Have You Ever Seen a Pro Miss a Hanger for the Win?

C

cuetechasaurus

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The only one I can recall is Nick Varner's miss against Mike Sigel, where Nick missed a pretty easy shot in the side pocket, and the cueball ended up freezing to the 9ball leaving Mike no shot at hill-hill. This was an easy shot, but he was bridging off the rail and he was going into he side at an angle, so the pocket was smaller. I am talking about, at hill hill has anyone seen a top player miss like a short simple straight in 9-ball, or the last two balls hanging in the hole and he/she didn't get out? I heard at the World 8-ball Championships, Thorsten missed an easy 8 against Wu for the win, he just 1-stroked it and missed it. Wu then went on to win the tournament. Any other stories? Show diagrams if you want.

I have never seen any pros do this (aside from Nick Varner), but the worst I have ever seen was at a local tournament, where at the beginning of the month the house adds like $200, and we had like 30 players. A strong shortstop was playing a weaker A player in the finals, and the shortstop made a nice comback to make it hill-hill. He was bridging off the end rail the cueball was frozen to it, and the 9-ball was in the jaws of a corner pocket at the head rail across the table. He miscued and missed the ball entirely. He got $175 instead of $300 for first. Ouch!
 
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I remember watching an Accu-Stats video, I think it was the Sands Open in Dec. 95 or June 96, Archer vs. Reyes. Late in the match, they take a break, and the camers goes to the other winners' side match, Luat vs. Earl. Luat is ahead 10-9 in a race to 11, with the CB near center table and the 9 about 12-18 inches from the corner pocket, maybe about a 60 degree angle. Varner aside, I've never seen a player of that caliber miss a relatively routine shot like that, but Luat hung it up. Earl shot the hanger and won the next game to advance to the hot seat match.
 
Certanly, the most famous fatal miss of a fairly routine game ball was that of Jim Rempe in the final of the 1974 US Open 14.1 championship. It wasn't a hanger, but a shot that everybody reckoned Jimmy would make. Shortly thereafter, fellow future hall-of-famer Joe Balsis ran out for the 200 - 199 win.
 
This was one of the first televised women's events I ever watched and I had just started playing. Gordon's was sponsoring the WPBA and the event was for $20,000, winner take all. It was Ewa against *someone* in the finals (can't remember), and Ewa miscues on the final 9, straight in, two foot shot. The cameras eventually showed her sitting in the stands with her chin in her hands looking very downtrodden.

That taught me two things - even the Pros can miss, and don't take easy shots for granted. Ouch!! A $20,000 miscue.

Barbara
 
cuetechasaurus said:
A strong shortstop was playing a weaker A player in the finals, and the shortstop made a nice comback to make it hill-hill. He was bridging off the end rail the cueball was frozen to it, and the 9-ball was in the jaws of a corner pocket at the head rail across the table. He miscued and missed the ball entirely. He got $175 instead of $300 for first. Ouch!
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Man, here I'm a "C". Sounds like in your neck of the woods, I'd be a pro. LOL

It just goes to show, how much differencne there is, across the country.

Your from the, west coast, right?

LOL

Tracy

P.S. Just messin' with ya! No harm, no foul... right? :)
 
Along the same lines, there was a 8 ball tournament in the old Camel tour.
Jimmy Wetch vs Efren in the finals. If memory serves me correctly, was hill-hill. Wetch had one ball then the eight, shot his last ball in the side, meaning to draw back about a foot for the 8 in the corner....... drew all the way across the table to scratch in the opposite side pocket.
Chuck
 
RSB-Refugee said:
Man, here I'm a "C". Sounds like in your neck of the woods, I'd be a pro. LOL

It just goes to show, how much differencne there is, across the country.

Your from the, west coast, right?

LOL

Tracy

P.S. Just messin' with ya! No harm, no foul... right? :)
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The player who missed the ball is a very strong shortstop, could also be considered a low-tier pro. He was frozen on the rail, and I think his tip just didn't hold chalk very well for that particular shot. The top players out here probably play better, if not just as good as the top players in Indiana.
 
