Gabe Owen forfeits in Austin

[gulfportdoc]

I see from the brackets that Gabe Owen forfeited his second match, after losing his first. There may have been a logical reason for the forfeit; but I'm wondering if this has become the wave of the future? Seems like several top players lately have forfeited when they've lost on the winner's side. I guess it does move the event along quicker. And I imagine the prospective opponent is real happy!

Doc

 

[Roadkill]

Did they have a Calcutta? Sometimes the TD will refund a portion of the player's auction in cases of forfeiture. If not, someone may be miffed.

 

[Rift]

You always hear about this it seems now. Heard the story just recently where a player that someone bought in the calcuttas for the tune of 1500 or so for both didn't want half of it and quit after he lost his first match to go play a money game elsewhere leaving the guy rather stuck.

I've heard more good things than bad about Gabe I don't know him personally, hopefully he got ill or had some sort of family emergency and everything is alright....Rather than hearing he just quit because he lost a match.

 

[Snapshot9]

Have you

ever been through the loser's side of a 128 player tournament? If you have, then you already know the answer, having to win 13 matches to get to the final match.

He may have had a better opportunity pop up also.

 

[Gatz]

Money is money. If I knew I could win atleast 500+ bucks playing 13+matchs I would do it. Good days work to me :grin: . People are just getting to greedy these days. What happened to playing the game because you love the game?. This is why I like SVB a lot, he practices 24/7. He doesn't have to play for money to get onto the table to hit some balls. There are a lot of players that won't get on the table unless they know there playing for something.

 

[azhousepro]

One of the ways that rooms hope to recoup some of the expenses of hosting an event like this is by selling food and drinks to the fans who come in to watch these top players compete.

When a top player leaves because they don't feel like wading through the one loss side, it hurts the room as less fans are going to stick around to watch two players they don't know play instead of a former US Open Champion.

From what I know of Gabe, he must have had something very important that took him away from the tournament.

Mike

 

[philw]

ever been through the loser's side of a 128 player tournament? If you have, then you already know the answer, having to win 13 matches to get to the final match.

He may have had a better opportunity pop up also.

I think that looks bad on one's resume. If he had an emergency or something serious that came up ok but to forfeit because the mountain he had to climb was too high doesn't look good. If someone bought him in the calcutta that's another thing that doesn't bode well. Coming back from the loser's side is what it's all about a real character builder. IMO Philw

 

[Rift]

ever been through the loser's side of a 128 player tournament? If you have, then you already know the answer, having to win 13 matches to get to the final match.

He may have had a better opportunity pop up also.

I'm sure Gabe wasn't the only person that had money riding on him in that tournament.

You are saying it's okay for a player to quit on a backer, or just someone that put more money into a tournament? Seems rather wrong in my opinion. With the exceptions of illness and emergencies of family or friends there's no reason to just quit. That seems no different than if someone were to lay down on their backer and chop up his money with the other guy.

 

[Njhustler1]

Money is money. If I knew I could win atleast 500+ bucks playing 13+matchs I would do it. Good days work to me :grin: . People are just getting to greedy these days. What happened to playing the game because you love the game?. This is why I like SVB a lot, he practices 24/7. He doesn't have to play for money to get onto the table to hit some balls. There are a lot of players that won't get on the table unless they know there playing for something.

Let's just 'play play'. No money. I just want your best game here.

 

[Gatz]

One of the ways that rooms hope to recoup some of the expenses of hosting an event like this is by selling food and drinks to the fans who come in to watch these top players compete.

When a top player leaves because they don't feel like wading through the one loss side, it hurts the room as less fans are going to stick around to watch two players they don't know play instead of a former US Open Champion.

From what I know of Gabe, he must have had something very important that took him away from the tournament.

Mike

This is very true pro. Ive seen Alex P play in a few tournaments here in Toronto and if he left on the one loss side I would probably leave (Would be pissed too lol). No point in watching the regular players you can see all the time lol. Alex Pagulayan never looses when he plays here though, so I don't have to worry about him leaving :thumbup:

 

[skor]

ever been through the loser's side of a 128 player tournament? If you have, then you already know the answer, having to win 13 matches to get to the final match.

He may have had a better opportunity pop up also.

Definitely not a sportsmanship behavior! no wonder he is out of sponsors....

 

[Bigtruck]

Auction

Definitely not a sportsmanship behavior! no wonder he is out of sponsors....

There was no players auction. I would sure like to know why he left. Maybe he didnt think he had a chance, with the level of play.

Ray

 

[GoTulane]

One word!

Quitter.

UNLESS something comes up that is an emergency and one needs to leave for more important reasons that are life and death related, this is exactly what that person is. Otherwise, you are just kidding yourself.

:crying: "waaa-waaa-waaa - too many matches to win-waaa-waaa-waaa":crying:

If other people have "invested" in a person playing a tourney(calcutta backers/sponsors/etc...)then they OWE it to them to play, or pay them back their investment. It is the right thing to do - it is the only thing to do.

In life, as in pool, if people only continued to do something if everything went their way all the time, what a sorry place this world would be. How many advancements would not even exist today if this was the common practice?
It doesn't matter who quits, or why they quit(unless there is a life and death emergency situation), it just shows poor sportsmanship in pool, and poor humanity.

