Hopkins vs. Chavez at Comets

NYC cue dude said:
from the looks of things, it appears that Chavez got slow played on their first encounter. Its worked as it seems Chavez won't let go.

If they play one hole even, Allen has the nuts. I'm sure there will be a spot. Maybe Allen should ask for a ball. LOL

Rg
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No spot RG. I might tell Allen to ask for 8-7 lol lol..............
 
I don't think Hopkins slow-played Chavez. Where Hopkins put the move on Chavez was negotiating a spot in Clifton. If they had been playing even on Chavez' table at that time, maybe things would be different.
 
Im in Manhattan now. Id like to see this match. Is it accessible. Ill have to get a train as Im car less. Anyone from NY going. Im a friend of Rolando A. Ill pay for gas.
 
old school strategy

abbassi said:
They played 2 sets to 11. one set to 8.
Both started slow missing easy shots. Hopkins settled in faster. Table is 3shim fast cloth fairly new. Table banked long especially on 2 and 3 rail kicks, ball skids after coming off 2nd rail. Hopkins adjusted quickly.
1 set started close to the mid range, but Hopkins won 11-7 or 8.
2nd set Hopkins dominated winnig 11-5 or 6. He had 3 10 ball combos with one on the snap.
3rd set was a beauty. Chavez is playing good, but makes some mental errors and Hopkins takes advantage and comes back from a 6-3 deficit.
There were many safty battles, some fantastic kicks and kick back safties.
Hopkins had some great run outs. He out manuverd Chavez. Chavez's game was clearl, clearly off. His attempts at some safties were alittle short of safe and Hopkins took advantage of all the mistakes.
There was some controversy about one shot in the third set, which I will go into tommorrow.
But clearly this was a great battle with Hopkins plaing magnificently.
Match took about 5 hours.
I aked Hopkins if he wanted to use a chair. He said no, He will stand. He had a killer instinct like an assassin. Chavez on the other hand was slumped in his chair, especially 2nd set. It seemed that he was in a hurry to get back to his chair.
Hopkins had 1/2 of himself, while Chavez was backed.
Play will resume next week. Chavez told Hopkins he wanted to play sets of 10ball and sets of 1 hole next week. Hopkins said sure.
This was great to watch. Many of the old timers were on Hopkins side. The younger generation more on Chavezes.
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Jay pegged it perfectly once again. Hopkins chose a quality player in Chavez to test the waters as he started out playing him even 10 ball .(Allens best rotation game) Day 1 went as figured with Chavez winning easily,but day 2 would prove to be quite differen't,thanks to Allens experience in out managing his opponents. Hopkins then out positioned Chavez by putting him on a tougher table with more humidity,and plus getting a ball spot, which by the way is HUGE.Now Hopkins has the conditions that he want's, the game that he likes playing ,and a spot. YUM YUM Sounds like something even Jay would like. Needless to say Hopkins wins handily. Day 3 ??? I like Hopkins playing any game even ,now that he has the almighty mental edge and a smoother stroke to aid him. One pocket even, what,Hopkins wins eeeeeasy.
 
Russ Chewning said:
I don't care which side one is betting on, that's some funny shihaaawwt!
:D :D :D :D :D

Russ
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I think what Billy is saying is that when you are just testing the waters, most players start with that inevitible "dog" stroke, or play tentatively. Now that Hopkins has gotten comfortable, and knows he has an edge, he is more relaxed, and he can let his stroke out.

Yes Allen has a short, jabby stroke, but that obviously doesn't matter. When he's in stroke he's one of the world's elite.
 
wincardona said:
Jay pegged it perfectly once again. Hopkins chose a quality player in Chavez to test the waters as he started out playing him even 10 ball .(Allens best rotation game) Day 1 went as figured with Chavez winning easily,but day 2 would prove to be quite differen't,thanks to Allens experience in out managing his opponents. Hopkins then out positioned Chavez by putting him on a tougher table with more humidity,and plus getting a ball spot, which by the way is HUGE.Now Hopkins has the conditions that he want's, the game that he likes playing ,and a spot. YUM YUM Sounds like something even Jay would like. Needless to say Hopkins wins handily. Day 3 ??? I like Hopkins playing any game even ,now that he has the almighty mental edge and a smoother stroke to aid him. One pocket even, what,Hopkins wins eeeeeasy.
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He definately had the mental edge last nite. He absolutely played great last nite except for the first 4 to 5 games. He was there to win. Pride and his own money on the line,
He out smarted the Chavez contingency doubling the bet after breaking even the second nite. He obviously liked his chances of winning.
As far as stroke goes, Chavez has an absolutely beautiful stroke.

