I spent nearly ten days all told in Vegas this trip, with a quick jaunt to Monterey, CA to deliver six pool tables. Max Eberle accompanied me on this overnight adventure and we hopped a plane from San Jose the next day to get back home.
Once again the Tar Pit was the place to be if you wanted to see some great players getting it on big time. Most of the time Chris Bartram was the man in the middle, betting with both hands at every opportunity. Chris really stands out among the money players in America today. He is ready to go anytime, anywhere. When he woofs, he ain't kidding.
Darren Appleton won back the 20K he lost to Dennis Hatch in record time. Within a week he had won the World Pool Masters and the 20K first prize. A very tough one to win, with the ultra short 'Races To Eight' 9-Ball matches.
In contrast the Predator 10 Ball had very competitive 'Races to Ten' 10-Ball matches. The other big difference was the shot clock. In the Masters players got 40 seconds with one extension per game for an additional 40 seconds. In the Predator the players got 30 seconds with a 30 second extension. That extra ten seconds is HUGE! It allowed the players a margin of comfort. I think this may be the best number for a major event. I liked the 40 second clock. I thought it worked quite well. And it would be even more important in a game such as 10-Ball. That extra ball changes everything! Longer racks, more strategy.
The only disconcerting thing was the switch to short races in the televised matches. The Semis were a Race To Seven and the Finals a Race To Eight. All good matches but they seemed so brief after playing Races To Eleven in the previous two rounds.
Allison, Jasmin and Yu Ram reaching the final 32 was very noteworthy. 112 players started this event and it took three wins to get to the final 32. You had to beat good players to make it. Once again these three ladies proved that they are competitive with anyone.
Pool is alive and well with thousands of players playing this past week. Attendance overall was only down 200 players, not bad considering the Swine Flu scare. And I didn't hear about anyone getting sick either.
Thanks to Mark Griffin and his vision, the BCA tourney is looking more like a "must attend" event. It's fun, exciting and not so expensive with lots of prize money to be won. I used to not relish the idea of playing Singles, Doubles and Team events, but this year I wish I had played in at least one tourney. Maybe next year. In truth I was busy with my book every day.
It was a blast to walk down the hallway and have someone stop me and ask if I had a book with me. Of course I always did. And so many people told me how much they enjoyed reading it. Every time someone told me that it made my day. That is the purpose of writing anything, to please your audience. Best of all the players seem to like it too. Jeanette gave me a big boost at Robin's booth, plugging my book. Of course, everyone that was there wanted to have their photo taken with The Black Widow herself. She is triple cool with her fans, and they love her.
I wish I could have spent more time in the Tar Pit and got on the mic, but it just wasn't possible this trip. I did get to do one match with Don Akerlow and his OnTheBreak News. He was very cool to work with, a pretty sharp pool guy. Don knows his stuff. And puts out a great newspaper too.
Alex is the class clown, cracking everyone up wherever he goes. He has more energy than the average eight year old, always jumping and leaping rather than walking like a normal adult. Alex is the Peter Pan of pool. And he plays okay too!
The most impressive player I saw all week. Yu Ram Cha! No telling how good she is going to be. No one since SVB is improving as fast as her. She has certain intangible qualities that could make her the best women player ever. That is, if she continues to develop them. She has a great mind for pool, a terrific stroke and Zen like focus. Not quite on a par with Mr. Wu yet, but getting there.
Ralf is simply Ralf, the greatest tournament player of the last 10-15 years. After his astonishing upset loss, some people were writing him off. Being the champion that he is, he dug down deep and pulled off win after win against tough competition to reach the Finals. Only a great champion like Dennis O. could finally sideline him. I love watching both these guys play. It is pool at its best, played by MASTERS! The accurate shot making, the pinpoint control, the superlative strategy. All this and more flow from the cues of these two brilliant players. After all these years, I still love to watch great pool and I saw quite a bit this past week.
Once again the Tar Pit was the place to be if you wanted to see some great players getting it on big time. Most of the time Chris Bartram was the man in the middle, betting with both hands at every opportunity. Chris really stands out among the money players in America today. He is ready to go anytime, anywhere. When he woofs, he ain't kidding.
Darren Appleton won back the 20K he lost to Dennis Hatch in record time. Within a week he had won the World Pool Masters and the 20K first prize. A very tough one to win, with the ultra short 'Races To Eight' 9-Ball matches.
In contrast the Predator 10 Ball had very competitive 'Races to Ten' 10-Ball matches. The other big difference was the shot clock. In the Masters players got 40 seconds with one extension per game for an additional 40 seconds. In the Predator the players got 30 seconds with a 30 second extension. That extra ten seconds is HUGE! It allowed the players a margin of comfort. I think this may be the best number for a major event. I liked the 40 second clock. I thought it worked quite well. And it would be even more important in a game such as 10-Ball. That extra ball changes everything! Longer racks, more strategy.
The only disconcerting thing was the switch to short races in the televised matches. The Semis were a Race To Seven and the Finals a Race To Eight. All good matches but they seemed so brief after playing Races To Eleven in the previous two rounds.
Allison, Jasmin and Yu Ram reaching the final 32 was very noteworthy. 112 players started this event and it took three wins to get to the final 32. You had to beat good players to make it. Once again these three ladies proved that they are competitive with anyone.
Pool is alive and well with thousands of players playing this past week. Attendance overall was only down 200 players, not bad considering the Swine Flu scare. And I didn't hear about anyone getting sick either.
Thanks to Mark Griffin and his vision, the BCA tourney is looking more like a "must attend" event. It's fun, exciting and not so expensive with lots of prize money to be won. I used to not relish the idea of playing Singles, Doubles and Team events, but this year I wish I had played in at least one tourney. Maybe next year. In truth I was busy with my book every day.
It was a blast to walk down the hallway and have someone stop me and ask if I had a book with me. Of course I always did. And so many people told me how much they enjoyed reading it. Every time someone told me that it made my day. That is the purpose of writing anything, to please your audience. Best of all the players seem to like it too. Jeanette gave me a big boost at Robin's booth, plugging my book. Of course, everyone that was there wanted to have their photo taken with The Black Widow herself. She is triple cool with her fans, and they love her.
I wish I could have spent more time in the Tar Pit and got on the mic, but it just wasn't possible this trip. I did get to do one match with Don Akerlow and his OnTheBreak News. He was very cool to work with, a pretty sharp pool guy. Don knows his stuff. And puts out a great newspaper too.
Alex is the class clown, cracking everyone up wherever he goes. He has more energy than the average eight year old, always jumping and leaping rather than walking like a normal adult. Alex is the Peter Pan of pool. And he plays okay too!
The most impressive player I saw all week. Yu Ram Cha! No telling how good she is going to be. No one since SVB is improving as fast as her. She has certain intangible qualities that could make her the best women player ever. That is, if she continues to develop them. She has a great mind for pool, a terrific stroke and Zen like focus. Not quite on a par with Mr. Wu yet, but getting there.
Ralf is simply Ralf, the greatest tournament player of the last 10-15 years. After his astonishing upset loss, some people were writing him off. Being the champion that he is, he dug down deep and pulled off win after win against tough competition to reach the Finals. Only a great champion like Dennis O. could finally sideline him. I love watching both these guys play. It is pool at its best, played by MASTERS! The accurate shot making, the pinpoint control, the superlative strategy. All this and more flow from the cues of these two brilliant players. After all these years, I still love to watch great pool and I saw quite a bit this past week.
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I think she had to position her body to look at it sideway too ?!
