Sorry if this post runs long...
I had read the previous post, "Saratoga...Same Crap...Different Year" and having never been there decided it better not to post in the thread until after I experienced the event for myself. I have learned to give most things and/or people a chance for myself rather than listen to what I hear from someone else.
Seeding:
First, I will address the issue of seeding. I don't know if the tournament was seeded or not. If I had to speculate on the issue, I would say that it was not. I can tell you that there were six pros in at the event and they were put into four sixteen player brackets. Obviously, this means that there is a good chance that they will be spread out in the tournament and not have to play one another until they have all reached the final sixteen and the redraw is done. In fact, you could add two more pro players and still possibly get this outcome. Obviously, in a seeded event this would be the likely scenario. This was not the case as Raj Hundal and Stevie Moore ended up in the same portion of the bracket and had to play each other before the redraw.
After the redraw, Stevie Moore took a loss to SVB in the first round. Right beside them in the bracket, Raj Hundal took a loss to Rafeal Martinez. This led to either Raj or Stevie going out in the first round of the B side in the final sixteen. Still sound like they seeded? Like I said, I can't tell you one way or the other for sure, but I would venture to say that the event was not seeded...not that I would have cared one way or the other.
My experience:
I had a great time! The tournament was very smooth and everyone was absolutely fantastic. Three of us went to the tournament together and we are all different skill levels. There were three divisions (Sportsman, Classic and Master) and we each played in our respective divisions...all while trying to run the livestream. Megan played in the Sportsman's division and shot very well. She ended up in fourth place and got a very nice trophy and some cash back. Rich played in the Classic's division and made the final sixteen, but wasn't able to keep it going after the redraw. He did get some money for his effort though!
I played in the Master's division. My original thought was that I would get to play some good pool and probably be out early enough to run the stream while the good players were playing. Not that I am a bad player, it's just that bar box 8ball really isn't my game and I'm certainly not good enough to be mixing it up with pros. I got a decent draw though, and played pretty well. I made some mistakes, but I really capitalized when I needed to do so. Before I knew it, I was in the final sixteen!
The Calcutta:
The Calcutta is really the only thing that I might consider changing about the event; however, I don't know that I would. The auction doesn't happen until the final sixteen and it seems like you get better action when it is done at the start of the tournament. Logistically, I don't think that it could be done at the beginning of the tournament because the Sportsman and Classic divisions start Friday night. The Master's division doesn't begin until Saturday morning, which is rather nice. Having a Calcutta Friday evening for all three divisions would take a very long time and some of the Masters players haven't even arrived yet. Anyway back to my tournament experience...
This could probably be it's own thread:
Prior to the redraw, the Masters race was to six. After the redraw the race was to seven. My first match was against a really strong player named Tim J. I'm not sure where exactly he is from, but was told some of his accomplishments after the match. I started the match strong with a break and run. Tim followed my BNR with one of his own. The next few games are kind of a blur, but I made a few mistakes and Tim did not. I found myself down 5-3 and my adrenaline was really pumping. I knew that I needed to get out on the next rack and my nerves were really getting hard to control. I broke the table wide open and ran a few balls before making my last mistake. Tim ran the table with ease and I went to shake his hand...he then reminded me that it was a race to seven and that he was just now on the hill.
Something happened in that moment. I'm not one to give up in a match, but for me the match had ended and all of the pressure and adrenaline were released as he sunk (what I thought was) the match winning 8 ball. Down 6-3 in a race to seven, against a player that is definitely better than I am, and I had no feelings of stress. I played really well the next four racks and got a little lucky in the hill-hill game when Tim got a bit of a bad roll after a poor safety on my part. I shot the match winning 8 ball in to the surprise of myself and a few others!
After that match, I had the opportunity to lose to Marc Vidal (sorry for spelling your name incorrectly for most of the weekend
). He was a great gentleman and a pleasure to play against. I ended up 9-12th and am very happy with most of my play for the weekend.
