Best pool playing performance???

Joseph Ortega

Joseph Ortega

Daddy's little girl
Silver Member
This thread is inspired by the "best comeback thread". I was just wondering what is the best pool performance yall have seen? Not necessarily a tournament match or a championship or a gambling match, just the best overall level of play. Could be someone just practicing or some guys hittin balls around, of course some of the best play comes out when theres cash on the line.
 
kilojo420 said:
This thread is inspired by the "best comeback thread". I was just wondering what is the best pool performance yall have seen? Not necessarily a tournament match or a championship or a gambling match, just the best overall level of play. Could be someone just practicing or some guys hittin balls around, of course some of the best play comes out when theres cash on the line.
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1st
Tommy Kennedy defeating Johnny Archer (for the hotseat and the championship) to win the US Open - the Championship match is the only time I have seen Johnny completely helpless in the chair without a clue what to do. It is by far the best performance I have ever seen by a player (TK) and the fact that he was unseeded in the event only adds to the fact that his victory was the biggest upset in pool history. Tommy hit such a zone that day that NOBODY could have beat him. I think that Johnny won the first game, then after that he might have had maybe one shot for the rest of the match.

Close 2nd
Mike Sigel's 150 & out against Mike Zuglan - pure beauty and mastery by a great champion. Mike had that fire in his eyes from the opening break to the end of the match.

3rd

Ga Young Kim winning the 2004 WPBA US Open... Its the only time I've cried at the end of a match... and I wasn't crying alone!
 
Men's Pool

Nick Varner's effort in the 1981 World Straight Pool Championships represents some of the greatest pool ever played. I still remember that no matter how many champions he knocked off, everybody (and everybody includes me in this case) felt he wouldn't be up to the challenge of beating Mike Sigel in the race to 200 final. Everybody, of course, was wrong, and Varner's brilliance, at least for me, was the first clue that he was a future hall of famer.

Women's Pool

Barring the numerous dominant performances of Jean Balukas in women's events from 1972-1988, one perfromance stands out above all the rest.

On the women's side, there has never been a performance even close to that of Jasmin Ouschan at the BCA "playpool.com" Open this past May. Who did she beat?

Ga Young Kim - 2 time world champion, US Open champion, #4 ranked
Karen Corr - #2 ranked player, 3 time BCA Open champion
Kelly Fisher - winner of previous WPBA event at San Diego, ranked #3
Gerda Hofstatter - 1995 world champion, former #2 ranked player
Shin Mei Liu - Multiple winner of World 9-ball Championship
Helena Thornfeldt - Former US Open champion
Allison Fisher - best women's nine ball player of all time, ranked #1

This has to rate as one of the most difficult draws that any player has ever faced in women's professional competition.
 
I know this isn't even close to the greatest, but I saw Mike Sigel come from being behind 9-2 in a race to eleven. He ran 9 racks for the tournament win at CM's Place in the early to mid eighties. Johnnyt.
 
Efren Reyes at this past year's DCC.

Trounced Tang Hoa giving Tang 10-7 & the breaks
Trounced Corey Deuel giving Corey 9-7
Broke even with Gabe Owen giving Gabe 9-7

Won the One Pocket division for the third straight year and all four times he's entered. He made Alex Pagulayan and Jason Miller look like 'B' players.
 
World 8-ball final day at the Riviera the year Bustamante won it.
He had 3 matches that Sunday.
He played Coltrain, Wetch then Archer in the finals.
I think he missed two balls that day on a tight Diamond table.
 
The best 9 ball performance I have ever seen was on an Accu-Stat tape between Rempe and Archer. It was a race to 13 i think, and they were both putting 4 and 5 packs together left and right. It went double hill and Rempe broke and ran the last rack. It was truly artistic to watch. I dont think this tape is offered by Accu-Stats anymore. I should would like to find a copy.

Southpaw
 
When I saw Ronnie Allen run two 8 and outs in a row one handed in the air one pocket, I walked away saying thats a joke, know one is supposed to play like that without touching the rail, it really seemed absurd to be able to do that because you knew you could never even concieve doing it.
 
Thorsten Hohmann 14.1 European Champs title in 2005. He played 8 matches, each to 125, total of 1000 points in 20 innings averaging an amazing 50.00 !!! I think he ran 125-out three times.
 
