Ok, just got back from five days of sweating the wonderful straight pool event. Kudos to Dragon Promotions and Comet Billiards for making it all happen.
The Pre-tournament Chatter
It was a bit distressing when far too many focused on who wasn't coming rather than who was. Still, I won't suggest that having all four medalists and six of the eight quarterfinalists of 2008 (Niels Feijen, Francisco Bustamante, Jasmin Ouschan, Nick VanDenBerg, John Schmidt, Huidji See) absent wasn't a little disappointing. WPA #1 ranked Darren Appleton, who bested Thorsten Hohmann in the Derby City 14.1 event, was also absent. Also, as noted by BillBOK, 2009 European 14.1 Champion Dmitri Jungo wasn't in the field. Among the American absentees was Danny Harriman, winner of the straight pool event at Derby City (in which he beat out a field that included Appleton, Hohmann and Schmidt), so, arguably, America's two best shots at a medal, Schmidt and Harriman, were out of action.
Still, even without these proven stars, the event offered a very strong field.
The Play of the Americans
Even without Schmidt and Harriman, the Americans displayed some solid world-class 14.1. Archer was the best of the American contingent. Though his play was inconsistent in the round robin, he got stronger and stronger as the event went on, and earned a bronze medal. Also making a deep run was Tony Robles, who led eventual champion Stefan Cohen by over 100 balls in the quarterinal before Cohen made two big runs to win it. The biggest surprise was Charlie Williams, who, despite his contention that he isn't a straight pooler at all, made some big runs and got as far as the quarterfinals before falling to Archer. Allen Hopkins, Mike Davis, Corey Deuel, Jim Gottier, Stevie Moore, Bob Madenjian and Earl Herring were all among those finishing 9/16.
Sadly, Max Eberle, winner of his group in round robin, ran out of gas in the second round and failed to reach single elimination. Of the other Americans who failed to reach the single elimination, Steve Lipsky was the most impressive, and my guess is that we'll see this truly outstanding world-class player in the single elimination round of this event soon enough.
The Dominant Play of the Europeans
I'm sure that by speaking in very glowing terms of Europe's effort, I'll upset some Americans, for which I'll apologize in advance, but the truth must be told.
Europe's contingent, as best as I can remember, had just seven players - Stefan Cohen (France), Mika Immonen (Finland), Oliver Ortmann (Germany), Gerda Hofstatter (Austria), Ralf Eckert (Germany), Johnni Fulcher (Scotland) and Thorsten Hohmann (Germany).
Not one of the Europeans was beaten in the "final 16 elimination round" by a non-European" (Hohmann was eliminated by Immonen in the quarterfinal, Fulcher lost to Ortmann in the quarterfinal, Ortmann lost to Immonen in the semis, and Immonen lost in the final to Cohen), although Eckert, who had run 100 in round robin play, was denied a spot in the single elimination when New York's own Jim Gottier produced a fine effort on Thursday night.
Four of the seven Europeans had at least one 100+ run, and, as a group, I believe they had nine different 100+ ball runs, with Ortmann taking down the high run prize.
For the fourth year in a row, three of the four semifinalists and both finalists were European. So, even without Feijen, VanDenBerg, See, Ouschan, and Appleton, the European contingent owned this event the way they always have.
Well played, Europe.
Significant Other(s)
OK, just two guys I can think of that were neither American nor European. One waa Zaid Thwieb of Jordan, who played creditably, including a win over Max Eberle to earn a spot in single elimination. Zaid finished 9/16. The other was Israeli Zion Zvi, who showed a lot of game finishing 17th.
In Conclusion
So, to sum, the field could have been stronger, but it was still very, very strong. Europe dominated for the fourth straight year, and the Americans played some superb 14.1, too. It was a great exhibition of 14.1 by all, and I was honored to have been there to see it up close.
The Pre-tournament Chatter
It was a bit distressing when far too many focused on who wasn't coming rather than who was. Still, I won't suggest that having all four medalists and six of the eight quarterfinalists of 2008 (Niels Feijen, Francisco Bustamante, Jasmin Ouschan, Nick VanDenBerg, John Schmidt, Huidji See) absent wasn't a little disappointing. WPA #1 ranked Darren Appleton, who bested Thorsten Hohmann in the Derby City 14.1 event, was also absent. Also, as noted by BillBOK, 2009 European 14.1 Champion Dmitri Jungo wasn't in the field. Among the American absentees was Danny Harriman, winner of the straight pool event at Derby City (in which he beat out a field that included Appleton, Hohmann and Schmidt), so, arguably, America's two best shots at a medal, Schmidt and Harriman, were out of action.
Still, even without these proven stars, the event offered a very strong field.
The Play of the Americans
Even without Schmidt and Harriman, the Americans displayed some solid world-class 14.1. Archer was the best of the American contingent. Though his play was inconsistent in the round robin, he got stronger and stronger as the event went on, and earned a bronze medal. Also making a deep run was Tony Robles, who led eventual champion Stefan Cohen by over 100 balls in the quarterinal before Cohen made two big runs to win it. The biggest surprise was Charlie Williams, who, despite his contention that he isn't a straight pooler at all, made some big runs and got as far as the quarterfinals before falling to Archer. Allen Hopkins, Mike Davis, Corey Deuel, Jim Gottier, Stevie Moore, Bob Madenjian and Earl Herring were all among those finishing 9/16.
Sadly, Max Eberle, winner of his group in round robin, ran out of gas in the second round and failed to reach single elimination. Of the other Americans who failed to reach the single elimination, Steve Lipsky was the most impressive, and my guess is that we'll see this truly outstanding world-class player in the single elimination round of this event soon enough.
The Dominant Play of the Europeans
I'm sure that by speaking in very glowing terms of Europe's effort, I'll upset some Americans, for which I'll apologize in advance, but the truth must be told.
Europe's contingent, as best as I can remember, had just seven players - Stefan Cohen (France), Mika Immonen (Finland), Oliver Ortmann (Germany), Gerda Hofstatter (Austria), Ralf Eckert (Germany), Johnni Fulcher (Scotland) and Thorsten Hohmann (Germany).
Not one of the Europeans was beaten in the "final 16 elimination round" by a non-European" (Hohmann was eliminated by Immonen in the quarterfinal, Fulcher lost to Ortmann in the quarterfinal, Ortmann lost to Immonen in the semis, and Immonen lost in the final to Cohen), although Eckert, who had run 100 in round robin play, was denied a spot in the single elimination when New York's own Jim Gottier produced a fine effort on Thursday night.
Four of the seven Europeans had at least one 100+ run, and, as a group, I believe they had nine different 100+ ball runs, with Ortmann taking down the high run prize.
For the fourth year in a row, three of the four semifinalists and both finalists were European. So, even without Feijen, VanDenBerg, See, Ouschan, and Appleton, the European contingent owned this event the way they always have.
Well played, Europe.
Significant Other(s)
OK, just two guys I can think of that were neither American nor European. One waa Zaid Thwieb of Jordan, who played creditably, including a win over Max Eberle to earn a spot in single elimination. Zaid finished 9/16. The other was Israeli Zion Zvi, who showed a lot of game finishing 17th.
In Conclusion
So, to sum, the field could have been stronger, but it was still very, very strong. Europe dominated for the fourth straight year, and the Americans played some superb 14.1, too. It was a great exhibition of 14.1 by all, and I was honored to have been there to see it up close.
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lol 
