Home sweet home. I didn't have a chance to post about the finals because I had to go to the airport shortly thereafter, but I watched both matches with my guest for the session, fellow poster and all-around nice guy Jimmy M, by my side.
My Thoughts on the Ladies Final
Corr was exceptional in her run of six straight wins that earned her the hot seat, but she showed a few more nerves in the final than hshe had previously. Her play was fairly solid, but two easy misses by Fisher into the side pocket explained why Karen would have a 4-2 lead. It certainly appeared that Karen would cruise to the win when Fisher was down 5-3 and hooked from the one ball, but Allison jumped in the one to set up a runout that would enable her to pull within 5-4. An unexpected error from Karen in the next rack gave Allison a chance to tie the match, but a shocking miss on a very easy four in the corner gave it back and pretty much sealed the win of the rack and the match for Corr. Karen was the best player this week by far, and rightfully hoisted the winner's trophy, but, although her play was respectable, this was not her best match.
Finally, I had the unexpected pleasure of sitting next to Jasmin Ouschan during the ladies final, and she shared something with me that I thought deserved mention. In relating her experience in the European Straight Pool Championship, she related that she had a one-inning win in the race to 75 in both the semifinals and in the final. I can't wait to see how well she's hitting them in the World Straight Pool Championships this summer!
My Thoughts on the Men's Final
This match was a stinker of the worst kind, but if you weren't there, you might be deluded into thinking that this was a match in which Shane had no chances. This was not, however, like the 7-0 thrashing dished out by Thorsten Hohmann against Johnny Archer in the 2005 BCA final, in which little fault could be found with Archer's play. It would be accurate to say that Shane had only one good chance to run out, but he had numerous looks at tactical shots by which he could have earned control of some of the racks, and executed them poorly. Orcullo was rock solid, but any suggestion that his win qualified as an act of suffocation must be dismissed in favor of the greater truth, which is that Shane had a very poor match in terms of his break, but also in terms of the moves game.
My Thoughts on My Return Home
Glad to be home, and now I can reflect on my trip.
I enjoyed all the pool I got to see, but caught up with fewer AZBers than I'd hoped for. Then again, I did manage quite a bit of quality time with each of Jay Helfert (sweated matches together and had dinner), Eydie Romano (sweated matches together and had dinner), Rackmsuckr (had breakfast), TheOne (sweated matches and had dinner), Jimmy M (sweated matches), and Williebetmore (sweated matches, and had dinner and breakfast). Also, I got to sweat some matches with Vagabond, who pointed out to me that the guy sitting next to me was Bucktooth. I never would have known!
My two trips to the AZB room, in which I'd hope to converse with other posters, were fruitless. The first time, the Hillbilly was giving a seminar on the break, and, though many were present, nobody was talking. I'd gone in with Jimmy M and TheOne, but we all walked out. The second time, the room was almost empty, so I left after saying hi to the four or five people that were there.
Oddly Enough
Now that I don't play that much pool anymore, there are members of the NYC pool scene that I only see in Vegas, and I caught up with many of them, too, which was nice.
My Thoughts on the Ladies Final
Corr was exceptional in her run of six straight wins that earned her the hot seat, but she showed a few more nerves in the final than hshe had previously. Her play was fairly solid, but two easy misses by Fisher into the side pocket explained why Karen would have a 4-2 lead. It certainly appeared that Karen would cruise to the win when Fisher was down 5-3 and hooked from the one ball, but Allison jumped in the one to set up a runout that would enable her to pull within 5-4. An unexpected error from Karen in the next rack gave Allison a chance to tie the match, but a shocking miss on a very easy four in the corner gave it back and pretty much sealed the win of the rack and the match for Corr. Karen was the best player this week by far, and rightfully hoisted the winner's trophy, but, although her play was respectable, this was not her best match.
Finally, I had the unexpected pleasure of sitting next to Jasmin Ouschan during the ladies final, and she shared something with me that I thought deserved mention. In relating her experience in the European Straight Pool Championship, she related that she had a one-inning win in the race to 75 in both the semifinals and in the final. I can't wait to see how well she's hitting them in the World Straight Pool Championships this summer!
My Thoughts on the Men's Final
This match was a stinker of the worst kind, but if you weren't there, you might be deluded into thinking that this was a match in which Shane had no chances. This was not, however, like the 7-0 thrashing dished out by Thorsten Hohmann against Johnny Archer in the 2005 BCA final, in which little fault could be found with Archer's play. It would be accurate to say that Shane had only one good chance to run out, but he had numerous looks at tactical shots by which he could have earned control of some of the racks, and executed them poorly. Orcullo was rock solid, but any suggestion that his win qualified as an act of suffocation must be dismissed in favor of the greater truth, which is that Shane had a very poor match in terms of his break, but also in terms of the moves game.
My Thoughts on My Return Home
Glad to be home, and now I can reflect on my trip.
I enjoyed all the pool I got to see, but caught up with fewer AZBers than I'd hoped for. Then again, I did manage quite a bit of quality time with each of Jay Helfert (sweated matches together and had dinner), Eydie Romano (sweated matches together and had dinner), Rackmsuckr (had breakfast), TheOne (sweated matches and had dinner), Jimmy M (sweated matches), and Williebetmore (sweated matches, and had dinner and breakfast). Also, I got to sweat some matches with Vagabond, who pointed out to me that the guy sitting next to me was Bucktooth. I never would have known!
My two trips to the AZB room, in which I'd hope to converse with other posters, were fruitless. The first time, the Hillbilly was giving a seminar on the break, and, though many were present, nobody was talking. I'd gone in with Jimmy M and TheOne, but we all walked out. The second time, the room was almost empty, so I left after saying hi to the four or five people that were there.
Oddly Enough
Now that I don't play that much pool anymore, there are members of the NYC pool scene that I only see in Vegas, and I caught up with many of them, too, which was nice.
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), vagabond of course! linda(finally) and many many more (im hopeless with names!)
