Earl imploding in the World Pool Masrers

Bic D

AzB Silver Member
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Meanwhile, that match *and* interview got more hits and views than any other match or interview at the Dafabet World Pool Masters, including the finals.

Earl is now almost 60 years old and sweet Klenti is 20. Interesting in pool that age doesn't matter, I guess.

I know Earl and understand where he is coming from. It is difficult to be the best in the world in a thankless game that doesn't pay enough to make ends meet, even when you're the best out there.

Pool promoters love Earl because he not only brings in viewers, but he continues to make headlines around the world: https://www.skysports.com/more-spor...trickland-fumes-after-world-pool-masters-exit

That didn't seem too bad at all IMO. Albeit I didn't watch the actual match (only that link) but it seems to me that Earl knows they want him to provide the interviewer and audience with some good jabs and when Earl gets on a roll, he just lets them run.

Seriously, if they know how Earl is...and they do, why even interview him? If you HAVE to interview him...why ask certain questions that you know are going to make him blow his top?

The audience seemed to like it, Kaci seemed to like it, Earl was the center of attention.

Earl was right about one thing though...I know Golf isn't Pool but Justin Thomas had a spectator removed from the gallery b/c the spectator said something Thomas didn't like as they were walking down the fairway. I wouldn't be surprised if fans in the audience purposely didn't couch or reach for a beer in the middle of a shot just to get a reaction

**Disclaimer** If Earl was sharking Kaci in the middle of the game and being loud and disruptive, then that is a little different.
 

BC21

https://www.playpoolbetter.com
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We have a good local player with an Earl the Pearl attitude. You get one or two good rolls and he immediately starts running his mouth and crying. I like the guy, though he does show his ass quite often. Well, his sideline tantrums a couple of weeks ago got his face pounded by another player who had finally had enough of his mouth. Others said, "Maybe he'll learn to behave now."

I felt sorry for this guy because I believe, like Earl, he has some mental/emotional instability. And behavior is habitual, so no amount of ass whoopings can fix it. It's automatic for these type of guys, just as automatic as me smiling and shaking hands when I lose.
 
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logical

Loose Rack
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Regardless what he said about Kaci, he did have a valid point about the temperature. Players were shivering, people in the crowd wearing big coats etc. He is nearly 60 and when you've been sat at the chair for awhile it's going to be even colder. It is meant to be one of the biggest events in pool so it shouldn't be too much to ask to have some heaters.
I do think what he said about Kaci was bad but I think what he said and what he meant are different things. I think he was comparing Kaci to his younger self and as an all time great. Which is true, he isn't an all time great yet but her is very good. It just came out wrong.
As for mental illnesses and him getting worse with age I would have to agree he wasn't nearly this bad in his younger days. I think the decline in pool and personal things outside pool have really beat him down over the years. As a result he can be really bitter and unsporting. Sometimes he is just misunderstood even if he is right about alot of things

Was it warmer on Kaci's side of the room. Does an un-level table only roll bad when he is standing next to it? And if all of that isn't enough it's the ultimate boogie man...bad luck was against him.
 

jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
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I believe the 14 year old kid was Landon Shuffet.

He was 18 at the time of that match. Earl had boasted prior the match that NO ONE could beat him on a 10' table, and then Landon really cleaned his clock, soundly defeating him and outplaying him in all aspects of the game.
 

jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
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I will never forget that match. It was when I had started play pool again, after about a twenty year lay off. I had been reading about what an a$$hole Earl was. Watching that match it was like watching a dream. Earl was so nice to the Kid while he was getting the crap beat out of him.

I was sitting right by the table for the entire match, out of necessity. Earl knew he had to behave or get penalized. I let him know early on that he could not talk while his opponent was at the table, period! He still yammered away while he (Earl) was shooting though. Landon kept his cool throughout the match! That really impressed me, almost as much as how good he played.
 

marek

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I vehemently disagree.

Just because Shane makes a decent living, he is in the minority, extreme minority.

It is not possible to earn a living in American pool. Pro players are banned or must provide a ridiculous handicap in American regional events.

You must either win, place, or show to break even due to the expenses of travel, hotels, food, et cetera. The payouts of most pool events are the same in USA as they were in the 1960s, yet the cost of living has gone up at least five or six times more. In the '60s, a gallon of gas cost 30 cents, as an example.

It has nothing to do with players wasting their earnings. Pool players are always stuck in their income because you cannot come in first, second, and third place in every single event you go to. Even when you win, you're still stuck big time.

Well it was you who used the phrase "when you're the best out there"
. And Earl was THE best player for many years. Had he spent his earnings more wisely he wouldnt be a bitter man he is now...
 

Z-Nole

AzB Silver Member
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Those that bash Earl, would call a foul on a guy in a wheel chair for not having one foot on the floor.

