Alex Pagulayan going to UK to try pro snooker
- Thread starter gordml
- Start date
He's already ate the other herd, why not let the lion feed on other pastures, he's been there done that, one more time won't hurt. Some day, there could be a player that can win all games on all tables. He'd be like an Efren, Earl, Worst, Eddie Taylor, Culemans, O'Sullivan all rolled up in ONE :thumbup: And if Shane plays much better, the only way he can get beat is if there's a True pro tour with $$$$$$....then the real World talent will surface. Then we could have a Triple Crown winner. All around, snooker, billiards and 10 ball. If you win all three in one year....................................................
Alex has haters? Maybe I misread things but I was under the impression that everyone wants him to make it, thinks he has some kind of shot at making it, and hopes that he does make it.
Supposed Alex does qualify, what does everyone think would be the benchmark for Alex to get to for those who say a top tier pool player cannot make it in professional snooker to admit that it can happen? To 20 in ranking after the season? Top 10 with a win? Or will they just say that it's a fluke no matter what Alex does?
I would say top 20 first year, then top 10 the next. I would qualify that as a success.
I would say top 20 first year, then top 10 the next. I would qualify that as a success.
That is pretty much how I remember it as well. Alex is a multi-time Canadian snooker champion, that means he does not suck because while Canada might not have the snooker talent it once did it is still fairly tough at the top.
As a Canadian and fan of Alex I would love to see him make the tour. That said there is a slight jump from Sutton to Selby, Higgins, and O'Sullivan. But I "really" hope to see Alex get there and see how high his gear can be when he plays the best on a regular basis.
Corey had no chance but I gotta say, he impressed me with a few strong runs on his way out and imo did not embarras himself. He is a lot better then he was a year ago and should be a front runner to win the USA snooker championships at this point given this experience.
Alex's performance thus far is disgustingly good, if the sets were longer, he'd own most of those guys
I've seen Alex play snooker many times in person, he's easily in the class of TOP uk amateurs and beyond with far less practice time than most of those guys
having said that, alot of those top amateurs also lack practice time
I've seen Alex play snooker many times in person, he's easily in the class of TOP uk amateurs and beyond with far less practice time than most of those guys
having said that, alot of those top amateurs also lack practice time
Alex has impressed me. He's beaten some very good players already and made the shift from pool to snooker look easy. Id say he is in with a shot of reaching top 16 standard by the time the next world champs come along. How well will he do if he makes them? I have no idea, winning or making the final is out of the question imo but he can certainly have a damn good go at it.
I just hope he devotes the time to it, invests in a top coach and sticks with it through thick and thin.
I just hope he devotes the time to it, invests in a top coach and sticks with it through thick and thin.
Few things:
Alex cannot reasonably be seen to represent other top-tier pool players in terms of his snooker ability. He has a snooker background that none of the rest have, and this is why he is by far the best snooker player in professional pool. If you actually want to make a case for the ability to move from pool to snooker you really need to look for someone like Corey to be successful - someone without that snooker background.
I think reaching 20 in the world after a season would be miraculous, and top 10 after two seasons...that would be more than a success. It (almost certainly) won't happen. If any pool player makes the top 10 in snooker after two seasons (and I'll even include Alex here, despite his advantage over the rest) I would not call it a fluke - no one possibly could - but I will eat a set of pool balls with a side of felt.
Alex is doing really well in the qualifiers so far - but lets not get ahead of ourselves here. This is step 1. C. J. Wiley posted the other day that "if Shane applied himself to snooker like he has pool he would be beating champion players within a year". Alex will have a much easier time of it than Shane, and it will still take a huge leap for him to compete with top players. In the 7 Q School matches he's played to this point, he has only made one frame-winning break (70). Robertson, O'Sullivan, Selby and the rest aren't worried yet.
If anyone wants to bet that Alex will be top 20 in a year, please PM. I would LOVE to be proved wrong, and really hope Corey keeps playing snooker, but I just can't see a pool player competing in the final stages of professional snooker tournaments against top players who have grown up with the game.
He'll know in two years.
Well, you said "make it in professional snooker." I interpret that to mean make a living from his snooker income, sustainably.
If he qualifies, then he's already exceeded lots of expectations, and he's already accomplished something many snooker purists have said he couldn't do. But he hasn't "made it" yet.
If he makes $20,000 this year from snooker (tourney winnings + any sponsorships he might get), then good for him. But factoring in hotels, travel, and the fact that England's a very expensive place to live, you can't call that a living. He'd starve on that without dipping into savings or having another source of income.
If he makes what he needs to live comfortably this year, he will have really "made it", for a year. What an impressive accomplishment that would be! It would change the face of this repetitive debate forever. But a year is not a career.
It's an amazingly difficult feat to really make a career out of snooker, when you really think about all this. I'm wholeheartedly rooting for him, but it doesn't seem possible to me.
-Andrew
Surely it is A 2 PM START
I think many here are overstating Alex's snooker experience. Yes, he has certainly played more snooker than pretty much any other pool player, with the exception of some of the crossovers like Melling. But if you look at the body of cue sports experience Alex has it would probably comprise 5% of his table time. And his experience playing world-class competition on championship equipment is minimal as well. Considering his competition experience consists of a handful of nightly 6-reds tournaments and one Canadian Championships which he doesn't even play in every year, I would say his first go in the UK is even more impressive.
I doubt he will make enough just playing in the uk. Even if he made £20,000, that's a below average salary, and in London and the south it wouldn't last 6 months. Does anyone know if he is going to be travelling to events all around Europe and Asia on a regular basis? I think that may be his best shot at making a living from snooker.
Time
It's 3 pm here on the East Coast.
2 am in Thailand.
In any event it starts in 1 1/2 hours from now.
I think everyone is getting way ahead. Alex needs to win this afternoon, and then tomorrow before we can start speculating about whether he can make a living a snooker.
Good luck Alex!!
It's 3 pm here on the East Coast.
2 am in Thailand.
In any event it starts in 1 1/2 hours from now.
I think everyone is getting way ahead. Alex needs to win this afternoon, and then tomorrow before we can start speculating about whether he can make a living a snooker.
Good luck Alex!!
btw....as of now alex is the only player in event 2 who hasn't lost a single game!
I agree with what many posters have said - he has to qualify for the tour first, if he does that (and it won't be easy) that puts him at a ranking of 117-128th. He then has to play the pros in ranking events this season...that's a whole different level of snooker. If he can even get his ranking into the top 64 in one year I would be truly shocked. But even that is a far cry from being a real threat to win an event. There are great players of the past stuck around the ranking of 50-70 like Steve Davis and Jimmy White. And the top 16 are truly elite....even great players Alex's age like Mark Williams and Matthew Stevens have fallen out of the top 16! And to be honest, if Alex played either one of them in a race to 10, he may very well be white washed 10-0, it wouldn't be close. So he really has to take this one step at a time.
All that being said, this is one of those time I really hope I'm proved wrong.
All that being said, this is one of those time I really hope I'm proved wrong.