Observations of Mika & SVB's "Gamesmanship"

I didn't see the first day but it seems Mika has been "in a bad mood".

I'm surprised nobody takes into consideration that he lost the previous day a World Championships final, and that was a second year in row in that particular tournament, that particular Title.

And FYI, it happened against the most (psychologically) difficult opponent/rival of his. (His own statement, don't know if I should reveal it here though ;))



Anyway, GO MIKA! Just remember you don't want to lose this match!
 
Aaron: I learned a lesson one time to never mention what bothers you. That upside down chalk thing bothers me to no end. The guy I slipped up to NEVER put it down properly thereafter.
 
Upside down chalk on the rails is for amateurs. If true, Shane should be ashamed of himself. If I were Mika I would take all the chalk off the table after my turn (every time). And make Shane come to me to get it, and with it a lecture about placing the chalk upside down. That is how you take back control in the match.
 
mosconiac said:
Aaron: I learned a lesson one time to never mention what bothers you. That upside down chalk thing bothers me to no end. The guy I slipped up to NEVER put it down properly thereafter.
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It actually bugs the hell out of me too. I don't think I could ever do it intentionally to someone; I would probably just shark myself in the process.

If Shane was in fact doing it, though, one has to believe it was on purpose. As Jay said, you typically only see that out of rank amateurs, and certainly not out of a player who cares about clean playing conditions, as any pro would.

Aaron
 
It looked like those guys played pretty decent with the "post Flag" or "American Flag" Masters chalk...
 
Mr Hoppe said:
At one point, Mika took a break during Shane's turn at the table. I didn't know that was allowed, although it was between racks. When Mika later cleaned the rails, he picked up Shane's cue and dropped it with a 'thud' back on to the table. And lastly, I agree that the continued cue ball cleaning during play is quite anoying. At one point he cleaned the cb right after the break. Really? You couldn't have cleaned it BEFORE the break? Shane just rolls with the punches and continues to run out. Good for him.
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I wasn't really bothered by the cleaning of the cue ball or the rails; it seemed neurotic, but you could tell that Mika was absolutely furious, and we all do weird things when we're venting. But when he picked up Shane's cue and dropped it back on the table, that was way over the line. I don't care if they get the equipment for free, you don't disrespect someone else's stuff like that. I was impressed by Shane's ability to completely ignore Mika furiously wiping down the table while he was racking.
 
jay helfert said:
Upside down chalk on the rails is for amateurs. If true, Shane should be ashamed of himself. If I were Mika I would take all the chalk off the table after my turn (every time). And make Shane come to me to get it, and with it a lecture about placing the chalk upside down. That is how you take back control in the match.
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I think thats a little excessive. And if thats going to rattle Mika and get him frustrated he needs to step his focus up.
 
lukemindish said:
I think thats a little excessive. And if thats going to rattle Mika and get him frustrated he needs to step his focus up.
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The funny (or not so funny) thing is that many of the Pinoys do it.

Dennis Orcollo must be the messiest player on earth, and I've been thinking he must do it intentionally, as he(/they) must know westerners are much more particular, play in more clean conditions and get bothered of these things much more than them.

One excuse can be, that in Philippines the spotters wipe the table/rails all the time, but still. Who professional, hasn't learn to put the chalk upwards???

I've seen even Efren putting the chalk downwards.. :rolleyes:
 
Really

I hope Mika isn't letting how the chalk is placed on the table bother him. If he is he's already lost this match. I don't believe SVB would do it to shark Mika but who knows. I think both of these players are champions and have no need or desire to purposely shark one another. The better player will win and there shouldn't be any excuses.
 
svb and mika

Listen this just proves the point on how mika is throwing another temper trantrum when things dont go his way. If he was dominating the match this would never be an issue. He's doing the same thing he does everytime he loses. in my opinion he needs to take some classes on how to be a true champion not a champion cry baby. upside down chalk means ur not thinking about the table.
 
Even though the commentators might not agree with me, I thought the overall level of play was much higher on Day Two. It did bother me a little when they kept talking about all the mistakes the players were making and the three and four inning games. "A lackluster match," was one of the comments! I must not have been watching the same match. I saw a few errors by both players but a lot of good run outs (and good shooting) on a tough table. They both looked like champions to me, the way they ran out game after game. Once they got in line, it was mostly game over!

Mika missed one long cut shot and lost a game, and the commentators mentioned that Mika failed to get out again and that he was playing bad. I just didn't see it that way. I thought Mika was playing some good pool and fighting hard to stay in the match. The difference in the match is Shane's overwhelming break shot. He just breaks better than Mika or anyone else for that matter. As long as his break is working I don't see Mika being able to come back. It was also interesting that on Day Two, when Mika was well rested, he broke even with Shane, 35-35.

The big first day lead might make the difference in this match. That's my take on things.
 
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I Agree!

jay helfert said:
Even though the commentators might not agree with me, I thought the overall level of play was much higher on Day Two. It did bother me a little when they kept talking about all the mistakes the players were making and the three and four inning games. "A lackluster match," was one of the comments! I must not have been watching the same match. I saw a few errors by both players but a lot of good run outs (and good shooting) on a tough table. They both looked like champions to me, the way they ran out game after game. Once they got in line, it was mostly game over!

