I only managed to take a couple of pictures, so here's one for JAM:
Also, I promised to post scores when I lost, too, so here's how I did:
Round 1: 11 - 1 win over Dennis Crandall
Round 2: 11-10 win over Gus Brisano
Round 3: 11-8 win over "you can look it up if you'd like"
Round 4: 1-11 loss to Scott Frost
Loser's Bracket: 4-11 loss to Ronnie Wiseman
I must admit, even though I've played with some of these guys before, I was so nervous I couldn't get out of a wet paper bag against Scott. He gave me plenty of chances, I simply couldn't make a ball. By my count, the score should've been tied at 6-6, but I gave back every chance Scott gave me at the table. I guess Scott got revenge for me beating his boy Gus (they travel together). I had no nerves against Ronnie (thanks for the advice, Scott), I just got outplayed. I was up 4-3, then didn't make a ball on the break. The next couple of times I came up, I was kicking. I did have a chance in one more game, but it was a tough jacked up shot and I rattled the pocket. Oh well, I ended up 17-24th, and this was definitely a good warm-up for the Open.
On a sad/angry note, my 3rd round matchup was less than enjoyable. Most players were gracious and acted like grown-up gentlemen throughout the tournament. However, in my 3rd round matchup, not only was my opponent talking the entire time, he talked about beating the sh!t out of some "n!g8ers", called me a "lucky MF'er", and refused to shake my hand after the match. I've had people try to shark me before while matching up, but never during a pro event. At the beginning of the match, he said that if I gave him the 9, he wouldn't penalize me (there was a 1 game penalty for conceding the 9). When his first 9 ball shot came up, I didn't concede, he dogged it, then he threw the rack and started cursing at me. He also offered to split the money (winner was guaranteed 17-24th and a whopping $150). I've never had anybody do that in the middle rounds of an event, although I've split plenty of finals money with people. The only thing I said to him was when he offered to split the money (at the time, I was up 6-2). I said, "If you want to quit, then quit." I didn't know what to do, so I just let all the garbage go. I stayed calm and played my game. The next day, I saw the same guy pulling the same crap against another player, and while I had stayed calm, the new guy didn't, and ended up letting the shark get him 11-10. I was disgusted, and I mentioned it to Buxton, and he basically said that somebody should've told him what was going on, that he would have come over and told both players to shut the hell up, or the next person who talked would forfeit the match. I was thinking it was a shame that someone would have to say something like that to grown men at a professional event.
Other than that particular match, I thoroughly enjoyed the tournament, both playing in it and hanging out at it. Buxton ran everything well, and Hooker set up the place decently for spectators, even though the room is sort of small. The competition was great and I definitely plan to play again next year.
-djb
Also, I promised to post scores when I lost, too, so here's how I did:
Round 1: 11 - 1 win over Dennis Crandall
Round 2: 11-10 win over Gus Brisano
Round 3: 11-8 win over "you can look it up if you'd like"
Round 4: 1-11 loss to Scott Frost
Loser's Bracket: 4-11 loss to Ronnie Wiseman
I must admit, even though I've played with some of these guys before, I was so nervous I couldn't get out of a wet paper bag against Scott. He gave me plenty of chances, I simply couldn't make a ball. By my count, the score should've been tied at 6-6, but I gave back every chance Scott gave me at the table. I guess Scott got revenge for me beating his boy Gus (they travel together). I had no nerves against Ronnie (thanks for the advice, Scott), I just got outplayed. I was up 4-3, then didn't make a ball on the break. The next couple of times I came up, I was kicking. I did have a chance in one more game, but it was a tough jacked up shot and I rattled the pocket. Oh well, I ended up 17-24th, and this was definitely a good warm-up for the Open.
On a sad/angry note, my 3rd round matchup was less than enjoyable. Most players were gracious and acted like grown-up gentlemen throughout the tournament. However, in my 3rd round matchup, not only was my opponent talking the entire time, he talked about beating the sh!t out of some "n!g8ers", called me a "lucky MF'er", and refused to shake my hand after the match. I've had people try to shark me before while matching up, but never during a pro event. At the beginning of the match, he said that if I gave him the 9, he wouldn't penalize me (there was a 1 game penalty for conceding the 9). When his first 9 ball shot came up, I didn't concede, he dogged it, then he threw the rack and started cursing at me. He also offered to split the money (winner was guaranteed 17-24th and a whopping $150). I've never had anybody do that in the middle rounds of an event, although I've split plenty of finals money with people. The only thing I said to him was when he offered to split the money (at the time, I was up 6-2). I said, "If you want to quit, then quit." I didn't know what to do, so I just let all the garbage go. I stayed calm and played my game. The next day, I saw the same guy pulling the same crap against another player, and while I had stayed calm, the new guy didn't, and ended up letting the shark get him 11-10. I was disgusted, and I mentioned it to Buxton, and he basically said that somebody should've told him what was going on, that he would have come over and told both players to shut the hell up, or the next person who talked would forfeit the match. I was thinking it was a shame that someone would have to say something like that to grown men at a professional event.
Other than that particular match, I thoroughly enjoyed the tournament, both playing in it and hanging out at it. Buxton ran everything well, and Hooker set up the place decently for spectators, even though the room is sort of small. The competition was great and I definitely plan to play again next year.
-djb
