You know me all too well, JAM, and this is a decision I'm really struggling with. I hope to catch Adam, Danny and Chris performing tonight, but if the matches really reel me in, I might just skip it. Two years ago, I recall, right here at the Riviera, watching in shock as Melinda Doolittle was eliminated to finish third in Season 6.
Melissa and Stu,
Well, I have no idea what happens when (I'm not even in town yet, and will be travelling with one of the pro players and extended family); so to avoid complication, why don't we just meet at the Peppermill at 9 A.M. Tuesday?? Stragglers can fend for themselves; but it is usually a leisurely affair.
Breakfast is on me; but be forewarned that there is sometimes a loud and large contingent of pool fanatics, spouses, and kid (singular) at the usual "Betmore Breakfast."
Willie, breakfast this morning was fun with you and your wife, Vagabond and our mutual professional friends. Melissa, where were you? We missed you. I'll drop by the WPBA booth, the location of which I don't kow but will find out, and say hi. OK, I'm off to the pro event. See you there.
The day session of the Predator 10-ball Classic has already produced something special. Here's a recap of Allison Fisher vs George Breedlove.
The first key moment came with Allison leading 3-2. George had a bad miss on a nine ball that gave Allison a most unexpected 4-2 lead. Her next break gave George a 1-10 combo that he made, but his next break, a scratch, gave Allison a 2-10 combo with ball in hand that she made for a 5-3 lead. Allison played well and attained a 9-5 lead, but the race to ten, it turned out, was far from over. After pulling to within 9-6, George was hooked on the one after a well-played Fisher safety, but his kick was effective, and Allison had to play a swerve shot to try to pocket the one. The next ball was hanging and the layout favorable, so it appeared that if she made this, she'd run out for the win, but she wasn't up to the challenge, allowing George to pull to 9-7. The rest of the match would be breathtaking. After a safety by George, Allison layed a nice masse to produce a decent safety, leaving George a difficult, long, diagonal cut on the one, with multi-rail shape needed to get to the position needed to shoot the 2-10 combo. He hit it superbly, as good a shot as I've seen this week and made the shape. Moments later, he pocketed the 2-10 combo to pull within 9-8. Another will safety battle took place in the next rack. After a solid safety by George, Allison made a phenomenal two rail kick with draw at the two ball to hook back, but George kicked the two in and made the following shape on the three:
The four didn't pass the nine into the corner, and George's body language told you he didn't care much for the 4-9 combo, which he couldn't easily play tight shape onto. His solution was impressive.
He simply banked the three into the side, drawing the cueball on to the four in the opposite diagonal corner. A miss would have left Allison snookered but there would be no miss on this occasion, with George making the bank and getting the intended shape. After pocketing the four in the bottom corner, he ran out to reach 9-9, double hill.
At double hill, George made a ball on the break but had to push out. After the push out, Allison faced this:
She gave the shot back, and George opted to bank the two into the five, a shot he made, but he lost control of the cue ball, nearly scratching, but ending up snookered on the three. His kick sold out the match, or so it seemed, but Allison got funny on the ten ball, and had to make a super-thin cut of it up the long rail to win. She was up to it, though, and she scored an impressive 10-9 victory.
Well played, Allison, and, let's face it, George showed incredible heart in his near comeback form 9-5 behind.
SJM,if you get an opportunity see what brand and/or model camera they're using for the streaming. That has got to be one of the clearest vids I've ever seen.
Here are some tidbits form the Wednesday day session of the Predator 10-ball Classic.
Tiffany Nelson Crain vs Erik Hjorleifson
The match was tight all the way and got to double hill, when Erik played a good safety on the one ball. Tiffany attemtped to jump in the ball, but, though making a good hit, she sent the one off the table. With ball in hand Erik ran out for the 10-9 win.
George Breedlove vs, Rafael Martinez
This was really no match at all. Three break and runs by Martinez coupled with two missed ten balls by Bredlove added up to a 7-1 lead for Martinez, as he coasted 10-3.
