Alex a Living Legend

sjm

sjm

Older and Wiser
Silver Member
In an AZ thread in May, I wrote:

sjm said:
Among today's stars, only Efren, Francisco, Earl, and Archer have the playing resumes to be considered the best by anybody.

Potential is nice, but in the end only sustained excellence makes you one of the elite. On the fringe of greatness is the puzzling Pagulayan, but his impressive record and undeniable excellence are tainted by his failure to capture the game's most prestigious titles. Still, Alex remains the most logical choice to be the next to be counted among the legends of the game.
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I saw it coming. On July 3, a week before the WPC, I posted my prediction in an AZ thread as follows::

sjm said:
1. Pagulayan
2. Strickland
3. Immonen
4. Yang
5. Bustamante

I really believe that Alex's time has arrived.
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Not real proud of my other four picks, but I got the winner right, as did many others on this forum.

Anyway, I'll be true true to my word and proclaim Alex to be one nine-balls all time greats. Alex is now a living legend.

Well played, Alex.
 
satman said:
I had picked Alex and Efren in the finals with that match a toss-up. Sam
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Yes, I recall. Nice picks. Alex has made the grade.
 
crawdaddio said:
I'd give him the 5 ball.......just kidding :D

Congrats to a great and deserving player.

DC
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Craw, that's not a particularly flattering picture of you. Bet we're not catching you at your best.

Also bet we haven't seen the last world championship for Alex Pagulayan.
 
Congratulations to Alex. I must admit I couldn't watch the coverage when he was trailing in the early part of the game. I changed channels. When I got back, he was already on the comeback trail. Alex summed it up best when he won his semi-final match with Fong Pang Chao when he exclaimed "Heart!" He's really got the heart of a champion to be able to come back after such a big deficit. Again, Congratulations Alex!
 
I believe there is the small matter of a bet as well?

sjm:

I believe I owe you a beer. A European didn't win it this year, a Canadian/Filipino did.

Although I will point out that a European player (Chamat) progress further (semis) than any American did!

Alex deserved it though, taking out Chao was a massive victory.
 
sjm said:
In an AZ thread in May, I wrote:
..., but I got the winner right, as did many others on this forum.
.
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So why aren't your vbucks at $1000.00? :D

Anyway, I'll be true true to my word and proclaim Alex to be one nine-balls all time greats. Alex is now a living legend.

Well played, Alex.
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Congrats to Alex, he is a great player. However, let's let him age a bit before entering him in the ranks of living legends.
 
Raistlin said:
sjm:

I believe I owe you a beer. A European didn't win it this year, a Canadian/Filipino did.

Although I will point out that a European player (Chamat) progress further (semis) than any American did!

Alex deserved it though, taking out Chao was a massive victory.
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Though Immonen and Souquet disappointed, I like to give credit where credit is due. Aside from chamat, Majid and Schober had good tournaments, as did Bergendorf, who beat Immonen and got to 9 - 9 against Archer before narrowly missing the victory.

Looks like European pool is coming along nicely. Still, just like us Americans, Raistlin, the Europeans must surely be in awe of the Asians. Yes, the Asians dominated the WPC. When three Aisan qualifiers reach the final sixteen, it shows how strong the talent pool is in Asia.
 
3 weeks ago, a guy that I work with mentioned something about a show on ESPN that Alex was on. I told him that Alex may be the best player in the World right now. He didn't believe me. Shoulda put my money where my mouth is.
 
catscradle said:
Congrats to Alex, he is a great player. However, let's let him age a bit before entering him in the ranks of living legends.
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Know where you're coming from, but one can have accomplishments that qualify them as a legend at a young age, particularly in individual sports.

Tiger Woods was a legend by 24, Martina Hingis by 20, and Pagulayan has joined them by making the grade in his early twenties.

Regardless of what they accomplish (and Hingis is not likely to come out of retirement), all three will be remebered as legends of their respective games.
 
I have to agree with you here. Alex and Double J are both future legends of Pool.

Double J can play all games top notch and actually is a pool player that you wouldn't mind introducing to your mom. He always is involved in charity and good natured things. A player that if Pool paid as well as golf.....He probably wouldn't gamble at all. That's seems like a fairy tale.....to hard to imagine. If the World was Flat we might not have gravity....Who Knows???


Alex is where Archer, Hall, Strickland, and Reyes were 10 to 20 years ago. He accepts all challenges and gambles with anybody for any amount if he feels like it will improve his game. I watched Frost beat him pretty bad two years ago at Derby playing one pocket.....But, By the end of the session...You could see that Alex was making it harder and harder for Scott. This year Alex beat John Schmidt playing Straight Pool at Derby. Schmidt probaby is the best American Straight pool player right now and Alex just played flawless. The best characteristic about Alex is not his fear no one attitude, champion pool playing ability, or his nickname...........It's his Love for the game. Alex is always smiling because he is one of the few people in this world that is doing exactly what he wants to do for a living and loving every minute of it. Alex is a future legend.
 
Drake said:
This year Alex beat John Schmidt playing Straight Pool at Derby. Schmidt probaby is the best American Straight pool player right now and Alex just played flawless.
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The best American straight pooler is reigning BCA Open nine ball champion Tony Robles. I think he'd beat Schmidt in any long race (500+ points).

FYI, in the last US Open straight pool event in 2000, Robles ran a 126 on Immonen and a 148 on Archer. He also finished higher than Schmidt, who also played in that event. In addition, in the 1993 US Open straight pool event, when very tight pockets were in use, Robles ran a 107 and out on John Ervolino.

Of course, we'd all win if these two wonderful straight poolers ever got together for a serious match in our presence. We can only hope.
 
sjm said:
Though Immonen and Souquet disappointed, I like to give credit where credit is due. Aside from chamat, Majid and Schober had good tournaments, as did Bergendorf, who beat Immonen and got to 9 - 9 against Archer before narrowly missing the victory.

Looks like European pool is coming along nicely. Still, just like us Americans, Raistlin, the Europeans must surely be in awe of the Asians. Yes, the Asians dominated the WPC. When three Aisan qualifiers reach the final sixteen, it shows how strong the talent pool is in Asia.
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Couldn't agree more sjm, couldn't agree more.

To be fair, Archer and Strickland both had very good tournaments. My favorite match was Archer v Salvas. Archer won the lag, ran 4, scratched. Salvas gets up, runs 4, scratched. Archer runs 5 and out. Nice!

Interesting that in the past players from all over the world used to head to USA to really hone their game an try for the big bucks. Now I am wondering if players are going to be heading out to Taiwan/Phillipines for the Asian tour and associated money matches? Certainly if I had a game that was nearly world-class, that is where I would be going........
 
If it's money you're after, the Asian tournaments would be a bad choice. The exchange rate really sucks. The top prizes aren't really all that big. But if it's experience you're after, I heard Marcus Chamat play in one of the small-time tournaments in the Philippines just to get experience. I think it did him well. How many out there would have thought he'd reach the semis in this year's WPC?
 
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