The Pros:
I honestly don't know how I could possibly say enough about the professional players that were at this tournament. I wish that we could have interacted with them more, but between playing and streaming, it really wasn't feasible. They were all fantastic and were more than happy to talk to anyone and everyone that approached them. They were signing autographs and helping to raise money for juniors. Rodney Morris and Charlie Williams set up a "Challenge the pro" match which benefits the junior program. The were very active with the juniors that played in the Sunday Junior tournament that is sending three juniors to the nationals in Las Vegas. Shane was setting up a trick shot and showing a youngster how to shoot it. It was truly remarkable to see such interaction between professionals and us regular folk. If you ask me, it is what is RIGHT with pool!
The tournament organizer/promoter/director:
I'm not sure what all you could call EJ, but pick any of the above. He is certainly legitimate. EJ was as nice as they come and has a passion for the game! He runs a great tournament (along with everyone else that helps to run the Wyoming Open)! The tournament went smoothly, with plenty of time in between matches. There was even enough time for me to take an unplanned nap Saturday afternoon! You can't say that about many tournaments...especially if you are working and playing.
EJ and crew had things going on all over to keep you entertained and playing. I'm not sure how they managed it all, but from Friday through Sunday they ran at least six different tournaments (not counting the mini tournaments). It seemed like the whole town was helping out in one form or another. The entire weekend was filled with pool and everyone loved it. We couldn't thank him enough for having us as we got ready to drive home. My only regret is that I have known about this tournament for two or three years now and I didn't make the trip until this year!
Summary:
My experience at this tournament is that it is a great tournament. The people of Saratoga, WY were all very friendly and as nice as they are anywhere. This was a pool filled weekend for everyone and even when people were out of the tournament, they stuck around to watch the great matches that were going on. I even had one guy come up to me (ME?) and tell me how much of a pleasure it was to watch me play. I tried to explain that I wasn't a professional. He said that he knew that, but he had watched some matches and wanted to let each of us know that he appreciated us coming and playing because he just liked to watch "good" players (quotes added by me).
The Wyoming Open is easily one of my favorite tournaments. I hope that EJ will invite us back to stream the tournament again, but I will be returning to play regardless.
So that is my take on the Wyoming Open, but do yourself a favor and don't take my word for it. Go experience it for yourself and let that form your opinion of the tournament and the people that run it.
Ole Olesen
I had read the previous post, "Saratoga...Same Crap...Different Year" and having never been there decided it better not to post in the thread until after I experienced the event for myself. I have learned to give most things and/or people a chance for myself rather than listen to what I hear from someone else.
Seeding:
First, I will address the issue of seeding. I don't know if the tournament was seeded or not. If I had to speculate on the issue, I would say that it was not. I can tell you that there were six pros in at the event and they were put into four sixteen player brackets. Obviously, this means that there is a good chance that they will be spread out in the tournament and not have to play one another until they have all reached the final sixteen and the redraw is done. In fact, you could add two more pro players and still possibly get this outcome. Obviously, in a seeded event this would be the likely scenario. This was not the case as Raj Hundal and Stevie Moore ended up in the same portion of the bracket and had to play each other before the redraw.
After the redraw, Stevie Moore took a loss to SVB in the first round. Right beside them in the bracket, Raj Hundal took a loss to Rafeal Martinez. This led to either Raj or Stevie going out in the first round of the B side in the final sixteen. Still sound like they seeded? Like I said, I can't tell you one way or the other for sure, but I would venture to say that the event was not seeded...not that I would have cared one way or the other.
My experience:
I had a great time! The tournament was very smooth and everyone was absolutely fantastic. Three of us went to the tournament together and we are all different skill levels. There were three divisions (Sportsman, Classic and Master) and we each played in our respective divisions...all while trying to run the livestream. Megan played in the Sportsman's division and shot very well. She ended up in fourth place and got a very nice trophy and some cash back. Rich played in the Classic's division and made the final sixteen, but wasn't able to keep it going after the redraw. He did get some money for his effort though!
I played in the Master's division. My original thought was that I would get to play some good pool and probably be out early enough to run the stream while the good players were playing. Not that I am a bad player, it's just that bar box 8ball really isn't my game and I'm certainly not good enough to be mixing it up with pros. I got a decent draw though, and played pretty well. I made some mistakes, but I really capitalized when I needed to do so. Before I knew it, I was in the final sixteen!
