For hot seat match....
Appleton 11-6 over pagulayan
- Thread starter NINEBALLART
- Start date
Yes, in the really prestigious tournaments, the cream nearly always rises to the top. Those who suggest that "anyone can win when the races are to eleven" are seriously mistaken. It is events like the US Open that help establish who the greatest players of each generation really are. It's hardly surprising that the last four US Open 9-ball winners were Van Boening, Immonen, Immonen again, and Appleton.
Put 200+ great players in the same place at the same time. The last guy standing will be a champion's champion.
Then again Mika and SVB did not even manage to make it to the final bracket this year...
Compared to tennis where tournament in and tournament out the top players are normally in the deep parts of the event and more often then not the #1 seed is playing in the finals, pool does not even come close to having that level of ranking the players.
Who is better between Immonen, Appleton and SVB? Because I don't have a clue. I know who the best tennis player in the world is more often then not, I know who the best golfer was for years and years. I don't have a clue who is actually the best pool player on the planet is, nor do you, nor does anyone else because this sport flat out does not let us know.
Would also be neat SOMEDAY....to see em play single elim, sets, 3 out of five races to 7. Lag for who breaks first set, and then alternate breaking/racking. If both players have two sets, then, like tennis have a sudden death tie breaker. Winner of lag breaks first game, then opponent breaks two games, then other player breaks two games, win by two games, race to nine or first to 11. It would only take 8 rounds of play before the final match. Would be a great final, sweatin' em playing this way and be nice to see someone down 2 sets to zero and his opponent has you 6-3, only for you to come back, win that set, win the next set, and then go on to win the tiebreaker. Better be in shape, but it would give all players the ability to pace themselves and get needed R&R between matches. And a final match would be raucus if and when it played out to a tiebreaker. Both players would, after two sets, be so settled in, no dogging would happen in the Finals because they would be settled in and lovin it like the crowd does.