1st Round Bracket Picks

[sjm]

I'm always surprised when someone does not pick Manalo to advance past Group 4. I just take it that the person is ignorant of Manalo, since he is still a relative newbie in the pool world (regardless of the fact he made it to the top 8 [i think] the last two world 9ball championships and placed runner up in last year's world 8ball championships). But I would have never expected you SJM not to pick him. You're more knowledgable here than any of us. Impart on us some of your wisdom and please explain why don't think he'd get passed Jeremy Jones and Tony Robles (okay, i can understand why you think he won't get passed hohmann, but the other two?). Thanks.

Sorry I didn't reply sooner. This group is supertough to pick. My very high opinion of Hohmann is well known among the AZB regulars, but I must agree that choosing among Manalo, Jones and Robles was no easy task.

My second chocie was Robles. Count me among those who see a close relationship between straight pool and eight ball, both requiring self designed patterns and careful planning for the last couple of balls of any runout. The case for Robles, in my opinion, is his incredible pedigree in straight pool. He and John Schmidt, I believe, are America's two greatest straight poolers. In addition, Tony is very experienced playing eight ball and knows the moves.

Choosing between Manalo and Jones was, more or less, a coin toss. Jeremy has the pedigree and has shown great abilities as a all-around player who plays all the games well. He has played well under pressure, finding his top form in the (2003?) US Open final and played well to close out the Mosconi Cup in 2003 with only one match remaining. More recently, Jeremy knocked out both Kawabata and Owen in the knockout stages of the 2005 WPC. Manalo is certainly a great player, too, but Jeremy seems to have the perfect blend of power and finesse to succeed on the IPT. If Manalo plays at his top form, he seems certain to get through, but I'll stick with my original picks.

Finally, I'm no more qualified to make predictions here than anyone else. We're all just taking a stab at what will happen.

 

[CebuanoNiNoy]

For fun, this is my pick.

Group 1:

Jose Parica
Johnny Archer
Kim Davenport OR Nick Van den Berg (1st & 2nd pick respectively)

Group 2:

Francisco Bustamante
Allen Hopkins
Neils Fiejen

Group 3:

Mika Immonen
John Schmidt
Corey Deuel OR Earl Strickland (1st & 2nd pick respectively)

Group 4: (This is a toughie!)

Marlon Manalo
Thorsten Hohmann
Rodney Morris OR Jeremy Jones (1st & 2nd pick respectively)

Group 5: (So is this one.)

Gabe Owen
Shawn Putnam
Keith McCready OR Ralf Souquet (1st & 2nd pick respectively)

I do not claim to be an expert on this one.
This is just for fun and see how i fare later on

 

[lewdo26]

So who do you all like being the top 3 from each group?

I might as well throw my picks out to start. *Through* means I figure they progress to the next round.

Group 1:
Karen Corr
Jose Parica
Kim Davenport *Through*
Nick Van den Berg *Through*
Grady Matthews
Johnny Archer *Through*

Group 2:
Allison Fisher
Francisco Bustamante *Through*
Raj Hundal
Allen Hopkins *Through*
Neils Fiejen *Through*
Ronnie O'Sullivan

Group 3:
Gerda Hofstatter
Corey Deuel *Through*
Earl Strickland
Mika Immonen *Through*
John Schmidt *Through*
Bill Incardona

Group 4:
Helena Thorfeldt
Marlon Manalo *Through*
Jeremy Jones *Through*
Tony Robles
Rodney Morris
Thorsten Hohmann *Through*

Group 5:
Shawn Putnam *Through*
Charlie Williams
Keith McCready
Ralf Souquet *Through*
Gabe Owen *Through*
George San Souci

My picks are virtually the same as Celtic's, *except* I'm as confident as confident can be that Parica will make it through (in lieu of Kim Davenport). Kind of tough to leave Tony out since I know he's always had his 8 ball down pat, but he's in the toughest group with the possible exception of group 3.

 

[SPetty]

Would you guys stop picking Ronnie O'Sullivan for qualifying from Group 2. He has admitted himself that his 8 Ball game is awful at the moment and that he fully expects to have a few lessons dished out to him in his first IPT event.

Well that, and word is that he's not even playing in this tournament. I emailed Deno days ago about who's replacing him, but have received no answer. Maybe rackmsuckr would have better results with asking him since he seems responsive to her?

 

[Cornerman]

My personal opinion is that Raj Hundal will qualify



Nick Van den Berg (may cause a few shocks to the American players and fans!)
.

I'm with you on these two. I was very impressed with both Van den Berg (whom I think I've seen play before), and extremely impressed with Hundal (whom I've never seen play before).

