Bernie Friend's Account Of The World Open

8-ball bernie

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
hello pool fans around the world, it's 2am EST i just got back from reno and i'd like to share with you some highlights of the tournament first hand.

on the flight out there with me was allen hopkins and the fusco brothers, i said "you know~~~ i think efren is gonna win it all" allen and the fusco's said "no way his break is too weak" i replied it doesn;'t matter fishers break was weak in 9-ball but her game was too good and i said efren's game is too good, anyhow, yes he did win it, but the day before he won it, morris played superb, better than reyes, so in the interview which you will see me on tv i picked rodney morris, cause he was playing better, well, not in the finals, i was wrong.
anyhow, the players meeting once again was first class, a fancy spread of food, excitment in the air, and the announcment that stan ho bought the ipt,which mark trainer said means it will be around gaurented for at least 5 years, that's nice.
i played well yet lost miserably, if i'm not mistaken i belive i am now ranked 199th! the tables play very tough, cloth that slides, balls that are too sllippery, and tight pockets make for a hell of a tough playing field.

i did manage to play a masse kick on kelly fisher, that was said to be by the ref gibby "the best shot of the tournament!"

the british seemed to be in great form full of confidence and straight aim,no shot too hard for them to take on, however, they have a chip on their shoulder which is a huge turn off, yet, they will win tournaments, from here on out. watch out for 18 year old super star jayson shaw, although not on the ipt now, he will be and when he comes aboard, watch out!

i told the head of gorina about how the cloth is slow going foward yet too much slide going sideways and proved it to him, which he said "your'e right, i'm gonna tweak it back at the factory.

the finals was a let down, two nervous players commiting errors left and right, but it may make for great tv.

a documentary is coming out in october of 2007 called poolheart, and i'm happy to say i am featured in that.

all in all it was a success, and the checks will be here this week i'm sure of it, i look foward to chicago,and playing for fun, since playing seriously didn't cut it, and i am glad that my persoanlity came thru as the player who sat and chatted with everyone including the japanese!

had a great time with john and marge,and tony drago, and of course the funny jimmy white,even strickland warmed up to me on this leg of the tour, had fun, look foward to chickago~~~Bernie Friend IPT PLAYER 2006 north carolina.
 
bernie,I am dissapointed in you,not all british players have chips on there shoulders,I always had time for you in reno,and vegas,I wonder what made you make this comment.
 
nice account bernie and good luck for your next tournament. and you got it right efren won the tournament. who do you think is going to win the next tournament?:D :D :D :D
 
8-ball bernie said:
hello pool fans around the world, it's 2am EST i just got back from reno and i'd like to share with you some highlights of the tournament first hand.

on the flight out there with me was allen hopkins and the fusco brothers, i said "you know~~~ i think efren is gonna win it all" allen and the fusco's said "no way his break is too weak" i replied it doesn;'t matter fishers break was weak in 9-ball but her game was too good and i said efren's game is too good, anyhow, yes he did win it, but the day before he won it, morris played superb, better than reyes, so in the interview which you will see me on tv i picked rodney morris, cause he was playing better, well, not in the finals, i was wrong.
anyhow, the players meeting once again was first class, a fancy spread of food, excitment in the air, and the announcment that stan ho bought the ipt,which mark trainer said means it will be around gaurented for at least 5 years, that's nice.
i played well yet lost miserably, if i'm not mistaken i belive i am now ranked 199th! the tables play very tough, cloth that slides, balls that are too sllippery, and tight pockets make for a hell of a tough playing field.

i did manage to play a masse kick on kelly fisher, that was said to be by the ref gibby "the best shot of the tournament!"

the british seemed to be in great form full of confidence and straight aim,no shot too hard for them to take on, however, they have a chip on their shoulder which is a huge turn off, yet, they will win tournaments, from here on out. watch out for 18 year old super star jayson shaw, although not on the ipt now, he will be and when he comes aboard, watch out!

i told the head of gorina about how the cloth is slow going foward yet too much slide going sideways and proved it to him, which he said "your'e right, i'm gonna tweak it back at the factory.

the finals was a let down, two nervous players commiting errors left and right, but it may make for great tv.

a documentary is coming out in october of 2007 called poolheart, and i'm happy to say i am featured in that.

all in all it was a success, and the checks will be here this week i'm sure of it, i look foward to chicago,and playing for fun, since playing seriously didn't cut it, and i am glad that my persoanlity came thru as the player who sat and chatted with everyone including the japanese!

