RandyNYC cue dude said:
So glad to see you were able to make the event. Looking forward to seeing you play in person at some time in the future. It will be my pleasure to rack!
Myron
Maryland 14.1 Tournament - Who's going?
- Thread starter Williebetmore
- Start date
So glad to see you were able to make the event. Looking forward to seeing you play in person at some time in the future. It will be my pleasure to rack!
Myron
Ed Hodan and Matt Tetreault qualify from Maryland event!
Here's how Sunday went:
Thorsten Hohmann, Steve Lipsky and Ed Hodan easily advanced over Peter Burrows, Andy Lincoln and Linda Shea.
Mike Davis and Jeanette Lee fought a close won with Mike running 24 out to win 125-113.
Marty Ciccia defeated Danny Barouty 125-90 something
Matt Tetrault defeated Grady Mathews
Danny Harriman defeated Ed Deska
Mika Immonen defeated Shaun Wilkie who played well
In the last 8:
Hohmann defeated Harriman
Immonen defeated Ciccia
Davis ran 84 to come back against Lipsky
Hodan defeated Tetreault to earn one of the qualifying spots
Tetreault defeated Ciccia in a playoff to earn the 2nd qualifying spot
In the semifinals:
Immonen started out with a 99 and ended Hohmann's tournament 150-70 something
Davis missed his opening shot but answered Hodan's 54 run with a 91 and ultimately won
In the final:
Mika Immonen maintained control defeating Davis 150-50 something
The finals was very enjoyable with referee Ed Deska announcing every shot and the current score. 50-60 people circled the match to take in the action.
Andy
Here's how Sunday went:
Thorsten Hohmann, Steve Lipsky and Ed Hodan easily advanced over Peter Burrows, Andy Lincoln and Linda Shea.
Mike Davis and Jeanette Lee fought a close won with Mike running 24 out to win 125-113.
Marty Ciccia defeated Danny Barouty 125-90 something
Matt Tetrault defeated Grady Mathews
Danny Harriman defeated Ed Deska
Mika Immonen defeated Shaun Wilkie who played well
In the last 8:
Hohmann defeated Harriman
Immonen defeated Ciccia
Davis ran 84 to come back against Lipsky
Hodan defeated Tetreault to earn one of the qualifying spots
Tetreault defeated Ciccia in a playoff to earn the 2nd qualifying spot
In the semifinals:
Immonen started out with a 99 and ended Hohmann's tournament 150-70 something
Davis missed his opening shot but answered Hodan's 54 run with a 91 and ultimately won
In the final:
Mika Immonen maintained control defeating Davis 150-50 something
The finals was very enjoyable with referee Ed Deska announcing every shot and the current score. 50-60 people circled the match to take in the action.
Andy
my two cents.....this was my first 14.1 tournament attendance (as a spectator, not a participant) and I have to say it was quite enjoyable and I learned quite a bit also that will most definitely help my 9-ball game.....the players that attended were some of the best out there and did not disappoint - looking forward to next year....
congrats to Mika and Mike - both played great! if I recall, the final was 150-59........
9balllvr
congrats to Mika and Mike - both played great! if I recall, the final was 150-59........
9balllvr
alinco said:
Sounds like quite a nice event. Davis sure plays strong. I was surprised by his play in last years World 14.1. I hadn't heard much about his straight pool game.
Did anyone videotape any of the matches or was that verboten?
Did anyone video any of the matches?
Just wanted to relate a few things from the tournament from a personal viewpoint.
First, it was great meeting Williebetmore, Bankonit, and JoeW. Joe, I realize we didn't technically "meet" but we sorta did, right?
It was also great seeing Rich R and his lovely wife again. If you ever need support in a match, I highly advise getting those two a couple seats near your table!
The tournament started off well, as I thought I ran 100-and-out on my first opponent. In truth, it was a 99, as he correctly reminded me that I made one ball and played safe off his opening break. (Hey Craig, how 'bout an asterisk on my run for it being unfinished!?)
Of course it didn't matter, because shortly thereafter, Mika ran the 101. As Andy wrote in his writeup, I was not amused.
Then I played Mr. Betmore, and I think I opened with a 67 on him. My last rack just kept getting worse and worse. It was a classic butcher-job. I was hoping WBM would fold from there, but he came back with a strong run in the 30s I think. For those who only know him by his self-deprecating posts, believe me, he has a terrific mind for straight pool. Nothing looked difficult while he was shooting, and Willie, that's the truth. It was a pleasure playing you and I hope we can do it again.
