I have entered this event and am practicing at the venue whenever I have time to go. I'll be driving out there today to practice for about 6 hours. This venue is a commercial event hall and office space which still needs quite a lot of work; there are some unfinished rooms which still need paint and plaster over the drywall.
The tournament is being thrownby the folks at Joy tables in China and the distributors of Joy tables in the US who also, rent or own a couple of the offices in this building. As far as I can tell, the promotors here in the U.S. are not fully organized yet and I get the feeling that a 'big boss' is going to roll through any day now to get some people in gear. So far, the venue has 3 beautiful Joy tables set up which entrants can practice on, all day for $20 per day (opens at 9:30PM - 9:00PM). Incidentally today, I'm meeting Tang Hoa there who, will decide if he wants to enter after he sniffs a few asses.
Why am I supporting/playing this tournament?
Seriously, when I first picked up a cue at the age of 5 years old, I played snooker for 2 years until moving to the USA at age 7. I really like the infusion of the 'snooker' discipline of play with American pool. The pockets are 3.54" wide but with rounded facings so, they are not as tough as you'd think because all you need to do is aim for the outside of the pocket and it should mostly accept your shot. Playing 8 ball on any 9 foot table is challenging but with the snooker style cloth and pockets, some dynamics of the game do change a little. Mastering the break and keeping your balls away from the rails play a big factor in each rack. Most of the top players are expected to break and run every rack because frankly the tables are hard enough that, when you get into a safety battle, it really can be a coin toss.
I also really want to start playing more instead of always streaming (Albeit, the proposal to stream this event has been brought to my attention and I'm considering it). Since this is a non-U.S. organized tournament and I have no affiliations with the organizers I, feel more comfortable focusing on my game and less on small talk with players all the time. Most of the field is already filled with locals from the 'Embassy Club' in the San Gabriel Valley which is a well known snooker hall. However, I have to say that, after a full day of practice at the venue, I'm not really that worried about the people I've met so far. That doesn't mean that I have a chance in hell of winning this thing... I will have to practice hard if I want to do that. I'm pretty sure the monsters will come out of the woodwork very soon (Tang Hoa being one of them).
So far as I know, Alex and Shane are confirmed and so are a few champs from China; I also hear that it's possible the current world champion, Gareth Potts will be appearing but not sure... I honestly can't trust my sources until the anticipated 'big boss' rolls through.
Keep Loving Pool!