I remember

a final with Danny Basavich going hill-to-hill and he was running out. Shot the 7 ball uptable corner, drew the cue ball for 8 in same corner (he could have stopped cue for 8 in the side), and he backcut the 8 too thin and hung it up. Don't remember for sure, but I think it was Django or Alex then made
the 8 and 9 for the win.

It was the first time I ever saw Danny in final TV match.
 
sjm said:
Certanly, the most famous fatal miss of a fairly routine game ball was that of Jim Rempe in the final of the 1974 US Open 14.1 championship. It wasn't a hanger, but a shot that everybody reckoned Jimmy would make. Shortly thereafter, fellow future hall-of-famer Joe Balsis ran out for the 200 - 199 win.
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sjm...Isn't that the match where Rempe was going to draw the CB, when all he needed was simple stop shot...and he miscued, and scooped the CB right over the 7-ball (I think it was the 7)? That was EXACTLY the shot I thought of when I saw this thread topic.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
 
sjm said:
Certanly, the most famous fatal miss of a fairly routine game ball was that of Jim Rempe in the final of the 1974 US Open 14.1 championship. It wasn't a hanger, but a shot that everybody reckoned Jimmy would make. Shortly thereafter, fellow future hall-of-famer Joe Balsis ran out for the 200 - 199 win.
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I saw the shot. I felt like I got hit in the chest with a sledgehammer when JR missed the shot.

Thats the great thing about the game.....you never know:)
 
Snapshot9 said:
a final with Danny Basavich going hill-to-hill and he was running out. Shot the 7 ball uptable corner, drew the cue ball for 8 in same corner (he could have stopped cue for 8 in the side), and he backcut the 8 too thin and hung it up. Don't remember for sure, but I think it was Django or Alex then made
the 8 and 9 for the win.

It was the first time I ever saw Danny in final TV match.
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He was playing Corey Deuel in the final of the UPA tour championship somewhere in LA. His mistake was getting straight in on the 7 ball so he couldn't get an easier shot on the 8. He had to leave himself a fairly tough cut on the 8, and he overcut it and hung it up. Corey then ran out the last two balls for the win.
 
Steve Tipton was relating a story that happened at one of the WPBA events. They had a challenge the pro for money, where if you won a race to 2 or 3, you won $500. So one of the local heavyweights showed up to play one of the gals. And he miscues on a shot, and thus the lady won. Apparently he was none too happy.

Also, I've heard that at Mohegan Sun, Reyes and Bustamante were missing a lot of shots. 2002? 2001? Does anyone have this on video? I've been looking for this for ages.
 
> Willie Mosconi said in an interview that he missed a dead straight 2 footer or he would have won the World 14.1 tournament in his very first try. There is a game featured on one of the Accu-Stats highlight tapes that shows the hill game in a match between Jimmy Fusco I think and Johnny Archer. I want to say Archer missed it first,then they took turns missing relatively high percentage banks on it. Dave Bollman missed a pretty easy shot on the 7 to tie a match hill-hill with Nick Varner,in the 1989 Brunswick World Open. The week before in a tournament,a young player named Brian Atchley from Missouri was on the verge of ending Nick Varner's streak of 6 wins in a row,and missed a straight in 8 ball leading 10-8,and never shot again. Nick won that tournament on the way to an 11 win year. Tommy D.
 
I am suprised nobody mention'd Ga Young Kim's 9ball miss that cost her the US open i believe? or was it the BCA Open?

I seen a clip of the shot and it just rattled in the pocket to let i believe Karen Corr win on the hill. OUCH.

And the other one that comes to mind thats recent was the Bassavich shot where he hung the 8ball to let Corey win.

dave
 
In the years I've been around, almost ALL the top pros have missed easy (hangers) shots at one time or another. And I mean all of them. Every one can tell you a story about an easy miss at a critical time.

By the way, the strangest thing about Varner's missed Nine ball in the U.S. Open is what Sigel did afterward. The Cue ball froze to the Nine, and Sigel could easily have played safe, hitting the Nine thin and leaving the Cue ball down table. Instead he just thrust his cue at the Cue ball and sent both balls rolling around the table. I mean it was a completely amateurish shot by one of the all time greats. He had a major brain fart, and it's all on tape.