I finished the day with a 4-0 record, getting a little lucky but also showing some long-lost heart to come back on a great player named Ed Deska. Ed was crushing me about 85-29, playing beautifully, when he got unlucky on two key break shots to let me back in.
The next day I had to play Andy in the first round, and after an initial nice run, he just couldn't get started. Sometimes, it goes like that, as we all know.
I had to play Mike Davis in the next match, who I've played a few times in the last 6 months in various straight pool tournaments. Mike was the first one to tell you that he had an awful Saturday, where although he was 4-0, his high run during those matches was somewhere in the 30s. Nowhere near his usual speed. Of course, my ability to put my opponents into dead stroke never fails, so after leading him 86-27, he ran 84. He left me with a wide open table, where I immediately missed my first shot. LOL. Mr. Davis calmly ran out, and that was it. Single elimination tournaments are brutal.
This was a bittersweet event for me. I was very happy with how I played, considering I haven't been playing much at all. But whereas I was planning to look at this tournament as a warmup to the World 14.1 event next month in July, I recently found out I could not take the time off work to play it. If it were any other week in July, I could have made it. Most things pool-related do not hit me so hard, but I must admit to truly being devastated by this. I had such a good time at last year's event and was excited by my play in Maryland. Sometimes life's not fair, and that's that.
I want to extend a thank you to all the organizers of this wonderful event, especially Peter Burrows, the tournament director. It is truly a privilege to play in such a well-run event, and I can't thank the staff of Bill and Billie's enough either. They go out of their way for all the players, and it's very, very much appreciated!
- Steve
First, it was great meeting Williebetmore, Bankonit, and JoeW. Joe, I realize we didn't technically "meet" but we sorta did, right?
It was also great seeing Rich R and his lovely wife again. If you ever need support in a match, I highly advise getting those two a couple seats near your table!The tournament started off well, as I thought I ran 100-and-out on my first opponent. In truth, it was a 99, as he correctly reminded me that I made one ball and played safe off his opening break. (Hey Craig, how 'bout an asterisk on my run for it being unfinished!?)
Of course it didn't matter, because shortly thereafter, Mika ran the 101. As Andy wrote in his writeup, I was not amused.
Then I played Mr. Betmore, and I think I opened with a 67 on him. My last rack just kept getting worse and worse. It was a classic butcher-job. I was hoping WBM would fold from there, but he came back with a strong run in the 30s I think. For those who only know him by his self-deprecating posts, believe me, he has a terrific mind for straight pool. Nothing looked difficult while he was shooting, and Willie, that's the truth. It was a pleasure playing you and I hope we can do it again.
I finished the day with a 4-0 record, getting a little lucky but also showing some long-lost heart to come back on a great player named Ed Deska. Ed was crushing me about 85-29, playing beautifully, when he got unlucky on two key break shots to let me back in.
The next day I had to play Andy in the first round, and after an initial nice run, he just couldn't get started. Sometimes, it goes like that, as we all know.
I had to play Mike Davis in the next match, who I've played a few times in the last 6 months in various straight pool tournaments. Mike was the first one to tell you that he had an awful Saturday, where although he was 4-0, his high run during those matches was somewhere in the 30s. Nowhere near his usual speed. Of course, my ability to put my opponents into dead stroke never fails, so after leading him 86-27, he ran 84. He left me with a wide open table, where I immediately missed my first shot. LOL. Mr. Davis calmly ran out, and that was it. Single elimination tournaments are brutal.
This was a bittersweet event for me. I was very happy with how I played, considering I haven't been playing much at all. But whereas I was planning to look at this tournament as a warmup to the World 14.1 event next month in July, I recently found out I could not take the time off work to play it. If it were any other week in July, I could have made it. Most things pool-related do not hit me so hard, but I must admit to truly being devastated by this. I had such a good time at last year's event and was excited by my play in Maryland. Sometimes life's not fair, and that's that.
I want to extend a thank you to all the organizers of this wonderful event, especially Peter Burrows, the tournament director. It is truly a privilege to play in such a well-run event, and I can't thank the staff of Bill and Billie's enough either. They go out of their way for all the players, and it's very, very much appreciated!
