Matchroom Major Event-European Open (8-13 Aug), Fulda, Winner $30K Prizefund $200K

[Rocket354]

Shot on the 2 after the break. Raga played a safety here.
View attachment 713453

I was surprised, too, given that with appropriate top spin and perhaps a bit of inside he probably could have come straight up-table for the 4. But I think he didn't see any easy/clear path to the 4 (perhaps the angle wasn't quite how it appears on TV, which happens, or he's not too comfortable with too much inside on long shots). I think if he had successfully executed the safety, not many people would really have complained.

I do think selling out there is what prompted him to attempt the kiss in the following rack. When in doubt, it's always better to go down swinging than give up the table and watch a guy run out.

 

[skogstokig]

6-7 or straight in the side?
View attachment 713455

as JJ said, the six need to hit full and hard off the kiss ball. it was the right shot, hit slightly wrong. of course raga knows all this (this young man seems to know every aspect of the game), but he was under shotclock pressure, in front of a capacity crowd + hundreds of thousands fans at home. so very understandable

this was a magnificent final. i think the spanish open was equally entertaining, if not more, but the level of play was higher here. raga has a new fan in me

 

[AtLarge]

Some stats on the event are now available here: https://forums.azbilliards.com/thre...-pool-championship-9-ball-august-2023.556315/

 

[AtLarge]

Raga missed just two shots in the match, ...

Three misses for Raga -- 3-ball in Game 7, 2-ball in Game 15, and 6-ball in Game 25.

 

[jsp]

as JJ said, the six need to hit full and hard off the kiss ball. it was the right shot, hit slightly wrong. of course raga knows all this (this young man seems to know every aspect of the game), but he was under shotclock pressure, in front of a capacity crowd + hundreds of thousands fans at home. so very understandable

I think Raga was more focused on resulting position on the 7 after the kiss. If you look at the replay of the shot, the 7 stopped perfectly in front of the side pocket, which was most likely his intention. But evidently that shot speed, though resulting in the desired position of the 7, didn't result in the 6 being pocketed. I would have hit the shot at warp speed to guarantee the pot and hope for the best on where the 7 ends up. But of course I'm not the one actually playing the hill-hill shot with the shot clock running down at the finals of a major tournament.

Not sure if anyone else recalls that Raga also lost hill-hill at the finals of the 2019 China Open to Wu Jiaqing. Raga now has a legitimate monkey on his back.

 

[skogstokig]

Three misses for Raga -- 3-ball in Game 7, 2-ball in Game 15, and 6-ball in Game 25.

and two against filler, iirc? alledgedly zero against ko pin yi. crazy strong shooting overall

 

[sjm]

Three misses for Raga -- 3-ball in Game 7, 2-ball in Game 15, and 6-ball in Game 25.

Thanks for the correction. The Matchroom stats shown didn't include the final miss, but you're right. Still, a pretty high standard for twenty-five racks played!

Raga seems to be among the world's straightest shooters.

 

[iusedtoberich]

Entire finals in super quick editing, shots only, no fluff here:

 

[Bob Jewett]

Entire finals in super quick editing, shots only, no fluff here:

And here is the Matchroom condensed version....

 

[AtLarge]

and two against filler, iirc? ...

No, more than that, but it depends how you count . He missed the 2-ball in Games 1, 4 (a bank), and 9 and the 1-ball in Game 19. So that was 4 misses. But he was also trying, and failed, to pocket balls on 2 or 3 shots with a jump cue. How those are counted probably varies from person to person.

 

[AtLarge]

Thanks for the correction. The Matchroom stats shown didn't include the final miss, ...

I checked their balls-potted stat and it includes the final game's balls. So I think they just made a mistake on their misses (pot success) stat. I've noticed many errors in their stats in past events.

 

[smoochie]

I was literally yelling when the match is over the following....