Stevie Moore vs Carlos Cabello
Cabello was fresh off his upset of Souquet last night. Stevie got out of the gate well, and cruised to a 3-0 lead. Cabello found his form, and kept it close. Stevie really struggled to throw the knockout punch in this one. At 8-5 ahead, Stevie scratched on the break, and Cabello's runout made it 8-6. The next rack involved a safety battle won by Cabello, but he missed a fairly easy 5-9 combo, allowing Stevie to get out for 9-6, and the match appeared over. However, in the next rack, Stevie was two balls form the finish line when he had a shocking scratch on the nine ball, allowing Cabello to pull within 9-7. Visibly disgusted, Stevie took his break, and came back and ran out a nice rack off Cabello's dry break for a 10-7 victory.
...... in my next post, I'll comment on Steve Folan's remarkable victory over Shane Van Boening.
I know this Steve Folan. From England? First time I met him was in 2003 at the Glass City Open in Toledo. It was his very first trip to the States.
Here is a snippet of the post I made about meeting him:
Buckster_uk, I just met Steve Folan in the lobby where the Beat the Champ table is. Keith is playing challengers for 5 bucks, and if they win, they get a free T-shirt. Buddy Hall just finished playing on the Beat the Champ table.
Steve Folan is standing here with me now as I write this on the hotel computer in the lobby. He said he won a qualifer in Stoke-on-Trent which is located in the Midlands. He got a free entry fee and all-expense paid trip from England to Toledo, Ohio, to compete in this great event. Steve has been playing snooker for about 12 years, and he just took up 9-ball about 5 months ago. He's a very nice young lad, all of 20 years old, full of enthusiasm, and he's having a really, really good time. This is the first time he has ever been outside of the U.K.
I think I even got a picture of him. If I can find it, I will post it up for grins!
Wednesday day session at the Predator 10-ball classic, continued form previous post ....
Shane Van Boening vs Steve Folan
Folan led 5-4 when I began watching this match. Another spectator told me Shane had miscued on the eight ball at 3-3 to lose a key rack. A solid runout by Folan made it 6-4. In the next rack, Shane played a nice safety, but Folan made a great kick to leave Shane no more than a rail first look at the five. Shane made the shot and faced a cross-side bank of the six, a shot I reckon he should make 70% of the time, but he missed out, and Folan ran out for a 7-4 lead, a lead which he padded with a break and run for 8-4. Folan had a good look at another runout in the next rack but missed the four. Shane had a choice between a supertough 4-9 combo and a safety, and, wisely in my view, opted for the safety. He hit the safety very poorly, however, and sold out the four. Folan was up to the fiarly difficult runout that remained and it got him to the hill, 9-4. In the next rack, a dry break by Folan gives Shane an opening but he misplayed the shape from the four to the five. He played a two way cut shot on the five, missing the shot but nailing the intended defense. Remarkably, Folan kicked in the five the length of the table, probably a 5% chance. Somewhat unfortunately, Folan ended up snookered behind the eight ball and would have to play a long jump shot along the table diagonal, a very difficult shot. Incredibly, he made the jump, and after he pocketed the seven, Shane, who'd probably seen enough, conceded the last three balls, giving Folan the well-deserved 10-4 victory. Folan pokceted very well in this one, and his kicking was also exceptional, and that added up to an upset.
I cannot find my Steve Folan picture from 2003, but I found one on the Internet taken in 2008 of him at a pool room in England, I think, named Riley's.
OK, I've finally seen enough play to start forming an opinion about who the favorites are. By continent, the best performers to this point have been:
North America
1. Corey Deuel, after leading 8-3, withstood a furious charge from Thorsten Hohmann, with Corey prevailing 10-8 in what may have been the best match of the day.
2. John Schmidt is playng extremely well, picking up right where he left off at Valley Forge
3. Tony Robles, who was very impressive in his 10-6 win over Dennis Orcullo, is in good form, and has a very good track record in this venue.
Europe
1. Mika Immonen is showing exceptional form to this point.
2. Darren Appleton played a fine match to beat Rodney Morris 10-7, and fresh off his World Pool Masters win earlier this week, seems to be feeling good about his game again.
3. Nick VanDenBerg is continuing to play very fine pool, just as he did in his runnerup effort in World Pool Masters arlier this week. He won a thriller against Jeremy Jones 10-8, in a generally well-played match.