- Steve
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NYC cue dude
Banned
Steve Lipsky said:
Granted, peter does a fantastic job, on top of being a wonderful person, but as far as the room and ownership, I had a very disappointing incident, and because of it, I will NEVER allow another qualifier for the world straight pool championships to take place there!!!!!
randy goldwater
NYC cue dude
Banned
Schmohawk said:
Yeah, he's the owner of the room. I swear i'll never step foot in that place again.
rg
Steve, it was great seeing you again, although it was for just a short time. I'm sorry we weren't able to spend more time at the tournament. It was just one of those weeks when we had a hundred different things to do.Steve Lipsky said:First, it was great meeting Williebetmore, Bankonit, and JoeW. Joe, I realize we didn't technically "meet" but we sorta did, right?
BTW, we will be honored to sit in your corner, and support you any time you play.
RG, I'm sorry you had a problem with the owner. I have to admit, I have also had him tell me not to sit on the tables, when I was only leaning against the side of one. However, he is a good guy and he cares a lot about his business and his equipment. He treats everyone the same and he has a great room with well cared for equipment. He also supports pool more than most owners. If you really want to support good rooms and good pool, you should be supporting guys like this, not complaining about them.NYC cue dude said:
For example, you may have noticed, the owner had no problem with people moving chairs all around the room, in order to have a seat to watch any of the matches. People were also sitting all around tables that could have otherwise been rented out. This is not the action of a bad room owner. He is very accomodating to all of the players and fans.
Hopefully, after you cool down and consider the entire tournament, you will give this room owner another chance. He is one of the good guys and we could use a lot more owners like him.
NYC cue dude
Banned
Sorry, but my "incident" had nothing to do with me leaning on his tables or me disrespecting his room in any way. My altercation, which I wont bother to go into specifics about was intiated completely on his part.
And as I have said, as long as I put up the money for the world straight pool championships, there will never, ever, be another qualifier held at that location. In fact, at the time, I immediately called Charlie and told him of this unfortunate experience, and that it wasn't open to debate.
rg
And as I have said, as long as I put up the money for the world straight pool championships, there will never, ever, be another qualifier held at that location. In fact, at the time, I immediately called Charlie and told him of this unfortunate experience, and that it wasn't open to debate.
rg
Steve Lipsky said:
SL,
Thank you for the kind (??too kind??) words. It means a LOT to me, because for those that don't know, your game is INCREDIBLE. I cannot express well exactly how impressed I was with your game - super nice classical stroke, great and effortless shotmaking ability, great old-school patterns - for a novice like myself it was a great pleasure to observe - it is the type of play we should all be emulating. Definitely the high point of the weekend was watching you play.
As a relative newcomer to the game, I was definitely out of place in the field (our mutual friend bullied me into playing); but it was still a rewarding experience to play some of the straight pool greats. After our match, an onlooker came up to me and said, "gee, you made a lot more tough shots than Steve." I couldn't help laughing.
My run was a continuous cycle of "get out of position - recover - get out of position - recover." I was lucky to make any balls at all in the match; as I had to start with a crazy, Englished bank shot to get a below the rack breaker. I estimate my chances of ever making that again at somewhere between slim and none. The rest of the balls just seemed like they would never come apart; and it was like dental work figuring out a way to get into them properly (I felt a bit self-conscious about how long it took me) - you would have probably run them in about a minute.
Anyway, if you and your lovely wife are ever in the area; you have an open invitation to stay at Betmore's Basement (I feel much better knowing your wife did not actually remember my inglorious moment in Peoria). Very sorry to hear about your July work schedule - the World tournament will definitely miss your presence.
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Kay and I had a grand time. Great people, nice room, good staff, players, and spectators who were polite, personable, and yes people were more than helpful.
I was tempted to enter the tournament but did not know if I would wind up in the hospital ER with my daughter so thought it best to wait. Boy am I glad I did, I think I can take a whipping with out too much complaining, but to be totally outclassed by the likes of Steve Lipskey, Ed Hodan, Mike Davis and of course the all stars M. Immonen, T. Hohmann and J. Lee, well that would be too embarrassing. I did learn that I should probably leave the Amazing Masse Twister at home.
I suggested to Danny Harriman and Kay that he was teaching her the ins and out of low pool hall morals and got a laugh from both. While he was tired after being on the road for several months he took the time to explain some of the finer points of 14.1 to Kay during the finals match and it was much appreciated.