Fred

 

[The Baby's Arm]

The females have NO CHANCE

For all of you people picking Allison and Karen, they have absolutely NO Chance. How in the world can you pick them when they can get a spot from any man on tour and most of the guys just below the tour? Bruce or Stevie could give them the 8 and shove it in 9 ball, and its probably more skewed in 8 ball.

 

[jjinfla]

I'm always surprised when someone does not pick Manalo to advance past Group 4. I just take it that the person is ignorant of Manalo, since he is still a relative newbie in the pool world (regardless of the fact he made it to the top 8 [i think] the last two world 9ball championships and placed runner up in last year's world 8ball championships). But I would have never expected you SJM not to pick him. You're more knowledgable here than any of us. Impart on us some of your wisdom and please explain why don't think he'd get passed Jeremy Jones and Tony Robles (okay, i can understand why you think he won't get passed hohmann, but the other two?). Thanks.

Until recently I never heard of him. He won a tournament recently and now all of a sudden he is the greatest. But Hohman, Morris and Jones have won many tournaments and are all seasoned players. But at the level that they all play it will just come down to whomever is playing their best on that day.

 

[lewdo26]

My personal opinion is that Raj Hundal will qualify from group 2 quite easily.

He looks to me like one of these 9 ball young sharp-shooters... too much english, too fast, not enought thought. Makes positional mistakes that most your shortstops won't make. I'd be really surprised to see him do well in 8 ball in this field unless the tables are breaking very easy. NOT my kind of player.

 

[sjm]

He looks to me like one of these 9 ball young sharp-shooters... too much english, too fast, not enought thought. Makes positional mistakes that most your shortstops won't make. I'd be really surprised to see him do well in 8 ball in this field unless the tables are breaking very easy. NOT my kind of player.

Same here. Hundal is an explosive player and a great pocketer, so he's always got a shot. I went to the World Summit and watched Hundal play quite a bit. He'd recently won the World Pool Masters (a sixteen player invitational with a strong field) and I really expected to be impressed when I watched him.

Neither his decision making nor his execution impressed me in the World Summit. I'll admit it's possible I caught him when he was a little off, but based on what I saw, he's got a long way to go if he ever wants to be counted among the game's most elite. Seems like a quality guy, just the type you'd like to see succeed, and I wish him every possible success.

 

[rackmsuckr]

Well that, and word is that he's not even playing in this tournament. I emailed Deno days ago about who's replacing him, but have received no answer. Maybe rackmsuckr would have better results with asking him since he seems responsive to her?

Don't count on it. I keep bugging him and the response is always going to be, wait for the email or website info. Sorry, I have absolutely no pull. lol. However, for those that don't get the emails, I will try to catch pertinent info and post as soon as I can.

 

[12squared]

Manalo is NOT "All of a Sudden"!

Until recently I never heard of him. He won a tournament recently and now all of a sudden he is the greatest. But Hohman, Morris and Jones have won many tournaments and are all seasoned players. But at the level that they all play it will just come down to whomever is playing their best on that day.

Hi jjinfla,

Just to let you know, Manalo is not a "new' player...only in the USA.

First, he won a gold medal in a world snooker tournament, which Buddy Hall happened to represent the USA in the 9-ball event that year, so I guess he can play. I only mention this because of the high regard this board has for the talents and "potting" ability of the top snooker players.

Second, I also witnessed him win the 1st 9-ball tourney he entered in the USA (Reno) this past summer undefeated (during which he beat Tony Chohan playing for a few sheckles giving a spot); he then went on to Sacramento and won the 9-ball event there (2nd USA tournament he entered) and to top it off, he also won the 10-ball ring game in Sacramento. That's a pretty good trifecta if you ask me. This in addition to all the world tournaments he's done well in that were listed previously. NOTE: In fairness, some world tournament was going on the same time as Reno so the very top players weren't in attandance, but there were plenty of champions: Gabe, Kid D, Parica, etc.

I'm not saying he's the greatest, but he has a darn good chance of finishing high in the end, not just his bracket. He has proven to play ALL games at a very high level. The man can flat out play.

Just my opinion, Dave

 

[PoolBum]

Ok, I'll take a shot--here are my picks:

Group 1:
Corr
Parica
Archer

Group 2:
Fisher
Bustamante
Fiejen

Group 3:
Deuel
Strickland
Immonen

Group 4: (The toughest group IMO)
Manalo
Jones
Hohmann

Group 5:
Williams
Souquet
Owen

 

[JAM]

Just to let you know, Manalo is not a "new' player...only in the USA....

I got a chance to chat with Marlon Manalo at the Skins Billiards Championship. Marlon owns a pool room in the Philippines. He's only 29 years old and has the maturity of a seasoned player. He told me that he started playing pool "seriously" in 2003, though he has been shooting pool for his entire life, and he's single. I found him to be friendly and very polite.

