Ronnie on SOFT BREAK

arian dacongan

arian dacongan

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
First of all congrats to Ronnie.

He mentioned at the awarding ceremony interview that he did not intended to use soft break in this tournament but after the first two lost he had ,which almost got him eliminated,he said that's when he decided to use the soft break.

and this is from a guy that many commented in this forum in the past that one of the hardest breaking player they've seen.

what i don't understand is that if something is not working for you -why wouldn't you make some changes/adjusments on what you do on the table.

I know CD popularized the SB,but ronnie put his own signature on it by -i think to be the first player using soft break to employ the draw on the CB for position on the one ball.
amazing innovation...i'm sure a lot 9ballerts are already experimenting/practicing on it already.
 
I also heard that Wu was using a soft break at times also, the tables must have really been breaking soft.
 
Soft break do not works on all tables. I will still go for medium-hard break.
 
I think the real issue is control... pocketing a ball and getting a position on the object ball. If the strong break is not working for me, I will change strategy. I'm sure many will do that also. If the soft break does not work, I will try a harder break.

Judging by how the balls scatter and the amount of spin on the CB, Id say its not a soft break, though its been called that even by the players themselves. Its maybe a "medium" break. Maybe they are calling it "soft" to mean "not hard." Soft break really keeps the balls in the head.
 
Exactly! We don't need new rules to force players to use the hard break exclusively. Just the same that we do not have rules preventing them from changeing their breaks whenever it sutis them. if you can't be flexible enough to alter your break to suit the conditions of the table, then you deserve to lose.....
 
Renegade said:
Exactly! We don't need new rules to force players to use the hard break exclusively. Just the same that we do not have rules preventing them from changeing their breaks whenever it sutis them. if you can't be flexible enough to alter your break to suit the conditions of the table, then you deserve to lose.....
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I agree. The players should have the flexibility to adapt to whatever conditions work best for them.

The object of the break is to make a ball/s and get a shot on the lowest numbered ball. I think as long as players are using legal equipment and making legal contact they should be able to adapt as they see fit.
 
I agree

GADawg said:
I agree. The players should have the flexibility to adapt to whatever conditions work best for them.

The object of the break is to make a ball/s and get a shot on the lowest numbered ball. I think as long as players are using legal equipment and making legal contact they should be able to adapt as they see fit.
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You're right on. Being able to adapt is a basic in Pool. Just like the player that figures out how to make a shot that noone else can make. (Efren comes to mind ... lol). Why should players be punished for using their brains to figure out something in Pool? Doesn't make sense to me. Everyone has a brain, if you don't use yours, that is your fault.
 
arian dacongan said:
I know CD popularized the SB,but ronnie put his own signature on it by -i think to be the first player using soft break to employ the draw on the CB for position on the one ball.
amazing innovation...i'm sure a lot 9ballerts are already experimenting/practicing on it already.
Click to expand...
Definitely not a new idea.

Fred
 
Cornerman said:
Definitely not a new idea.
Fred
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Indeed. Odd that it is Ralph Souquet involved, as I recall distinctly watching Souquet playing Charlie Williams in a UPA tournament in LA a few years aga. They were enforcing both a break box and a minimum number of balls that had to pass the side pocket (3 IIRC) to counter soft breakers.

Williams was using an extremely consistent medium-speed break that made the corner ball and banked the 1 ball consistently off the rail near the side pocket into the kitchen. He was drawing the cue ball back up into the kitchen for the 1.

The interesting thing is, despite this being about the 3rd or 4th round of the tournament that Souquet's break was all over the place, making him look like an amateur just smashing away at the pack. However after watching Williams for a few racks he suddenly seemed to "get it" and started playing almost the same break.
 
Maybe they should switch to 10-ball. In 9-ball, once these pros get the break down, it is just too easy to run out. How do some of the Pros feel about 10 ball vs. 9 ball?
 
arian dacongan said:
First of all congrats to Ronnie.

He mentioned at the awarding ceremony interview that he did not intended to use soft break in this tournament but after the first two lost he had ,which almost got him eliminated,he said that's when he decided to use the soft break.

and this is from a guy that many commented in this forum in the past that one of the hardest breaking player they've seen.

what i don't understand is that if something is not working for you -why wouldn't you make some changes/adjusments on what you do on the table.

I know CD popularized the SB,but ronnie put his own signature on it by -i think to be the first player using soft break to employ the draw on the CB for position on the one ball.
amazing innovation...i'm sure a lot 9ballerts are already experimenting/practicing on it already.
Click to expand...
Ronnie owes the BSCP(Billiard and Snooker Congress of the Philippines) an apology, in the last National Open, he, along with some of his team mates were complaining about the soft break of eventual champion Alex Pagulayan and runner-up Gandy Valle. To the point of threatening not to play if no changes were made with the racking. This caused a disagreement among the BSCP directors.
 
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Cornerman said:
Definitely not a new idea.

Fred
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Well it hasnt been too popular-that's for sure
Ive been to a lot of tournaments and i have never seen anyone draw two rails on a soft break for position on the one in the side as Ronnie did.

The simple brilliance of this- The CB is drawn out of the battle zone-It was never kicked and returns to the middle when all the balls have stopped moving or slowed to harmless speed.

Wu lost his match in the semis? largely because of two monster breaks where he parked whitey perfectly, made balls but was kicked in the corner by very fast moving balls.
 
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Schon-desi said:
Ronnie owes the BSCP(Billiard and Snooker Congress of the Philippines) an apology, in the last National Open, he, along with some of his team mates were complaining about the soft break of eventual champion Alex Pagulayan and runner-up Gandy Valle. To the point of threatening not to play if no changes were made with the racking. This caused a disagreement among the BSCP directors.
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You're right about that although I do consider that as growing pains. They may be Pros but some things just take longer to click in. I'm looking forward to further progress of the sport here. How the level of professionalism of the players will move up and how the organizers will have the clout to stick to their guns when the rules are set. If we get to the point where no one needs to bend backwards to accomodate "prima-ballerinas" then we'll start to see a decline of the "hustler attitude".

Cooperation and not monopoly between event organizers and promoters is what we need in order to make significant changes to the status of and attitude towards the sport here.
 
Didn't Alcano copy the soft break from Luong Dong/Vietnam after watching how effective it was? Jeff DeLuna went to the softy too after Dong was beating on him.

Brian
 
APA7 said:
Didn't Alcano copy the soft break from Luong Dong/Vietnam after watching how effective it was? Jeff DeLuna went to the softy too after Dong was beating on him.

Brian
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Luong Dong was using the standard soft break-no draw and not playing for a specific shot after the break IMHO as i remember.
 
jamesroberts is mistaken about the soft break playing ten ball, the only ball that is possibly wired here is the corner ball and it has to travel four rails on it's route to the corner - no kiss there james. I invite anyone who is interested to watch the late night ring game ten ball events at the DCC.
You will see no one attempting a soft break and if they do they will continue to walk lighter every time they are bettin' their dough playing ten ball.
Sincerely, Danny Harriman
 
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