Beating a top 100 player in the world???

Jaden

"no buds chill"
Silver Member
How many players that post here on AZ billiards do you think can say they've beaten a top 100 player in the world in competition without a spot coming into play???? I'm honestly curious.

Jaden

p.s. feel free to chime in if you have.
 

skogstokig

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
How many players that post here on AZ billiards do you think can say they've beaten a top 100 player in the world in competition without a spot coming into play???? I'm honestly curious.

Jaden

p.s. feel free to chime in if you have.

i think you should exclude the pro's who actually post here from one time to another, schmitty, danny, cj, etc
 

Jaden

"no buds chill"
Silver Member
i think you should exclude the pro's who actually post here from one time to another, schmitty, danny, cj, etc
Ok that's fine. Let's exclude the pros. I know of at least two non-pros who regularly post here who have.

Jaden
 

Jaden

"no buds chill"
Silver Member
I'm not only asking players who have to chime in. I would like to know how many the people who haven't done so THINK have done so. IOW, I'm asking anyone or everyone to chime in on how many regular posters here they THINK have beaten a top 100 player without a spot.

Jaden
 

Jaden

"no buds chill"
Silver Member
I like the responses, but people aren't answering my question. I don't want to know how many have ACTUALLY done it, well that would be cool also.

I want to know how many people AZers THINK have done it.

Jaden
 

easy-e

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I like the responses, but people aren't answering my question. I don't want to know how many have ACTUALLY done it, well that would be cool also.

I want to know how many people AZers THINK have done it.

Jaden
I’d guess that there are less than 5 active posters who’ve beaten a top 100 players in a tournament match.
 

jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
Gold Member
Silver Member
Jimmy Fusco, Mike Lebron, Dan Louie, Willie Munson. They were all definitely in the top 100 players when I played them. Went hill-hill with Jeff Carter playing 9-Ball (10-10 and I missed a long combo on the 9). When Bill Ganne won the Mizerak tour Seniors tourney in Reno I gave him his closest match, losing 11-9. I've also got wins over Keith in a local 9-Ball tourney (that was in the finals, 7-5). Plus a win over Sal Butera when he was the best 9-Ball player in SoCal in the Swanee tourney. Almost forgot I beat his dad Lou in a 9-Ball exhibition match, race to eleven (yes, that Lou Butera). I think my most satisfying win was over the great Jimmy Rempe playing Bank Pool. He was spotting me 8-7. Speaking of Bank Pool, in my one and only tournament match with the great Freddie the Beard, Toupee Jay got the cheese! ;)

My resume in tournaments is kind of thin, since I rarely played in them. I was usually either backing a player (who had a chance to win) or running the tournament as the TD. Mad Max didn't like it playing Bank Pool with me and even my revered road man friend Bobby Leblanc took a pass on gambling with me at that game. I guess over the years I beat a couple of dozen "road men" quality players. Not big names, but still strong players. When we were both kids, Jimmy Reid and I hit the road in California. Jimmy beat everybody he played at 9-Ball and I took down some One Pocket action. We came back to L.A. with money in our pockets (maybe 600 each) and Jimmy challenged me to play. I refused naturally, but when he persisted I told him I would play $50 worth if he gave me the eight and the break. He did and he lost. Jimmy never asked me to play again. I actually beat Keith gambling with the eight ball one time (he was maybe 16), before he just got way to strong. He did finally give me the eight and break too, but it wasn't enough. He was already 17 or 18 and a world beater by then.

There were other guys in California who were just out of my league, even when I was playing my best pool. I matched up a few times with Cole Dickson and never booked a winner. Swanee gave me the 7, 8 & 9 and I got to watch him shoot. :cautious:

I left out Ernesto Dominguez. I beat him in a tournament 9-Ball match when he was in his prime too.
 
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Bob Jewett

AZB Osmium Member
Staff member
Gold Member
Silver Member
bob jewett is on video beating svb, i know that lol
I also beat Ronnie Allen in a (short) one pocket match, David Howard (US Open winner) 11-8 in Reno, and, I'm told, Denny Searcy at nine ball (it was the 70s and a blur ;) ).

I think more here could make such claims if only they would get out and play.

I also beat Allison Fisher at an Expo. She broke and ran a rack on me, then broke dry and I ran out. I won on fewer misses. 😋

I've also been beaten like a rented mule by Dallas West, Bob Vanover, Steve Mizerak, Allen Hopkins, Oscar, Thorsten, Dennis Orcullo, Darren, Biado, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Torbjörn Blomdahl and others too onerous to mention.
 

Jaden

"no buds chill"
Silver Member
Jimmy Fusco, Mike Lebron, Dan Louie, Willie Munson. They were all definitely in the top 100 players when I played them. Went hill-hill with Jeff Carter playing 9-Ball (10-10 and I missed a long combo on the 9). When Bill Ganne won the Mizerak tour Seniors tourney in Reno I gave him his closest match, losing 11-9. I've also got wins over Keith in a local 9-Ball tourney (that was in the finals, 7-5). Plus a win over Sal Butera when he was the best 9-Ball player in SoCal in the Swanee tourney. Almost forgot I beat his dad Lou in a 9-Ball exhibition match, race to eleven (yes, that Lou Butera). I think my most satisfying win was over the great Jimmy Rempe playing Bank Pool. He was spotting me 8-7. Speaking of Bank Pool, in my one and only tournament match with the great Freddie the Beard, Toupee Jay got the cheese! ;)

