Filipino Dominance in Pool

why Pinoys dominate?

Why Pinoys dominate in pool?....Gambling is the culprit!.....it's an inherent trait among the locals for centuries.....Imagine a whole week activity of the Pinoys......we reserve a day for cockfighting...a few hours for card games...a day for bingo socials (for women, of course) we devote our time to sakla (gambling on wake) apart from long lines at lotto outlets, basketball 2-digits endings, jueteng, loteng, national lotto, masiao, beto-beto, mahjong, tong-its, perya (street fair casino), plus a dozen ways to win in a pool game even as player or kibitzer, and the list goes on.....while the kids are busy on their betting too with wagers on rubber bands, miniature toys and even toss coins....The 'high' comes in collecting the winnings of the day!
Hope that answered the query on why Pinoys excel in pool.

www.filipinopool.com
 
I think the Taiwanese share domination with the Filipinos.

Here's a post I made in another thread:

I counted 8 Filipinos and 8 Chinese Taipei players in the last 32. Ralph was the only non-Asian in the last 8.

In 2005, 9 Chinese Taipei players were left in the final 32 stage, and of course, the final was between two Taiwanese players, which resulted in the youngest world champion ever (Wu, at 16!)

2005 was also the first year that the WPC was played on shimmed up pockets.

-Roger (so to answer your question, asia has dwarfed us years ago...)
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-Roger (flame away Pinoys!)
 
buddha162 said:
I think the Taiwanese share domination with the Filipinos.

Here's a post I made in another thread:



-Roger (flame away Pinoys!)
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You won't get a flame from me, because I completely agree with you. This is the first post I made in this thread (which was posted over a year ago)...

jsp said:
I agree with the dominace of the Filipinos, but I'm sure the Taiwanese would want to have a say in this. The Taiwanese aren't involved in as many major tournaments as the Filipinos. They rarely participate in US tournaments, and when they do they shine. For example, none of the Taiwan superstars participated in the US Open or the IPT KOTH. Chao did participate in the Challenge of Champions this year and won that. The current 8-ball and 9-ball WPC World Champion is Chia Ching Wu from Taiwan. If he participated in KOTH, he would've done some major damage. Then there are the local events in Asia, the San Miguel tour, where the winners are both split between the Filipinos and Taiwanese. The recent Green Tea Cup (or something like that) held in Taiwan featured all the superstars from Taiwan and the Philippines, which included Efren, Busta, Manalo, Yang, Chao, Chang, Wu...etc. First and second place went to Yang and Chang, while third and fourth were Efren and Busta.

I guess my point is, now that the Taiwanese have come into the scene this decade, it's a toss-up between them and the Filipinos in terms of dominance in pool. It's too bad the Taiwanese don't play as many tournaments as the Filipinos, and it's a shame they won't be participated in the IPT next year. I don't think we can clearly say which side dominates until there is full participation with both sides. Sadly, that won't happen for a while. But nice post...i'd like to hear other comments regarding this subject.
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jsp <~~~ wants to see more Taiwanese stars here in the states
 
While I agree with most of the reasons already noted in this thread I believe some of the reason is we have become way too careful. Every shot is calculated in a risk percentage. The way they look at every shot like its a nine foot bank between three balls looks like they have doubts on their ability. Bring back the shooters like Earl, Keith, and a lot more that were'nt so timid.

And of course you could bring 14.1 back as the game of choice again. Johnnyt
 
jsp said:
You won't get a flame from me, because I completely agree with you. This is the first post I made in this thread (which was posted over a year ago)...
I agree with the dominace of the Filipinos, but I'm sure the Taiwanese would want to have a say in this. The Taiwanese aren't involved in as many major tournaments as the Filipinos. They rarely participate in US tournaments, and when they do they shine. For example, none of the Taiwan superstars participated in the US Open or the IPT KOTH. Chao did participate in the Challenge of Champions this year and won that. The current 8-ball and 9-ball WPC World Champion is Chia Ching Wu from Taiwan. If he participated in KOTH, he would've done some major damage. Then there are the local events in Asia, the San Miguel tour, where the winners are both split between the Filipinos and Taiwanese. The recent Green Tea Cup (or something like that) held in Taiwan featured all the superstars from Taiwan and the Philippines, which included Efren, Busta, Manalo, Yang, Chao, Chang, Wu...etc. First and second place went to Yang and Chang, while third and fourth were Efren and Busta.

