2016 AZB Ghost Challenge - Official Thread

[victorl]

2015 Challenge Thread

It's a new year and a good time to start fresh, so let's keep this thread going with results and videos! I've simplified things a little so we'll just have 8,9 and 10 ball (for now). We'll have a ranking going like last year and all skills and levels are welcome, and for everyone who did it last year, you can take on your old self and improve on your best scores.
(Rules have been changed slightly to make them more challenging than last year, so please read them in the second post of this thread)


Standard Version (Ball-in-Hand After Break)

8-Ball Ghost Ranking
7-0 W (100%), Side Pocket, 03/01/16, 10' Brunswick, 4.5", video, post ( 7-1)
5-7 L (42%), victorl, 01/05/16, 9' GC, 4.5", post

9-Ball Ghost Ranking
7-0 W (100%), Side Pocket, 01/14/16, 10' Brunswick, 4.5", video, post
7-3 W (70%), classicjay17, 04/11/16, AMF Grand Prix, 5",video, post
7-3 W (70%), iusedtoberich, 03/09/16, 9' GC4, 5",post ( 7-6)
7-3 W (70%), TATE, 01/24/16, 9' Brunswick, 4", video, post (7-4)
7-4 W (64%), Player, 03/08/16, 7' Valley, post
7-4 W (64%), beiberlvr, 01/17/16, 8' Brunswick, 5", video, post (7-6, 6-7)
7-5 W (58%), peppersauce, 01/06/16, 9' GC, 4.25",video, post
7-6 W (54%), victorl, 01/04/16, 9' GC, 4.5", post
5-7 L (42%), Poolforlife, 02/11/16, 9' Gabriel, 4.25", video,post
3-7 L (30%), AlienObserver, 03/24/16, 9' Sivissidis Olympic Pro Tour Edition, post

10-Ball Ghost Ranking
7-0 W (100%), Side Pocket, 05/06/16, 10' Brunswick, 4.5", video, post
7-1 W (88%), BasementDweller, 03/14/16, 9' Table, 4.5", video, post (9-7)
9-2 W (82%), Side Pocket, 04/11/16, 10' Brunswick, 4.5", video, post
7-6 W (54%), classicjay17, 05/03/16, AMF Grand Prix, 5",video, post
7-6 W (54%), peppersauce, 01/27/16, 9' GC, 4.25",video, post


Pro Version (No Ball-in-Hand After Break)

8-Ball Ghost Ranking
7-0 W (100%), Side Pocket, 06/17/16, 10' Brunswick, 4.5", video, post (7-1)
2-7 L (22%), Player, 01/05/16, 7' Valley, post

9-Ball Ghost Ranking
7-3 W (70%), Side Pocket, 05/03/16, 10' Brunswick, 4.5", video, post
5-7 L (42%), Poolmanis, 01/19/16, 9' Sam, video, post

10-Ball Ghost Ranking
7-5 W (54%), Poolmanis, 02/21/16, 9' Sam, video, post

 

[victorl]

GHOST CHALLENGE RULES:
(Rules in bold are different from last year)

Race to 7 (or more if you like)
Break, take ball in hand and try to run out
9-ball rules (hit lowest ball first, flukes count)
Runout or early 9-ball (combo/carom) is a win for you
Miss or foul is a win for the ghost
Cue ball fouls only
9 ball on the break OR on the BIH shot after the break - not a win, the 9 spots up
Break scratch - all balls made spot up on the foot spot, take ball in hand and continue
No restrictions on racking (magic rack, pattern racking are okay)

8-ball - take BIH from the kitchen after breaking
10-ball - Call shot, flukes don't count

Pro version - No BIH after break, break scratch is a loss of game

Video uploads are not required to participate, but encouraged if you have the means to do so.

Please post your score (you-ghost), date, table size/pocket size, and a link to your video (optional). Happy shooting!

Scores are listed in the main post with the information below:
Score (Win%), Member Name, Date, Table Type, Pocket Size, Video Link, Post Link (Past Scores)

 

[Player]

Tried the Pro version 8 ball today. Lost 2 to 7.

Worst part is I won the first 2 and then lost 7.

1/5/16
7' Valley Bar Box

 

[victorl]

Tried the Pro version 8 ball today. Lost 2 to 7.

Worst part is I won the first 2 and then lost 7.

1/5/16
7' Valley Bar Box

Thanks Player. I've had so many of those games where you get a huge lead and then the ghost makes a huge comeback to win it. The guy's got no quit in him!

I played a few games (sorry, no video) against the ghost, best results were a 7-6 win in standard 9-ball and 5-7 loss in standard 8 on a 9' GC.

 

[BeiberLvr]

Played 2 sets of 9 Ball Standard on Sunday.