Mika missed one long cut shot and lost a game, and the commentators mentioned that Mika failed to get out again and that he was playing bad. I just didn't see it that way. I thought Mika was playing some good pool and fighting hard to stay in the match. The difference in the match is Shane's overwhelming break shot. He just breaks better than Mika or anyone else for that matter. As long as his break is working I don't see Mika being able to come back. It was also interesting that on Day Two when Mika was well rested he broke even with Shane, 35-35.

The big first day lead might make the difference in this match. That's my take on things.
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Agree with this 100%

Its first to 100 of course they are going to miss some shots.
 
I admittedly haven't seen all the games, but what I have seen so far appears to be both players playing somewhere in the low to mid .800's (just my guesstimate based on what I have seen). Obviously, either of these guys is capable of playing in the .900's on this equipment and I'm frankly quite surprised we haven't seen one of them step up into that range. Last night I saw three misses in a row on open shots, and some of the other errors I saw were quite shocking if I'm being honest. To be fair, I think Mika has a bit of an excuse since he has not played a TAR match before, and could be feeling a new kind of pressure, but I think it's also fair to say that SVB is performing well below the level we have seen out of him in prior TAR matchups. I agree with those who have said that if Shane were playing this way against Alex or Dennis he would likely be facing a large deficit in the match rather than being +10.

I am very interested to see what happens tonight, though, as I still fully expect these guys to get into a groove and play some great pool before the match is over. The pool that has been played has been good, but certainly not to the level most were expecting.

Aaron
 
jay helfert said:
Even though the commentators might not agree with me, I thought the overall level of play was much higher on Day Two. It did bother me a little when they kept talking about all the mistakes the players were making and the three and four inning games. "A lackluster match," was one of the comments! I must not have been watching the same match. I saw a few errors by both players but a lot of good run outs (and good shooting) on a tough table. They both looked like champions to me, the way they ran out game after game. Once they got in line, it was mostly game over!

Mika missed one long cut shot and lost a game, and the commentators mentioned that Mika failed to get out again and that he was playing bad. I just didn't see it that way. I thought Mika was playing some good pool and fighting hard to stay in the match. The difference in the match is Shane's overwhelming break shot. He just breaks better than Mika or anyone else for that matter. As long as his break is working I don't see Mika being able to come back. It was also interesting that on Day Two when Mika was well rested he broke even with Shane, 35-35.

The big first day lead might make the difference in this match. That's my take on things.
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Jay, I definitly agree about shane's break being the big factor, and i think shane is coming out on top in more of the saftey battles.

'lackluster' is a word that does come to mind simply because of the expectaitions anyone watching these two would have. 2 of the absolute tops playing to a 100, been through 2 days of playing, and i havent really seen any 'luster'. There hasn't been any wow factor as far as play. Not that it hasn't been a good match.... just no wow. couple that with seeing one of them get out of line or miss what looks a routine layout... and that word

Scores been basically at 10 ahead since early day 1 and I personally look at it like a dead heat at this point. 10 games either way is nothing for these 2.
I mean even if they both hit a high gear right at the start tonight either one of them can end up keeping the other guy sitting, or stitched up. The possibility for either one of them to take off is there. And its why I am excited, and looking forward to tonights play. (hopefully in person)
 
Everybody expects these guys to play perfect pool. Sorry, but that just isn't the reality. Shooting .850 is not bad pool, it's damn good. Better than 95% of us will ever shoot. That is why a .900 game is still considered excellent, and rare. I wish every TAR match could look like Alex vs. Shane when they both shot lights out pool for extended periods, but that is a rarity in the pool world. You just don't see anyone stringing racks playing Ten Ball on tough equipment. It doesn't happen that often, if ever! I wouldn't be surprised to see some damn good pool played on Day Three though.
 
jersey jer said:
. There hasn't been any wow factor as far as play.
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I am sure there were some 'wows' on some on the thin cut safties Shane played on day 1. I more then likely said 'holy sh@t', not 'wow', but same difference.:) I watched day 2 off and on, and really was not able to see how they played overall. I do know that the commentators kept mentioning all the balls these two missed.
 
Aaron_S said:
I admittedly haven't seen all the games, but what I have seen so far appears to be both players playing somewhere in the low to mid .800's (just my guesstimate based on what I have seen). Obviously, either of these guys is capable of playing in the .900's on this equipment and I'm frankly quite surprised we haven't seen one of them step up into that range.
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IMO, .800 is quiet good in a race to 35. You can't expect the same stats in a race to 35 than in a race to let's say 11.
 
jay helfert said:
Everybody expects these guys to play perfect pool. Sorry, but that just isn't the reality. Shooting .850 is not bad pool, it's damn good. Better than 95% of us will ever shoot. That is why a .900 game is still considered excellent, and rare. I wish every TAR match could look like Alex vs. Shane when they both shot lights out pool for extended periods, but that is a rarity in the pool world. You just don't see anyone stringing racks playing Ten Ball on tough equipment. It doesn't happen that often, if ever! I wouldn't be surprised to see some damn good pool played on Day Three though.
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I agree, Jay, .850 pool is damn good pool. But I kind of think that if you asked either of these guys if they thought they could win this match playing .850 pool they probably would have said no. I also think they would each give an emphatic "hell no" if asked if they are pleased with the way they've played thus far. My expectations are pretty high, though, and I blame Shane for that. :smile:

Aaron
 
The one aspect of the match that has impressed me most is their ability to trade kick-safes. Second to that was SVB's speed control on safes...he was regularly hooking Mika behind one lone ball while travelling 8-10'.
 
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