For those of you who cant wait for the brackets post Mika, Jose, Mad Max, Efren, Alex, Johnny, Santos Marcus, Rodney, Tony Robles, Ernesto, The Kaiser, Charlie W Nick V, Danny H are stil on the winners side. Mika beat Buddy down after Buddy ran 4 racks from the break. Mika just kept coming and coming. Running out every opportunity he had. He did not miss a ball. Efren was his usual self and ran racks from everywhere on the table. Double JJ showed a lot of heart but he could not overcome Efrens magic. Archer and Alex got big scares as their opponents kept neck and neck with them until the pressure got too hot and they caved in. Rodney Morris outdid Paul Poitier after getting into a shouting match. The usually mild mannered Rodney got ticked off when after Rodney made the 9 on the break Poitier went up to check Rodneys rack. Feeling being accused of cheating Rodney got hot and finally ended up by saying "Shut up! SHut up!" and stomping his stick and storming out. They both came back in and apologized and shook hands and went back to playing. Rodney playing perfectly. This is the kind of drama that you can get only by attending the event. I guess there was a lot of pressure felt by Rodney as he seemed to have a hard time focusing early on by miscuing on a easy shot. It looks like Mika has the edge as he is so relaxed and playing perfect. He seems most comfortable with the environment and the equipment. But he has to face the likes of Efren who is a crowd favorite in LA, The drive and determination of The Kaiser, and Archers winning ways. More to come
Bicycle Club 2
- Thread starter yobagua
- Start date
I got there around 8 last night and the 7 PM matches didn't even start yet.
Santos and Corey Harper had a good match. Corey, a local shortstop, came within 9-10 but lost 9 to 11 to Santos. Santos kicking ability got him out of trouble late in the match.
Efren wasn't playing all that great against Jones but Jones safety play cost him a few games after getting close at 6-5 Efren. JJ plays very methodical. Takes a long time before he ducks.
Hard luck loser of the night was Danny Hewitt I thought. He couldn't get any rolls against Ernesto Dominguez who was shooting very well.
The local shortstops are slowly getting weedied out. It's amazing the level of desparity between the local shortstops and the pros.
Arturo Rivera stayed close with Alex Pagulayan but the rest of the shortstops got blown out.
The tables btw are Gold Crown IV and they are using the Sardo rack. Rack your own racks. Arturo and Pagulayan couldn't even tell where to rack the balls so they had to call the ref. I don't want to knock Sardo Rack b/c they're a sponsor to the event but me no like them. The ref had to "re-train" the cloth for Alex and Arturo, meaning pound some more balls to create divots on the cloth. The pockets appear to be generous. They're probably 4 9/16" in the corner. The sides are huge so they can actually play shape on them even at almost extreme angle.
The lights are made of 3 huge 150 watt bulbs, not flourescent. One player commented on the tables banking funny b/c the slates are cold while the cushions/cloth are hot.
Santos and Corey Harper had a good match. Corey, a local shortstop, came within 9-10 but lost 9 to 11 to Santos. Santos kicking ability got him out of trouble late in the match.
Efren wasn't playing all that great against Jones but Jones safety play cost him a few games after getting close at 6-5 Efren. JJ plays very methodical. Takes a long time before he ducks.
Hard luck loser of the night was Danny Hewitt I thought. He couldn't get any rolls against Ernesto Dominguez who was shooting very well.
The local shortstops are slowly getting weedied out. It's amazing the level of desparity between the local shortstops and the pros.
Arturo Rivera stayed close with Alex Pagulayan but the rest of the shortstops got blown out.
The tables btw are Gold Crown IV and they are using the Sardo rack. Rack your own racks. Arturo and Pagulayan couldn't even tell where to rack the balls so they had to call the ref. I don't want to knock Sardo Rack b/c they're a sponsor to the event but me no like them. The ref had to "re-train" the cloth for Alex and Arturo, meaning pound some more balls to create divots on the cloth. The pockets appear to be generous. They're probably 4 9/16" in the corner. The sides are huge so they can actually play shape on them even at almost extreme angle.
The lights are made of 3 huge 150 watt bulbs, not flourescent. One player commented on the tables banking funny b/c the slates are cold while the cushions/cloth are hot.
The pockets are less than 2 balls wide for during I think Rocket and Paul's match 2 balls got locked up in one pocket side to side. Paul fired the cue ball at it and all three balls were expelled from the jaws - no ball in the hole - funny for the sweaters but not Paul. You can touch the rail before the pocket and the ball will go in (wide mouth) but fire at the pocket and it often spit the ball out.
It was said that the new cloth was sliding, making the position of the cueball hard to control when English was used. The traveling Pros seem to know how to control the new cloth because of varied experiences and shooting on new tables on tour. The shortstops usually have a homeroom with old cloth and jobs that dilutes practice time.
Great tourney. It's been a long time coming back.
It was said that the new cloth was sliding, making the position of the cueball hard to control when English was used. The traveling Pros seem to know how to control the new cloth because of varied experiences and shooting on new tables on tour. The shortstops usually have a homeroom with old cloth and jobs that dilutes practice time.
Great tourney. It's been a long time coming back.