My resume in tournaments is kind of thin, since I rarely played in them. I was usually either backing a player (who had a chance to win) or running the tournament as the TD. Mad Max didn't like it playing Bank Pool with me and even my revered road man friend Bobby Leblanc took a pass on gambling with me at that game. I guess over the years I beat a couple of dozen "road men" quality players. Not big names, but still strong players. When we were both kids, Jimmy Reid and I hit the road in California. Jimmy beat everybody he played at 9-Ball and I took down some One Pocket action. We came back to L.A. with money in our pockets (maybe 600 each) and Jimmy challenged me to play. I refused naturally, but when he persisted I told him I would play $50 worth if he gave me the eight and the break. He did and he lost. Jimmy never asked me to play again. I actually beat Keith gambling with the eight ball one time (he was maybe 16), before he just got way to strong. He did finally give me the eight and break too, but it wasn't enough. He was already 17 or 18 and a world beater by then.

There were other guys in California who were just out of my league, even when I was playing my best pool. I matched up a few times with Cole Dickson and never booked a winner. Swanee gave me the 7, 8 & 9 and I got to watch him shoot. :cautious:
That's awesome Jay and while I was more referring to current top 100 fargo rated players, let's open it up to the top 100 of whatever was the era of the posters time.

Jaden
 

Jaden

"no buds chill"
Silver Member
I also beat Ronnie Allen in a (short) one pocket match, David Howard (US Open winner) 11-8 in Reno, and, I'm told, Denny Searcy at nine ball (it was the 70s and a blur ;) ).

I think more here could make such claims if only they would get out and play.

I also beat Allison Fisher at an Expo. She broke and ran a rack on me, then broke dry and I ran out. I won on fewer misses. 😋

I've also been beaten like a rented mule by Dallas West, Bob Vanover, Steve Mizerak, Allen Hopkins, Oscar, Thorsten, Dennis Orcullo, Darren, Biado, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Torbjörn Blomdahl and others too onerous to mention.
Again, this is awesome, this is the stuff I want to hear about. I wouldn't care too much about the beat downs though, considering that those top 100 players have all been beaten down in the same way themselves by other top shelf players.

Jaden
 

Jaden

"no buds chill"
Silver Member
The two I know of are Tin Man and myself. Tin man has done well in several of the US opens, I think his best finish was 17th. When the Mezz West State billiards tour started, I had already stopped playing as much as I used to but I was competing more than I had so my ability to compete improved. I had many hill-hill matches with the top players who played and I was able to beat Edgie Geronimo 7-5.

He's rated at 783. We both pretty much played perfect. It was alternating breaks and we both had 4 break and runs and I happened to come out on top of more of the safety battles that we had.

Kind of funny, the next day, Tang Hoa came up to me and said "I've seen you around but we've never really officially met" and he introduced himself to me.

Jaden

p.s. This thread, as much as it might look like it, was not intended as a bragodocious banter on my part. I honestly just wanted to know how many of the posters here could claim to have beaten a top rated player.
 

Gatz

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I don’t travel, the only two I’ve played in the top 100 even and won are Alex P and John M. Also have beaten Jason Klatt, whos just outside of the top 100. Of course these guys are way better than me, but sometimes I can catch a gear and compete….if they dog it lol 😂

I’m around a 700 Fargo for reference.
 

bbb

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
How many players that post here on AZ billiards do you think can say they've beaten a top 100 player in the world in competition without a spot coming into play???? I'm honestly curious.

Jaden

p.s. feel free to chime in if you have.
I would guess less than 10
 

iusedtoberich

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
There was a similar thread here in 2005/6 when the IPT was going on. We had quite a bunch of regular (at the time) posters who had beaten various IPT players in even matches. Like in this thread, they weren't favorites to win, but they caught a gear and had a good set.
 

sjm

Older and Wiser
Silver Member
I beat Mike Sigel in 1992 in a race to two in a benefit for the National Leukemia charity and have beat Allison Fisher going to seven, but in neither case was it in tournament play. I've also beaten Jean Balukas in a race to five in the Thursday night nine ball event at Hall of Fame Billiards and have beaten Jeanette Lee on several occasions. I've also beaten Gerda Hofstatter on numerous occasions. I'd also like to take note that in 2001, while he was reigning world champion, I beat Mika Immonen 11-0 in a race to eleven getting four on the wire in a practice match at Corner Billiards in New York, NY. I've always thought of that as a win.

But no, if we're talking about collecting a big scalp in a real tournament having races to at least nine, no way. Top 100 today means a Fargo of 772+. If you omit the full-time pros or former full-time pros that post here, I doubt more than twenty five AZB members have done it.
 
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skogstokig

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
That's awesome Jay and while I was more referring to current top 100 fargo rated players, let's open it up to the top 100 of whatever was the era of the posters time.

Jaden

i don't even know how many members this forum has, and how many of those are active players. but from the top of my head i would say ~7 have beaten some of the current top 100
 

sjm

Older and Wiser
Silver Member
i don't even know how many members this forum has, and how many of those are active players. but from the top of my head i would say ~7 have beaten some of the current top 100
That sounds about right if we're talking about the current top 100 only.
 

Saturated Fats

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Couldn't be further from the truth for me. The best I've ever played against is a top 100 USA, but not world and that went so badly that I try to put it out of my mind.
 
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