The Calcutta:
The Calcutta is really the only thing that I might consider changing about the event; however, I don't know that I would. The auction doesn't happen until the final sixteen and it seems like you get better action when it is done at the start of the tournament. Logistically, I don't think that it could be done at the beginning of the tournament because the Sportsman and Classic divisions start Friday night. The Master's division doesn't begin until Saturday morning, which is rather nice. Having a Calcutta Friday evening for all three divisions would take a very long time and some of the Masters players haven't even arrived yet. Anyway back to my tournament experience...
This could probably be it's own thread:
Prior to the redraw, the Masters race was to six. After the redraw the race was to seven. My first match was against a really strong player named Tim J. I'm not sure where exactly he is from, but was told some of his accomplishments after the match. I started the match strong with a break and run. Tim followed my BNR with one of his own. The next few games are kind of a blur, but I made a few mistakes and Tim did not. I found myself down 5-3 and my adrenaline was really pumping. I knew that I needed to get out on the next rack and my nerves were really getting hard to control. I broke the table wide open and ran a few balls before making my last mistake. Tim ran the table with ease and I went to shake his hand...he then reminded me that it was a race to seven and that he was just now on the hill.
Something happened in that moment. I'm not one to give up in a match, but for me the match had ended and all of the pressure and adrenaline were released as he sunk (what I thought was) the match winning 8 ball. Down 6-3 in a race to seven, against a player that is definitely better than I am, and I had no feelings of stress. I played really well the next four racks and got a little lucky in the hill-hill game when Tim got a bit of a bad roll after a poor safety on my part. I shot the match winning 8 ball in to the surprise of myself and a few others!
After that match, I had the opportunity to lose to Marc Vidal (sorry for spelling your name incorrectly for most of the weekend
). He was a great gentleman and a pleasure to play against. I ended up 9-12th and am very happy with most of my play for the weekend.The Pros:
I honestly don't know how I could possibly say enough about the professional players that were at this tournament. I wish that we could have interacted with them more, but between playing and streaming, it really wasn't feasible. They were all fantastic and were more than happy to talk to anyone and everyone that approached them. They were signing autographs and helping to raise money for juniors. Rodney Morris and Charlie Williams set up a "Challenge the pro" match which benefits the junior program. The were very active with the juniors that played in the Sunday Junior tournament that is sending three juniors to the nationals in Las Vegas. Shane was setting up a trick shot and showing a youngster how to shoot it. It was truly remarkable to see such interaction between professionals and us regular folk. If you ask me, it is what is RIGHT with pool!
The tournament organizer/promoter/director:
I'm not sure what all you could call EJ, but pick any of the above. He is certainly legitimate. EJ was as nice as they come and has a passion for the game! He runs a great tournament (along with everyone else that helps to run the Wyoming Open)! The tournament went smoothly, with plenty of time in between matches. There was even enough time for me to take an unplanned nap Saturday afternoon! You can't say that about many tournaments...especially if you are working and playing.
EJ and crew had things going on all over to keep you entertained and playing. I'm not sure how they managed it all, but from Friday through Sunday they ran at least six different tournaments (not counting the mini tournaments). It seemed like the whole town was helping out in one form or another. The entire weekend was filled with pool and everyone loved it. We couldn't thank him enough for having us as we got ready to drive home. My only regret is that I have known about this tournament for two or three years now and I didn't make the trip until this year!
Summary:
My experience at this tournament is that it is a great tournament. The people of Saratoga, WY were all very friendly and as nice as they are anywhere. This was a pool filled weekend for everyone and even when people were out of the tournament, they stuck around to watch the great matches that were going on. I even had one guy come up to me (ME?) and tell me how much of a pleasure it was to watch me play. I tried to explain that I wasn't a professional. He said that he knew that, but he had watched some matches and wanted to let each of us know that he appreciated us coming and playing because he just liked to watch "good" players (quotes added by me).
The Wyoming Open is easily one of my favorite tournaments. I hope that EJ will invite us back to stream the tournament again, but I will be returning to play regardless.
So that is my take on the Wyoming Open, but do yourself a favor and don't take my word for it. Go experience it for yourself and let that form your opinion of the tournament and the people that run it.
Ole Olesen
