Penalties for Forfeiting in Tournaments?

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SpotMonster22

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I was at the US Bar Table Championships this weekend and witnessed this scenario:

In the second rack, Player A scratches on his last ball, leaving an easy out for his opponent and concedes the game in anger.

Player B reports the conceded game to the tournament director. According to the rules, conceding a game is not allowed, and one game is deducted from Player A's score (putting the score at -1 to 2 (I think)).

Player A seemed to have a few choice words for his opponent (and other players near by)...and the rest of the match was pretty tense, with questioning every rack (and once the TD was called over again to settle whether a rack was good enough).

So, do you think it was wrong to report the conceded game and take a 1 game advantage? Would you do it?
 
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Rules are rules! Everyone is made aware of them and I think there is nothing wrong with enforcing them.

It makes for a horrible experience, but you have to remember people invest a lot of time and money to come to these events. And if they lost out because they didn't report something they would be super pissed at themselves
 
jdxprs said:
i have no problem with someone reporting it, but i wouldnt have done it. not my style.
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Same here. It is the rule and people can choose to enforce it if they wish. Personally, I have had it happen to me and I have not reported it. However, I never give up the out when the rule is in place unless my opponent has done it first.

I understand the rule; however, it is one I usually don't enforce unless the person I am playing is an ass.
 
There is a reason for that rule.

SpotMonster22 said:
I was at the US Bar Table Championships this weekend and witnessed this scenario:

In the second rack, Player A scratches on his last ball, leaving an easy out for his opponent and forfeits the game in anger.

Player B reports the forfeit to the tournament director. According to the rules, forfeiting a game is not allowed, and one game is deducted from Player A's score (putting the score at -1 to 2 (I think)).

Player A seemed to have a few choice words for his opponent (and other players near by)...and the rest of the match was pretty tense, with questioning every rack (and once the TD was called over again to settle whether a rack was good enough).

So, do you think it was wrong to report the forfeit and take a 1 game advantage? Would you do it?
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A few years ago, a top name pro player with a very bad attitude was playing a little bit weaker player. The Pro misses a 5 ball with an easy 4 ball out, and rakes all the balls in. This wa a little over half way thru the match, with Pro being up several games. The next game the guy breaks and fails to pocket a ball, and the Pro player misses a ball during his run out, and rakes the balls.

Now, stop and think about it.... If the guy is breaking, and never getting a chance to hit a few balls, and is left sitting in his chair watching.... He can't possibly get into stroke,,,, plus he always has that feeling the guy ain't gonna make him shoot..... They have that rule at the Derby too. Along with the rule that you can't tap the balls in place while racking. 1 game penalty on both.
 
Unfortunately you run into this sort of thing at large tournaments.

Kinda like the guy who wants to call the ref to "watch the hit" all the time.

I do think the rule is a good one and there is a legit reason for having the rule but its sort of "nitty" to call it.However if I am playing some1 who is over the top poor sports-person I might call em on it.I think a more reasonable rule is what they do at BCA tournaments.A player who is reported for poor sportsmanship can face penalties and even be forfeited completely out of the tournament after sufficient warnings or if they act up on multiple occasions.The reason I think the loss of a game is unreasonable is that in some cases forfeiting a game is good sportsmanship but only when 2 like-minded individuals are competing.All this being said (sorry for rambling),I myself never give a ball or game at BCA tourneys.
 
smoooothstroke said:
.The reason I think the loss of a game is unreasonable is that in some cases forfeiting a game is good sportsmanship but only when 2 like-minded individuals are competing.
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Yeah. Forfeits are kind of interesting. One person may interpret it as a sign of respect and another, in exactly the same circumstances, will think you're trying to shark them.

In this instance, the guy raked the balls in anger...so it didn't really seem to fall into the respect category, although I don't think it was a conscious attempt to shark the other player.

When I do that kind of thing, I know that deep down its my way of maintaining control because I'm so mad at myself for mistake, I just can't stand to watch my opponent actually win the game (especially if I think I'm better).

Still I agree that a one game penalty out of the gate seems a bit much.
 
smoooothstroke said:
Unfortunately you run into this sort of thing at large tournaments.

Kinda like the guy who wants to call the ref to "watch the hit" all the time.

I ...
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I think if there is any chance a bad hit may result, one must call the ref over.
PErsonally, even if the foul is obvious, I don't want to be the one make the call. Too many pootential issues.
 
Jack Hynes...years ago...played in a open tournement & every time he missed or broke dry he raked the balls & forfeited game..He came out 2nd in that tourney....Pretty strong !!!!:thumbup:
 
Earl has gotten into hot water over this too.

When did they change the rule? I'm curious because the event Archer recently won on a bar box had guys conceding racks left and right with more than one ball on the table.
 
That's a bit weird. I mean if the guy forfeits, the guy forfeits. The tournament director can't force him to play any longer than he wants to unless he blackmails him with like ''If you forfeit, you are banned from every tournament I will organize'' but if the guy doesn't want to shoot, fine by me.
 
I think what they are trying to prevent is something I have witnessed once. It was a looser breaks, rack your own tournament. And this guy was playing a friend of mine and both are master players. If the guy didn't run out he'd forfeit the game and re rack and re break. Basically trying to take my friend out of the game by not letting him shoot.
 
houmatroy said:
Jack Hynes...years ago...played in a open tournement & every time he missed or broke dry he raked the balls & forfeited game..He came out 2nd in that tourney....Pretty strong !!!!:thumbup:
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This is also pretty weak. Why would fans pay to watch this kind of behavior during a match? When I PAY to watch a pool tourney, I want to watch pool, not antics. I want to see run outs, strategy, etc. Like I said, pretty weak, IMO.
 
The bar table tourney Archer won was the Music City Open and they did not have the game forfeit rule in effect this year. I think as more and more live streams are added you will see this rule used everywhere. I know the open has been using it for several years now and I think that any event that has a significant attendance of spectators should enact the rule.
 
Jimbojim said:
That's a bit weird. I mean if the guy forfeits, the guy forfeits. The tournament director can't force him to play any longer than he wants to unless he blackmails him with like ''If you forfeit, you are banned from every tournament I will organize'' but if the guy doesn't want to shoot, fine by me.
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Sorry, I probably should have said "conceding games" instead of forfeit...
 
I have one more thought on this. If I were a promoter, my first goal would be to create an event that spectators would pay to see. I really don't think anyone would pay to see forfeits right and left. They want to see players battle back when behind, or bow out gracefully. Most of all, they pay to watch pool.

If I ran a tourney and ANY player forfeited any single game, I would make it clear that they forfeit the remainder of the event as well. End of story. That would get the message across adequately.
 
The Renfro said:
The bar table tourney Archer won was the Music City Open and they did not have the game forfeit rule in effect this year. I think as more and more live streams are added you will see this rule used everywhere. I know the open has been using it for several years now and I think that any event that has a significant attendance of spectators should enact the rule.
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You are exactly correct.
 
I only like that rule when spectators are involved at the event or it is being live streamed. Other than in those scenarios I see no reason for it. It actually makes tournament matches go faster.
 
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