My contribution -- a story. Kay has very limited vision and needs to use binoculars to watch a pool match from 20 feet. This was her (and my) first time watching a 14.1 tournament. Thorsten Hohmann has just run about 30 balls and is in the middle of a rack. Kay is about 20 feet away, intensely interested and is using her opera glasses / binoculars. She does not realize that she is basically staring Hohmann straight in the face over the pocket. He just continues with the shot, makes it and then looks up and, of all things smiles politely at her as if he knew that she had limited vision. He did not know about her problem and showed one helluva lot of class. BTW he was playing Mica Immonen at the time so this was a tense game.
But then the whole pool related weekend was like that for Kay and I. A sincere thank you to everyone involved. My wife is now and admiring groupy (or so I tell her).
BTW, Immonen should not be named the "Ice man." He has a very pleasing personality and I personally observed him smile and joke around more than once.
I was tempted to enter the tournament but did not know if I would wind up in the hospital ER with my daughter so thought it best to wait. Boy am I glad I did, I think I can take a whipping with out too much complaining, but to be totally outclassed by the likes of Steve Lipskey, Ed Hodan, Mike Davis and of course the all stars M. Immonen, T. Hohmann and J. Lee, well that would be too embarrassing. I did learn that I should probably leave the Amazing Masse Twister at home.
I suggested to Danny Harriman and Kay that he was teaching her the ins and out of low pool hall morals and got a laugh from both. While he was tired after being on the road for several months he took the time to explain some of the finer points of 14.1 to Kay during the finals match and it was much appreciated.
My contribution -- a story. Kay has very limited vision and needs to use binoculars to watch a pool match from 20 feet. This was her (and my) first time watching a 14.1 tournament. Thorsten Hohmann has just run about 30 balls and is in the middle of a rack. Kay is about 20 feet away, intensely interested and is using her opera glasses / binoculars. She does not realize that she is basically staring Hohmann straight in the face over the pocket. He just continues with the shot, makes it and then looks up and, of all things smiles politely at her as if he knew that she had limited vision. He did not know about her problem and showed one helluva lot of class. BTW he was playing Mica Immonen at the time so this was a tense game.
But then the whole pool related weekend was like that for Kay and I. A sincere thank you to everyone involved. My wife is now and admiring groupy (or so I tell her).
BTW, Immonen should not be named the "Ice man." He has a very pleasing personality and I personally observed him smile and joke around more than once.
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Randy, I'm sorry I assumed what the problem was, based on your previous couple of posts and the post of Schmohawk.NYC cue dude said:
You certainly have the right to keep the incident private, but, if you aren't going to say what happened, I really don't think it was proper to even mention it in the first place. How are we to form an opinion on who was right or wrong, if we don't know any of the details.
Without any of the details, I have to assume that you and the owner had some sort of small difference of opinion and you are totally over reacting to it. JMHO.
For those who don't know, the owner of this room may be a little eccentric, but he runs a very nice room that is well off the beaten path. I forget the number, but it has many 9' tables, some of which are very old, one 7', that I know of , 2 snooker tables and 2 billiard tables. All of these tables are well kept. This room has minimal food and no alcohol, yet this owner hosts at least 3 or 4 regional tournaments each year and this 14.1 tournament for the last 2 years. He also host weekly tournaments and leagues, including a 14.1 league. This guy does much more for pool that almost all of the better financed rooms.
Randy certainly has the right to deny this room from having any qualifier for the world straight pool championship. It is his money and he has the right to throw it around the way he wants to. However, I stand by my prior statement. This room owner is one of the good guys in the pool world and to penalize him is to penalize the entire pool community.
I hope, and believe, that the Maryland 14.1 Pool Championship will continue with or without Randy's qualifier. I didn't look back at the other qualifiers, but IIRC, this was the only one with substanial money added to the prize fund. I look forward to this tournament growing each year. Without paying for the qualifier, there will be more money in the prize fund. Maybe the winner will be able to choose whether to play in Randy's tournament, or not, with his/her winnings.
NYC cue dude
Banned
the reason for the post, wasn't to solicit opinions, it was to inform those that were interested in this particular event, that there would not be qualifiers there in the future.
This event was a straight pool tournament, before it was a qualifier, and I am sure that it will continue to have great success without that portion of attached to it. This explains why the event has prize money.
