this was quite possibly the worst run tournament i've ever attended....
for the players...
everyone was complaining that there was no way all the games would go on as scheduled,,,and they didn't. it ran behind from the get-go.
half of the ten tables had table lighting. of the remaining five, only the main TV table had ample lights. the other four were half lit with a ceiling spotlight that covered the back half of the table(the rack half being in shadow).
the tables were all set close together.
for the spectators.....
the tables(two sets of five) were set up to one side of the room, with vip seats at floor level surrounding the playing area, and the tv set-up on the wall side. this left general admission to the wider, open side (and ONLY one side)of the room. general seating was 20 feet from the closest 5 tables, while the other 5 were on the other side of the room. because the tables were so far away, there was zero intimacy.
no one in general admission knew what the score was on the five closer tables because the players kept the score facing them and away from the spectators. since score cards faced inward(to the players), general admission could only see the scores on the other side of the field.
no refs, except one main guy.
the tv table took up MASSIVE amounts of unecessary space because not only was it given the proper amount of space(as other tables SHOULD have), but they decided to rope off that space with an additional 10 feet.
because of the tv table on the OTHER side, and the fact that the near(near to general admission)tables were lined up END TO END rather than side to side, there was loss of space at both ends that could have allowed for more general seating if they planned it better.
to make all matters worse, they started hustling day session spectators out at 7pm (evening session) while the day session matches were still being played on every table. now,,,i left because there wasn't much more for me to watch, and i don't know if they really did force any day session spectators out. nonetheless, it was announced.
this was a poorly run venue. clearly, the biggest problem was in the choice of venue. the hilton was an inadequate space for a pool tourney set-up, and it was clear that lack of lighting dictated the layout.
i don't recall the announcer announcing the winner of a match or the score. players had to keep their own score, and rack their own rack. petroni kept mumbling to himself because the scoring flip cards kept falling off the plastic support.
play was ok for a first day. the germans did well, as expected. the second ranked player from spain, cabello, is DAMNED good, and ran out on robles. last i saw he was running on engert too. lipsky ran well vs. salvas. other matches?,,,hard to say as they were too far away.
for the players...
everyone was complaining that there was no way all the games would go on as scheduled,,,and they didn't. it ran behind from the get-go.
half of the ten tables had table lighting. of the remaining five, only the main TV table had ample lights. the other four were half lit with a ceiling spotlight that covered the back half of the table(the rack half being in shadow).
the tables were all set close together.
for the spectators.....
the tables(two sets of five) were set up to one side of the room, with vip seats at floor level surrounding the playing area, and the tv set-up on the wall side. this left general admission to the wider, open side (and ONLY one side)of the room. general seating was 20 feet from the closest 5 tables, while the other 5 were on the other side of the room. because the tables were so far away, there was zero intimacy.
no one in general admission knew what the score was on the five closer tables because the players kept the score facing them and away from the spectators. since score cards faced inward(to the players), general admission could only see the scores on the other side of the field.
no refs, except one main guy.
the tv table took up MASSIVE amounts of unecessary space because not only was it given the proper amount of space(as other tables SHOULD have), but they decided to rope off that space with an additional 10 feet.
because of the tv table on the OTHER side, and the fact that the near(near to general admission)tables were lined up END TO END rather than side to side, there was loss of space at both ends that could have allowed for more general seating if they planned it better.
to make all matters worse, they started hustling day session spectators out at 7pm (evening session) while the day session matches were still being played on every table. now,,,i left because there wasn't much more for me to watch, and i don't know if they really did force any day session spectators out. nonetheless, it was announced.
this was a poorly run venue. clearly, the biggest problem was in the choice of venue. the hilton was an inadequate space for a pool tourney set-up, and it was clear that lack of lighting dictated the layout.
i don't recall the announcer announcing the winner of a match or the score. players had to keep their own score, and rack their own rack. petroni kept mumbling to himself because the scoring flip cards kept falling off the plastic support.
play was ok for a first day. the germans did well, as expected. the second ranked player from spain, cabello, is DAMNED good, and ran out on robles. last i saw he was running on engert too. lipsky ran well vs. salvas. other matches?,,,hard to say as they were too far away.
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