I disagree. I don't know too many people with mental illness but I do know one very well. The difference between her and Earl is afterwards she is well aware of her actions, why people might have been offended and she shows some level of remorse and acts accordingly. Earl just doubles down because he's an a hole.

So basically there are some really good people in this world that are unfortunate enough to have mental illnesses.

There's also a bunch of jerk offs with mental illnesses. It's easy to tell which group Earl falls in.
 

jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
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Well it was you who used the phrase "when you're the best out there"
. And Earl was THE best player for many years. Had he spent his earnings more wisely he wouldnt be a bitter man he is now...

This is closer to the truth. When Earl actually was "the best" player in the world, he was earning substantial income for that period of time (late 80's to early 90's), often in excess of 300K a year. Like so many athletes we see today who blow their fortunes on bad choices, Earl (and his wife) lived beyond their means and when his abilities began to waver he had nothing to fall back on. That's the long and short of it.
 

JAM

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Was it warmer on Kaci's side of the room. Does an un-level table only roll bad when he is standing next to it? And if all of that isn't enough it's the ultimate boogie man...bad luck was against him.

Everybody was freezing in that room. Alex Pagulayan was blowing on his fingers to warm them up so he could shoot pool. The audience was wearing coats.
 

SmokinJoe46

AzB Silver Member
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I guess he can't afford a warm shirt?
58 year old whining like a 4 year old. Eklent Kaci clobbered him.
 

garczar

AzB Silver Member
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I disagree. I don't know too many people with mental illness but I do know one very well. The difference between her and Earl is afterwards she is well aware of her actions, why people might have been offended and she shows some level of remorse and acts accordingly. Earl just doubles down because he's an a hole.

So basically there are some really good people in this world that are unfortunate enough to have mental illnesses.

There's also a bunch of jerk offs with mental illnesses. It's easy to tell which group Earl falls in.
What's really strange is the difference in Earl's on/off table demeanor. I've spent some time around him when he came to Tulsa for Gabe's 1p event. He couldn't be a nicer guy to be around off-table but put a cue in his hand and he is like being around the devil. Like flipping a switch, nice guy-a-hole. Weird.
 

Maniac

2manyQ's
Silver Member
Here's the question that hasn't been asked yet:

Why in the heck was Earl even invited to that tournament in the first place? There is certainly quite a bit more than a handful of American players more deserving.

Maniac
 

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
What! He didn’t melt down on the link provided! He was cool as a cucumber imo.
I was referring to being away from the game not ten seconds after a match. I agree, he was in complete asswipe-mode in the Kaci deal. He did it on ESPN one time after playing, iirc, CJ. He really is a nice guy and a good instructor. When he's in match-mode it gets ugly, quick.
 

thewhiffer

AzB Silver Member
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Rolls are a funny thing. Some, maybe even most, result from a slight miss hit or misjudgement in power. Real rolls tend to even out and when the rolls are going against me I am usually delighted, knowing that they will soon turn in may favor as they even out.

As an interested observer/student of the game, I have noticed that there are several, probably more, world class players that had their skill levels noticeably improve after spending time with Earl. One only has to watch the before Earl and after Earl patterns of Jayson Shaw to see what I mean. It would seem that once you have earned Earl's respect he is generous in the sharing of his knowledge.
 

mikemosconi

AzB Silver Member
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in all sports and events its the eccentric guys that keep the spectators coming back for more. eliminate them and you eliminate your sport.

Well now, that depends on WHAT you want your fan base to look and act like, doesn't it. I never followed a sport because the players were idiots - rather for their skill and professionalism. So if you want Pool to look like the WWWF, or the Circus, then that is what it will be, and continue to go nowhere. Your logic is that you eliminate a sport when you don't have "eccentrics" playing it on a professional level? Glad I at least enjoyed billiards in some wonderful venues such as the Commodore Hotel in NYC; with fans that have your beliefs, it will remain in the caves for now.
 

jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
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Rolls are a funny thing. Some, maybe even most, result from a slight miss hit or misjudgement in power. Real rolls tend to even out and when the rolls are going against me I am usually delighted, knowing that they will soon turn in may favor as they even out.

As an interested observer/student of the game, I have noticed that there are several, probably more, world class players that had their skill levels noticeably improve after spending time with Earl. One only has to watch the before Earl and after Earl patterns of Jayson Shaw to see what I mean. It would seem that once you have earned Earl's respect he is generous in the sharing of his knowledge.

"The good player gets the rolls" and that's one of the tenets of the game. :D
 

JAM

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Bunch of fickle railbirds. Half the naysayers on this thread would be standing in a line for a photo opp or asking for Earl's autograph if they were ever fortunate enough to see him in the flesh.

He won the WPM in 1997 and is a five-time Open champion, just to name a few. Those who say he has no right to be there show no respect to an American living legend. So sad.

Bunch of results pickers in this thread. :angry:
 
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