JAM

 

[TheOne]

Hi jjinfla,

Just to let you know, Manalo is not a "new' player...only in the USA.

First, he won a gold medal in a world snooker tournament, which Buddy Hall happened to represent the USA in the 9-ball event that year, so I guess he can play. I only mention this because of the high regard this board has for the talents and "potting" ability of the top snooker players.

Second, I also witnessed him win the 1st 9-ball tourney he entered in the USA (Reno) this past summer undefeated (during which he beat Tony Chohan playing for a few sheckles giving a spot); he then went on to Sacramento and won the 9-ball event there (2nd USA tournament he entered) and to top it off, he also won the 10-ball ring game in Sacramento. That's a pretty good trifecta if you ask me. This in addition to all the world tournaments he's done well in that were listed previously. NOTE: In fairness, some world tournament was going on the same time as Reno so the very top players weren't in attandance, but there were plenty of champions: Gabe, Kid D, Parica, etc.

I'm not saying he's the greatest, but he has a darn good chance of finishing high in the end, not just his bracket. He has proven to play ALL games at a very high level. The man can flat out play.

Just my opinion, Dave

Tap Tap

 

[Celtic]

Just to let you know, Manalo is not a "new' player...only in the USA.

If a person started playing pool seriously only in 2003 as JAM says Marlon himself told her that would qualify him as a fairly "new" player IMHO.

 

[12squared]

True, but...

If a person started playing pool seriously only in 2003 as JAM says Marlon himself told her that would qualify him as a fairly "new" player IMHO.

This may be true, but I believe he may have meant that he got serious about pool vs. snooker in 2003. It was Buddy hall who told me of Manalo's world snooker gold medal...not sure what year. But if you look up when Buddy represented the USA in 9-ball, it would be that same year. (Note: I'm not great friends w/Buddy but I did sped some time with him in Reno-I don't want you to get the wrong idea & I'm typically not a name dropper but I wanted you to know the source).

After watching him play, I guarantee no one would consider him a new player. He has it all: makes everything; great position play; kicks like a mule; and very smart with his safety choices; all with great speed...and he'll bet it up.

Just wanted to clarify what I saw in person for 2 weeks.

Dave

 

[sjm]

Who cares about experience? Marlon has already shown he's got the juice. A 5th place finish at this year's BCA Open and a 3rd place finish at this year's WPC confirm that he's got the pedigree to go very deep in events having very tough fields.

 

[Colin Colenso]

If a person started playing pool seriously only in 2003 as JAM says Marlon himself told her that would qualify him as a fairly "new" player IMHO.

One man's not-serious is another's dedicated.

As a snooker pro, it's possible Marlon has been putting in 6 hours a day most days for 10 years or more. He may well have been bashing balls around on a pool table 5+ hours a week for 15 years as well.

So we might presume he has been near pro-level as a pool player for many years, but just decided to start doing the travelling, to commit to the sport professionally.

I'm speculating, but this wouldn't suprise me. He does appear to have burst on the scene, but I suspect his pool has been close to top pro player levels for years. He may have spent more hours on pool tables than some long time pros over the last 8 years.

I remember being told that some US pro players only practice a couple of times a week and for just 2 or 3 hours at a time.

Ralf Souquet told me he doesn't practice much. Too busy travelling and gets enough competition to keep sharp.

Just some random thoughts

 

[rackmsuckr]

One man's not-serious is another's dedicated.

As a snooker pro, it's possible Marlon has been putting in 6 hours a day most days for 10 years or more. He may well have been bashing balls around on a pool table 5+ hours a week for 15 years as well.

So we might presume he has been near pro-level as a pool player for many years, but just decided to start doing the travelling, to commit to the sport professionally.

I'm speculating, but this wouldn't suprise me. He does appear to have burst on the scene, but I suspect his pool has been close to top pro player levels for years. He may have spent more hours on pool tables than some long time pros over the last 8 years.

I remember being told that some US pro players only practice a couple of times a week and for just 2 or 3 hours at a time.

Ralf Souquet told me he doesn't practice much. Too busy travelling and gets enough competition to keep sharp.

Just some random thoughts

I've been told there are at least 10 more Philippinos who can beat Santos, but they can't get out of their country!

 

[Cornerman]

Sorry I didn't reply sooner. This group is supertough to pick. My very high opinion of Hohmann is well known among the AZB regulars, but I must agree that choosing among Manalo, Jones and Robles was no easy task.

My second chocie was Robles. Count me among those who see a close relationship between straight pool and eight ball, both requiring self designed patterns and careful planning for the last couple of balls of any runout.

Choosing between Manalo and Jones was, more or less, a coin toss. Jeremy

Just as an FYI, in case you didn't know since you didn't mention it, Manalo won the most recent professional 14.1 tournament in New Jersey just a couple of months ago.

Fred