Shot by Shot Story of the $50K game between Chao and Bustamante in 2001

[cuetable]

Here is a shot by shot story on one of the greatest games in the pool history with many gathered information (CueTable layouts, Videos, Transcriptions).

When, Where and How Much:

2001 Challenge of Champions
Mohegan Sun Casino, CT
Hill Hill, last game for $50,000

Who:

Chao Fong Pang (Taipei, Taiwan) vs Francisco Bustamante (Philippines)

CueTable Layout (Click on the link below to see 8 pages, story to follow):

http://cuetable.com/P/?@2AUeQ4BVql2CYNL3DRiD3ETVQ2FbjN3GaTB4HRyj3ICPa2PbiF2UUeQ2UbCp2UdOv2kbiF7kQAK3kHYk2kTHC2kMGi6kDVUzc@3DRiD3ETVQ3GaTB4HRyj3ICPa2POEL3XRiD3XVYq3YTVQ3YbhW3YYUm3YHPk3baTB3bbRt2kOEL3kPdu7kLfD4kDAl4kXfD@3DVYq3EHPk3GbRt4HRyj3ICPa4PXfD3XVYq3XbYx3XTAk3XRlL4kXfD2kCSj2kblm3kUKc4kFMk4kbKB4kNbj@3DRlL3EHPk3GbRt4HRyj3ICPa4PNbj3XRlL3XbrO4Xcpm4kNbj3kGSj3kPQJ3kbfB2kFti1kbGu5kTkgzc@3EHPk3GbRt4HRyj3ICPa1PTkg3YHPk3YbrX3YYvk3YbbW1kTkg3kEuf3kGKk6kbRFzc3qXpgRattle!&ZZ@3EbbW3GbRt4HRyj3ICPa2PbRF3YbbW3Ycxt2kbRF4kbNl3kYvL3kbjO3kTpi@3GbRt4HRyj3ICPa3PTpi3bbRt3bbif1bKaR3kTpi3kYvG3kbjD3kGBw@1GKaR4HRyj3ICPa3PGBw1bKaR1bcYs4cRyj4cRiI3kGBw1kIeI1kCrk2kblt4kFUj4kSwy4kULs3qFJkJump&ZZ@


Story (with coordinating page number for the above layout):

Chao won the lag.

Chao scratched on the break, the balls scattered and then gathered, tough table.

Bustamante played a good safe

Chao made a long distance-reverse English kick shot (pg1, first timeout)

He then cleared 2 ball, 3-6 combo, 3 ball, and came up short positioning for the short side of 4 ball

Chao played a safe, hid the CB behind the 8. It seemed a long kick from the bottom rail was the only option. (pg2)

Bustamante made a 2 rail kick and reverse safe. The 4 is blocked by the 5 (pg3)

Chao kick-banked the 4 into the pocket on the other corner (pg4, second timeout)

He then cut the 5 too thin and it got hung by the pocket next to the 7. The CB went downtable and became safe (pg5)

Bustamante kicked the 5 in with reverse English so it would go between the 8 and 9. (pg6, first timeout)

He the played a safe, banking the 7 downtable and hiding the CB behind the 9 (pg7)

Chao made a jump shot. The CB flew over the 9, pocketed the 7, travelled 3 rails around the table and moved the 8 to a great position. (pg8)

The house went crazy as he preceded to run out the table and won the game in his unique calmly style. Chao! baby


Video Footage of this Game:

http://www.cue-tv.com/blog/_archives/2006/7/14/2111924.html

Interesting Tidbits:

The cue ball has travelled about 17 table length of distance in this game. (using distance calculator)

AZ Profile on The Players:

Chao (Cold Face) Fong-Pang
http://www.azbilliards.com/thepros/2000showplayer2005.cfm?playernum=930

Francisco “Django” Bustamante
http://www.azbilliards.com/thepros/2000showplayer2005.cfm?playernum=223

Hopefully these diagrams will give people lots to talk about for years to come... Please feel free to add or make corrections.

 

[Icon of Sin]

I have it recorded on DVD at home. It is on Youtube somewhere also. It truley was one of the greatest racks of 9-Ball I have ever seen!

 

[I rack balls]

Yea I have watched that game like 20 times. Never gets old.

 

[Gregg]

Never seen Fong-Pang.

First off; That ball set suks.

Second, if someone drew up the shot Pang made on the one ball on the WEI, I wouldn't believe it. I didn't think you could reverse the angle off the rail like that, regardless of how much spin you can generate. And to make pocket the one ball after coming off the far rail! Unreal!

 

[cuetable]

... if someone drew up the shot Pang made on the one ball on the WEI, I wouldn't believe it. I didn't think you could reverse the angle off the rail like that, regardless of how much spin you can generate...

Hi Greg:

I have extracted page 1 from the above link and add 2 comments (see link or image attached):

http://CueTable.com/P/?@2AUeQ4BVql2...grees&ZZ3rMfm83_degrees_to_hit_the_1_ball&ZZ@

The angle betwen the long rail and the CB path is 14 degrees. In the video he jacked up the cue a little so I added a little curve to simulate the massé effect. The rebound angle (between the top rail and the CB path to the 1B contact point is 83 degrees.

Maybe we can discover something we know but don't understand from diagrams and a series of experiements. The question here is not about whether one can do it, but how Chao did it. And hopefully, how we can all do it in the future.

 

[Gregg]

Hi Greg:

I have extracted page 1 from the above link and add 2 comments (see link or image attached):

http://CueTable.com/P/?@2AUeQ4BVql2...grees&ZZ3rMfm83_degrees_to_hit_the_1_ball&ZZ@

The angle betwen the long rail and the CB path is 14 degrees. In the video he jacked up the cue a little so I added a little curve to simulate the massé effect. The rebound angle (between the top rail and the CB path to the 1B contact point is 83 degrees.

