So my APA captain signed us both up for this Captain/Co-captain tourney on Saturday. I always like playing in large tourneys so I was excited about it. I didn't hear anything about the rules, or how it was organized until I got there. My Captain called early Sat. and told me he was not going to go...douchebag. So I got the information and headed out the door. He is a SL6 and I am a SL7 8ball (never played APA 9ball).
It was held at Panama Reds in Beaverton, OR which was a recent Pechaeur Tour stop. I had never been there but it turned out to be a nice place 8 7-footers in three seperate areas so spacing was great and not too crowded.
I had no idea what the tourney was like. I knew about 7 other players from around Vancouver but did not know any of the Portland players. There was approx. 52 players but 64 spots were paid and some did not show (like my Captain).
It was strange though..if you lost in the 1st 2 rounds you went to the losers for a second chance and basically had their own run through the losers until coming back onto the winners side later on. After that the tourney was single elimination, one loss and out...including the losers. SL6&7 played even, SL4&5 played even, SL2&3 played even, with corresponding one game spots for Sl7 vs SL5 etc.
It was both 8ball and 9ball with an opening lag. 4 games of 9ball and 3 games of 8ball. The winner of the lag chose either which game to play..or the break. And whichever he chose the opponent got to do the opposite. Choose the break...opponent chooses what game to start with...choose the game and you spot him the break. So strategy plays into the lag. I didn't lose a lag all day and chose the break all but one time. Race to first 4 wins (3 for SL4/5, 2 for SL2/3)
I played very well all day, since I was concentrating to the max playing people I had never seen/played before and didn't know what their game was like. I did have to get used to the "NO PUSH OUT" rule in 9ball and had to kick at a few hooked break shots. I didn't see anyone using a jump cue and I haven't used one very much anyways.
I was super surprised against one guy though. He was a SL5. I won the lag, chose the break, and he chose 9ball. Which surprised me cause thats a decent spot when playing good players. I broke and ran three straight before coming up empty in the 4th. Bet he was kicking himself then. Everyone else always chose 8ball after I chose the break.
Anyways to make a long story short I finished 2nd. Lost to a guy Steve Tune from Portland. He was wearing a polo from the '99 APA Nationals Team tourney. I guess his team won the team event in Nationals in '99, '00, '01. He was very good. Smart good safes. He had me 2-1 in 8ball before we went to 9ball. I won the first 9ball to even the score 2-2. I broke and played a bad safe on the 3ball which he safed me well on. A scratch on the kick shot left him the open run out, which he finished and then he broke and ran his break for the 4-2 win. We got our picture taken and will be my first time in the "On the Wire" or "The Break" west coast pool papers. Sweetttttt. Gonna have to get a copy to mama so she can hang it on the refridge. LOL
$150 for 1st, $110 2nd, $65 3rd-4th, $35 5th-8th, $25 9th-16th, $15 17th-32nd. In my opinion they paid out too many low payouts but it is supposed to be a fun tourney and give something back to the players. Only 20 players didn't get anything back.
It was a good time though, enjoyed playing serious for the first time in a long time. Realized my 8ball break is struggling and my 9ball safes need some refreshing.
It was held at Panama Reds in Beaverton, OR which was a recent Pechaeur Tour stop. I had never been there but it turned out to be a nice place 8 7-footers in three seperate areas so spacing was great and not too crowded.
I had no idea what the tourney was like. I knew about 7 other players from around Vancouver but did not know any of the Portland players. There was approx. 52 players but 64 spots were paid and some did not show (like my Captain).
It was strange though..if you lost in the 1st 2 rounds you went to the losers for a second chance and basically had their own run through the losers until coming back onto the winners side later on. After that the tourney was single elimination, one loss and out...including the losers. SL6&7 played even, SL4&5 played even, SL2&3 played even, with corresponding one game spots for Sl7 vs SL5 etc.
It was both 8ball and 9ball with an opening lag. 4 games of 9ball and 3 games of 8ball. The winner of the lag chose either which game to play..or the break. And whichever he chose the opponent got to do the opposite. Choose the break...opponent chooses what game to start with...choose the game and you spot him the break. So strategy plays into the lag. I didn't lose a lag all day and chose the break all but one time. Race to first 4 wins (3 for SL4/5, 2 for SL2/3)
I played very well all day, since I was concentrating to the max playing people I had never seen/played before and didn't know what their game was like. I did have to get used to the "NO PUSH OUT" rule in 9ball and had to kick at a few hooked break shots. I didn't see anyone using a jump cue and I haven't used one very much anyways.
I was super surprised against one guy though. He was a SL5. I won the lag, chose the break, and he chose 9ball. Which surprised me cause thats a decent spot when playing good players. I broke and ran three straight before coming up empty in the 4th. Bet he was kicking himself then. Everyone else always chose 8ball after I chose the break.
Anyways to make a long story short I finished 2nd. Lost to a guy Steve Tune from Portland. He was wearing a polo from the '99 APA Nationals Team tourney. I guess his team won the team event in Nationals in '99, '00, '01. He was very good. Smart good safes. He had me 2-1 in 8ball before we went to 9ball. I won the first 9ball to even the score 2-2. I broke and played a bad safe on the 3ball which he safed me well on. A scratch on the kick shot left him the open run out, which he finished and then he broke and ran his break for the 4-2 win. We got our picture taken and will be my first time in the "On the Wire" or "The Break" west coast pool papers. Sweetttttt. Gonna have to get a copy to mama so she can hang it on the refridge. LOL
$150 for 1st, $110 2nd, $65 3rd-4th, $35 5th-8th, $25 9th-16th, $15 17th-32nd. In my opinion they paid out too many low payouts but it is supposed to be a fun tourney and give something back to the players. Only 20 players didn't get anything back.
It was a good time though, enjoyed playing serious for the first time in a long time. Realized my 8ball break is struggling and my 9ball safes need some refreshing.
