Corey Winning the US Open - Premiering Now on YouTube

This was my first time seeing the match.

I was aware of some of the particulars and how they affected break rules in the future. What I assumed was that Corey was soft breaking, getting a shot, and then running out easy racks. Turns out that wasn't the case, and Mika actually had a decent amount of opportunities, but was unable to capitalize.

Also, I always thought this match was where this famous shot came from

 
First time I seen the match also. To tell you the truth, I didn't see anything wrong with his break. He averaged more than two balls a break, and he always had at least four balls hitting rails. He didn't break any rules, and it looked completely ethical. He is a very smart player.

At about 5:05, you hear somebody comment about checking how many balls are hitting rail. The very first break he made, five balls hit a rail or were pocketed. And that rule wasnt even in effect. When I get time, I will play all his brakes at 1/4 speed. But I think most of his breaks, if not all, would have complied with that rule.
 
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I agree, though it does make for a pretty dull match in my opinion. I will say that the stain on that table looks amazing. Would love to own that with tournament blue cloth.
 
Here's the current "four balls to a rail" shot for 9-ball:

(b) if no ball is pocketed, at least four object balls must be driven to one or more rails, or the shot is a foul

I think it's really hard to not get four balls to the cushion if you are hitting the rack hard enough to make a ball.

The commentators said that the four-balls-to-the-cushion rule was not in effect. I wonder what rule set was being used.
 
First time I seen the match also. To tell you the truth, I didn't see nothing wrong with his break. He averaged more than two balls a break, and he always had at least four balls hitting rails. He didn't break any rules, and it looked completely ethical. He is a very smart player.

At about 5:05 oh, you hear somebody comment about checking how many balls are hitting rail. The very first break he made oh, five balls hit a rail or were pocketed. And that rule wasnt even in effect. When I get time, I will play all his brakes at 1/4 speed. But I think most of his breaks, if not all, would have complied with that rule.
I think it’s mainly the way he changed the game in that match. It’s not quite a safe break but it’s not a fully offensive break either. Hes counting on being able to better navigate those small position zones to run out, or out maneuver his opponent in a safety exchange. If he doesn’t make a ball, he doesn’t leave a wide open table either. It’s reminiscent of his 10 ball break he used at the SBE several years ago against Shane.

It’s not unethical and it’s certainly within the rules. But I think the move to outlaw it is that we don’t want 9 ball to turn into a moving game. And then later iterations or the soft break turns 9 ball into a runout fest, which is too far in the other direction.
 
Mika had a ton of opportunities and played bad. Coreys break didn’t have that much of an impact on the match imo. I like the Matchroom route now, use a forceful break, no three point rule. Yeah you can argue that it can be inconsistent because it’s the refs discretion on what’s a forceful break but I think it beats the alternatives.
 
Absolutely agree with the Forceful break rule instead of that wretched 3 point thing. I always shouted to no one in particular that that was the answer if you have a problem with soft breaks. That way you don’t get penalized when you smash them up and they collide just right to not pass the head string, leaving a cosmo that should’ve been yours.

The break in the video above is more like a medium break. The killer was that real soft one, pattern racked with the 3-9 wired combo.
I think maybe it was a 7’ tourney I saw Corey and someone else doing that to each other. They made like 12 balls the entire match.
 
This was my first time seeing the match.

I was aware of some of the particulars and how they affected break rules in the future. What I assumed was that Corey was soft breaking, getting a shot, and then running out easy racks. Turns out that wasn't the case, and Mika actually had a decent amount of opportunities, but was unable to capitalize.

Also, I always thought this match was where this famous shot came from

That’s a different match and Corey dogged the 9 that’s why it cuts off abruptly.
 
I think it’s mainly the way he changed the game in that match. It’s not quite a safe break but it’s not a fully offensive break either. Hes counting on being able to better navigate those small position zones to run out, or out maneuver his opponent in a safety exchange. If he doesn’t make a ball, he doesn’t leave a wide open table either. It’s reminiscent of his 10 ball break he used at the SBE several years ago against Shane.

