I was one of those helped finance the DCC 14.1 challenge, and I've resisted the temptation to speak my peace to this point, but now I'll have my say on the Alex Pagulayan incident.
Yes, I was there in the Accu-stats arena to witness it. Alhough I will not defend Alex, I will observe that Saturday at the Derby was very peculiar with respect to the 14.1 challenge. Alex had narrowly won his 14.1 semifinal over Mike Davis on Friday. Niels Feijen had been unable to play his 14.1 semifinal with Darren Appleton on Saturday morning because Niels remained alive with one loss in the nine ball event. As it turned out, Niels would win five matches on Saturday before being beaten by Shane to finish third, and because of this, Alex had to wait all day long and this was why the 14.1 final did not begin until it was nearly midnight. It was a bad day for Alex, who fell short of his goal of winning the $20,000 "Master of the Table" bonus that seemed all but won after his first place finish in bank pool and third place finish in one pocket. As we know, the day and bonus would belong to Shane. These are circumstances that conributed to, but hardly explain, what followed.
Alex's behavior was quite shocking. During their semifinal, he interrupted both Appleton and Feijen but they managed to deal with it. As he warmed up for the final in the Accu-stats arena, Alex was a boisterous drunk who could be heard from over 100 feet away. He was inexplicably proud of and taking frequent verbal note of his extreme inebriation, and his loud and lengthy burps did not belie that he had been drinking very heavily. The result of his antics and behavior, intended or not, was that people stuck around for the 14.1 final, which easily had twice the fanfare of the 2010 final despite the very late start.
I recall predicting that the final would be forfeited, and yet, I suspect others had the same thought I had. What a story it would be if Alex played impeccably in an inebriated state to win the final. I recalled watching Lassiter run 140 afer he'd had quite a few almost 40 years ago, so perhaps it was possible. Then again, I'd seen Alex warming up for the 14.1 final. His practice included more than a few high speed table length banks (perhaps he was reliving his preparations for the bank pool final earlier in the week), not a standard way of preparing for a 14.1 match. And so, like many, I stuck around for the final.
When Alex opened by playing the top ball in the side, it was clear that he wasn't taking the match seriously. After one of his misses, Alex went to the wrong player chair and sat there for several minutes before realizing his mistake. I stayed for about the first four innings of the match and then decided I was wasting my time and left.
As pathetic as Alex's behavior was, I was proud of his fellow professionals, so many of whom remained to be supportive of him at a moment in which he'd completely lost control. Darren Appleton, who would have had every right to be upset over the constant sharking, was the perfect gentleman, and I'm sure his fine demeanor won him some fans at Derby City. Anyone who was present would agree that Darren is not just a great player, but a fine role model for current and aspiring professionals.
In my life, I have seen just two players that, in my estimation, played with greater imagination than Alex Pagulayan. Their names are Irving Crane and Efren Reyes. Alex's skill level may be on, or nearly on, a par with that of these two great legends, but that is where the comparison ends, for Irving and Efren never conducted themselves this way during a competitive match.
On AZB, when a professional behaves unprofessionally, they are usually deemed colorful and are defended with a blind reverence that is difficult to fathom. I do hope this will be an exception.
Let's not kid ourselves. The fans present at the 14.1 final laughed at Alex, not with him, and the game's dignity suffered because of Alex's appalling conduct.
None of us are permitted to show up to our jobs drunk and if we did, we'd surely be sent home if our inebriation was detected, as it reflects poorly on our colleagues and our organization and may offend our clients. When a professional pool player competes, he/she is doing his/her job, and inebriation is, similarly, and for the same reasons, inappropriate.
Alex, who took pride in publicly boisterous drunken behavior, has a problem, and I wish him well in overcoming it, as he's a great talent who is fun to watch.
Disheartened as I am, I will not go as far as suggesting that Alex's behavior has, in any way, reduced my desire to be a benefactor for the DCC 14.1 challenge in the future. Make no mistake about it, the other seven players that qualified (Runningen, Schmidt, Davis, Appleton, Deuel, Orcullo, Feijen) are a great credit to the game of 14.1 and I would not allow Alex's behavior to affect my support of them.
Thanks for listening.
Yours truly, Stu
:frown