Thought I'd share my last bunch of balls from the Cohen match, which was anything but a conventional pattern. Sometimes you have to take what you get. 10-page diagram below...
In the first diagram, I've gotten out of line in my end rack and plan to bail out with a side pocket breakshot using the 14. I plan to hit the 15 and slide across table to shoot the 1. There's a decent margin of error here, as I can get straight on the 1, or have an angle going to the rail. As long as I don't go too far or wildly short from the 15, it's a workable position.
I went wildly short unfortunately (diagram 2). Now I really have to bail out and play the 14 first. I thought there was a minute chance that I could stun over, miss the 1, and now use the 1 in the same way I planned to use the 14. As you'll see, I bumped the 1 and now I'm in a bad spot (diagram 4).
In diagram 5, you'll see where I got on the breakshot. Not good at all, and the diagram is unfortunately a bit misleading - I was closer to the object ball than it looks, and shooting the 1 in the upper right corner (as seen on the screen) was not a viable option.
Anyway, anyone who is familiar with my game knows I kind of like the shot I end up playing. It's a great shot to know when you're really stuck with very little at the end of a rack. This isn't my usual application of the shot, but it's the same concept. I never even considered not shooting the shot, even though Cohen only needed 50 more balls. A champion like him, with his back to the wall, would take any opportunity I give him from there and run out. I feel that's a certainty. I also felt that, as long as I put all my focus on making the ball, even if I missed the rack it wouldn't be death. So I started taking practice strokes, gearing myself up for the shot, and it just felt right. Most of all, my confidence on this particular shot really helped me feel comfortable. I also knew the only way to get the right action on the cueball is to blast the shot, which would at least make it entertaining one way or another
.
I hit the rack completely square at about a million miles per hour, but amazingly, only a few balls really escaped the rack area. The cueball bounced off the rack, went to the side rail, and landed where I show in diagram 7. I was exhilarated by the reaction of the crowd, but I made sure to calm myself down before shooting my next shot. I simply refused to not get out from this spot, even though I still needed about 5 more balls. So I carefully took my time and eventually played the 15 at a good speed, to make sure to disturb the rack entirely.
I landed all the way down table and had a few shots, but none of them was super easy. I saw the combination on the 8/11 in diagram 9, but it wasn't dead. I believe it was aimed to about point A on the short rail. For whatever reason, I felt it was my time to win such a big match, and I felt very relaxed as I shot the combination perfectly into the hole. A nice benefit to the shot was that I was able to basically stop the cueball, while I had the wide open rack to choose from next.
I counted the balls on the table about 50 times in my head, to make sure I knew how many I still had to make. At this point, playing all-ball-fouls is brutal, because I'm thinking to myself that the only way I can screw this up is to start fouling balls all over the place, but somehow I held it together enough to not touch anything I wasn't supposed to.
Anyway, was a fun way to end the match so I figured I'd post it. More to come later...
- Steve
In the first diagram, I've gotten out of line in my end rack and plan to bail out with a side pocket breakshot using the 14. I plan to hit the 15 and slide across table to shoot the 1. There's a decent margin of error here, as I can get straight on the 1, or have an angle going to the rail. As long as I don't go too far or wildly short from the 15, it's a workable position.
I went wildly short unfortunately (diagram 2). Now I really have to bail out and play the 14 first. I thought there was a minute chance that I could stun over, miss the 1, and now use the 1 in the same way I planned to use the 14. As you'll see, I bumped the 1 and now I'm in a bad spot (diagram 4).
In diagram 5, you'll see where I got on the breakshot. Not good at all, and the diagram is unfortunately a bit misleading - I was closer to the object ball than it looks, and shooting the 1 in the upper right corner (as seen on the screen) was not a viable option.
Anyway, anyone who is familiar with my game knows I kind of like the shot I end up playing. It's a great shot to know when you're really stuck with very little at the end of a rack. This isn't my usual application of the shot, but it's the same concept. I never even considered not shooting the shot, even though Cohen only needed 50 more balls. A champion like him, with his back to the wall, would take any opportunity I give him from there and run out. I feel that's a certainty. I also felt that, as long as I put all my focus on making the ball, even if I missed the rack it wouldn't be death. So I started taking practice strokes, gearing myself up for the shot, and it just felt right. Most of all, my confidence on this particular shot really helped me feel comfortable. I also knew the only way to get the right action on the cueball is to blast the shot, which would at least make it entertaining one way or another
.I hit the rack completely square at about a million miles per hour, but amazingly, only a few balls really escaped the rack area. The cueball bounced off the rack, went to the side rail, and landed where I show in diagram 7. I was exhilarated by the reaction of the crowd, but I made sure to calm myself down before shooting my next shot. I simply refused to not get out from this spot, even though I still needed about 5 more balls. So I carefully took my time and eventually played the 15 at a good speed, to make sure to disturb the rack entirely.
I landed all the way down table and had a few shots, but none of them was super easy. I saw the combination on the 8/11 in diagram 9, but it wasn't dead. I believe it was aimed to about point A on the short rail. For whatever reason, I felt it was my time to win such a big match, and I felt very relaxed as I shot the combination perfectly into the hole. A nice benefit to the shot was that I was able to basically stop the cueball, while I had the wide open rack to choose from next.
I counted the balls on the table about 50 times in my head, to make sure I knew how many I still had to make. At this point, playing all-ball-fouls is brutal, because I'm thinking to myself that the only way I can screw this up is to start fouling balls all over the place, but somehow I held it together enough to not touch anything I wasn't supposed to.
Anyway, was a fun way to end the match so I figured I'd post it. More to come later...
- Steve