4. Tony Drago has been very efficient in his play and seems to be getting stronger as the event goes on.
Asia
1. Roberto Gomez lost a total of three racks in his three matches, and made a big statement in crushing Charlie "Hillbilly" Bryant 10-1.
2. Alex Pagulayan is playing some superb ten ball, cruising in his matches, and looks dangerous.
3. Warren Kiamco has played beautifully to this point.
Overall
The ten players noted seem to be playing the best pool right now, but it's a long way from here to the finish line.
In my opinion, Roberto Gomez has been the best player to this point, with Immonen, Schmidt, and Deuel just slightly behind Gomez in the quality of their play. I look for one of these four to win it, but once single elimination begins, as we all understand, anything can happen.
Excellent report and prognostication. This will give us all something to pay attention to.
Roberto Gomez only lost 3 games in 3 matches? Did he have a bye in one or two of his matches? LOL. WOW! OH.... he must have played a match with Travis Trotter.
OK, I've finally seen enough play to start forming an opinion about who the favorites are. By continent, the best performers to this point have been:
North America
1. Corey Deuel, after leading 8-3, withstood a furious charge from Thorsten Hohmann, with Corey prevailing 10-8 in what may have been the best match of the day.
2. John Schmidt is playng extremely well, picking up right where he left off at Valley Forge
3. Tony Robles, who was very impressive in his 10-6 win over Dennis Orcullo, is in good form, and has a very good track record in this venue.
Europe
1. Mika Immonen is showing exceptional form to this point.
2. Darren Appleton played a fine match to beat Rodney Morris 10-7, and fresh off his World Pool Masters win earlier this week, seems to be feeling good about his game again.
3. Nick VanDenBerg is continuing to play very fine pool, just as he did in his runnerup effort in World Pool Masters arlier this week. He won a thriller against Jeremy Jones 10-8, in a generally well-played match.
4. Tony Drago has been very efficient in his play and seems to be getting stronger as the event goes on.
Asia
1. Roberto Gomez lost a total of three racks in his three matches, and made a big statement in crushing Charlie "Hillbilly" Bryant 10-1.
2. Alex Pagulayan is playing some superb ten ball, cruising in his matches, and looks dangerous.
3. Warren Kiamco has played beautifully to this point.
Overall
The ten players noted seem to be playing the best pool right now, but it's a long way from here to the finish line.
In my opinion, Roberto Gomez has been the best player to this point, with Immonen, Schmidt, and Deuel just slightly behind Gomez in the quality of their play. I look for one of these four to win it, but once single elimination begins, as we all understand, anything can happen.
Excellent report and prognostication. This will give us all something to pay attention to.
Roberto Gomez only lost 3 games in 3 matches? Did he have a bye in one or two of his matches? LOL. WOW! OH.... he must have played a match with Travis Trotter.
You were there, Joey, to witness what happened to Deuel at Valley Forge, and it's hard to fault him for not snapping off that one.
Darren's key shot vs. Rodney Morris was when he jumped in a bank shot in rack thirteen. It looked like Rodney was on his way to pulling within 7-6, but this shot turned the tables and Darren's runout gave him an 8-5 lead, which proved decisive.
Much of the day session is in the books here in Vegas.
Jasmin Ouschan was good enough to beat a slighlty off-form Dan Louie, in a match where neither ever seemed to have a shot on the ne ball after the break. Dan had a chance to pull within 8-7, but hooked himself on the eight ball as he pocketed the seven, a mistake he never recovered from. The score was 10-6, in a match that barely had a break and run.
Allison Fisher crushed Amalia Matas, a very good player from Spain who had beaten Kim Shaw easily in the previous round. On this occasion, Allison won the first five racks for 5-0, and after Matas pulled to within 5-3, Allison won the next five racks for 10-3. Her next match will be against Japan's Uchigaki.
Johnny Archer played fairly well to outlast Sal Butera, who kept it interesting,10-7.
Allen Hopkins lost a heartbreaker to Japan's Takenaka, 10-9.
