SJM Sizes Up the Matchroom 2021 US Open

wilichichi

Registered
I cannot overstate how pleased I am to read this. I was pleasantly surprised to run into Nicky Schulman on the first evening of the event. He and I used to play plenty of pool together back when he lived in Manhattan. I once heard him commentate poker, and figured he would be an excellent pool commentator. Glad to hear Karl Boyes was on his game as a commentator, just as he was at the World Pool Championships. He has always been a great in-the-arena presenter, too, and is a huge asset in any Matchroom production.

The inclusion of lots of background information about the players is also a very big deal, because I felt that this was lacking during the commentary at the World Pool Championships.

Matchroom continues to tweak its pro pool product in the best interests of its fans and we're all the better because of it.
I've always wondered how good Nick Schulman is at pool? His commentary is fantastic.
 

sjm

Older and Wiser
Silver Member
I've always wondered how good Nick Schulman is at pool? His commentary is fantastic.
Nick was a strong player from New York City who played with a lot of creativity, but he moved on to poker at a young age, before he was in his fullest bloom as a pool player. I always enjoyed my matches against him.
 

JAM

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have a few photos of young Nick when Keith and I were in NYC. Keith was trying to get in action with Ginky, but Ginky wanted Nick in a partners game against Keith and Ryan McCreesh. Nick wasn't so keen on the idea. Finally, after Keith's persuasive ways, he convinced Nick to play with Ginky against Keith and Ryan. I think Keith spotted them a ball or two for a thousand. It was over in minutes. Ginky knew what he was doing. Keith tried to reduce the handicap, but Ginky said no way. Game over. It only hurt a little bit. Ginky was sporting blond hair that day.
keith and ryan number 2 in NYC[1].JPG

keith and ginky the end[1].JPG

keith and ginky the conclusion[1] (1).JPG
 

JAM

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Nick Schulman turned 37 years old a few days ago. Here he is in the commentary booth at the US Open last week.

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sjm

Older and Wiser
Silver Member
Nick Schulman turned 37 years old a few days ago. Here he is in the commentary booth at the US Open last week.
Wow, great picture. I think I first played pool with Nicky Schulman when he was about 12 or 13 years old at Amsterdam Billiards in NYC. It's amusing, in retrospect, that we all referred to him as "Little Nicky" back then but now he's close to a foot taller than I am, he'd have every right to refer to me as "Little Stu."
 

sjm

Older and Wiser
Silver Member
Carlo Biado has been all over the news in the Philippines for the last few days. Front page news in all the papers, featured on the major TV networks, and is being acclaimed as a national hero for winning the U.S. Open Pool Championship. He will be receiving a healthy bonus (I would guess a minimum of 1,000,000P - $20,000) from the government and he may be brought to meet the President for his personal congratulations. Of course they make a big deal out of his winning nearly 2,500,000P ($50,000), which is serious money over there. And people wonder why there is a constant flow of talent coming from the Philippines.

Seeing such a reception and the money that goes with it, is highly motivational for young kids over there to take up the game. In a country rife with poverty, where most kids have little chance to have a decent future, they see pool as an avenue to a better life. The fact that a handful of them have already done well playing pool only furthers their interest in the game. Players like Efren, Francisco and Orcollo are true sports celebrities over there.

I'd like to see a player like Shane get the same level of recognition here. He deserves it, that's for sure!
Thanks for sharing this, Jay, for it's a story of which we Americans would never learn. Biado's win will, for sure, motivate young players in the Philippines to pick up a cue, and the future of pool in Asia looks very bright. As we saw this week, the present isn't too shabby either as the final four at the US Open consisted of two Filipinos, one Japanese player and one Singaporean player.

Of course, we do need to be careful here. According to the United Nations, income per capita in the Philippines is $3,324, so Biado's $50,000 score equates to over 15 years of income per capita in his home country. By comparison, according to the United Nations, income per capita in the US is $65,134, so a score of $50,000 prize money represents just nine months of income per capita. A score equaling 15+ years of income per capita in the US would have to be for roughly $1,000,000. It's safe to say that if anyone won a $1,000,000 first prize playing pool, it would get media coverage in America, and it would also cause many youngsters to try their hand at pool.

