The Master of the Table award became a big story. Matlock was knocked out early in the 9 ball & hanging out in the tournament room all day watching over his competition for the $20,000 prize. On Thursday night Corey & Efren played for the One Pocket championship with Efren winning but Corey still had a buy back left. The tournament directors decided to wait until Friday night to play the next set. So, with round 7 of the nine ball tournament going on at 7PM Friday...the One Pocket finals also take place. With the tournament directors explanation that they can't hold up the 9 ball for Corey & Efren to play One pocket while everyone sits around, they give both of them a BYE into the next round. Now there were only about 25 players left in the 9 Ball (Busti, Strickland, Mika, Luat, Santos, Saez, etc.)....all players capable of beating Efren & Corey and sending them to the 'buy back status'. But they get this BYE so they move up in the standings and closer to Matlock in the overall. Matlock & many others weren't happy. IMO, couldn't they play the second One Pocket set on Thursday night. Couldn't they play the second One Pocket set at Midnight when the 9 ball was over for the day? Pool players are night hawks, this would not have mattered. To give a player a BYE at this point in the 9 ball was a big unfair advantage. Scott Smith finally got on the microphone & says this has happened in the past & the way they always do it. But just because you have done it before....doesn't make it right?? Matlock took it well as I watched him graciously accept the tournament directors explanation in private. In say...a tennis tournament, do they give a player a bye because they had to play a double match just prior to playing in the open event?? The answer is NO..it is all timed out so they can play in both.
I talked to Dave Matlock for about an hour on Saturday. Talking about pool, he still states it has a long way to go. He won about $8900 in the tournaments for the 9 days but had over $1000 in expenses for the trip including hotel and entry fees. Yes $7900 is a lot of money but a hard way to earn it knowing you have to go up against minimum 40 bonafide champions to win. I asked him when the last time someone had gambled with him EVEN on a bar table (since there was a discussion about the best bar table player on this site) and he told me he couldn't honestly remember. For the past few years he has been basically a tournament player, not gambling much. Then Marcus Chumat happens to walk by & catch Matlock's eye. He points to him and says 2 years ago I gave him the 7 ball on a bar table & they haven't been back for more. Matlock told me that he is going to start getting back into gambling more and is now traveling with James Walden. That is quite a team. He said most of his action would be in one pocket as that is where it doesn't turn into a breaking contest. Matlock also told me that Rafael Martinez is alive and well (another rumor that was put on this site).
I talked to Johnny Ross out of Florida for hours. This guy should write a book. His stories are told so fast that they have to be true. Ross did tell me that Efren has gone over to Hong Kong for the past two years to play some big wig financial guy for large money. He told me that Efren has never beat this guy even & Efren is $300,000 loser at the game. This player from Hong Kong is a financial guy in the Hong Kong stock exchange that likes to play pool but no interest or time to travel to tournaments etc. so he is a relatively unknown. I have never spoken a word to Efren so didn't feel comfortable asking him myself if this was true.
DCC is still the best tournament out there, bar none. The security was much improved this year & I didn't hear of one incident. The action was great & Efren showed why he is the best. Beating Mika 7-0 and Baraks 7-1, it didn't matter who is opponent would have been...he would have won with the same scores.
I talked to Dave Matlock for about an hour on Saturday. Talking about pool, he still states it has a long way to go. He won about $8900 in the tournaments for the 9 days but had over $1000 in expenses for the trip including hotel and entry fees. Yes $7900 is a lot of money but a hard way to earn it knowing you have to go up against minimum 40 bonafide champions to win. I asked him when the last time someone had gambled with him EVEN on a bar table (since there was a discussion about the best bar table player on this site) and he told me he couldn't honestly remember. For the past few years he has been basically a tournament player, not gambling much. Then Marcus Chumat happens to walk by & catch Matlock's eye. He points to him and says 2 years ago I gave him the 7 ball on a bar table & they haven't been back for more. Matlock told me that he is going to start getting back into gambling more and is now traveling with James Walden. That is quite a team. He said most of his action would be in one pocket as that is where it doesn't turn into a breaking contest. Matlock also told me that Rafael Martinez is alive and well (another rumor that was put on this site).
I talked to Johnny Ross out of Florida for hours. This guy should write a book. His stories are told so fast that they have to be true. Ross did tell me that Efren has gone over to Hong Kong for the past two years to play some big wig financial guy for large money. He told me that Efren has never beat this guy even & Efren is $300,000 loser at the game. This player from Hong Kong is a financial guy in the Hong Kong stock exchange that likes to play pool but no interest or time to travel to tournaments etc. so he is a relatively unknown. I have never spoken a word to Efren so didn't feel comfortable asking him myself if this was true.
DCC is still the best tournament out there, bar none. The security was much improved this year & I didn't hear of one incident. The action was great & Efren showed why he is the best. Beating Mika 7-0 and Baraks 7-1, it didn't matter who is opponent would have been...he would have won with the same scores.