As most people know anyway, I don't think invited players should be allowed to participate in qualifiers, but because of this events history, and added money, the pro's and invited players were welcome to play. In the future, imo, qualifiers should be able to pay their entry into an event, where they can't get knocked out by someone already in the main event.
just my .02
rg
BTW, during this event, i learned afterwards, this owner also had a problem with Danny Barouty AND janette lee. After further investigation, i was informed that this guy isn't exactly as described above. I hear he has a history of having TERRIBLE people skills, and this from his regulars.
This event was a straight pool tournament, before it was a qualifier, and I am sure that it will continue to have great success without that portion of attached to it. This explains why the event has prize money.
As most people know anyway, I don't think invited players should be allowed to participate in qualifiers, but because of this events history, and added money, the pro's and invited players were welcome to play. In the future, imo, qualifiers should be able to pay their entry into an event, where they can't get knocked out by someone already in the main event.
just my .02
rg
BTW, during this event, i learned afterwards, this owner also had a problem with Danny Barouty AND janette lee. After further investigation, i was informed that this guy isn't exactly as described above. I hear he has a history of having TERRIBLE people skills, and this from his regulars.
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Again, I don't know what problems Danny Barouty and Jeanette Lee had with the owner. I have already admitted that I have had problems with this owner myself. He definitely can use some help with his people skills. I can not and will not disagree with any of those points. However, I also believe this guy should be given credit for all of the right things he is doing.NYC cue dude said:
This owner does not own a fancy, high end, room with a ton of income. Yet he supports pool like few others. I think that deserves a little credit.
If you had a legitimate problem with this room owner, I apologize on his behalf. I also apologize for any problem others may have had. That is the approriate thing to do.
If I may risk the assumption that all of these problems were under the catagory of bad people skills, I must also assume that no one was harmed. The inappropriate thing to do is bad mouth this room owner on a public forum. I deal with individuals with bad people skills every day, and I don't go on the internet and complain. I'm sure, in the NYC area, you run into a person with bad people skills once in a while. What this guy does to promote the game of pool far out weighs his lack of people skills.
If you want to act like a little child and take your ball, or in this case your qualifier, and go home, that is certainly your right. However, if you loved this game as much as you claim, you could have easily overlooked this incident and showed some appreciation for what he is doing for the game.
BTW, let me be clear. I have no real connection with this room owner or the room. I am just a meager pool fan and I see, and appreciate, what this guy has been doing, year after year. I only wish that more people would show some appreciation for the good room owners, rather than bad mouthing them for some small insignificant incidents.
Rich R. said:
RichR,
You are right on target. I was aware of a couple of the problems; which were definitely "people skill" related. We all know people (and MANY frequent this forum) who can be brusque or behave rudely; all the while thinking they are being funny or friendly. There is no help for this type of person; and I think most of us tolerate them, but wish they would behave otherwise.
In the case of this room owner, I am wholeheartedly in agreement with your sentiments - he is DEFINITELY to be commended for his role in promoting the local pool scene. I understand he adds significant money to several local leagues and tournaments. He allowed one pro to take over the room for a couple of hours free of charge. He allowed the tournament to take over the whole room for 2 days. He spent an incredible amount of time and effort Friday cleaning the equipment for the tournament. I can happily tolerate a quirky personality in someone who promotes the game. If he has the tournament next year; count me in.
P.S. - Why didn't I get to meet you this weekend...were you hiding????
I agree, if there is a tournament next year I will be there and in it. I have all year to get my high run up to 16. After that it is all down hill. I figure if you can run one rack plus a ball you can do it all day long. Just like those other folks - right!
Seriously, it will be an annual event for us.
Seriously, it will be an annual event for us.
I addressed this in your other thread, but I will address it here too.Williebetmore said:
This tournament was originally scheduled for an earlier weekend and we were all set to spend the two days in the pool room. When they changed the date, it happened to land on a weekend when we had a dozen things to do. We tried to squeeze a little bit of the pool tournament in between all of the things we had to do.
My wife and I arrived late in the day, on Saturday. I believe we were all sitting and watching Jeanette's last match of the day. On our other side, my wife and I were also watching Steve Lipsky's last match of the day. I wanted to say hello, but, by the time Steve's match was over, I didn't see you. You may have left the room by then.
On Sunday, my wife and I arrived late in the day again. I didn't see you and I assume you had already left.
I'll see you the next time.