I just came across this on reddit - it's an interesting read....
The usual drama at the US Open 9-ball... (self.billiards)
submitted 9 hours ago by CreeDoroflFish Filet
You can usually count on Earl to have at least one meltdown in a major event, and he came through again. Earl was doing his usual commentary and Josh said he wished Earl would stop talking to him while he's shooting. Then he opted to take his timeout and walked off. Earl decided to unscrew his cue and forfeit. It was close too, like 9-7.
I don't think Earl will ever stage a comeback and get a sixth US Open title... the playing ability is there, the mental game is gone.
There were also several racking controversies, which happens at every us open for many years now, (maybe even before corey perfected the soft break and joe tucker explained it).
Jayson Shaw gave a demonstration to a few spectators between matches... with a tight rack, the wing ball will hit too high on a normal power break from the box. Remember that as of 2014, they rack with the 9-ball on the spot instead of the 1 on the spot... just like at the Mosconi cup.
You can break softer and cut the 1-ball, but then other balls tend to kiss the wing ball out of the way before it reaches the pocket. Most players have resorted to trying to break the 1 into the side, which is not that easy and of course means you have no idea what your next shot will be after the balls settle. Shane can do this really well.
Anyway... Shaw proceeded to show people how just a tiny little gap (really small, easily overlooked) above the wing ball, causes it to go flying directly into the corner pocket, which is what the rule changes were supposed to prevent. And the US Open is rack-your-own. So this is a recipe for arguments.
Ralf Souquet caught one of his opponents doing it, pointed it out, and his opponent stopped.
Niels Feijen was playing Dennis Orcollo and Dennis saw something he didn't like about Neils rack, and went to touch the rack and correct it. The ref asked him not to do that. This prompted Neils to check every single rack... after about 3 or 4 games, he spots a rack with a gap and points it out to Dennis, and D.O. flies into a rage, tossing his cue into the rack and then flinging balls around, causing everyone at nearby tables to stop playing. Surprisingly he was not disqualified, and he went on to win 11-9, and won his next match too.
A little side note... I found an interesting bit of commentary from the first year that they changed the rack position at the US Open. (http://thepoolscene.com/us-open/amid-complaints-racking-rules-changed-u-s-open)
Jayson Shaw pointed out that when you rack the 9 on the spot and are forced to break from a narrower break box, it causes the ball in the back to hit the back rail and then rebound straight up (whereas the traditional break from the side pushes it sideways a bit). When the ball rebounds straight up, it tends to run directly into the 9, which shouldn't move much with a truly perfect rack. Shaw mentioned that in the course of some practice sets, he was able to cause the 9 ball to get kissed into the upper pockets with a surprisingly high success rate... after playing several races to 11, he claims he averaged 4 or 5 nine-on-the-snaps per set, over the course of 6 sets.
So the new rack rules can be abused in ways they never dreamed of, and there's one more side effect to consider... you know the spot always gets dented down into the table over time, causing the 1 ball to separate unless you position the rack perfectly? Well with the 9 on the spot, that problem still exists and makes it tough to get a perfect rack.
So in some cases these controversial gaps players are *****ing about are probably unintended.
https://www.reddit.com/r/billiards/comments/58id5g/the_usual_drama_at_the_us_open_9ball/
The usual drama at the US Open 9-ball... (self.billiards)
submitted 9 hours ago by CreeDoroflFish Filet
You can usually count on Earl to have at least one meltdown in a major event, and he came through again. Earl was doing his usual commentary and Josh said he wished Earl would stop talking to him while he's shooting. Then he opted to take his timeout and walked off. Earl decided to unscrew his cue and forfeit. It was close too, like 9-7.
I don't think Earl will ever stage a comeback and get a sixth US Open title... the playing ability is there, the mental game is gone.
There were also several racking controversies, which happens at every us open for many years now, (maybe even before corey perfected the soft break and joe tucker explained it).
Jayson Shaw gave a demonstration to a few spectators between matches... with a tight rack, the wing ball will hit too high on a normal power break from the box. Remember that as of 2014, they rack with the 9-ball on the spot instead of the 1 on the spot... just like at the Mosconi cup.
You can break softer and cut the 1-ball, but then other balls tend to kiss the wing ball out of the way before it reaches the pocket. Most players have resorted to trying to break the 1 into the side, which is not that easy and of course means you have no idea what your next shot will be after the balls settle. Shane can do this really well.
Anyway... Shaw proceeded to show people how just a tiny little gap (really small, easily overlooked) above the wing ball, causes it to go flying directly into the corner pocket, which is what the rule changes were supposed to prevent. And the US Open is rack-your-own. So this is a recipe for arguments.
Ralf Souquet caught one of his opponents doing it, pointed it out, and his opponent stopped.
Niels Feijen was playing Dennis Orcollo and Dennis saw something he didn't like about Neils rack, and went to touch the rack and correct it. The ref asked him not to do that. This prompted Neils to check every single rack... after about 3 or 4 games, he spots a rack with a gap and points it out to Dennis, and D.O. flies into a rage, tossing his cue into the rack and then flinging balls around, causing everyone at nearby tables to stop playing. Surprisingly he was not disqualified, and he went on to win 11-9, and won his next match too.
A little side note... I found an interesting bit of commentary from the first year that they changed the rack position at the US Open. (http://thepoolscene.com/us-open/amid-complaints-racking-rules-changed-u-s-open)
Jayson Shaw pointed out that when you rack the 9 on the spot and are forced to break from a narrower break box, it causes the ball in the back to hit the back rail and then rebound straight up (whereas the traditional break from the side pushes it sideways a bit). When the ball rebounds straight up, it tends to run directly into the 9, which shouldn't move much with a truly perfect rack. Shaw mentioned that in the course of some practice sets, he was able to cause the 9 ball to get kissed into the upper pockets with a surprisingly high success rate... after playing several races to 11, he claims he averaged 4 or 5 nine-on-the-snaps per set, over the course of 6 sets.
So the new rack rules can be abused in ways they never dreamed of, and there's one more side effect to consider... you know the spot always gets dented down into the table over time, causing the 1 ball to separate unless you position the rack perfectly? Well with the 9 on the spot, that problem still exists and makes it tough to get a perfect rack.
So in some cases these controversial gaps players are *****ing about are probably unintended.
https://www.reddit.com/r/billiards/comments/58id5g/the_usual_drama_at_the_us_open_9ball/