had a great time with john and marge,and tony drago, and of course the funny jimmy white,even strickland warmed up to me on this leg of the tour, had fun, look foward to chickago~~~Bernie Friend IPT PLAYER 2006 north carolina.
quite a dissapointing umberrella you put all the brits under there bernie,but you are entitled to your opinion,what you must remember i think bernie is pool certainly needs the bernie friends of this world,but it also needs every different type of charecteristic in different people,it would be a very boring place if everyone in the room was walking round doing al pacino impressions,but you can do that sort of thing and carry it off cos you have the character to do so,you are a good guy bernie who will be missed if you dont get the right results in chicago,so good luck and i keep my fingers crosssed for you at the final event,good luck Rob Mac
 
Perhaps 2006 will be the end of the "Friend Report". I'll put some Stan James odds on Bernie not earning a tour card for 2007. 10,000:1.

Bernie, you didn't watch the same matches we did.

John
 
Yeah Bernie,
what's up with the English shoulder chip opinion?

Last I heard you were telling some of the yanks how superior the English players were and getting a scornful moan or two from them :D

I think it's brilliant to see a new crop of UK players who are right up there with the best of the established pool world.

Granted I'm a bit biased having come from an English Pool playing background. It's fantastic to see the best of the English Pool game giving the best from pool a run for their money playing 8-ball...even though they are not so used to the large cue ball or American tables.

Currently they seem pretty fearless, and this is especially evident with their great record over Philippine players. If they seem to have a chip on their shoulders, I suspect it's just a bit of UK cockiness showing through ;)

Colin
 
i told the head of gorina about how the cloth is slow going foward yet too much slide going sideways and proved it to him, which he said "your'e right, i'm gonna tweak it back at the factory.
:) :D

The cloth you have is the cloth you wanted! Get used to it.

Gabber:cool:
 
Colin Colenso said:
Yeah Bernie,
what's up with the English shoulder chip opinion?

Last I heard you were telling some of the yanks how superior the English players were and getting a scornful moan or two from them :D

I think it's brilliant to see a new crop of UK players who are right up there with the best of the established pool world.

Granted I'm a bit biased having come from an English Pool playing background. It's fantastic to see the best of the English Pool game giving the best from pool a run for their money playing 8-ball...even though they are not so used to the large cue ball or American tables.

Currently they seem pretty fearless, and this is especially evident with their great record over Philippine players. If they seem to have a chip on their shoulders, I suspect it's just a bit of UK cockiness showing through ;)

Colin

Hi Colin. Read your blog- unlucky mate. Good performance to go hill with MT.

Gabber
 
Buzzer said:
bernie,I am dissapointed in you,not all british players have chips on there shoulders,I always had time for you in reno,and vegas,I wonder what made you make this comment.

I want to give him the benefit of the doubt and believe that he means that some of the UK players don't believe that they are getting the respect they deserve for their playing ability and not that they were unpleasant. It would be nice if he would clarify though.
 
bobson_215 said:
colin have an account to the Open? hehe :D:D:D:D:D good luck too!
Hi Bobson,
Happy to give an account.

The event was spectacular and indicates the IPT is improving things with experience and time. That said, I'm not too happy that the London event was cancelled, especially being in the position of a member who will need every break I can get to make the top 100 for 2007. Myself and a lot of players have put their life on hold to prepare for this tour, and invested a lot of time, money and effort into it, so having just 3 event chances instead of the promised 4 was a pretty hard knock. Still, it seems hard to complain as I'm sure many would love the same privilage.

As for my own performance at the open, I thought I hadn't received too bad a draw this time around, after getting a tough draw at Vegas. However, it turned out I got Boyes who was about the hottest player with a stick the first few days and Shaw and Montal both managed top 50 placings in the event. I doubt many other groups from the first day had 3 players finish in the top 50.

I had a chance against Montal leading 5-4 but he got a run on at the end. I did win my 4th match againts Robin Dodson but it was too little too late. I played a bit better than in Vegas making 31.25% BRO, mainly because I worked out my power break, but I should have made a lot more run outs with the opportunities I had.

I feel capable of beating anyone, but made mistakes that shouldn't happen when playing in form. Unfortunately, I find it harder to find form than many of the great players in the tourney. I guess that makes the difference.

With Chicago planned as 150-75-30 elimination rounds, it will be tough to make the 3rd round to secure a place on the IPT top 100, but not impossible. I will need to finish off more often though.