I have seen it in many tourneys at many player levels, and it seems it is becoming a common practice, which only causes more grief and seems to show support for those type of actions by others. Do not support it!
About the only players that I have never seen pull this stunt are the ones that do not have a snowball's chance in HELL of winning the tourney. But they wait around and play their next match. What does it say about them? What does this say about the quitter?

Maybe quitters should just quit the GAME altogether? They aren't needed anyway. Pool does not need them, tourneys do not need them, sponsors do not need them, and FANS/SUPPORTERS do not need them. We will be fine without them - probably better for it.

I do not know anything about Gabe's reasons for leaving this Tourney, nor am I truly commenting on his specific situation - just providing my opinion on an attitude that seems to be growing in the game of pool and pool tourneys - One attitude that truly needs to GO!

JMHO - Michael

 

[Tin Man]

Stop This Now!

Everyone knows that rumors have a way of becoming believed if repeated enough (look at Skor's post and see what I mean), so lets not speculate about what happened. All we know is that Gabe lost his second match by forfeit.

I have never quit a tournament, but I have lost a couple of matches by forfeit- once I overslept, once the tournament director changed the match time after I had looked at it and before I knew it my B side opponent was already advanced and there was nothing that could be done.

In addition to these common mistakes there are many other legitimate reasons why someone would have to leave.

No one has offered any proof that he quit, that he stuck it to sponsors, or that he displayed any poor sportsmanship. Speculation is only natural, but lets hold back on judgment and give Gabe the benefit of the doubt.

 

[skor]

look at Skor's post and see what I mean

What do you mean?

obviously you didn't understand what I meant....

How many times do you see an athlete falls down and gets up to finish the run even if he/she hurts? finishing what you started is as important as winning! that's the true spirit of sports!

My "behavior" remark was toward the option that maybe there was something better: "He may have had a better opportunity pop up also" made by Snapshot9

there are many good reason to forfeit a tournament, this or oversleeping are not one of those.
My remarks stands for anybody (not just Gabe) who quit from the wrong reason!!!

My "sponsor" remarked winked at a thread that Gabe started here a few weeks ago about looking for a new sponsor...
If he did quit for the wrong reason then he Definitely doesn't deserve a sponsor!

 

[Tin Man]

Definitely not a sportsmanship behavior! no wonder he is out of sponsors....

This is what I had a problem with. We don't know what happened, so to assume that he has a poor attitude is very unfair. Maybe the reason he is out of sponsors is because too many people have started unsupported rumors about his sportsmanship!

 

[uwate]

I cant believe how many people are giving gabe a hard time without knowing any facts. calling someone a quitter or saying thats why they dont have any sponsors is really a bunch of bs when you guys dont have a clue as to what really happened. Gabe has been on azb before as well as his mom. Dont be jerkoffs without knowing whats the truth.

Gabe is a great player and deserves more respect than this piling on crap.

 

[George]

ever been through the loser's side of a 128 player tournament? If you have, then you already know the answer, having to win 13 matches to get to the final match.

Yes I have and I kept playing. Gabe is a CHAMPION and he can win through the loser's side. I hope that isn't the reason he left and I'll give him the benefit of the doubt until I hear differently.

He may have had a better opportunity pop up also.

I have to say I'm surprised to hear you say this Scott. IMHO there is nothing better than finishing what you start for a multitude of reasons.

George

 

[alstl]

You always hear about this it seems now. Heard the story just recently where a player that someone bought in the calcuttas for the tune of 1500 or so for both didn't want half of it and quit after he lost his first match to go play a money game elsewhere leaving the guy rather stuck.

I've heard more good things than bad about Gabe I don't know him personally, hopefully he got ill or had some sort of family emergency and everything is alright....Rather than hearing he just quit because he lost a match.

Is it common to ask a player if he wants to buy half of the calcutta? The reason I ask is because it happened to me once in a tournament. I'm just a banger but the T D kind of hyped me in the calcutta and most of the people there didn't know me so some buy bid a ridiculous amount on me and then asked me if I wanted to buy half of my calcutta. I told him no thanks, I'm not very good and I proved it when I went two and out.

 

[JAM]

I agree with the consensus on this thread that nobody should make assumptions about why Gabe was forfeited.

Here's a story about Hiroshi Takenaka, his very first trip to the States.

Miyuki Sakai and Hiroshi Takenaka flew from Japan over to the United States to follow the American tournament trail. Their first stop was Richmond, Virginia, the Playing Field, where this picture was taken, at the then-Planet Pool 9-Ball Tour. I think it was in the summer of 2003, but that's subject to check.

Hiroshi drew Keith McCready first round and lost his first match in the double-elimination event. He fought his way through the B side of the chart and won the Open event. Meanwhile, Miyuki Sakai played in the women's tournament and won the women's event.

While Miyuki was still fighting her to the winner's circle, Hiroshi began to play darts with the locals. He could barely speak English, but the entire night he was having so much fun, high-fiving his dart buddies, laughing and giggling, and just enjoying himself to the max.

Nice score for these Japanese players' very first stop off the plane in America! Both of them brought a lot of class and excitement to the tournament. It was a weekend to remember and one of those feel-good pool stories.

Hiroshi won the whole shebang from losing his very first round in the double-elimination tournament.

Some players think playing on the B side of the chart keeps you in stroke. Whereas, on the winners' brackets, you can get cold. This is especially true in the semi-finals and finals round! Sometimes being on the B side of the chart has some advantages!

JAM