Watching this video does not do Jimmy Mataya justice. If you had never seen this guy in action in his better days, then you truly missed quite a show. Ive written on AZ about the time I was in Chicago in 1992 and saw Mataya in action. Here is a cut an paste from that earlier post plus ill edit it a bit to add a bit more details.
I saw Mataya in 1992 do the same thing at the Willards Tournament, only back 15 years ago he was still able to back up his talk. He beat Francisco Galindo for 1k and then beat another great Mexican player back to back. Those two matches I would pay good money to have a tape of them now.
There was a large mexican group in Chicago. That event was the largest pool tournament in history and it drew players from everywhere. During the two matches that I saw Mataya play he spent AT LEAST 10-20% of the total time it took to play this match woofing at the mexican sidelines.
At one point Mataya is on the hill and has a really tough 8 ball. The 8 is roughly in the center of the table just past the side pockets. The cueball lays up against the end rail in the center and the nineball lays next to it. Cutting the 8 into either corner with follow looks like a dead scratch. So Mataya looks at the shot, strokes it like 20 times and then gets up off the ball and proceeds to woof at the mexicans about how great he is and how no one can beat him etc.
He then gets down again and its a replay of the prior time...20-30 strokes, gets up and starts woofing again. He tells them that he is the best player "IN ALL OF ME-HE-CO" and that after he was done here you and you and you are next <pointing to various players on the sidelines>.
I was with a buddy and we both were just flabbergasted how any player could play in this manner. So after all that extended woofing he finally gets back down on this super tough shot, jacks up, strokes it like 20 times and then FIRES it into the corner, drawing and spinning the cueball three rails to get dead perfect position getting perfect position for the nine. Mataya then runs around to the other side of the table, up to the whips the cue behind his back and one stroke fires in the money ball one handed behind his back shouting to the Mexican players "AM I NOT ZE GREEEATEST PLAYER IN ALL OF MEI HI CO!!!! "
I gotta tell you, it was real entertainment.
At this same tournament I also saw Mataya flip Jamie Goodwin for $1,000 and win.
Say what you will about him from watching this youtube video, but Jimmy Mataya did not have to have the brazilians to get up and bet something and he played fantastic money pool from what I saw in chicago.
