Thanks, guys! Hugo is playing really well right now and came in 4th overall in the event, so that was a good win for me. The run of 10 came at just the right time
Since it was on the TV table where I'm usually talking instead of playing, Ira Lee thought there might be some interest in a player review version of the match. So it looks like I'm going to go back and add commentary for it, and it'll be available soon once the video-on-demand site with all of the 14.1 and 3-cushion tournament recordings is up and running.
The Patino win was nice, but the biggest highlights of the week for me were hanging out with my pool and billiard heroes in a way that could only happen in such a unique simultaneous tournament format. Here are a few from my week in billiard heaven:
- Gambled with Efren Reyes at 3-cushion. He won 25-24, and I'd love to track down the video!
- Talked with Torbjorn Blomdahl and Corey Deuel at a pool table while they played bank pool (both are STRONG bankers), one pocket (TB at DCC would be fun!) and Corey's "break and run 15 balls in the fewest shots" drill (Corey's record is 9 and I think TB did 11). Afterwards, they started swapping time shots, kiss shots, novelty shots, etc. NYC Grind took some video of this.
- Discussed 14.1 strategy in the bleachers with Corey while we watched the Efren v. Appleton semi-finals match (Deuel has a very sharp pool mind!)
- Had dinner with Blomdahl, Efren, Santos Sambajon and Ira Lee - how awesome is that! Among the topics discussed, Efren mentioned that it would be fun to have a "scratch pool" tournament (you score by caroming OBs into pockets off of the CB - kinda like Russian Pyramid). It's a fun pool game that everyone should try!
- Shared the booth with Torbjorn during the Reyes-Ceulemans balkline exhibition while he explained the game and its strategy with insight and clarity. TB has the rare ability to both play and explain billiards at a high level, and I wish we could get him to talk on every billiard video EVER
- Stood next to Ceulemans while Eddy Leppens borrowed Efren's cue and ran a zillion points in a little impromptu one-cushion exhibition. Raymond says Leppens and Caudron are the two strongest 1C players in Belgium (and maybe the world). Efren is a strong 1C player himself and was very appreciative of Eddy's masterful touch.
I've attached a few pics from the festivities. Many thanks to Ira Lee and everyone at Carom Cafe and Dragon Promotions for making this happen! Carom Cafe is one of the few venues where something like this is possible, and I hope it was successful enough that more multidisciplinary events will be headed our way in the future.
Robert
