike
 
W

wahcheck

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
probably not

I believe Earl's best years are behind him, and because of age, something is lost physically and mentally, which he had when he was younger....We all know that this game requires a proper state of mind, which I'm not sure Earl has any more............
 
R

RiverCity

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Earl can definately win it again. Its not his age thats his problem, like many other people, he has had personal things hes been working out the past few years. That if anything is what has brought his mental game down.
Earl is probably one of the 3-5 most gifted 9 ball players of all time, in there with Buddy Hall, Wimpy Lassiter, Sigel, and of course Reyes. He can bring it all day long, he just has to make up his mind to do it.
Chuck
 
Fleece3

Fleece3

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Definitely!!!!!!

Earl is without a doubt the greatest 9 Ball player EVER (I would give Efren the best all around pool player). All Earl has to do is MAINTAIN FOCUS!!. That does not mean that there won't be classic Earl moments, he just has to make sure that it doesn't take him out of his game. In any given match, I would NEVER feel comfortable betting AGAINST Earl.
 
J

JustPlay

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Earl ever win again? Doubtful. Earl has never won a major tournament on Diamond tables (just a trival fact). As pointed out by other posters, Earl's mental state is a mess with no end in site. To bad KT hasn't offed him a "natural cure" for his crazy antics, maybe Tony Robbins should start a tour! Earl should take a year off from playing tournament pool and go on vacation. Unless he gets his mind straightened out, Earl will just be top competitor and not a champion....
 
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Snapshot9

Snapshot9

son of 3 leg 1 eye dog ..
Silver Member
I think

that Earl will not win anything because of his mindset. You don't talk your way into Championships, but rather just go about business on the table.
He is a great player, I just think he might be in the last 16 or 8, but can not close the deal anymore.
 
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axejunkie

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I honestly don't think so. Every tournament he seems to suffer some sort of meltdown. As long as there are fans there to heckle him and players as talented as him, I just don't see it. I'd like to see him do it but just can't be optimistic, especially given his antics at the Open last year and his performance in the IPT.
 
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smashmouth

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
"Earl ever win again? Doubtful. Earl has never won a major tournament on Diamond tables (just a trival fact)"

Maybe not, but he managed to string together an 11 pack for a million bucks!

Also, Earl is a beast, if anyone could ever benefit from a sports shrink.....

He clears his head, and the only person in the world who can beat him over the long haul is Efren, maybe.
 
Perk

Perk

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I dont think he can win again. Too many matches against players with equal abilities that no longer fear him. He doesnt keep a strong mindset and IMO that will keep him from winning the Open again.
 
Q

quitecoolguy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
i have watched match after match of earl the pearl ...and with-out question..when he is on..there are very few on the plannet who can beat him..i truly think if his mindset was there and he just remembered why he started playing the game in the first place.."for the sheer love and thrill of the game". Heck yeah he could win it again... some of the sceptics that say he cant win again, are the same sceptics that said he could win it the third, fourth time as well...If george forman can win a heavy weight championship at his age then earl still has a command of his own destiny if he decides to make the effort and commitment. In my opinion of course
 
P

Pinocchio

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
For sure:

It can work both ways:Don't let Earl get on cruise an use the crowd in his favor. Earl has many fans an they are very vocal. Many of the Filipino top guns missing surely Earl must be one of rhe favorites.


Pinocchio
 
time_is_now

time_is_now

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
JustPlay said:
Earl ever win again? Doubtful. Earl has never won a major tournament on Diamond tables (just a trival fact). As pointed out by other posters, Earl's mental state is a mess with no end in site. To bad KT hasn't offed him a "natural cure" for his crazy antics, maybe Tony Robbins should start a tour! Earl should take a year off from playing tournament pool and go on vacation. Unless he gets his mind straightened out, Earl will just be top competitor and not a champion....
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he has never won a tourney on Diamonds???? wow....didn't know that....what is his best finish on diamonds? i don't think he will wil the US Open or an IPT event........not that his game isn't there but the competition is much stiffer with the IPT coming out...the IPT just brought more competition to a higher level and bottom line is people step it up to play guys that are *****s at the table.........who would u rather beat......a gentlemen or someone that is being an a dickhead so to speak?
 
sniper

sniper

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I would have to say it is highly unlikely, but not out of the question because this year the talent is just a notch below last years Open (no Reyes, Manalo, or Hohmann) when he finished in fourth place. I would expect Earl to atleast be in the top 16, but unless he hits a gear and can by some act of god keep his cool I have a hard time seeing him in the winners circle.
 