Good for Carlo, though. Nice to see that his excellence is and will continue to be recognized and rewarded in his home country. He deserves it!
 

jokrswylde

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
It does seem as though a wave is building in pool with MR as the driving force. I know on a personal level I have bought a DAZN yearly subscription the past two years, solely because of the MR quality events. I have also purchased a few Omega and accustats PPV's, even though I PPV is my pet peeve and I wish it would die the death of a thousand cuts.

Like many, I hope America is not swamped by this building wave. I believe (and it is my opinion) that our top 5 can compete on any given day with anyone. Notice I said COMPETE. The US guys have taken some big scalps recently, whether in money matches or in recent tournaments. The downer is that I don't see a plethora of 20-25 year old putting themselves into a position to one day have the torch passed from Shane, Sky, Justin, Billy, etc.

I am not in the loop when it comes to amateur pool, so maybe there are superstars in waiting there and I just don't know about them. OUr youth just have so many choices to occupy their free time: Pee wee football, little league baseball, ODP soccer, travel softball, robotics camp, boy scouts, E-sports, AAU basketball, that's before you even consider school sports.

I know I am only restating what has been said here ad nauseum concerning getting youngsters involved, but it will continue to be a huge roadblock to sustained success against other countries. SVB may be a generational talent, but we need several more in his league coming up behind him.

It can be argued that pool is a global sport and the Asian and European markets can sustain it, and maybe you would be right. I don't know if pool needs Americans to be dominant in order to be successful, but with our disposable income and our thirst for entertainment, I would be willing to bet that Match Room would prefer that America is producing competitive players.

Last I checked, 7 out of the top 10 biggest selling jerseys in MLB were Americans, 10 out of 10 in the NFL, and 10 out of 10 NBA, and 8 out of the top 10 most popular PGA golfers are Americans. My point being that American fans (casual fans, not us die hards who would promote Efren to Sainthood) want Americans to get behind and cheer for.
 
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sjm

Older and Wiser
Silver Member
It does seem as though a wave is building in pool with MR as the driving force. I know on a personal level I have bought a DAZN yearly subscription the past two years, solely because of the MR quality events. I have also purchased a few Omega and accustats PPV's, even though I PPV is my pet peeve and I wish it would die the death of a thousand cuts.

Like many, I hope America is not swamped by this building wave. I believe (and it is my opinion) that our top 5 can compete on any given day with anyone. Notice I said COMPETE. The US guys have taken some big scalps recently, whether in money matches or in recent tournaments. The downer is that I don't see a plethora of 20-25 year old putting themselves into a position to one day have the torch passed from Shane, Sky, Justin, Billy, etc.

I am not in the loop when it comes to amateur pool, so maybe there are superstars in waiting there and I just don't know about them. OUr youth just have so many choices to occupy their free time: Pee wee football, little league baseball, ODP soccer, travel softball, robotics camp, boy scouts, E-sports, AAU basketball, that's before you even consider school sports.

I know I am only restating what has been said here ad nauseum concerning getting youngsters involved, but it will continue to be a huge roadblock to sustained success against other countries. SVB may be a generational talent, but we need several more in his league coming up behind him.

It can be argued that pool is a global sport and the Asian and European markets can sustain it, and maybe you would be right. I don't know if pool needs Americans to be dominant in order to be successful, but with our disposable income and our thirst for entertainment, I would be willing to bet that Match Room would prefer that America is producing competitive players.

