hey i made azb!
Thanks guys. Yes, it felt good to get there. SVB has beaten me many, many sets and I've settled for 2nd against him before. It's nice to get your turn.
It was a handicapped tournament. Shane went to 9, I went to 8 (alternate break bar box 8 ball). I would've preferred to play even but I also had to give up 2-3 games on the wire to many opponents so if I'm going to give them up I guess I'll take the game. It was a 2 set final, he beat me the first set and I won the second 8-6, I feel better knowing it didn't go to the hill so the handicap wasn't as decisive (still could have made a mental difference of course).
John does a great job handicapping. It is very, very, very tough to give up 3 games to 8 to players that can run multiple racks (they can). It seems like I have to win each set twice- first I have to beat them 6-3, then I earn the right to play a race to 2 against a good player. That's how many of my matches played out. But the handicaps are fair. After all, the final 3 were some of the stronger players in the tournament so I'd say it's not excessive.
The only drawback with the rating system (5-9) was the length of sets. We didn't finish until 6AM. Jesse Engle was also a 9, he would prefer a 4-5-6 system in which the 8/9s go to 6, the 6/7s go to 5, and the 5's go to 4. Then we could finish by midnight or one.
Regardless, it was a treat to have SVB in our tournament and a good time. To all my AZB friends, thanks for the good wishes. You guys are all right!
