I Told You All This Game is a B&R Fest

[cuetechasaurus]

Look at the stats....players are getting shut out nearly the entire match. In so many matches, I'm seeing 4-5 B&R's for the winner, sometimes even the loser.

Now, step back for a second and think...with all the break and runs...how many runouts from a DRY BREAK do you think have happened in those same matches?

There is very little safety play. My friend over there told me that to him it looked like 5% of all the matches he saw involved safety play.

Like I said in a thread about the NA Open, 8-ball played at a high level is more offensive than 9-ball.

Not that there is anything wrong with this, actually I love seeing this, but the IPT said 8-ball is 'real pool', saying that the best players will rise to the top, and that there is no luck involved. Well that's not the case! You can play perfect pool, but if you break dry, IT CAN COST YOU THE MATCH! It's happening to alot of great players as I speak.

 

[Williebetmore]

You can play perfect pool, but if you break dry, IT CAN COST YOU THE MATCH! It's happening to alot of great players as I speak.

Saurus,
A dry break is THE KISS OF DEATH.

Unfortunately for 8-ball as a championship test; there will be plenty of players who play at a superlative level who are eliminated (through dry breaks). At least we have the consolation that anyone advancing will also be playing at a superlative level (but perhaps with a tad bit more luck on the break).

It is rarely said in straight pool that the luckiest player won - I'm afraid we may be hearing this more than occasionally in the "real pool" 8-ball world. Oh well, it is a GREAT exhibition even if it lacks a bit in the competitive parsing department.

 

[Celtic]

The conditions are simply too easy still. They talked about super tight pockets but then they went with 4.5 inch pockets instead of the 4 inch or so that many of us were hoping for. The US Open last year showed how tight the pockets SHOULD be in a pro event. These pockets are not even close to that unforgiving.

Tighten the pockets up to the same that the 2005 US Open had and you will see the B&R's go WAY down and the safety play increase.