My teacher, Andy Toth, is a name most people won't recognise unless they have played him. He is/was a world class 14.1 player with a high run well over 200. One day after a "lesson" he felt like running balls, so he racked the balls put a break ball next to the rack, and said pick a ball. So I picked one out at random, and he said that he'd make that ball his break shot for the next rack!

The amazing thing was He did this 6 racks in a row, and ran 100 or so before quitting. I was amazed watching him move the ball into position, and the unusual breakers he used to keep the run going. I'll never forget that session!


That....and watching him play "80 no count" 14.1, and brake more than one player doing it.
Gerry
 
Southpaw said:
The best 9 ball performance I have ever seen was on an Accu-Stat tape between Rempe and Archer. It was a race to 13 i think, and they were both putting 4 and 5 packs together left and right. It went double hill and Rempe broke and ran the last rack. It was truly artistic to watch. I dont think this tape is offered by Accu-Stats anymore. I should would like to find a copy.

Southpaw
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I have this tape - it's a doozie. Too bad Kieth Mcready was doing the commentary with Buddy Hall - with Danny or Grady in there it would be a longtime classic. I would also rate it as one of the best matches I've ever seen.

The single best performance I've witnessed was when Stephen Hendry won the World Snooker Final by winning the last 10 games. 14-8 behind and he wins 18-14. The whole match was fantastic but Hendry turned on the jets and just played at a whole different level during the last two sessions. Unreal!
 
The best I've seen (on video since I wasn't there) was the Efren vs. Earl "Color of Money" match. They both played great the entire match but what Efren did on the last day, after being stuck 17 games, was pretty amazing.
 
sjm said:
Men's Pool

Nick Varner's effort in the 1981 World Straight Pool Championships represents some of the greatest pool ever played. I still remember that no matter how many champions he knocked off, everybody (and everybody includes me in this case) felt he wouldn't be up to the challenge of beating Mike Sigel in the race to 200 final. Everybody, of course, was wrong, and Varner's brilliance, at least for me, was the first clue that he was a future hall of famer.

Women's Pool

Barring the numerous dominant performances of Jean Balukas in women's events from 1972-1988, one perfromance stands out above all the rest.

On the women's side, there has never been a performance even close to that of Jasmin Ouschan at the BCA "playpool.com" Open this past May. Who did she beat?

Ga Young Kim - 2 time world champion, US Open champion, #4 ranked
Karen Corr - #2 ranked player, 3 time BCA Open champion
Kelly Fisher - winner of previous WPBA event at San Diego, ranked #3
Gerda Hofstatter - 1995 world champion, former #2 ranked player
Shin Mei Liu - Multiple winner of World 9-ball Championship
Helena Thornfeldt - Former US Open champion
Allison Fisher - best women's nine ball player of all time, ranked #1

This has to rate as one of the most difficult draws that any player has ever faced in women's professional competition.
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I think Jasmin Ouschan is going to be a top player real soon, but I was there at that tournament, and the women's event was a miss-athon. None of the players you mentioned above played well in that event. The only player that could actually run out was Ouschan. Allison Fisher struggled to run 5 balls, so did Karen, so did Ga Young Kim, Gerda, (didn't watch K.Fisher play), and I shouldn't even mention Shin Mei Liu....but when I saw her play three matches, I was thinking to myself "what in the hell is she doing out there"...she was continuously out of line, could not make a half-length table shot even if it was straight in...I mean she played so bad it was ridiculous. That was the first women's pro even't I've ever seen, and I was there to watch the men...but all I can say is that I was REALLY surprised how poorly the women played.
 
Jimmy M. said:
The best I've seen (on video since I wasn't there) was the Efren vs. Earl "Color of Money" match. They both played great the entire match but what Efren did on the last day, after being stuck 17 games, was pretty amazing.
Click to expand...
Ditto, that has got to be one of the best pool performances ever. the amount of heart and fight in efren is unequalled. i fall apart if you get me down. earl played awesome and didnt really hand efren the match, efren took it!
 
Keith Mccready

I went to the glass city open in 92'.I saw Keith try to get a game with Parica and I think Kieth's backer didn't like the bet so the next day they played in the tournament and Parica got up 9-3 and Kieth came back and ran the set on him talking the whole way and I swear every game ended on a combo!
 
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