A layman's observations:
Today, I went the long trek to Flushing, Queens to witness the Sang Lee Int. Open. As I promised fellow AZBer Black-Balled, I will share a few things I saw this afternoon.
I got to Carom Cafe around 3:30pm, and without surprise, encountered a lively scene of 3 cushion players and fans alike, along with the peddlers of cues, gloves, instructional materials, food, drinks, etc.
In attendance were, of course, Blomdahl, Sami Sayginer, Daniel Sanchez (of those I only saw a few friendly games of 9 ball --- more on that later), Ceulemans, Zanetti, Mazin Shooni, and a strong New York contingent that included Michael Kang, Pedro Piedrabuena, Hugo Patino, Miguel Torre, Ira Lee, Sid Banner, Sonny Cho, among others. To my disappointment, Dick Jaspers turned out to be a no-show.
AZBers who happen to be fans of 3 cushion will have to be patient with me, because I did today what I usually do the first day I get to see a big tournament: I ran around from table to table in excitement without seeing a single match from beginning to end. Well... except for Pedro Piedrabuena's match against one Robert Raiford, whom he disposed of very easily with the score 30-4, I believe. Forgive me, I did not count the innings (try to do a better job next time).
Piedrabuena was playing real well, making a run of 4 points after winning the lag, and running many fours thereafter. The other guy played extremely defensive, but Pedro was scoring from everywhere. Here is the approximate way the balls were laying when he scored the last billiard, to the excitement of Ceulemans who was sitting a couple of feet away:
START(
%BH8L5%CJ4T2%Eq9K4%MI5U8%NE2Z7%OC3L7%PE8C5%QE3A7%RA2L0%SD3[8
%UJ9L0%Vp7K4%[C5Q7%\G8L8%]F7D6%^I7K7%eA7`5
)END
*don't quote me on the diagram!*
Of the big three I only saw a friendly (and crazy) 9 ball match in one of the tables in the back. Daniel Sanchez was playing Sami, while Blomdahl was cracking jokes and fulfilling his self-appointed role of caddie for Sanchez' "break cue" (a house cue). To my surprise Daniel had a bigger break than Sami, and could actually run a few balls. After a while of course, they started with trick shots, masses, making every ball with a bank or kick... Stuff you would expect to see from 3 cushion players! That's when I had to leave, around 6:30pm, not before having a few good laughs...
Anyways, this is it for now. I hope to go again on Friday and hopefully I'll have something to report on Blomdahl, Sami, and Sanchez. Will also try to do a better job with the innings, scores, standings, and diagrams. Cheers!
Today, I went the long trek to Flushing, Queens to witness the Sang Lee Int. Open. As I promised fellow AZBer Black-Balled, I will share a few things I saw this afternoon.
I got to Carom Cafe around 3:30pm, and without surprise, encountered a lively scene of 3 cushion players and fans alike, along with the peddlers of cues, gloves, instructional materials, food, drinks, etc.
In attendance were, of course, Blomdahl, Sami Sayginer, Daniel Sanchez (of those I only saw a few friendly games of 9 ball --- more on that later), Ceulemans, Zanetti, Mazin Shooni, and a strong New York contingent that included Michael Kang, Pedro Piedrabuena, Hugo Patino, Miguel Torre, Ira Lee, Sid Banner, Sonny Cho, among others. To my disappointment, Dick Jaspers turned out to be a no-show.
AZBers who happen to be fans of 3 cushion will have to be patient with me, because I did today what I usually do the first day I get to see a big tournament: I ran around from table to table in excitement without seeing a single match from beginning to end. Well... except for Pedro Piedrabuena's match against one Robert Raiford, whom he disposed of very easily with the score 30-4, I believe. Forgive me, I did not count the innings (try to do a better job next time).
Piedrabuena was playing real well, making a run of 4 points after winning the lag, and running many fours thereafter. The other guy played extremely defensive, but Pedro was scoring from everywhere. Here is the approximate way the balls were laying when he scored the last billiard, to the excitement of Ceulemans who was sitting a couple of feet away:
START(
%BH8L5%CJ4T2%Eq9K4%MI5U8%NE2Z7%OC3L7%PE8C5%QE3A7%RA2L0%SD3[8
%UJ9L0%Vp7K4%[C5Q7%\G8L8%]F7D6%^I7K7%eA7`5
)END
*don't quote me on the diagram!*
Of the big three I only saw a friendly (and crazy) 9 ball match in one of the tables in the back. Daniel Sanchez was playing Sami, while Blomdahl was cracking jokes and fulfilling his self-appointed role of caddie for Sanchez' "break cue" (a house cue). To my surprise Daniel had a bigger break than Sami, and could actually run a few balls. After a while of course, they started with trick shots, masses, making every ball with a bank or kick... Stuff you would expect to see from 3 cushion players! That's when I had to leave, around 6:30pm, not before having a few good laughs...
Anyways, this is it for now. I hope to go again on Friday and hopefully I'll have something to report on Blomdahl, Sami, and Sanchez. Will also try to do a better job with the innings, scores, standings, and diagrams. Cheers!