Mark Vidal had the first good chance in the double hill rack aganst Kim Davenport, but his miss on a tough two ball was decisive, with Kim running out for the 10-9 win.
Jeanette Lee had enough good chances to beat Yu Ram Cha, who led all the way up to 9-8, but a shocking defensive error in Rack 18 by Lee sealed her fate, with Cha the deserving winner, 10-8. Yu Ram Cha gets Van Boening next, with the winner advancing to single elimination.
On my way back to my room, I stopped in to watch some of my lady friends from NYC playing in the Women's Masters bar table 8-ball event. On the opposing team was none other than AZB's own Milo, and I saw her make a nice runout to win a rack before introducing myself. Nice lady, good player.
When I returned to my room at about 2:00 AM, AZB was down, so I couldn't share my impressions of the evening session. I'll do so now.
The story of the evening session was the fine play of the ladies, with three of them advancing to the sngle elimination stage of the event.
The lady of the evening was Yu Ram Cha, who trailed Van Boening 8-4 but wn six straight racks to win 10-8, a true shocker. Cha's play has been as infectious as her smile this week, and she has been the darling of the event.
Allison Fisher has a relatively easy go of it, winning her matches comfortably to reach single elimination.
Jasmin Ouschan had an interesting match with Cabello. Jasmin played well up to 5-3, and then made a 1-10 combo and a 2-10 combo in the next two racks for 7-3. Cabello won the next for 7-4, but Jasmin appeared headed for a runout in the next one until she miscued on the seven ball, which led to 7-5, and Cabello broke and ran for 7-6. Jasmin got the critical Rack 14 for an 8-6 lead, and then Cabello was on the verge of running one of the most impressive racks I've seen all week, but the ten ball skidded badly, and it was Jasmin 9-6. The rest was easy and Jasmin advanced.
In other matches:
Rodolfo Luat was brilliant in eliminating Van Cortezza, winner of the 10-ball event at Derby City.
Thorsten Hohmann was solid as a rock in beating Rafael Martinez, who played well all week.
Johnnny Archer, who hadn't found his top form in a single match yet, finally shot the lights out and Jeremy Jones wasn't sharp in Johnny's shocking 10-2 victory in a match that seemingly promised t be a thriller.
Ortmann won a thriller, double hill, over Kim Davenport. Oliver was deserving in this one, but to see Kim get through would have made this fan very happy.
Ralf Souquet was efficient, if not brilliant, in his win over Go Takami.
Oscar Dominguez was sharp in easily besting Sylver Ochoa.
Rodney Morris played superbly to get a 6-2 lead on Matt Tetrault, and Matt hang tough and pulled to within 7-5 at one point, but in the end, it was clear that Matt had dug toodeep a hole and Rodney advanced comfortably.
Charlie Williams prevailed over Ramil Gallego in a match containing few errors. At 9-8 ahead, Charile made a pretty runout to advance.
I'd say Luat, Hohmann, and Archer were the ones that made big statements last night with their play.
That's as much as I remember.
So the final thirty two is set, and, though I have yet to see the chart, the next round features these matches:
Gomez/Williams - Charlie was sharp Gomez was sloppy, and Charlie won easily.
Pagulayan/Facquet - Alex was down 7-2 but rallied for 9-9. He made an error in rack nineteen, but Facquet didn't get out, so Alex led 10-9, and went on to score the 11-9 victory.
Immonen/Ortmann - They went back and forth up to 6-6, when Immonen's miss of a combo on the ten ball turned the momentum sharply in Oliver's favor, and Oliver prevailed 11-6.
Kiamco/Takenaka - Warren was sharp up to 7-4 ahead, but Takenaka came back very strong, and took the lead at 9-8, but Kiamco regrouped and played three solid racks for an 11-9 win.
Gama/Archer
I didn't watch it, but Archer advanced.
Deuel/Peach - Perhaps the best match of the session. Peach led narrowly most of the way, but couldn't throw the knockout punch. He had a runout for 6-4 that went wrong, and failed to punsih Corey for a bad miss at 8-7. At 10-9, favor of Corey, Darryl missed a cross corner bank but played it two way, leaving Deuel supertough but Deuel played a nice shot that left Darryl a tough cross-sdie bank, which he missed, selling out the match, with Corey advancing in a thrilling match that showcased the impressive skills of both of them.
