Buffalo's Pro Classic 2025
- Thread starter terryhanna
- Start date
Check out the Filler cheese that was chopped up. It always puts things in perspective when you see the cash up front and close. No worries about a check in the mail.
tony played great in the final, really valiant and accurate. a good number of trick shots, like off the tit shot several times in the match. if the 2 ball hadn't hung in the last rack (was like a millimeter) he may very well have won the first final. tony got some bad rolls but most crucially - he fugged up 2 break shots. like really bad. considering his health problems, age and the opposition it's crazy impressive overall, and he made the final a great match to watch.
josh is a monster, phenomenal banker, and he shoots shots that others deny because the opponent has a ball hanging or close. he's just the best pool player on the planet. well deserved win for josh, and a big hoorah for tony
josh is a monster, phenomenal banker, and he shoots shots that others deny because the opponent has a ball hanging or close. he's just the best pool player on the planet. well deserved win for josh, and a big hoorah for tony
Biloxi Boy
Man With A Golden Arm
So someone tell me what the handwritten "BB" and the various numbers in the left column of the completed bid sheet indicate?
Enough info to make an educated guess.
Expenses and entry fees would have been in the $5,000 range and the calcutta bid was $41,000, so the expenses must have been around $46,000. Josh brought in $40,000 for 1st place, $150,000 in the calcutta, and just for good measure, another $3,700 by winning the one ball one pocket event. So, the net was about $188,700 and Josh's share would have been $75,480.
Without a backer, and assuming he would not have bought any of himself in the calcutta, he'd have made $3,700 + $40,000 + $22,500 estimated jelly of 15% = $66,200. He would have borne the $5,000 expenses himself, so he would have walked away with $61,200.
Hence, by my estimate, Josh made $14,280 extra by being staked than he likely would have otherwise, and he was not at risk. Guess it pays to be the world's best player.
They had 3 "blind bids," BB. That means the first three items for auction were the choice of any available player.
Mosconi is probably the GOAT and, with fifteen world championships, he may always be, but in the 9ball era, most agree that it is Efren Reyes. I'm sure Efren already understands that Filler may well replace him as the 9ball era GOAT.
Filler mass produces major titles (big and super-elite internationally diverse field), at a rate that nobody has since Mosconi. At 27, Josh has won all of the a) World 9-ball, b) World 8-ball, c) World Games 9ball, d) China Open 9ball, e) US Open 9ball, f) UK Open 9ball, g) European Open 9ball, and h) Qatar Open 9ball. He wins titles in every discipline, wins major titles all over the world and, like Efren before him, he wins when the prize money is highest.
In my 49 years of regularly attending pro events, I have never seen anyone play the game as well as Filler. Like every superstar that came before him, he is beatable, but it typically takes a very special performance to beat him.
In my GOAT discussion, there are only Mosconi, Reyes and Filler.
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Filler won the 1-ball one pocket and the one-pocket main event.
He beat Tony in a 1pkt money match before the tournament.
Given how he was playing, I have no doubt he would have also won the 9-ball if he could of had the chance to play in that.
Filler said that he has not played any One Pocket at all since the Derby in January. ZERO
He then plays in the world’s biggest One Pocket tournament for the first time with a field of elite One Pocket players and wins it without losing a match!
Beast mode activated
He beat Tony in a 1pkt money match before the tournament.
Given how he was playing, I have no doubt he would have also won the 9-ball if he could of had the chance to play in that.
Filler said that he has not played any One Pocket at all since the Derby in January. ZERO
He then plays in the world’s biggest One Pocket tournament for the first time with a field of elite One Pocket players and wins it without losing a match!
Beast mode activated
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Biloxi Boy
Man With A Golden Arm
Makes sense. Any ideas about the numbers?
I think Joe Long the lawyer staked him, backed him, bought him in the auction/Calcutta, and paid his entry fee and expenses. I could be wrong, but if I was a betting person, that's where my money would go.
Thank you to Joe Long for everything he did to help Josh participate in this event this year
as well as for all the efforts he puts in to make this event successful every year.
He's a genuine ambassador for the game of one pocket.
Are you asking what the Calcutta prices were for the main event?
All 36 are shown in post #51 above.
The highest 12 are listed in post #143 above.
It's always best to have a backer. Even if you are the best player in the world. There is zero risk, only profits. It's so funny, for years some members here on the forum would argue that a smart gambler was better off betting their own. All it takes is one gambling loss to wipe out a bunch of "smart" wins.
Your calculation doesn't deduct the auction price in determining the "net" to be split 60/40. Would that be standard practice for this sort of backing? Wouldn't some backers want to recoup the auction price (and other expenses) in full and then just split any profits? [But I can see that the player might insist on doing it as you did.]
[You overlooked the 1 ball 1Pkt.'s auction price of $2,500 and auction winnings of $12,000.]
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Small calcuttas the winner usually just tosses ten to fifteen percent of the gross. I suspect that a buyer gives it a little thought at this level. I would give ten to fifteen percent after expenses, including taxes!
This is tradition, not obligation, so the player is in no position to insist on anything.
Hu