I guess my point is, now that the Taiwanese have come into the scene this decade, it's a toss-up between them and the Filipinos in terms of dominance in pool. It's too bad the Taiwanese don't play as many tournaments as the Filipinos, and it's a shame they won't be participated in the IPT next year. I don't think we can clearly say which side dominates until there is full participation with both sides. Sadly, that won't happen for a while. But nice post...i'd like to hear other comments regarding this subject.
jsp <~~~ wants to see more Taiwanese stars here in the states
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Ah, great post...I remember reading it too...

The bitter pill we have to swallow is this: America has become obsolete for the highest level of competitive pool. I hate to disagree with anything SJM says but I don't consider any U.S. tournament a major in the world pool scene. Hence I don't see the lack of Taiwanese participation here as any sort of detriment to their pool prestige as a whole.

Taiwan has a full time men's tour, consisting of 2 tiers and weekly live coverage. I'm talking dozens of hours each week, live. Most Taiwanese pros either own or operate poolrooms, and this along with their tour winnings make up their bread and butter income. They participate in the Asian tour, the Japan Open, and several other Asian invitationals...there is virtually no reason for any of them to travel to America for competition.

-Roger (NOW, let the flames begin...lol)
 
Well, I know this thread began in mid-December of 2005, and Filippino dominance was a living, breathing reality at the time. Efren had just won the King of the Hill to complete a very special 2005 for the Filippinos.

What a difference a year makes. If we reflect on 2006, the real reason the Fillipinos dominated is .......................that they didn't.

The only truly deep, internationally diverse fields in 2006, in my opinion, were the following:

1) Derby City 9-ball, 2006 Ralf Souquet (1st), Rodolfo Luat (2nd)
2) The BCA Open, 2006 Ralf Souquet (1st), Johnny Archer (2nd)
3) The World Straight Pool Championship 2006 Thorsten Hohmann (1st), Thomas Engert (2nd)
4) IPT Las Vegas, 2006 Thorsten Hohmann (1st), Marlon Manalo (2nd)
5) IPT Reno, 2006 Efren Reyes (1st), Rodney Morris (2)
6) The US Open 2006 John Schmidt (1st), Rodolfo Luat (2nd)
7) The World Pool Championships 2006, Ronnie Alcano (1st), Ralf Souquet (2nd)

So the tally for 2006 by country in the seven events that had an elite, internationally diverse field is:

Germany (4 gold, 2 silver)
Philippines (2 gold, 3 silver)
USA (1 Gold, 2 silver)

In my book, the Germans gets the nod over the Filippinos in 2006.
 
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Population of the Philippines: 89,468,677 (July 2006 est.)
Population of Germany: 82,422,299 (July 2006 est.)
Population of the USA: 298,444,215 (July 2006 est.)


Point being, if the US had as much interest in pool as other countries we would do better on the world stage. As you all know, the money is in other sports here.
 
do filipinos dominate the pool arena?

some of us guys question the dominance of these filipinos in the game of pool. but I think the only way that we can really answer this question is to ask the pros (americans, europeans, other asians ) themselves since they are the ones who really play and encounter these guys. I saw a featured video regarding this matter some months ago where they interviewed several pros and basing from it, they believe that filipinos do dominate the game. again, I'm not the one who's saying it, those were the pros themselves.
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Just put it this way, many of the current European players actually stayed some times in the Philippines to learn the trick of the trade or to test their skill. It's almost like a right of passage to many pool players.

The Germans are the most frequent.
 
crosseyedjoe said:
Just put it this way, many of the current European players actually stayed some times in the Philippines to learn the trick of the trade or to test their skill. It's almost like a right of passage to many pool players.

The Germans are the most frequent.
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Haven't heard of the germans frequented the philippines. but archer is a regular attendee there before. I've heard that Mika and Corey frequently go there also. Chamat as I had heard, stayed there for 1 or 2 years. as I have seen him play now, his game has elevated some notches higher. Finishing strong in WPC Taiwan and winning in a U.S. circuit against top players like Mika. I guess that training paid off as he would have expected. by the way, who were these german visitors? was it souquet and ortmann?
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I bring this up because the idiosyncrasies in both country and culture spawn two totally different styles of pool play. I would describe the Filipino style as centering around fluidity, tenacity, and creativity...while the Tawainese style on precision, calculation, and proper fundamentals. I'm not saying that one style is better than the other, but they're nonetheless two contrasting styles of play. We can all agree, however, that both styles have been proven very effective.
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with such contrasting styles yet very effective for both, I think it goes down to "LUCK" then. :D
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