As someone that witnessed said foul occur. I agree that the BIH should not have been given to Hunter.Sounds like a No Foul should have been the ruling according to this somewhat experienced gentleman.
This is a good summary, but I'm gonna say it straight up. Pool has been in the doldrums for a good long time, and if Matchroom were to decide to allow the spectators to take a small part in this way, I support them. What has been done in the past, clearly has not worked. Continuing to do things as they have always been done, if it was not working, is the definitionnof insanity. As I said before in other posts, if they made that the rule, then this will induce the active player to "protect" themselves in a situation where they will be leaning over a ball by calling the ref themselves.
....and the call goes to the shooter.
So you know better than Mr. Helfert now?
Funny thing if you watch the video all Hunter calmy said was " you are on the 6 ball". To me it's him saying you need to get off that ball before you shoot....Sounds like a No Foul should have been the ruling according to this somewhat experienced gentleman.
Those two were ROCKSTARS. Knew how to control players and the crowd. Current crop couldn't make those two coffee. For all the things that MR does right. This is one topic that drives me nuts.
Agreed. And that is why it's played that way (actually "all ball fouls" is a misnomer because it's just the rules as they are) pretty much everywhere. Mistakes do happen, on the part of the referee or a mistaken player, but they happen rarely. Players "looking for fouls" and calling everything they can is even rarer and they either run away and try to scam others beyond the world of pool (and spend their whole life being overjoyed whenever they make a few bucks), or they come to their senses and become part of the pool community. It's the best way, the easiest way and the way that encourages players to fall into line in terms of playing by the rules. "Cue ball fouls only" is a courtesy where you might let something go in a bar against a player new to the game, or in a practice session where you want your partner to play the next shot because it will spark a learning conversation between the two of you. I can't take anyone seriously who claims to be a "pool player" who advocates for "cue ball fouls only".
Yes you can. Most people do.
I don't think it's an "American" thing perse (the major team sports in the USA tend to have rules that are much stricter, more technical and less open to interpretation than those that are more popular elsewhere). I think it's a product of league pool in the USA where many leagues have a nonsensical "cue ball fouls only" rule that somebody one day thought was a good idea and some other people agreed. Pretty much anywhere else, anyone who plays in any kind of league or tournament will play "proper rules" rather than Wednesday night at the Corner Bar's rules made up by some bloke who talks a lot.
As has been stated multiple times, in all those countries whose players are dominating Americans in pool right now? They grew up playing all ball fouls from the time they entered youth competition, all the way up through the highest levels of their national leagues. In fact, my German club members are literally in our club Whatsapp clowning on folks like yourself who are arguing in Scott's favor. We have about 10 players in my club alone that would drill the vast majority of American pool players, full stop. We are amateurish in pool as compared to nearly every country currently successfully competing on the national scene, minus maybe Phillipines. (I don't know if all ball fouls is the rule or exception there...)
That doesn't make it right. You need to take the players out of the refereeing business and put them where they belong --- in the playing arena, AS PLAYERS. They haven't practiced this hard for years to get where they are to police their opponent for clothing fouls. That is not their job. If the tournament organizer can't find a referee to preside over every match, then play cue ball fouls only and be fair towards the players and stop lowering the bar on them, forcing them to be referees from the chair. They deserve better.
Couldn't be more correct than this.
Maybe where where you live so good for you. We never do.
This is exactly why you guys have a reputation for beating your players into submission. We actually face problems and pose viable solutions. You would rather force all ball fouls on your players without presiding referees and put them in a state of constantly having to decide whether or not to call over an official --- unlike us who actually respect our players and want them to play the game rather than worry about whether or not their opponent's sleeve might be touching the ball. THAT IS NOT A PLAYER'S JOB.