"PLEASE DONT GO UP THE TABLE, PLEASE DONT GO UP THE TABLE........." I said it maybe 4 times, he didn't and I was very happy, then he went to hug Sanshez then I saw Sanshez pointing at the top of the table like he's telling him go stand up there.....and I put my palm on my face in sadness, then I saw him going in the direction of the table wanting to stand up on it.

Very bad habit, very disrespectable, doesn't look pretty and they always keep doing it.....please tell the pro's to stop it, it doesn't even look good.

 

[Podunker]

Wow! Great match. So impressed with the safeties and the return shots. I can't understand how anyone can be critical. These guys were the two best players in the world today. Everybody else watched and maybe posted on here. Raga plays big money matches with Orcollo, Biado, Alex or anybody that travels to PI daily. He probably needed the right backing to get off the island. Sure we'll all see more of him now and enjoy his game. Congrats to Alcaide. What a grind.

 

[Taxi]

I was literally yelling when the match is over the following....

"PLEASE DONT GO UP THE TABLE, PLEASE DONT GO UP THE TABLE........." I said it maybe 4 times, he didn't and I was very happy, then he went to hug Sanshez then I saw Sanshez pointing at the top of the table like he's telling him go stand up there.....and I put my palm on my face in sadness, then I saw him going in the direction of the table wanting to stand up on it.

Very bad habit, very disrespectable, doesn't look pretty and they always keep doing it.....please tell the pro's to stop it, it doesn't even look good.

Who started that stupid practice, anyway? Seems like it must have been Earl, but I don't know for sure.

I'm just waiting for He or Melling to try it, and then promptly find themselves sprawled on the floor, out of camera range, and surrounded by broken slate.

 

[Bob Jewett]

... and surrounded by broken slate.

But if not, think of the publicity for the table company. Even more of a testimonial if they do it on a Rasson Victory...

 

[Taxi]

But if not, think of the publicity for the table company. Even more of a testimonial if they do it on a Rasson Victory...

View attachment 713476

Just pray that Melling and He aren't Mosconi Cup teammates.

 

[CanadianGuy]

the missed 6 happened because he did not hit it hard enough as mentioned on the live commentary

I can only guess Raga was concerned that hitting it at the required speed would have really sent the 7 zipping around

 

[sjm]

I was literally yelling when the match is over the following....

"PLEASE DONT GO UP THE TABLE, PLEASE DONT GO UP THE TABLE........." I said it maybe 4 times, he didn't and I was very happy, then he went to hug Sanshez then I saw Sanshez pointing at the top of the table like he's telling him go stand up there.....and I put my palm on my face in sadness, then I saw him going in the direction of the table wanting to stand up on it.

Very bad habit, very disrespectable, doesn't look pretty and they always keep doing it.....please tell the pro's to stop it, it doesn't even look good.

It is a bit odd, but it's a good look for pro pool. I want the players who snap off big events to go crazy with excitement even if that means getting up on the table. Let viewers know that it's huge moment in the life of the champion. After all, how many players can say they've topped a field of 256 even once in their career? I'm OK with getting on the table, whether it's spontaneous or not. I suspect that the table sponsors like it, too, as it puts their brand in the spotlight.

On the other hand, at the Mosconi, it's really ridiculous when they all get up on the table together, but I still get it from a marketing standpoint.

Then again, what do I know? I studied finance, not marketing!

 

[mikepage]

[...]

Not sure if anyone else recalls that Raga also lost hill-hill at the finals of the 2019 China Open to Wu Jiaqing. Raga now has a legitimate monkey on his back.

Good memory! Here's what we wrote about that event--and Raga--at the time.

Couple Interesting stories from 2019 China Open 9-Ball - FargoRate Blog

News and usage hints for FargoRate.

www.fargorate.com

 

[misterpoole]

the missed 6 happened because he did not hit it hard enough as mentioned on the live commentary

I can only guess Raga was concerned that hitting it at the required speed would have really sent the 7 zipping around

That was always going to be close no matter how he hit it. Personally I think he should have hit the 7 fatter but I have not seen any replay to know for sure.