Bread N Butter
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How good is this kid?
Chia-Ching Wu
- Thread starter Bread N Butter
- Start date
Not easy to say, but the sky's the limit for what Wu might achieve.
Which is the real Wu? The one that played at the BCA Open and lost to Szuter and Takahashi en route to a fairly early exit or the kid that played so beautifully in the WPC, especially when he absolutely had to in the final.
When you see a kid shoot like this, it's tough to know what to make of it. I remember the term Irving Crane used to describe a young player that was in the process of shooting the lights out: "Too young to know about pressure," Irving would always say with a smile.
He'll know about pressure now, for the expectations will surely be high. Here's hoping he makes the grade. Wu's going to be an exciting one to watch.
Which is the real Wu? The one that played at the BCA Open and lost to Szuter and Takahashi en route to a fairly early exit or the kid that played so beautifully in the WPC, especially when he absolutely had to in the final.
When you see a kid shoot like this, it's tough to know what to make of it. I remember the term Irving Crane used to describe a young player that was in the process of shooting the lights out: "Too young to know about pressure," Irving would always say with a smile.
He'll know about pressure now, for the expectations will surely be high. Here's hoping he makes the grade. Wu's going to be an exciting one to watch.
He's been competing on the pro tour circuit with the top pros in Asia for more than 2 years now. He is only 16, but he is consistently placing well in tournaments and beating some of the top pros. He played well enough this year to win the WPC. It'll probably take him a few more trips around the world for him to get used to playing in different continents and time zones, as he's spent the majority of the time playing in Taiwan, Philliphines, Japan, and other Asian countries.
sjm said:
Szuter played very well when he beat Wu and he should have beat Archer also but he got very unlucky in the hill hil game to let Archer escape. Szuter plays maybe 5 or 6 events a year but don't think for one second when his break is working that anyone wants to draw him even world champions.
huckster said:
Yes, Chris Szuter had his best game going at the BCA Open in Vegas. He lost 11 - 9 to Archer, however, not on the hill. As I remember it, he scratched after making an exceptional shot on the one ball at 10 - 9 behind and Archer ran out.
Agreed, noone wants to draw Wu these days, and for good reason. The kid's got game! Looking forward tro watching him in the future!
Bread N Butter said:
from watching the WPC and some San Miguel videos, his safe/kick game looks like it could use some work to be on par with the rest of his game.
Bread N Butter said:
He plays pretty good but he never beat me.
I had the pleasure to meet Mr.Wu and his teacher, Mr. Chin, when I was in Taiwan. There is an article in the Cue Magazine from Japan on his teacher. He is only may be in his 30's. He is very selective in his choice of students, and he has a long line of students waiting to get lessons from him. He was a referee in the WPC. Mr. Chin is a very easy going and friendly person.
Mr. Wu was very modest when we met him. He always had a smile on his face. He was not arrogant in any way even after he became the World Pool Champion.
His family is in the business of making pool player bubble heads. They are very nice. I had one of his bubble head on my dash board.
I hope they will tap into the America market and start making bubble heads for all the America players as well.
I had the pleasure of trying out Mr. Wu's playing cue. It was a 20.8oz Southwest with an ebony forearm. He told me he had used the cue for many years. It was a very heavy cue! He breaks with a Joss.
There is another young kid who is also taking lesson from Mr. Chin. And according to the teacher, this kid will be the next World Champion.
He is younger than Mr. Wu. I am not sure if they have gambled.
Mr. Wu was very modest when we met him. He always had a smile on his face. He was not arrogant in any way even after he became the World Pool Champion.
His family is in the business of making pool player bubble heads. They are very nice. I had one of his bubble head on my dash board.
I hope they will tap into the America market and start making bubble heads for all the America players as well.
I had the pleasure of trying out Mr. Wu's playing cue. It was a 20.8oz Southwest with an ebony forearm. He told me he had used the cue for many years. It was a very heavy cue! He breaks with a Joss.
There is another young kid who is also taking lesson from Mr. Chin. And according to the teacher, this kid will be the next World Champion.
He is younger than Mr. Wu. I am not sure if they have gambled.
Just saw the videos from the WPC. Man ESPN has to take a look at what Sky Sports is doing. The best on TV. OF course they do great with Snooker televising as well. Kim Davenport is a plus as a commentator. If you get a chance try to get the finals with Wu and Kuo. Brilliant.
yobagua said:
I have a hard time watching pool on ESPN, no entertainment value whatsoever. All of the matchroomsport events on TV are great, they have in depth player interviews and awesome commentators. I can't wait to see the final between Wu and Kuo but here in Canada their showing the group stages at the moment so I will have to wait a week or two.
sniper said:
So jealous! When will they be on in the States...never.
wu is very good, probably the 2nd best player in chinese taipei right now behing yang. but what i noticed about him when watching him play is his pocketing, kicking, and safety are about average amongst pros (not yet in the class of earl, johnny, efren, or mike sigel in his prime), but the thing that separates him from the rest is his break and his cue ball control.
i mean, just look at the way he played in wpc 2005. running 3-4 consecutive racks is almost too easy for him, all because he has a monster of a break and he usually keeps whitey in the center of the table. after the break, he usually has 6 or 7 balls to work with and some are hangers which usually equates to a road map.
a matchmaker here in manila told me he saw wu working on his gambling skills by challenging local pros left and right. apparently, wu's manager wanted wu to play dennis orcullo (currently the best money player here in manila) some cheap sets of 9-ball (about 10,000 - 15000 pesos if i remember correctly) with wu getting 5-7-9 from dennis. of course dennis refused this ridiculous spot but settled for a 7-9 spot.
i mean, just look at the way he played in wpc 2005. running 3-4 consecutive racks is almost too easy for him, all because he has a monster of a break and he usually keeps whitey in the center of the table. after the break, he usually has 6 or 7 balls to work with and some are hangers which usually equates to a road map.
a matchmaker here in manila told me he saw wu working on his gambling skills by challenging local pros left and right. apparently, wu's manager wanted wu to play dennis orcullo (currently the best money player here in manila) some cheap sets of 9-ball (about 10,000 - 15000 pesos if i remember correctly) with wu getting 5-7-9 from dennis. of course dennis refused this ridiculous spot but settled for a 7-9 spot.
Snapshot9 said:
Orcullo is a very special player, and it would surprise nobody if he won a WPC at some point.
Remember, we're talking nine ball here, a game that can randomize the results to the point that a player as strong as Francisco Bustamante finds himself without 1) a WPC title, 2) a US Open title, 3) a BCA Open title, or 4) a Derby City Classic title, despite a truly legedary career in competition.
Wu's win was not a fluke. He played great. Wu obviously deserves to be counted among the elite, but that doesn't mean he's the favorite whenever he plays. Not quite yet!