Matlock is tired of all of the lies..

[T411]

Has David or Keith won a bar table championship? Just curious. Ive tried to find the info but was unable. If not, does anybody else find that more than just a little interesting? I did see that Matlock has played in them and not won. To claim to be the best ever you have to pass more than just the "I" test. I saw Matlock play and he was the best, I saw Keith play and he was the best. It would be more than just a little contradictory to me if the actual recorded results from tournaments say they were not the best in that tourney.
Say what you will regarding tournament play vs cash play. I play a lot of poker and pool, in tournaments you get one shot to show your best. You don't have the luxury of just pulling out wads of money to play again. So what, you get to keep gambling with someone until you finally win or scare them with a lot of money? That to me isn't putting yourself under pressure. NOT being able play endlessly because of money is. In a tournament it doesn't matter how many rich oil backers you know. They can't help you. You need to do it, you get one chance to beat your opponent, each match, and thats it.
Having one chance to beat someone and failing to me trumps just playing and playing until someone gives up. And again recorded results have to be able to speak louder than stories. ESPECIALLY, when they don't match up. If your the best, your the best in a tournament or a cash game, period.

If we had a reading comprehension test on this website, half of the members would fail. The best in the tournament doesn't always win. However, if you claim to be the best bar table player in the world for a number of years you should have a tournament championship (this means one) to show for it. And Ive never heard Jason Kirkwood claim to be the best in the world...so bad comparison. And competent players are capable of beating champions in a tournament. Sorry, but I think you overlooked something that is kind of funny. The reason they are called (clear my throat) champions is because they have won a.....CHAMPIONSHIP. So they had to win at some point, either once or numerous times. And in that tournament, they didn't get beat (twice in some instances) by anyone competent or great.

What pressure is for one person is no pressure at all for the next. What impresses one person means nothing to another. One might say that playing for first place is no pressure at all; what's on the line? One might think it's all on the line when their playing for 1st place because of how or what they think 1st place means. Someone else might laugh at that. Some may think that its better to stay under radar; some may laugh at that. One may feel the pressure when they are playing with someone else's cash. Unless your playing a game with rules, what one might think trumps this or that does not mean a lot except for the person that thinks it.

If you think the reason they are called champions is because they have won a championship, then my friend I think you are wrong. A player could win the U.S. open and that does not mean he is a "champion"; at least not in the pool world. The question is asked "does anybody else find that more than just a little interesting"? Referring to the lack of info on bar table champions. You are not going to find a lot of info on bar table championships, its not like that in pool. It has never been organized enough or even had a serious governing body.

Pool in this country is really a subculture that is hard for some people to understand. There have been some really great players (champions) that hardly ever played in tournaments and if they did the object for them was not to win. This is all part of the subculture of pool and it would not be the same if it was all black and white. Some players could care less who was the champion of this tournament or that tournament; being the winner of "the tournament" does not make you "a champion" in pool. Champions don?t even call themselves champions, everyone else does. The ones that call themselves champions are not "champions", they may have just won a tournament.

 

[usakr]

Somebody mentioned the Mexican player Canela. I saw him play Sammy Soto on a bar table back in the early 90's. He was very confident until Sammy started to shoot. After Sammy ran the set out Canela quit and they shook hands. Canela was a very respected player in Texas in the 80's. He comes over to Mcallen every so often. Last I heard he was in Laredo, Texas. Has David Matlock ever played Sammy Soto on a bar box because Sammy has got to be the best player I've seen. If Tar could get a hold of him and have him play Jason Kirkwood or David Matlock everyone would be in for a real treat. He is a phenomenal player. He beat Mike Sigel for Money in the 80's. And I believe he beat Buddy Hall in the early 90's race to 100 on the bar box.