I do hope they change the format to groups of 8 or 10 so groups are more likely to be even and so that players get enough matches to prove their form. It wasn't much fun with my first 2 opponents of this tourney shooting accustats 1,000 against me. That tends to put one in a negative frame of mind.

Colin
 
Gabber said:
Hi Colin. Read your blog- unlucky mate. Good performance to go hill with MT.

Gabber
Cheers Gabber,
I know I didn't get Mark's best game, we both were struggling a bit, but it was a pleasure to play him. He was very friendly and easy-going.

Though if I play him again, I'll try not to scratch on the break at hill-hill:o

Colin
 
Colin Colenso said:
Yeah Bernie,
what's up with the English shoulder chip opinion?

Colin

CC,
Must I remind you blokes again that it is "french fries", NOT "chips". How do you expect the rest of the world to take you seriously if you can't even accurately describe fast food (and let's not even discuss boots and trunks)?

On the other hand, thanks for your report on the tournament - we live vicariously through your experiences. I talked to one of your Vegas opponents who was very complimentary towards you and your game. Keep up the good work, and good luck.
 
brian selah pardon my spelling, is a true nice great brit,however without mentioning names, there are many and i mean many brits that do indeed have a chip on their shoulders as if to say, we are the best humans god created, it's very obnxoious,now, do all british people have this? absoloutly not, in fact, ironically, most british people are the most humble and kindest, you'd ever wanna meet, however, this new lot of british players, have that way about e'm, that comes across as superior,but they have the fundementals to back it up. in all honesty, all other nationalitys are scared of the brits because theyr'e potting ability is superior, however, i still say they come across, bold,and superior, not all of e'm brian and jimmy white are great guys, i like hanging with, i've loved the british people my whole bloody life starting with the beatles,on ward, however, i suggest you don't take my word for it, check it out for yourself,;like i say,. most british people in general are the kindest and most humble, not this crowd however, not this crowd.
 
They're probably just putting on their game faces. Some culture does it to boost their confidence. Most Asian players hardly show emotions to avoid revealing themselves.

"I do hope they change the format to groups of 8 or 10 so groups are more likely to be even and so that players get enough matches to prove their form." That might be too dangerous. With more chances of winning, fixing/dumping might become prevalent to give way for other. With smaller group players are forced to play good each match because they don't have that much room to breathe.
 
8-ball bernie said:
however without mentioning names, there are many and i mean many brits that do indeed have a chip on their shoulders as if to say, we are the best humans god created, it's very obnxoious,now, do all british people have this?

Bernie, sadly I know what ya mean. I don't know what I was thinking, but I actually married one!:eek: They're so convinced of their cleverness, it's like they think they invented the language or somethin.
 
My impression of the Brits was the opposite, effusive and good-natured. Phil Harrison and Carl Morris that I had the pleasure to draw in each tournament were gentlemen and from what I could see, very excitable about their finishes, letting out big whoops when they won!

Brian and Mike Z. had a misunderstanding after the first tournament but they are buddies now.

As for any of the others, I did not have first hand knowledge, but never observed anything out of the way about them.
 
Williebetmore said:
CC,
Must I remind you blokes again that it is "french fries", NOT "chips". How do you expect the rest of the world to take you seriously if you can't even accurately describe fast food (and let's not even discuss boots and trunks)?

On the other hand, thanks for your report on the tournament - we live vicariously through your experiences. I talked to one of your Vegas opponents who was very complimentary towards you and your game. Keep up the good work, and good luck.
WBM,
I thought it was freedom fries:eek: ...when are you guys gonna stop messin' with our language?:rolleyes:

Colin >~ Exposing myths with my torch of truthiness:D
 
rackmsuckr said:
My impression of the Brits was the opposite, effusive and good-natured. Phil Harrison and Carl Morris that I had the pleasure to draw in each tournament were gentlemen and from what I could see, very excitable about their finishes, letting out big whoops when they won!

Brian and Mike Z. had a misunderstanding after the first tournament but they are buddies now.

As for any of the others, I did not have first hand knowledge, but never observed anything out of the way about them.
I agree Linda. Couldn't find a friendlier more approachable bunch of guys imo. It probably helps to understand them coming from a similar culture.

Sure they're confident and their is a little national rivalry, but that just adds a bit more well needed tension to the tournament.

Now a Mosconi Cup in 8-ball between the Brits and US would sure make a good match.:D

Colin
 
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