Last I checked, 7 out of the top 10 biggest selling jerseys in MLB were Americans, 10 out of 10 in the NFL, and 10 out of 10 NBA, and 8 out of the top 10 most popular PGA golfers are Americans. My point being that American fans (casual fans, not us die hards who would promote Efren to Sainthood) want Americans to get behind and cheer for.
This, for the most part, is is a very well reasoned post. While I am among those who feel DAZN is not a high quality stream platform, the content is fantastic. For $99 a year, I get lots of pro pool, lots of snooker and some other things that I enjoy. That's a great value in my books.
 

fish on

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Great time took my wife she plays league pool and she also enjoyed it
I thought I would be watching by myself not this time
Emily Frazer is the straw that stirs the drink she has this production event down!! 33 tables with 33 gloved table referees and racker with head referees available for assistance
Met and complimented Emily Frazer she was lovely and thanked the fans for their support !
tv stream was so great I upgraded for matchroom year event will be watching great events including mosconi cup for $100 a year equal to espn tv coverage yahoo
Check out matchroom.com you will love them
Regards
Harry
My pick for best future player is Yapp the kick safety was wild
 

sjm

Older and Wiser
Silver Member
Great time took my wife she plays league pool and she also enjoyed it
I thought I would be watching by myself not this time
Emily Frazer is the straw that stirs the drink she has this production event down!! 33 tables with 33 gloved table referees and racker with head referees available for assistance
Met and complimented Emily Frazer she was lovely and thanked the fans for their support !
tv stream was so great I upgraded for matchroom year event will be watching great events including mosconi cup for $100 a year equal to espn tv coverage yahoo
Check out matchroom.com you will love them
Regards
Harry
My pick for best future player is Yapp the kick safety was wild
Thanks for sharing this. Glad to hear that you and your wife had a good experience attending the event.

I know what you mean about Yapp. Despite having had to settle for silver, Yapp may have been the best player in this US Open, winning 11-4 over Filler, 11-5 over Shane and 11-6 over Orcullo. Biado was a very deserving champion, but Yapp's play was truly sensational. I guess we'll know soon whether this performance by Yapp was the first stop on the road to becoming one of the game's greatest stars.
 

Mich

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I've always wondered how good Nick Schulman is at pool? His commentary is fantastic.
I thought Nick was pedestrian at best. Every player was the greatest ever. When he talked about the Filipinos, he didn't even acknowledge Bustamante or Parica. There are much better announcers that can be paired with JJ. Not to mention he sounds like Mitch Leary! LOL
 

iusedtoberich

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
How do you guys rate Schulman vs Hennigan (in pool) at their primes? I started playing pool in Philly just as Hennigan switched to poker full time in the 90's, so I never got to watch him play in person. But all the stories I heard was he was maybe the 8 ball under the top pros of Philly like Jimmy Fusco. His best game was back pocket 9 ball.
 

Mich

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have a few photos of young Nick when Keith and I were in NYC. Keith was trying to get in action with Ginky, but Ginky wanted Nick in a partners game against Keith and Ryan McCreesh. Nick wasn't so keen on the idea. Finally, after Keith's persuasive ways, he convinced Nick to play with Ginky against Keith and Ryan. I think Keith spotted them a ball or two for a thousand. It was over in minutes. Ginky knew what he was doing. Keith tried to reduce the handicap, but Ginky said no way. Game over. It only hurt a little bit. Ginky was sporting blond hair that day.
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Ginky's 9-ball patterns were a thing of beauty. Watching him run out was a joy.
 

jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
Gold Member
Silver Member
How do you guys rate Schulman vs Hennigan (in pool) at their primes? I started playing pool in Philly just as Hennigan switched to poker full time in the 90's, so I never got to watch him play in person. But all the stories I heard was he was maybe the 8 ball under the top pros of Philly like Jimmy Fusco. His best game was back pocket 9 ball.
Nicky never got to John's level. Hennigan was playing big money games when he was still a teenager. Nick was playing Straight Pool and trying to win a trophy and maybe a grand or two. Now Ginky, that's another story entirely. He went right to the top of the pack. No one was the favorite over him in his prime!
 

iusedtoberich

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Nicky never got to John's level. Hennigan was playing big money games when he was still a teenager. Nick was playing Straight Pool and trying to win a trophy and maybe a grand or two. Now Ginky, that's another story entirely. He went right to the top of the pack. No one was the favorite over him in his prime!
Thanks for the report. Now, same question for their poker game:)
 
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