Boyes/Ouschan - Jasmin kept it close, but trailed all the way, and Boyes was a deserving winner.
Folan/Luat - I didn't watch it, but Luat advanced.
Putnam/A Fisher - Allison fought the good fight up to 5-5, but two errors in the next three racks were costly, leading to an 8-5 Putnam lead, and shawn cruised from there.
Majid/Hohmann - Close most of the way, with imran pulking away late. Hohmann had a fairly easy ten ball to pull within 10-8, but missed it to end the match, with Majid advancing.
Robles/Cha - Tony played very well up to 8-3 ahead, but Yu Ram Cha fought valiantly to pull within 8-7. Tony made it 9-7, and when Tony jumped in the four in rack seventeen, it all but sealed the deal, with Robles advancing.
Drago/Orcullo
I didn't watch it, but Orcullo advanced.
Moore/Souquet
This was a blowout in every sense of the word, with Ralf advancing 11-3.
VanDenBerg/Morris -Great match that got to 6-6, 7-7, 8-8, 9-9, and with Morris ahead 10-9, Nick made an error that sealed his fate, with Rodney advancing.
Appleton/O Dominguez -Oscar was sharp in building a 9-5 lead, but Darren fought the good fight and pulled to within 10-9. Darren ad a couple of chances in rack twenty, but failed to cash them in, and Oscar advanced, 11-9.
Schmidt/Alcaide - An unexpected blowout in this one, with Alcaide playing magnficently.
What a session!. The sixteen undefeated qualifiers went 7-9, and the #1 and #3 seeds were beaten, with the #2 seed (pagulayan) coming back from the dead in his match.
We're down to sixteen palyers, and the title chase is starting to look wide open.
Charlie Williams and Dennis Orcullo had a good match, but a couple of bad rolls hurt Charlie, and Dennis ran two racks off of each of Charlie's two major errors, which added up to a victory for Orcullo in a very competitve match.
Ralf Souquet, who breezed through all three of his matches today, was dominant in his 11-3 win over Archer.
Warren Kiamco dominated Majid, who had knocked otu Deuel in the prior match.
The wild one was Pagulayan vs Boyes, an even match up to 9-9, when a fifteen minute safety battle with some freaky rolls was won by Boyes. Moments later, however, Boyes missed the shape on the eight, and sold out with a miss, giving Alex a 10-9 lead. A missed kick safe in rack twenty seemed to doom Boyes, but Alex miscued on a routine five ball, leaving Boyes a 5-10 combo which Boyes missed, selling out the match, with Alex prevailing in a match that was half laborious and half entertainment.
So, tomorrow, it's Souquet vs Pagulayan and Orcullo vs Kiamco. Of the four, Kiamco has been the best player this week, but Souquet was the best if Friday alone is considered. Of course, it's anybody's tournament now. Should be fun!
Charlie Williams and Dennis Orcullo had a good match, but a couple of bad rolls hurt Charlie, and Dennis ran two racks off of each of Charlie's two major errors, which added up to a victory for Orcullo in a very competitve match.
Ralf Souquet, who breezed through all three of his matches today, was dominant in his 11-3 win over Archer.
Warren Kiamco dominated Majid, who had knocked otu Deuel in the prior match.
The wild one was Pagulayan vs Boyes, an even match up to 9-9, when a fifteen minute safety battle with some freaky rolls was won by Boyes. Moments later, however, Boyes missed the shape on the eight, and sold out with a miss, giving Alex a 10-9 lead. A missed kick safe in rack twenty seemed to doom Boyes, but Alex miscued on a routine five ball, leaving Boyes a 5-10 combo which Boyes missed, selling out the match, with Alex prevailing in a match that was half laborious and half entertainment.
So, tomorrow, it's Souquet vs Pagulayan and Orcullo vs Kiamco. Of the four, Kiamco has been the best player this week, but Souquet was the best if Friday alone is considered. Of course, it's anybody's tournament now. Should be fun!
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