On another note, I heard from one of Chavez's backers that there was talk of Chris Bartrum matching up with Chavez. I will follow up on the next match ups as soon as I hear solid news.
 
wincardona said:
Jay pegged it perfectly once again. Hopkins chose a quality player in Chavez to test the waters as he started out playing him even 10 ball .(Allens best rotation game) Day 1 went as figured with Chavez winning easily,but day 2 would prove to be quite differen't,thanks to Allens experience in out managing his opponents. Hopkins then out positioned Chavez by putting him on a tougher table with more humidity,and plus getting a ball spot, which by the way is HUGE.Now Hopkins has the conditions that he want's, the game that he likes playing ,and a spot. YUM YUM Sounds like something even Jay would like. Needless to say Hopkins wins handily. Day 3 ??? I like Hopkins playing any game even ,now that he has the almighty mental edge and a smoother stroke to aid him. One pocket even, what,Hopkins wins eeeeeasy.
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I don't think he was testing waters, Hopkins been around a long time. He played someone at or around his level and out played him. The saftey battles and strategy was fantastic.
I could see that Hopkins would be a great one pckt. player. He played safe when needed and ran out when needed.
I look forward to seeing a one pkt. match.
 
abbassi said:
I don't think he was testing waters, Hopkins been around a long time. He played someone at or around his level and out played him. The saftey battles and strategy was fantastic.
I could see that Hopkins would be a great one pckt. player. He played safe when needed and ran out when needed.
I look forward to seeing a one pkt. match.
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Let me explain what testing the waters meant to Allen. When a player has taken an absence from the game ,particularly in the gambling end of it , Playing a player as strong as Chavez ,particularly at the stakes they were playing for (which was not too high)was a perfect situation for Allen to get a good read on his game and at the same time he would be conditioning himself, in playing himself back into form. Mission accomplished,Allen now is playing cosiderably better today,opposed to a few days ago,because he played a fairly strong player and won.Yes he won with getting a handicapp but nonetheless bottom line he won.It's just part of the process in getting back in stroke. The next time he plays he will play better.Allen was a great player at one time,and he is getting a bug to play again,so this was the perfect situation for him.I have always thought highly of his game,and even at his age I think if he applies himself he can once again be a top player.He was the best one pocket player in the world all through the 80's,and he probably can get to a ball of his best speed if he continues to play.
 
wincardona said:
Let me explain what testing the waters meant to Allen. When a player has taken an absence from the game ,particularly in the gambling end of it , Playing a player as strong as Chavez ,particularly at the stakes they were playing for (which was not too high)was a perfect situation for Allen to get a good read on his game and at the same time he would be conditioning himself, in playing himself back into form. Mission accomplished,Allen now is playing cosiderably better today,opposed to a few days ago,because he played a fairly strong player and won.Yes he won with getting a handicapp but nonetheless bottom line he won.It's just part of the process in getting back in stroke. The next time he plays he will play better.Allen was a great player at one time,and he is getting a bug to play again,so this was the perfect situation for him.I have always thought highly of his game,and even at his age I think if he applies himself he can once again be a top player.He was the best one pocket player in the world all through the 80's,and he probably can get to a ball of his best speed if he continues to play.
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Understood. Good explanation.
 
I think Hopkins is better than one of the game's elite... I think he's one of the best all-around players in history.
 
SpiderWebComm said:
I think Hopkins is better than one of the game's elite... I think he's one of the best all-around players in history.
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That's basically what I meant. Elite as in one of the world's best.
 
frankwhite said:
I might tell Allen to ask for 8-7 lol lol..............
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Frankie, ask Allen to tell you about the time when he played Rosey in Detroit! Funny stuff! :D

One thing for sure, Allen knows his way around games of stake. Now that he's played Chavez a few times, I think he will come up with good games.

AND I don't think he's trying to rob. Rather, the man just likes to play pool! :)

JAM
 
On Jam's note, a guy who has been playing for 50 years, and still plays with the intensity and emotion, not to mention the skill, that Hopkins did this week, personifies the greatness of our game. This match was about the love of the game.
 
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JAM said:
Frankie, ask Allen to tell you about the time when he played Rosey in Detroit! Funny stuff! :D

One thing for sure, Allen knows his way around games of stake. Now that he's played Chavez a few times, I think he will come up with good games.

AND I don't think he's trying to rob. Rather, the man just likes to play pool! :)

JAM
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That statement is so very true, Jenny. Allen loves to play, and has NO intentions to rob anyone. On the same hand he will never get robbed. Like Jay and Mr. Incardona mentioned, Allen is testing waters. Seeing if he still has what it takes, action wise.
Usally we go out to eat after the pool entertainment is over, and thats were I get all the pool stories. I am going to AC to catch up w/ him, I will ask him about Rosey then......
 
Next match-up tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, back at Clifton Billiards.

One of the most amazing aspects of players of this caliber games are how well they manufacture a safety shot out of nothing, and you can't really appreciate that without witnessing it live, not to mention how quickly they adjust to the speed of the equipment.

I think a match-up at one-pocket would really be the best action to sweat with these two guys!
 
frankwhite said:
...I am going to AC to catch up w/ him, I will ask him about Rosey then......
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I can hear you calling now, Frankie: GIMME A LIL NUMBA NOW :D

AC on Labor Day weekend, the casinos will be PACKED! :p

Have fun! :)

JAM
 
cuetechasaurus said:
That's basically what I meant. Elite as in one of the world's best.
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Hey Cuetechasaurus-

I always like your posts... why do you have so many red-boxes?
(just noticed that!)
 
Railbird said:
Next match-up tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, back at Clifton Billiards.

One of the most amazing aspects of players of this caliber games are how well they manufacture a safety shot out of nothing, and you can't really appreciate that without witnessing it live, not to mention how quickly they adjust to the speed of the equipment.

I think a match-up at one-pocket would really be the best action to sweat with these two guys!
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Can someone give me the time and address of where this is going to take place. Afternoon, evening, etc. I plan to take a train in from Manhattan to watch this match if it is going off on Tues.
 
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