2019 WPA World 9 Ball - Qatar
- Thread starter Joe_Jaguar
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Last year, Chang Jung-Lin lost to Shane Van Boening in a quarterfinal match.
The semifinal matches were Biado d. SVB 11-6 and Filler d. Kazakis 11-10.
Correct. Actually one sixth of the rail area or perimeter of the table is pocket, so if two balls go three rails each, that's a total of six rails being contacted. You could now say that the chances of one ball going in are even money. That was a very good observation by you that I'd never thought about before until now.
I have always said that it is far better to simply hit the ball on a kick shot - ANYWHERE! Even if it's a kick where there is little chance of playing safe, just make sure to hit the ball if at all possible,. My observation has been that about half the time you will not leave an easy shot if you simply hit the ball on a kick. You might even get lucky and make something. Trying too hard to do something fancy on a difficult kick shot and giving up BIH is a fatal error.
If the Women’s World Championship has more prize money than the open World Championship then the WPA must take 100% responsibility for an epic #£$~ up. The sponsors and the money are clearly out there. Qatar is mega-rich. Why isn’t it being held in or near to a big shopping mall or five star hotel in Doha where there are entertainment and dining and drinking options for the players and spectators? Why isn’t it on TV? Why isn’t it being promoted properly? Could it be that some Qatari dude who loves pool as a hobby is effectively owning the World Championship by having it played in his backyard, and that someone at or associated with the WPA is getting some kind of kickbacks? This is exactly how it appears to me.
A la 1999, maybe it’s time for Matchroom or somebody else to start a rival Championship but this time snap up other tournaments to a World Professional Pool Association or the like.
A la 1999, maybe it’s time for Matchroom or somebody else to start a rival Championship but this time snap up other tournaments to a World Professional Pool Association or the like.
I’d never thought of it either. But, it’s pretty much what most of us, who have an average to good break, do on the first shot of the game. Put the cueball in our preferred position on the head string, put our preferred action on the cueball, hit the cueball as hard as we can and hope as many balls as possible hit as many rails as possible.
But these tables were NOT hanging balls up, they would rattle and drop, so it made the slop/drop area of the corner pockets, even that much larger.
And that's why even us amateurs make balls on the break probably half the time or more. I was never a great player but I had a strong break for a small man, and it gave me a chance, even against better players. I got a couple of the champions of my era (who will go nameless for now) spot me the five and break. Let's just say I did okay.
New cloth makes a table play at its easiest.....get over it...been like that forever.
When they’re newly covered, they play easy.
...but a lot of those Diamonds come in already covered.
hit the ball
EXACTLY.
The same thing that can be a strength can become a weakness if unbalanced. Someone that shoots straight can hurt themselves shooting at the moon. Similarly someone who kicks well can hurt themselves trying to get too fancy and giving up ball in hand instead of cinching the hit and hoping for a roll (while still choosing a sensible speed and approach).
My first rule of teaching kicks is often my last: HIT THE BALL. Jay said it above so well and this is consistent with my experience. It's spooky how often hitting the ball will win you the game. There are so many bad positions to leave your opponent. Even if you don't kick it in or hook them, you might leave them elevated over a ball, on the rail, or with a horrible flat angle the wrong way for the next ball. If the next ball lays tough it's even a better bet that it will be difficult for them to be able to play good position. Not to mention that if they hooked you well they might be day dreaming about where to put ball in hand, and they can be caught unprepared to face the adversity of shooting from where they end up. Make them shoot from the table bed as opposed to letting them pick up the cue ball.
Most players get discouraged to be in a losing position and just hit and hope. Some go to the other extreme and go to fancy-town and miss the ball that way. Keep it simple. Pick a high percentage hit with a speed that will maximize positive results, and shoot it like any other shot. Of course if it's an easy hit you can start thinking about which side of the ball to hit, how you can best create distance or hooks, etc, but as much as we all want to strive to be like Efren sometimes we have to keep it simple and settle for making contact.
EXACTLY.
The same thing that can be a strength can become a weakness if unbalanced. Someone that shoots straight can hurt themselves shooting at the moon. Similarly someone who kicks well can hurt themselves trying to get too fancy and giving up ball in hand instead of cinching the hit and hoping for a roll (while still choosing a sensible speed and approach).
My first rule of teaching kicks is often my last: HIT THE BALL. Jay said it above so well and this is consistent with my experience. It's spooky how often hitting the ball will win you the game. There are so many bad positions to leave your opponent. Even if you don't kick it in or hook them, you might leave them elevated over a ball, on the rail, or with a horrible flat angle the wrong way for the next ball. If the next ball lays tough it's even a better bet that it will be difficult for them to be able to play good position. Not to mention that if they hooked you well they might be day dreaming about where to put ball in hand, and they can be caught unprepared to face the adversity of shooting from where they end up. Make them shoot from the table bed as opposed to letting them pick up the cue ball.
Most players get discouraged to be in a losing position and just hit and hope. Some go to the other extreme and go to fancy-town and miss the ball that way. Keep it simple. Pick a high percentage hit with a speed that will maximize positive results, and shoot it like any other shot. Of course if it's an easy hit you can start thinking about which side of the ball to hit, how you can best create distance or hooks, etc, but as much as we all want to strive to be like Efren sometimes we have to keep it simple and settle for making contact.
I hope Fedor wins. Just wanna see him get a huge major win to start the year off.
IMO, too many people go for kicks that they have a very low percentage of hitting or getting the outcome they want, even should they hit the ball.
If the odds are that I'm going to miss the object ball entirely or leave a "gimme shot", I'm going to take an intentional foul and tie some balls up. You may beat me anyway, but you more than likely aren't going to do it by running out on me from the position I leave the balls in.
Last year it paid $50,000 to the winner.
Here are the first-places prizes (in $thousands) and the winners for the men's (open) WPA World 9-Ball Championship:
2018 -- 40 Filler
2017 -- 40 Biado
2016 -- 40 Ouschan
2015 -- 30 Ko P-Y
2014 -- 30 Feijen
2013 -- 36 Hohmann
2012 -- 40 Appleton
2011 -- 36 Akagariyama
2010 -- 36 Bustamante
2009 -- not played
2008 -- not played
2007 -- 100 Peach
2006 -- 100 Alcano
2005 -- 75 Wu
2004 -- 75 Pagulayan
2003 -- 65 Hohmann
2002 -- 65 Strickland
2001 -- 65 Immonen
2000 -- 60 Chao
1999 -- ? Reyes and Varner (2 events)
[Source: AzB database]
If I remember correctly last year it was 40k first place.
Anyway they are good at getting what they want at the cost of majority of the players who come there for the title in a first place.
that's exactly how it is. the emir, or whatever his title is, likes the prestige in sports and has a little collection. FIFA world champs 2022 will be the cherry on the cake. enormously impopular among football (soccer) fans. some years ago they bought the handball world champs, equally impopular among its fans. in that event they bought their team (by naturalizing foreign top players), bought fans from spain which they flew in to cheer for qatar, and the referees, well let's just say they were not impartial whenever qatar played. qatar reached the final.
sorry for going NPR but it's an absurd little islamic dictatorship with a fetisch for sports.
Looks like both semi-finals are streaming now.
Chang vs. Haitao
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1QA9LPB2y8
Ko-Ping Chung vs. Gorst
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKvfp7QaA4s
Chang vs. Haitao
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1QA9LPB2y8
Ko-Ping Chung vs. Gorst
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKvfp7QaA4s