Omar

Omar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
JustPlay said:
Earl ever win again? Doubtful. Earl has never won a major tournament on Diamond tables (just a trival fact). As pointed out by other posters, Earl's mental state is a mess with no end in site. To bad KT hasn't offed him a "natural cure" for his crazy antics, maybe Tony Robbins should start a tour! Earl should take a year off from playing tournament pool and go on vacation. Unless he gets his mind straightened out, Earl will just be top competitor and not a champion....
Click to expand...

I dunno. They played on pretty tough Diamonds last year and he finished fourth. Lost to Souquet and Bustamante, which is something not many people would need to make apologies for. Pounded Reyes the match before. So yeah, I think he could win another one. Once you get to the final eight it depends a lot on the rolls.

Something I would be interested in knowing is how many times has somebody won the U.S. Open from the B side? For example, Parica has made the finals twice in the last four or five years. That in itself is pretty impressive. Was Jeremy Jones in the hot seat when he won?
 
Grilled Cheese

Grilled Cheese

p.i.i.t.h.
Silver Member
Not to turn this into an Earl thread, but someone mentioned Earl. I think he is gone crazy. At first, I thought it was an elaborate sharking technique to make people think he's that way to get an edge. That was the conspiracy theory side of me. Reality is, he's nutz.


But, I still think he's got enough stroke to win for a while. He's not an 8-ball player as the IPT has proven. But 9-ball is definately his game. He's a machine at it. No need to think, just gun balls in. If he's on, there's no one that can stop him.


So he's always a threat. But, does he still have the fire to win the U.S. Open? Dunno. I doubt he cares, he's done it so many times. The drive for the U.S. Open will be purely the money, whereas for other players, it is also for the title.
 
Tommy-D

Tommy-D

World's best B player...
Silver Member
> Earl certainly HAS won a signifigant tournament playing on Diamonds,the 1994 PBT World 9-Ball,beating Efren 9-2 or 9-3 in the live televised finals. I don't see how playing on a Diamond would affect him negatively,the table he used to have set up in the poolroom in Greensboro was a Diamond with obscenely tight pockets. Oddly enough,he said when I asked him that to him the perfect table would be an original Gold Crown I with 4" pockets.

> I'm CERTAIN that he is still capable of winning this or any other tournament. What concerns me is whether his mind will stay together long enough for him to do it physically. Tommy D.
 
cueball1950

cueball1950

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Tommy-D said:
> Earl certainly HAS won a signifigant tournament playing on Diamonds,the 1994 PBT World 9-Ball,beating Efren 9-2 or 9-3 in the live televised finals. I don't see how playing on a Diamond would affect him negatively,the table he used to have set up in the poolroom in Greensboro was a Diamond with obscenely tight pockets. Oddly enough,he said when I asked him that to him the perfect table would be an original Gold Crown I with 4" pockets.

> I'm CERTAIN that he is still capable of winning this or any other tournament. What concerns me is whether his mind will stay together long enough for him to do it physically. Tommy D.
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I love that quote from Steve Prefontaine.... i have watched that movie 3 or 4 times in the last couple of weeks on 1 of the HBO channels.....mike
 
S

seether

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
earl the great can win it and hope he does win it.

JustPlay said:
Earl ever win again? Doubtful. Earl has never won a major tournament on Diamond tables (just a trival fact). As pointed out by other posters, Earl's mental state is a mess with no end in site. To bad KT hasn't offed him a "natural cure" for his crazy antics, maybe Tony Robbins should start a tour! Earl should take a year off from playing tournament pool and go on vacation. Unless he gets his mind straightened out, Earl will just be top competitor and not a champion....
Click to expand...
I hope that Earl Strickland can win it and get it back and age doesnot matter.
 
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