One that stands out in my mind was in the Finals of the Disneyland Open in 1986. The match was between Danny Medina and David Howard. First prize was $8,000, a good purse for that era. The match went hill-hill and David was all set up for the win. He only needed to make the four ball in the corner and let the Cue ball roll a foot or two for easy position on a billiard from the Five to the Nine which was sitting an inch or so from the middle of the side pocket. The Five ball was inches away from the Nine. It was unmissable. Any amateur could make this shot with no problem. Just hit the side of the Five ball anywhere.

David plays perfect position and gets down to shoot the easiest winning shot of his life......and miscues. Hello! So anything can happen when a player loses concentration for a moment. Efren, Buddy, Hopkins, Archer, Swanson, Sigel, Earl, Varner and the list goes on and on. They have all succumbed to blankitis, where all of sudden they forget where to aim.

One other story that I like to tell in the same vein. Buddy breaks and makes a ball. The Cue ball freezes to the One. We've all had shots like this, where we hit the ball thin and go down table for a safe. Well Buddy gets set to make a very thin hit on the One and play safe. I'm refing so I stand close to watch the shot. Only one problem, Buddy aims a little too thin and fails to hit the One. He actually shot away from the ball. So I call a foul. Buddy is livid. He knows he has fouled, he is just embarassed that I would call it on him. He tries halfheartedly to protest, but I look at him and say "Buddy, you never hit the One". Buddy shrugs his shoulders, makes a face and just walks over and sits down.

He probably doesn't like me telling that story, but I think it's funny that the great Buddy Hall would make an amateur mistake like that.
 
When I see someone miss a really easy shot for the win, I don't make fun of them or laugh at it. I've done it before and I know how painful it is. When I was 17, I was playing in my first big tournament, a $1,000 added handicap event. I was playing in the semi-finals, and it was double-hill. The 9 ball was hanging in the corner pocket, and the 4-ball right in the middle of the table. All I had to do was shoot a straight-in easy 3ball and draw the cueball back about a foot. I was so nervous I just stopped the cueball, and left myself a severe cut on the 4-9 combination. My heart was pounding and I was shaking, there was alot of people watching. I just two stroked it and overcut it by a diamond, and left the guy the easy combo. I knew my aim or alignment didn't feel right when I was down on the shot, but I just wanted to get it over with and win. If the 4-ball hit anywhere near the pocket I would have made it. At that time I really needed the cash, and had to settle for a much less prize of 3rd/4th.
 
The Earthquake

I remember at the US Open, I believe in 2003, Keith Mcready was playing Alex Pagulayan. Was on the hill at 10-9 and jawed the nine ball on a very simple cut down the rail shot of about 2 feet. Keith was talking as he shot it saying something like, "You can put this one on the internet!" When the ball jawed he looked absolutely shell shocked/ terror stricken. His girl, Railbird JAM was in the stands and her face was more of the same. The story had a happy ending though. After Alex broke and ran to get to hill-hill he came up dry on the break and Keith calmly ran them out for the win. Finished 3rd that year.

Just goes to show that every shot has the same value and sometimes even the best forget it.

Brian in VA - once left a 6 inch putt short!
 
I think the quote might go something like this. 'GD it, I guess that little SOB was deep in the pocket. I suppose I should have hit it rather than going off the darn rail.

Everyone has done it.
 
Two that spring to mind for me are:

1) Buddy Hall Hill-Hill in the hard times summer jamb 9 ball event, he was playing extreemly well after winning the 1 pocket but unbeleivably failed to run out from here! He finished short on the 9 ball and missed the cut back. :eek:

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2) Danny Baservich also Hill Hill in the last 64 of the 2005 WPC in Taiwan, he laboured over this shot for a while and then decided to force it around the table instead of just running up and down and missed the 8 quite badly.

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Personally this one stands out, I was 4:2 up on the hill in the 2004 VNEA 9 ball against the guy who had placed in the 8 ball and jumped the cue ball over the 8 ball then lost the match 5:4! :rolleyes:

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