I like watching a good pool match that really looks like a pool match. No super short races, no gimmicks on the break, tight racks by a good ref, a good ref, no funny colored balls, good camera work AND some good commentary! All these things seem to be in short supply these days.
The good news for the players is more tournaments with decent prize money. What is lacking is no uniformity between all these events. Different equipment, different games, different rules, pretty much different everything! To be a good player you must be able to adapt to all the changes from event to event. In some ways, it's no different than how pool was 30 or 40 years ago, when you played under different conditions everywhere you went. The best players could adapt the best. Rarely did you get a game under ideal conditions. Lots of gimmicky tables and local rules you needed to learn and learn quick! C'est la vie
For all these reasons above, the BigFoot Ten Ball may be the best event going today, hence it's popularity. All good players, a very real pool table, long matches, good refs and usually good commentary to go with it. After that I'd rate the U.S. Open and International 9-Ball next best. Good old DE until the final few players. I still like Winner Breaks but Alternate Break is okay too.
The good news for the players is more tournaments with decent prize money. What is lacking is no uniformity between all these events. Different equipment, different games, different rules, pretty much different everything! To be a good player you must be able to adapt to all the changes from event to event. In some ways, it's no different than how pool was 30 or 40 years ago, when you played under different conditions everywhere you went. The best players could adapt the best. Rarely did you get a game under ideal conditions. Lots of gimmicky tables and local rules you needed to learn and learn quick! C'est la vie
For all these reasons above, the BigFoot Ten Ball may be the best event going today, hence it's popularity. All good players, a very real pool table, long matches, good refs and usually good commentary to go with it. After that I'd rate the U.S. Open and International 9-Ball next best. Good old DE until the final few players. I still like Winner Breaks but Alternate Break is okay too.
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