So you couldn't hear the sarcasm in my writing, eh?
Hopkins is horrible. Sounds like he's never been in a pool room in his life.
The Inaugural 2021 NBL 10-Ball Championships - 16 Player Event with a $25,000.00 purse!
- Thread starter Sandman
- Start date
Hopkins is horrible. Sounds like he's never been in a pool room in his life.
No link, I'm not searching
I hope he says the things he says coz he thinks he is creating excitement.No link, I'm not searching
He sounds like he has no idea how to play pool at all and that CANT BE.
I was happy with the coverage for the parts I watched. I can't complain about a free stream of top players competing for real money. Hopefully NBL comes back strong next year.
I don't think the commentary was any worse than the typical pool event. If I ran things I would have more player guest commentators so the main hosts don't have to fill air time for three hours. That's a challenge even for professional broadcasters.
I don't think the commentary was any worse than the typical pool event. If I ran things I would have more player guest commentators so the main hosts don't have to fill air time for three hours. That's a challenge even for professional broadcasters.
All the people that thought Hopkins did great must not have watched for more than 3 minutes. He sounded ok and his commentary in general was ok except for one thing, but it is a huge, massive thing. He called things wrong constantly, and not just a little wrong, but in line with what an APA 3 might say, like way out it totally clueless lala land. Predicted shots that were not just a little wrong but downright silly, and sometimes not even possible. From the standpoint of accuracy and reality it was quite possibly the worst I've ever heard including from non-playing color commentators which is saying something considering there isn't a real shortage of less than stellar commentary out there. Allison was good and did a good job in all respects.
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CanadianGuy
Well-known member
Corey breaking with the bridge is a stroke of genius....pun intended!
I tried this today, I can envision this being extremely beneficial to anybody that struggles positioning themselves physically on their break.
I'm sure this is just more of Corey building his "brand" but this really is quite clever, bravo Corey!
I tried this today, I can envision this being extremely beneficial to anybody that struggles positioning themselves physically on their break.
I'm sure this is just more of Corey building his "brand" but this really is quite clever, bravo Corey!
I think it highly possible it is more than just a gimmick... both from a functional perspective and from the understanding that anything Corey does is designed to help him win. That's the best way to 'build his brand'.
I think the argument could be made that it eliminates a layer of unpredictability that using the hand has: little unpredictable movements/ positional differences, the changing diameter of the shaft interacting with the hand, flexing of the skin(?!)...
it could also be as the commentator (Alison?) said: allows him to approach the cue ball from a slightly different angle. The balls do react differently with a raised butt, vs a flat one.
And, don't forget they were required to break from the head string. That means a straight line is a damn straight line right down the middle. I saw in his match against Frankie hernandez, a couple hits that were literally dead perfect on. Didn't see the same accuracy in the later stages though.
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We are on the same page. Jeeziz!
I've heard far less accomplished players convey better senses of reality than that World Champ does.
Makes no sense at all.
I watched some of it and agree with the general sentiment that Allison Fisher did a great job, much as she did when commentating at the 2020 Mosconi Cup. Allen Hopkins was way off his game as a commentator, which was unexpected given that few have a greater all-around knowledge of the game. Allen was a solid commentator back in the 1990's, but he has done little commentary in recent years, and his rustiness was obvious.
Though I applaud him for his fine play, John Morra winning doesn't feel right here. No, he is not a resident of the US, at least no more than about a dozen Europeans that spent a significant portion of 2021 in America competing. Unlike Morra, Dennis Orcullo spent the entire year here, but he, too, is not a resident. Mika Immonen would have been a better choice, as he has lived in the US for over 20 years. He also doesn't live far from Sandcastle Billiards.
All these points aside, this was a pretty good event.
Though I applaud him for his fine play, John Morra winning doesn't feel right here. No, he is not a resident of the US, at least no more than about a dozen Europeans that spent a significant portion of 2021 in America competing. Unlike Morra, Dennis Orcullo spent the entire year here, but he, too, is not a resident. Mika Immonen would have been a better choice, as he has lived in the US for over 20 years. He also doesn't live far from Sandcastle Billiards.
All these points aside, this was a pretty good event.
Yes, this was the concept behind the NBL, which was admirably set up to be restricted to American players (not American residents) and was intended to be a springboard to pro pool for American amateurs by empowering them financially.
I don't think so. I suspect that the last second cancellation of Earl Strickland placed the event producers in a tough spot and that they scrambled to fill the suddenly open spot.
As noted, though, if residency alone was enough, why not go with Mika Immonen, a New York City resident of over twenty years who lives about thirty miles from Sandcastle Billiards. Mika is presently in good form, having just come in second to Josh Filler at the International Bigfoot 10-ball and 5th out of a field of 128 at the International 9-ball about seven weeks ago.
All that said, it is possible the spot was offered to Mika and he declined.
No ambiguity here.
Post #26 in this thread, written by the event's producer, makes it crystal clear that Canadian residency is not considered American residency for the purpose of this event. That's why it states that Morra qualified for participation because he spent much of 2021 in the United States.
The pros had to pay $1,000 entrance fee and their own travel and hotel expenses. Maybe Mika was not interested. I saw a post from NBL asking pros to apply after Earl had withdrawn. I guess any pro could have applied but some chose not to. I don't think it a question of some chosen over others.