Dennis Orcollo v Fedor Gorst (9 Ball/ Race to 90) July 30-August 1

spartan

spartan

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Another Sharks longggg race to xxxx :LOL:
Will likely be streamed on Twitch
or their website https://sharksbilliardleague.com/ or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sharksbilliardleague/
Not sure what rules are for this match.
Last month when Gorst played Mocaibat, Banares, Biado it was alternate break with usual rules (NOT the push or safe rule).
He didn't do too well as he lost 2 out of 3 matches-Beat Banares but lost to Mocaibat and Biado.

orcollo gorst.jpg
 
Never let a rack manipulator rack the balls. You'd think at this top level, one wouldn't have to cheat.
 
A simple question, aren't these huge mega races getting a little boring or is it just me? I mean the first one back in the day when Earl and Efren went at it in that race to 120 in Hong Kong in which Efren pulled out a win in the last day was interesting as a novelty but now? Or maybe it's just that these players having nothing better to do with their time between tournaments, who knows I just find it's getting a bit old.
 
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L.S. Dennis said:
A simple question, aren't these huge mega races getting a little boring or is it just me? I mean the first one back in the day when Earl and Efren went at it in that race to 120 in Hong Kong in which Efren pulled out a win in the last day was interesting as a novelty but now? Or maybe it's just that these players having nothing better to do with their time between tournaments, who knows I just find it's getting a bit old.
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It was even boring in the TAR days, after the novelty of the first few wore away.
 
L.S. Dennis said:
A simple question, aren't these huge mega races getting a little boring or is it just me? I mean the first one back in the day when Earl and Efren went at it in that race to 120 in Hong Kong in which Efren pulled out a win in the last day was interesting as a novelty but now? Or maybe it's just that these players having nothing better to do with their time between tournaments, who knows I just find it's getting a bit old.
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I watch the 1st couple games and the last couple of games. Or highlights if they made them.
 
L.S. Dennis said:
A simple question, aren't these huge mega races getting a little boring or is it just me? I mean the first one back in the day when Earl and Efren went at it in that race to 120 in Hong Kong in which Efren pulled out a win in the last day was interesting as a novelty but now? Or maybe it's just that these players having nothing better to do with their time between tournaments, who knows I just find it's getting a bit old.
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Personally, I've never warmed up to long races. Hence, I disagree with you. Long races aren't getting boring, but have, instead, always been boring.

Endurance and stamina are not what great pool is about and in the heat of the toughest battles, nobody is afforded a chance to size up and gradually get comfortable with an opponent. Great pool is about winning against a variety of opponents having a variety of styles. Few are good enough to do it with any consistency, and that's why the same guys seem to win the biggest titles over and over.

Long races are unbearable to this fan, but I'll defer to those who enjoy these marathons. If many enjoy it, then having these marathon matches serves a purpose. That said, however, I don't know many people who will watch these snooze-fests from beginning to end, and I know a lot of fans.

Regardless, best of luck to these two superstar players.
 
sjm said:
Personally, I've never warmed up to long races. Hence, I disagree with you. Long races aren't getting boring, but have, instead, always been boring.

Endurance and stamina are not what great pool is about and in the heat of the toughest battles, nobody is afforded a chance to size up and gradually get comfortable with an opponent. Great pool is about winning against a variety of opponents having a variety of styles. Few are good enough to do it with any consistency, and that's why the same guys seem to win the biggest titles over and over.

Long races are unbearable to this fan, but I'll defer to those who enjoy these marathons. If many enjoy it, then having these marathon matches serves a purpose. That said, however, I don't know many people who will watch these snooze-fests from beginning to end, and I know a lot of fans.

