John Schmidt has beaten Mosconi

Thecoats said:

John had the greatest opponent of all time - he was playing against HISTORY!!!!

What an achievement, I can't even fathom how much concentration it must take to make that many balls without a miss.

Congratulations and well deserved!!!!

-don

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9 Ball Fan said:

I think it's pretty accurate to say that most people play pool to have fun, and not make a 2nd job out of it. You're probably right that they don't want to approach it like a chess grandmaster. They are trying to forget about everything stressful in life, and enjoy a fun pastime. If they are putting anything on the game, it's a few dollars. 8 ball. & 9 ball appeal to these people.

I am well aware that some folks do treat pool like a job, and they take it very seriously. They sometimes have some serious bacon on the line too. But there aren't enough of those people to support a thriving billiards industry. The billiards industry Needs the average Joes to keep pool alive. There is $$$ in volume, and there is a lot more volume at the lower end of the scale.

What's really great for the industry, is when the average Joe decides he needs better cues, and a table at home, and he joins a league, etc. Then he encourages friends and family to get involved. But if a bunch of old timers thumb their noses at him, he may just play golf or start fishing instead of playing pool. The old timers keep their little click going, and the hobby shrinks more day by day.

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ibuycues said:

This feat is absolutely stunning.

Better than a 900 series bowling.
Better than 8 consecutive golf majors........etc.

This is the most amazing pool shooting achievement in many, many decades.

Can you imagine the pressure while shooting #526? Or #527? Or #600?
He will be recognized worldwide for this, written into history, all deserved.
Wow! :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Will Prout

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SlickRick_PCS said:

So let me get back with you on that comment, sjm:

I have to disagree with you, fully. Let me explain why:
In the basic sense of 14.1 Continuous, you have no obstacles you have to contend to; every ball equals to one. One might say that you can just bash the balls and it would be fun to just play any ball you want. As basics advance themselves and runs become a merit of the strength of the player, more tactical techniques must be finely tuned. These techniques include shot making, speed control, kiss shots, carom shots, billiard shots (or as I like to call them, "The 'real' carom shots from Carom Billiards"), clusters, understanding throw combinations, slow-speed spinners (which is SO hard to do, so well), and many more. Then, you can add kicks and banks (which is relatively rare). 14.1 is really a game of sensibilities and control. It is not like a Rotation game, where you're really making the cue-ball travel about the table.

Then after all the tactic techniques have been figured out, you have to strategize on what you have to do in order to continue the high run. "Which ball will be my break ball, my key ball, my K2KB, and it branches out all the way up until the start of the break. 14.1 is the nexus to all the other forms of Pocket Billiards.

One-Pocket?
Basically, it is 14.1 with the emphasis of Bank Pool (or if you really want to get crazy, Italian Billiards), Kicking, Carom Billiards [Cushion Caroms and 3-Cushion] and Chess... with the objective on making 8 balls on the pocket you (or they) picked.

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vjmehra said:

Whilst its tricky to compare I'd say the following:

1) You have opponents in golf majors and bowling (unless its just practice in which case I'd imagine pro's have shot tons of unofficial 900's so I'd agree there).

2) No one will ever win 8 consecutive golf majors (probably), that is levels above almost anything else in sport, it would be insanely difficult.

3) Whilst its impressive, its an exhibition without an opponent. Its a Guinness World Record type achievement, but not really comparable to competitive play (of course the confidence boost from achieving it may have a knock on effect on JS's tournament play)!

I don't think there's a good comparison to other sports and also its pretty difficult to compare an exhibition run (however high profile and difficult) to a tournament situation.

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jrctherake said:

You may be correct when speaking in general but, your comment doesn't hold true cor everyone.

My point:

Most people perform better in practice.

Some people perform better while in competition with a little on the line.

Now, a VERY FEW people, VERY, VERY few.....thrive on pressure. Cant perform at their best without it.

Willie was one of them. John Schmitt is another. There are a "few" other pros today that could probably do it if they stopped everything and committed to it the way John has but they just didn't see the incentive.

After all, it's not like it's a "for sure" thing.....even in practice.

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pt109 said:

There once was a player named Schmidt
Who said “I’m not gonna quit
If everything clicks
I’ll run six twenty six
And the world can try to beat it”

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vjmehra said:

Absolutely, I'm not trying to downplay the achievement, it is clearly a very difficult thing to do, as no-one has done it before! I'm just saying its not really possible to make direct comparisons to other sports (or even pool). For example is a 200 and out in competition more or less impressive (perhaps impressive is the wrong word there, but what would a pro prefer)? Is 11 racks in a row of 9-Ball in competition more or less impressive and so on...

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Patrick Johnson said:

Here's a local news broadcast about the feat (also posted by speedy5963 above) - in it they say the video and witness statements are being submitted to the BCA for certification of the new record. It also has a nice interview with John.

pj
chgo

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efirkey said:

Is John in the Hall of Fame? If not, I would love to see him in there. Between winning an US Open and setting this record along with all the other victories he has I think he should be in the HoF. What is the nomination process? can I nominate him?

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WildWing said:

Not to knock it, but we have a referee in the Hall of Fame. How is this accomplishment not greater?

All the best,
WW

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PoolBum said:

I think he refereed 627 straight matches.

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