Maybe we can discover something we know but don't understand from diagrams and a series of experiements. The question here is not about whether one can do it, but how Chao did it. And hopefully, how we can all do it in the future.

Seeing it here, it's just unbeiveable. It warps what I think can be done on a pool table. With $50,000 on the line. My goodness.

 

[Black-Balled]

Seeing it here, it's just unbeiveable. It warps what I think can be done on a pool table. With $50,000 on the line. My goodness.

Exactly why we aren't in that position, eh?!

 

[Gregg]

Exactly why we aren't in that position, eh?!

Damn, I guess not.

 

[cuetable]

Dear Gregg and Black-Balled:

Don't give up so easily. There must be some kind of drill practice for us to try and learn. Here is something I just made up (improvement or suggestions welcome):

http://CueTable.com/P/?@2AUeQ2BQeQ2...XO1ILPN1JPHM2PbiF3SHJI2kbiF7kQAK3kHYk6kSyDzc@

Try shooting it with different amount of English and cue elevation and record down the results. Once you practice to a point where you can produce predictable result you have mastered something... (and remember to share )

In the video this seemed to be only solution. Any other way of handing the situation you can think of?

AlsoI noticed there is a "hook" due to the massé effect. It reduced the incoming angle a bit and made the outgoing angle a little easier to achieve. I shall leave all these for our experts in the forum to discuss.

 

[Sharkeyes]

Amazing shots are many and far apart. Just watch Reyes and his spectacular plays. The more one is observant about the game, the more one will learn the "impossible" shots. Scotty Townsend will put a ball on the spot and the cue ball on the end rail in the kitchen and cut the object ball clean in the side pocket without kicking or banking. Give him 50 tries and bet whatever you want.

 

[Black-Balled]

Amazing shots are many and far apart. Just watch Reyes and his spectacular plays. The more one is observant about the game, the more one will learn the "impossible" shots. Scotty Townsend will put a ball on the spot and the cue ball on the end rail in the kitchen and cut the object ball clean in the side pocket without kicking or banking. Give him 50 tries and bet whatever you want.

Put up a diagram and we will see what in heaven's name it is that you speak of.

Whatever it is, I bet anything you want that I can't do it in fewer tries than STownsend can do it in.

 

[cuetechasaurus]

At 3:23 of this video, is that Colin Ferrel digging his nose in the audience?

One heck of an exciting rack, BTW. Thanks!

 

[DanielM]

The shots looked good, but i'm almost convinced they were mostly luck.

Maybe it was just a coincidence it happened during a 50K rack!

 

[cuetechasaurus]

The shots looked good, but i'm almost convinced they were mostly luck.

Maybe it was just a coincidence it happened during a 50K rack!

Keep thinking like that and you will never play like them, that's for sure.

 

[cuetable]

The shots looked good, but i'm almost convinced they were mostly luck.

Maybe it was just a coincidence it happened during a 50K rack!

Dear Daniel:

No disrepect to your comments. Surely a lot of luck has happen in this game.

However, it happened, over and over again. We have seen it in the video, right.

By studying this layouts I wish we (including myself) can all observe, share and learn. Hopefully we can all make those shots (I am confident to just hit the one ball in 3 tries and the I'd like to improve my accuracy to a point I can determine which side of the ball to hit).

Here are just some simple questions I have just for the shot on page 1 (and I have more):

What was on his mind?
How did he determine the angle, power and amount to English?
What kinds of practices did he do to come to this point?

 

[quitecoolguy]

Wow.. i know you guys are giving this shot alot of thought and scientific research ..and i commend you for doing so but i am a true believer that there are just some shots on a table that you just feel your way thru..all of us have played a shot that was amazing that we probally could not do again....i have one for you ..and this was my amazing shot..i had a nine ball frozen at the top rail of a 9 foot table dead inline with the top diamond..i had played the eight kinda sloopy and the cue ball ended up at the bottom of the rail frozen a ball and a half distance from the center diamond on the bottom rail.i was in a hill hill match with a guy in a pool hall in Troy Ohio.. i just looked at the shot and knew i was gona play it..i looked over at the guy and said "the only thing im worried about is scratching...i bent down and fired the cue ball at a small spot just past the nine ball,, the cue ball hits the rail with spin..cuts of the the rail and cuts the nine ball just as slick as a can of oil in the left top corner pocket..the cue ball dances around the table and just misses scratching...the guy jumped up and yelled that is an Fu@#$ing impossible shot..there is no way you just made that..i quietly and cooly (hince the user name) said..told ya i was just worried about scratching.. Sometimes its just free -wheeling..and it everything comes together perfect for that one moment, and you just know..

 

[George]

I have it recorded on DVD at home. It is on Youtube somewhere also. It truley was one of the greatest racks of 9-Ball I have ever seen!

I was there to see this in person, it was incredible.

George

Picture taken before finals:

 

[cuetable]

Question 2 in this game: Getting to the 4

Review:

The position zone to shoot the 4 to the lower corner is very small (see the red triangle shaped zone) and the best way to get there is aim to have the CB bounce off the 3rd diamond from the top left. After he made the 3-6 combo, Chao decided to go with a 2 rails zigzag route after the 3. Unfortunately, he got a bit short and had to play a safety (pg 2)

CueTable Data to the Attached Diagram

Question:

If you have ball in hand, where would you place the cue ball to shoot the 3-6 combo so later you can have an easy and safe positioning route to shoot the 4 and then the 5?



We have set up CueTable Contest 0608 to discover the finer details in this game.