Regardless, best of luck to these two superstar players.
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Not for the first time, I agree. These long races, I feel, are what some players want….and they lose spectators…and side action.
I suggested a few years ago, if they want prolonged action, then play short sets…best out of.
I think it will increase the betting greatly….therefore the interest.
I‘m from the era where 90% of our gambling was by the game….had a guy at the Rack in the late 70s ask me to play for $2,000…
……race to 15….told him I was looking for action, not a career.
 
pt109 said:
Not for the first time, I agree. These long races, I feel, are what some players want….and they lose spectators…and side action.
I suggested a few years ago, if they want prolonged action, then play short sets…best out of.
I think it will increase the betting greatly….therefore the interest.
I‘m from the era where 90% of our gambling was by the game….had a guy at the Rack in the late 70s ask me to play for $2,000…
……race to 15….told him I was looking for action, not a career.
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Ralph Cortez would have replied to your comment, "I asked you to play. Yes,or no I don't need to hear your life story". 🙂😀😃
 
pt109 said:
Not for the first time, I agree. These long races, I feel, are what some players want….and they lose spectators…and side action.
I suggested a few years ago, if they want prolonged action, then play short sets…best out of.
I think it will increase the betting greatly….therefore the interest.
I‘m from the era where 90% of our gambling was by the game….had a guy at the Rack in the late 70s ask me to play for $2,000…
……race to 15….told him I was looking for action, not a career.
Click to expand...

idk if they lose side action in this particular setting. i bet sharks have tuned their business model to where they get most side action. personally i'm not a fan of long rotation matches (but i'm fine with 1pkt races to 30) or the long betting breaks. but again, it's their business model.
 
sjm said:
Endurance and stamina are not what great pool is about
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I'm indifferent to these long races, as I only find a few with specific players to be interesting. But I have to disagree with this premise.

Tournaments have always been about endurance and stamina. The opponent changes every, say, 15-25 racks or so, but players who go deep, particularly in these big double-elimination tournaments, are probably playing just as much pool as with one of these long races, but with fewer changes of scenery.

I agree that the variety of matchups offered by those tournaments is nice. I'd rather run a marathon through the changing countryside than around and around a single quarter-mile track. But, it's still a marathon either way.
 
Rocket354 said:
I'm indifferent to these long races, as I only find a few with specific players to be interesting. But I have to disagree with this premise.

Tournaments have always been about endurance and stamina. The opponent changes every, say, 15-25 racks or so, but players who go deep, particularly in these big double-elimination tournaments, are probably playing just as much pool as with one of these long races, but with fewer changes of scenery.

I agree that the variety of matchups offered by those tournaments is nice. I'd rather run a marathon through the changing countryside than around and around a single quarter-mile track. But, it's still a marathon either way.
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The majors are not about endurance and stamina. At the US Open 9-ball, you never play more than three matches in a day (and usually no more than two) in the preliminaries, but once you get to the last 64, you never play more than two matches in a day. You always get breaks between matches. The champion FSR won nine (or possibly ten, I can't remember whether he suffered a loss in the preliminaries) matches in six days. The World Pool Championship, the UK Open and the Spanish Open all used this same format, which is the norm these days.

Regional and local tournaments with big fields may require a little more endurance and stamina.
 
I don't mind these long races; kinda enjoy them actually. Now that's not to say I could watch an 8-hour match in its entirety, but I enjoy tuning in to see who has the mental toughness to bear down hour after hour.
 
L.S. Dennis said:
A simple question, aren't these huge mega races getting a little boring or is it just me? I mean the first one back in the day when Earl and Efren went at it in that race to 120 in Hong Kong in which Efren pulled out a win in the last day was interesting as a novelty but now? Or maybe it's just that these players having nothing better to do with their time between tournaments, who knows I just find it's getting a bit old.
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Not a fan of long one on one races to xxxx even though I post about them :LOL:.
They are just gimmicky, overdue novelty like circus act. The race length is subjective (can be 50, 75, 90,100, 120 etc. and you can have different winner depending on race length. As Orson Welles used to say "If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story" :ROFLMAO:)
Players play long hours sometimes late into next morning so doesn't extract best performances from players
There is less pressure to deliver best shots compared to tournament matches
Tournaments are tougher tests cos they test how you fare against the field instead of just 1 player. How you handle players with different skill sets, different conditions
That is why tournaments (in particular majors with strong fields of 800+ players) are better test of ability/skill.
Good thing about the World Tours of Matchroom, Predator/CSI in recent years is that they wean players away from these long races to xxxx and get them to focus on playing on the World tours. Even though players like Gorst, FSR do take these Shark long races as training preparation for upcoming majors on the tour.
There is reason why players are voted as player of year based on performance in tournaments (in particular majors), not long races.
 
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