Bernie Friend's Account Of The World Open

[Nostroke]

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.

They certainly appeared a rough and tumble bunch and i cant get over how well they played and i dont quite understand why either.

English 8 Ball is so different with different size balls, table, pockets etc so it must be strategy you say. Well there isnt much strategy at all in the IPT other than find the best way to run out. My first day i was was in Reno, I watched matches all day and half the night and did not see a single safe! Id say that most matches had no safes. So it appears that the knowledge of the "best way out" overcomes the lack of experience with the tables, balls, pockets etc. I never would have guessed that at all.

 

[TheOne]

WBM,
I thought it was freedom fries ...when are you guys gonna stop messin' with our language?

Colin >~ Exposing myths with my torch of truthiness

Don't mind WilleEverStopMoaningABoutHisTightPockets he's got packet of crisps on his shoulder.

"In protest of France's opposition to a U.S. war on Iraq, the U.S. Congress' cafeteria has changed french fries and french toast to 'freedom fries' and 'freedom toast.' Afterwards, the congressmen were so pleased with themselves, they all started freedom kissing each other. In a related story, in France, American cheese is now referred to as 'idiot cheese.'"

"American tourists in Paris are reported to being yelled at, spit upon, and attacked by the French. Thank God things are getting back to normal."

 

[Colin Colenso]

They certainly appeared a rough and tumble bunch and i cant get over how well they played and i dont quite understand why either.

English 8 Ball is so different with different size balls, table, pockets etc so it must be strategy you say. Well there isnt much strategy at all in the IPT other than find the best way to run out. My first day i was was in Reno, I watched matches all day and half the night and did not see a single safe! Id say that most matches had no safes. So it appears that the knowledge of the "best way out" overcomes the lack of experience with the tables, balls, pockets etc. I never would have guessed that at all.

Nostroke,
Basically at the higher levels of English 2-Shot 8-ball, it is a run out game, much like US 8-ball. The strength of the English comes mainly from their quick recognition of patterns and accurate potting abilities.

They've had to work on their breaking and positional skills with the larger balls, but that is a smaller mountain to climb than adapting to the patterns required for 9-ball.

It also helps that many of the English Pool players have put in quite a bit of time playing snooker, where the CB and OB are the same size.

But basically, their success come mainly from their cofidence in 8-ball pattern recognition / shot selection and also their long potting confidence which allows them to select higher probability pattern options.

Note that Beaufils and Alcaide also have strong 8-ball backgrounds. Larry Nevel also told me he plays a lot of 8-ball. And of course the Europeans have tended to play more 8-ball than many US pros.

I'm sure the good 9-ballers who haven't played a lot of 8-ball will catch up pretty quickly. But I'm also sure the English 8-ball players will improve as they become more familiar with the US balls and table and the break. And I'm told there are another dozen or so English 8-ball players that have the necessary skills to do very well on the IPT.

It's great to see some fresh faces making their presence known in the world of pool.

Colin

 

[bobson_215]

Thanks Colin! I wish you the best for the next tournament!

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

 

[Williebetmore]

"American tourists in Paris are reported to being yelled at, spit upon, and attacked by the French. Thank God things are getting back to normal." [/I]

TheLessThanTwo,
Yes, the French can be a little testy. Like my father (WWII vet) used to say, "well, the French are good for something. If you need a pre-owned gun, ALWAYS buy a French weapon; this way you can be sure it has only been dropped once, and never fired."

 

[Riggers]

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.

At least we have our own language and history and didn't feel the need to go steal someone else's!

 

[Riggers]

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.

Ok so maybe you mean that the creme de la creme of our boys are serious and want to be winners and maybe sometimes that comes across as arrogant in some players but that's not a british thing. Have you checked out the behaviour of the top US players lately, Earl, Corey etc? If you want to make offensive generalisations we can all do that.

 

[Williebetmore]

At least we have our own language and history and didn't feel the need to go steal someone else's!

Rig-man,
Was it Winston Churchill who said that Britain and America were "two nations, separated by a common language"???? He was a funny dude.

 

[crosseyedjoe]

I think Brits are inherently bitter with Americans. LOL. They seem to be pretty nice with other culture.

 

[Keith Buck]

Quinten Hann rubbed me the wrong way with his comments about having more talent than anyone there (at the NA Open) except for Ronnie O. It's alright if he believes that but it isn't necessary to say it. But just because he seems like an ass I don't tar all snooker players or British players with the same brush, lol.

 

[TheOne]

I think Brits are inherently bitter with Americans. LOL. They seem to be pretty nice with other culture.

You could say that about any other nation

 

[rackmsuckr]

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

Colin

And make sure Earl is there.

 

[bobson_215]

arrogance.

Quinten Hann rubbed me the wrong way with his comments about having more talent than anyone there (at the NA Open) except for Ronnie O. It's alright if he believes that but it isn't necessary to say it. But just because he seems like an ass I don't tar all snooker players or British players with the same brush, lol.

 

[DaveK]

Quinten Hann rubbed me the wrong way with his comments about having more talent than anyone there (at the NA Open) except for Ronnie O. It's alright if he believes that but it isn't necessary to say it. But just because he seems like an ass I don't tar all snooker players or British players with the same brush, lol.

Quinten Hann is Australian. You are quite correct to suggest it's not fair to judge a nation by the actions of one or two of it's pool players. I certainly do not believe that the antics and words of Earl and MS define the attitude of the USA.

As to the original comment, I've found that there are many less-than-humble societies in our world, as viewed by an outsider to that society. Arrogance and bigotry is not confined to any continent from what I've seen.

Dave

 

[Boro Nut]

Arrogance and bigotry is not confined to any continent from what I've seen.

Dave

Well said Dave. That's quite astute considering you're merely Canadian. It's a bit much to hold pure accident of birth against somebody. We can't help being born better than anybody else. And accusations of bigotry are easy to fling around. But that's Johnny Foreigner for you.

Boro Nut

 

[sixpack]

Don't mind WilleEverStopMoaningABoutHisTightPockets he's got packet of crisps on his shoulder.

"In protest of France's opposition to a U.S. war on Iraq, the U.S. Congress' cafeteria has changed french fries and french toast to 'freedom fries' and 'freedom toast.' Afterwards, the congressmen were so pleased with themselves, they all started freedom kissing each other. In a related story, in France, American cheese is now referred to as 'idiot cheese.'"

"American tourists in Paris are reported to being yelled at, spit upon, and attacked by the French. Thank God things are getting back to normal."

LOL I always thought the "freedom fry" thing was stupid. First of all, it really irks the French that we call them "French Fries." They hate that, same thing with a "French Dip" and "French Toast." Really, if we wanted to mock them, we should have just added some "yellow food dye #7" and made 'em all yellow.

Cheers,
RC

 

[DaveK]

Well said Dave. That's quite astute considering you're merely Canadian.

Yes, but my great grandpappy was Scottish !

Veritas Vincit

Dave