Lost 6-7 (was down 3-6 at one point)

Lost 5-7

 

[victorl]

Played 2 sets of 9 Ball Standard on Sunday.

Lost 6-7 (was down 3-6 at one point)

Lost 5-7

Thanks, btw you still playing the same 8' Brunswick table?

 

[peppersauce]

...............

 

[BeiberLvr]

Thanks, btw you still playing the same 8' Brunswick table?

Yes ///////////////

 

[victorl]

7-5 win against the 9-ball ghost. 9' GC. 4 1/4" pockets.

This was the 5th set I've tried the 9-ball ghost on this table. I lost 0-7 and 1-7 the other day and 1-7, 1-7 today before I finally squeaked out a win.. I got quite lucky. Got my fair share of rolls and a few balls wobbled and fell that really surprised me.

I have the vid, but I'm going to try editing it a little. I'm going to try to cut all the dead space out between shots and see if I can figure out how to play the vid at 2 or 3x normal speed while racking, like Dave and iusedtoberich have done. I'll post it later.

Awesome, let me know how the editing goes and what program you used... I'd like to try it as well.

 

[victorl]

Took on the Pro 9-Ball ghost today. Cheated a little by using a magic rack and pattern racking and still got destroyed (7-1, 7-0, 7-3, 7-1).

 

[Scott Brazier]

Took on the Pro 9-Ball ghost today. Cheated a little by using a magic rack and pattern racking and still got destroyed (7-1, 7-0, 7-3, 7-1).

Using the magic rack is not cheating. At the US Open everyone used the magic rack and when racking we could pattern rack but the 2 ball had to be at the very bottom of the rack like the 1 ball at the top.

 

[peppersauce]

...............

 

[victorl]

7-5 win 9-ball ghost

https://youtu.be/UHtmts2sV-s

I thought the quality was pretty good and the editing makes it a lot easier to watch.
I'm itching to do some filming too but I made the mistake of lending my camera to someone and have yet to get it back...

Another thing I've been thinking about doing is also counting how many balls I make in each game so I can get an average of balls made per rack. I think it would be a more accurate way to measure improvement than just wins and losses.

 

[Scott Brazier]

Okay brothers. I'll put some time in this weekend and hope to post a 7-0 victory. Good luck to everyone this year and keep posting your results, we all look forward to them.

 

[victorl]

I'll put some time in this weekend and hope to post a 7-0 victory.

Well that 's something not many people can say... And you're doing it on a 10' table!

 

[Player]

7-5 win 9-ball ghost

https://youtu.be/UHtmts2sV-s

I went ahead and muted the audio before uploading because of the music playing in the background. I thought it would be easier that way, since the YouTube bots would just mute it or block the vid anyway.

The editing was ok. I cut some of the dead space out, added some captions on the break with the score in the upper left corner of the screen, and wound up playing the vid at 8x normal speed between racks. 2 and 3x normal speed was still too slow, imo. I used Windows Live Movie Maker just because it's what I have handy. The program is laid out kind of like Microsoft Word. I've tried to use it with other vids that I recorded on my iPhone before, but the file format wasn't compatible and I don't know anything about changing file types or how to make it work. I'm not too tech savvy.

The video quality kind of sucks. I just moved and, while rummaging through boxes, I found an old video camera I bought 9 or so years ago. The camera still works great and the video files can be uploaded straight into Movie Maker to edit. Unfortunately, this is the highest quality video the camera is capable of recording. One of these days I'll upgrade to something HD but for now this is ok. It's kind of annoying sometimes trying to tell what ball is what though, lol.

Really nice shooting there peppersauce! I thought the video was first class too. Enjoyed watching, Thanks

 

[BeiberLvr]

Won today 7-6. It really should have been 7-4, but I got a couple bad breaks after I got on the hill. Probably due to nerves.

In any case it gives me the motivation to go for a better score. I will post a shut out by the end of the year.

Video https://youtu.be/R6SfOJi-NGE

 

[victorl]

Won today 7-6. It really should have been 7-4, but I got a couple bad breaks after I got on the hill. Probably due to nerves.

In any case it gives me the motivation to go for a better score. I will post a shut out by the end of the year.

Video https://youtu.be/R6SfOJi-NGE

Nice win! I tried to watch your vid, but it seems to be unavailable for some reason..

 

[BeiberLvr]

Nice win! I tried to watch your vid, but it seems to be unavailable for some reason..

Copy right. Stupid jukebox

 

[TATE]

Beat the 9 ball ghost 7-4 on my 9' Brunswick, 4" pockets. I was behind 3-4 and ran 4 games out.

I'll post the video at some stage. Those 4" pockets were brutal.