It’s not unethical and it’s certainly within the rules. But I think the move to outlaw it is that we don’t want 9 ball to turn into a moving game. And then later iterations or the soft break turns 9 ball into a runout fest, which is too far in the other direction.
One of his breaks he made 5 balls. I call that an offensive break.
 
Ironic. I always wanted to see this match. So I bought the DVD from AccuStats. Sat on it for a few months. Just watched it a couple weeks ago and now they release it to YouTube. Funny.

I don’t care for the soft break. But I was expecting to see Corey break and run out the set or something. But instead there was still a lot of pool being played with safeties and mistakes. It didn’t look any different than forceful template rack matches today. Honestly Mika simply blew every opportunity he had. If he played like that against a top player today he’d likely lose 11-0.
 
I always hear how Deuel was an engineer in his day. Dude put in some work to figure out how to game the system on each type of rack. That was a thing of beauty to watch; 4 balls on the break and nothing passes center table let alone sniff the kitchen.

One thing I didn’t understand: In rack five Immonen misses a 2 rail kick. Diliberto says that it was a big ball and that he always tells people that ball is 3 times the width it actually is on that shot. Can anyone clarify what he meant?
 
Geez, they looked like a couple of dweebs back then.

And did anyone see Neils feijen with his Dragonball z super Saiyan look in the intro?
 
I always hear how Deuel was an engineer in his day. Dude put in some work to figure out how to game the system on each type of rack. That was a thing of beauty to watch; 4 balls on the break and nothing passes center table let alone sniff the kitchen.

One thing I didn’t understand: In rack five Immonen misses a 2 rail kick. Diliberto says that it was a big ball and that he always tells people that ball is 3 times the width it actually is on that shot. Can anyone clarify what he meant?
I dont think "game the system" is quite the way to say It. That implies he cheated in some way, or was bending the rules so to speak. He averaged 2.25 balls per break, and i think 4 or more balls hit a rail every time. And the other players could have tried to emulate his break if they wanted. What it comes down to Is the whining 3 years olds didnt think of it first. While we are at it, maybe the safety break should be illegal in straight pool.

I think what he meant about a 7 inch target was the cue ball could hit the object ball left side, center, or right side....for a total target of 3 times the cue ball diameter. You just need to put the cue ball in that 6 3/4 inch target to get a hit.
 
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He use to come in the hall I played at in Columbus, mostly just came to BS but sometimes he would put in a little work and try different things. The guy is intelligent in the pool world and out and no cheat. The soft break worked for him and was legal so he used it with success, can't fault anyone for that
 
I dont think "game the system" is quite the way to say It. That implies he cheated in some way, or was bending the rules so to speak...

I think what he meant about a 7 inch target was the cue ball could hit the object ball left side, center, or right side....for a total target of 3 times the cue ball diameter. You just need to put the cue ball in that 6 3/4 inch target to get a hit.
Definitely didn’t mean to imply that. I respect out of the box thinkers. He took an approach so different than common knowledge dictated. He worked his butt off to get consistent and was so successful that they changed the rules.

Thanks for the clarification.
 
Definitely didn’t mean to imply that. I respect out of the box thinkers. He took an approach so different than common knowledge dictated. He worked his butt off to get consistent and was so successful that they changed the rules.

Thanks for the clarification.
Judging by the rest of your post, I didn't really think you meant that way either. But the phrase you used did imply that.

And here's something else to add to the scenario... they were racking with the nine ball on the spot. Why do they do that? To keep players from consistently making the wing ball. Then what happens? They figured out how to make the head ball in the side pocket every time. If they would have racked with the one ball on the spot, his "soft" break probably would not have worked for him.

Everyone is always trying to come up with a way to make players unsuccessful. The attempt itself is unsuccessful. The good ones will always find a way.

God forbid I give anybody any ideas, but let's have them all break with the cue ball on the head spot. And we'll come up with a rack that puts a 1/16 inch Gap between all the balls in the rack. Guess what? The professional players will figure that one out too.
 
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