I'm about ready to crash out after the tournament. It was a long three days for me, without my usual afternoon nap.
All in all another good tournament in the books with some stellar play by some great players. But not without controversy. Seems every event has it's own special circumstance that makes it unique. This one had the "The Great Red Plague!"
The following is all my opinion: The red cloth! No question it marred the event in two areas. Number one it created a negative vibe in the days immediately prior to the event, and sent the wrong message to the players. It was like a player unfriendly move and I believe it cost us a minimum of 10-15 players, maybe more. We could have easily had a 75-80 player field!
Even with the above being true, the tables were not bad to play on. The cloth was 'Simoniz-like' in texture, just playing slightly slower. Ernesto and Oscar set the tables up (and recovered them) and they played fair and tight. Four inch pockets have a way of separating the players from the pretenders.
As someone else said the real problem turned out to be the red chalk that the HB management wanted everyone to use. This was the real affront to the pool players who were there. It looked like "Bloody Sunday" in the place for three days. Red chalk was everywhere! On our cues, our clothes, our hands and fingers, on all the balls (the worst was the cue ball) and even in our hair. It was like a red virus (plague?) had infected this little section of the pool world. This was the main gripe of the players and many used blue Master chalk anyway, in defiance. I didn't say a word if they did. I just could not bring myself to side with management on this one.
The field wasn't large, but it wasn't small either. And it was stocked with powerful pool players! Whoever said it wasn't must not have been there. We got treated to match after match of world class pool. Rafael remains a singular talent, shooting shots that defy description and that even stun the other top players. As Corey said, "He plays some different shots than the rest of us."
Rodney has GAME! And tons of it. He never gives up and plays the same game whether he's behind or ahead. When he gets rolling, the four inch pockets might as well be eight inch. He shoots the balls in the heart! One stroke and fire, one stroke and fire. He makes difficult run outs look easy. They're not! His game reminds me of the great filipinos, where the cue ball slowly rolls into position. He has the softest touch of anyone in the field.
Corey plays great when he's on his game. But when the switch flips, like in the finals, he can suddenly start to miss. He has ALL the shots and a fine touch as well, but is not immune to pressure. Of course, no one is. Not even great players.
Everyone missed balls on these super tight pockets, but the best players missed the least and got out the best. Ten Ball on tables like this is a real test of pool acumen. So many empty breaks, so many safety battles, so many tortuous run outs. I remain convinced that you do not need to call balls under such conditions. Slop won't save you here. Let's not take the creativity and two way shots out of the game. I saw a lot of sparkling play that would not happen in "call shot" Ten Ball.
Hat's off to the Seminole Tribe for venturing West to expand their tour. They are putting time, money and manpower into professional pool in America. Support these events wherever they happen! They may be the best hope for our future that we have right now.
I'm gonna get some rest.
