Tony Drago, the man of the hour!
- Thread starter RichZuHaus
- Start date
gopi-1 said:
Well, the John Parris pool cue that Tony Drago plays with cost a bit more than that. Maybe I should point out that Parris is solely a snooker cue maker, hence, getting a POOL cue built by him is a feat in itself. I first contacted John years ago, essentially begging him to build a pool cue for me (I already have one of his snooker cues) but got the impression that he wasn't interested in building any pool cues. But later when I realized that he had actually built two pool cues for Tony Drago's, I called again and this time managed to persuade him to also build one for me. When I finally decided on a spec for the cue, I called John again, and as we hammered out the details, he causally mentioned that I would soon be in good company of the Prince of Brunei who he had just made a similar cue, (I guess that's what they call Royal treatment ;^) Anyways, I'm still waiting, and now it's 7 months since I put in the order...
-- peer
That was a great win for Drago. He dominated right from the beginning. I don't recall seeing him miss a regular shot, and he missed only one or two bank shots. What a performance!
Does he actually live in Malta? All I know about Malta is that it's a small island off the southern coast of Sicily. I'm surprised that a player of his talents comes from such a tiny country. I wonder where learned to play so well??
Doc
Does he actually live in Malta? All I know about Malta is that it's a small island off the southern coast of Sicily. I'm surprised that a player of his talents comes from such a tiny country. I wonder where learned to play so well??
Doc
gulfportdoc said:
He lives in London, and plays regulary at Victoria Riley's I think, together with players as Raj Hundal and Imran Majid, to name a few.
here's an interview after he won the final - congratulations to him. Also like the way he makes a move on Vanessa the interviewer. 
You know he fancies a bit of that!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hPvoIpwhzdQ
You know he fancies a bit of that!http://youtube.com/watch?v=hPvoIpwhzdQ
Peer said:
i remember steve davis had a parris pool cue for awhile, but he is using an american pool cue now. just curious, what tip size is parris using for these pool cues? they look to be somewhere around 11.5mm. also what kind of ferrule? davis had a short brown one that i assume was phenolic, drago has a more standard 1 inch white one.
i think davis's ferrule was brass, the standard on all snooker cues.McChen said:
Fancy a bit 'o that
How could he not?!
worriedbeef said:
How could he not?!
Roy Steffensen said:He normally talks in a joking manner to the crowd, referee and his opponent. Perhaps people consider it sharking, but he always does it and he never says anything bad at all. Just joking around, having a laugh and enjoying every match he is playing.
Gopi-1: I also believe it would be a different match if the chairs was put apart. As it was now it encouraged Drago to talk, smile and laugh when the referee was racking, and it is not something Django is used too.
Imagine if it was Keith McCready and Tony Drago in the final, what a show it would have been. They would spend most time in the chair telling jokes to eachother
Fats talked all the time and joked around too and if you think it wasn't a shark you are kidding yourself. Not even Fats would go up to his opponent in a high dollar match and grab him and shake the living crap out of him. This guy read the book on sharking and then added a couple chapters.
Malta has punched above its weight in snooker for quite some time. It was a British military base from many years (we were invited to kick the French out) and they took to snooker big time. It was once the only place ranking events were ever played outside the British Isles. They speak good English and there has been a significant Maltese community in London for god knows how long, which helps when they need to come to Britain to really step up in class. It's not as much of a culture shock to them I think.gulfportdoc said:
Tony was very successful on the amateur scene and quickly established himself as one of the most watchable and popular players when he turned pro. There has been a steady stream of talented players coming out of Malta but Tony is by far the most successful to date. He never seemed to have what it takes to win big snooker events, he is a sprinter not a marathon runner, but there isn't a player who hasn't been blown away by Tony at one time or another when he's on blob. For natural talent he's right up there with the very best.
Just a reminder of what Tony looks like when he's playing confidently.
Drago will never win a snooker event. He is well past it. But he realises he has a real chance at winning at pool, and much greater longevity. Just be prepared for the collapses. In between smashing everybody out of sight there will be times you wouldn't think he'd held a cue before. That's Drago.
Boro Nut
Josh Palmer said:Amen- I'm an Earl fan all the way, even if he goes postal and murders a bunch of helpless women and children
But, if a match between Earl and Tony took place, that would be exactly what people at home would be looking to watch when they see pool on TV.
I think we have the makings of the next IPT challenge.
Boro Nut, thanks very much for the brief bio and related info on Drago. That's exactly the kind of report I was hoping for. And what a great snooker run of 130 against Higgins!! Very enjoyable. I imagine we'll be seeing a lot of Mr. Drago at big pool events for some time. He plays at a fast pace, is very exciting to watch, and his personality shins through. Hopefully he'll hang in there until old age gets him...Boro Nut said:
Doc
Tony Drago YouTube Interview!
Congratulations, Tony!
For friends who may have missed these,
found a YouTube interview video
featuring Tony Drago after winning the finals.
Also includes a YouTube video
featuring Django Bustamante before the finals.
Much thanks for looking, everyone!
Link is here, friends!
Congratulations, Tony!
For friends who may have missed these,
found a YouTube interview video
featuring Tony Drago after winning the finals.
Also includes a YouTube video
featuring Django Bustamante before the finals.
Much thanks for looking, everyone!
Link is here, friends!
Johnnyt said:
But Johnny, how could you think ANYTHING about Tony wouldn't be fast?....
I missed the 10-ball but watched his two matches in the 9-ball and was amazed by how fast he plays. I noticed that while I was watching him I had a GIANT grin on my face, as did the others around me, because of his extraordinary pace around the table. He would be there waiting for the cue ball to stop so he could shoot..the refs had trouble keeping up with him around the table...truly entertaining to watch. I shot a couple of vids with my little pocket camera and when I play them back he runs 7 balls in 48 seconds in one, and 8 balls in 1:10 in the other, needless to say the 35 second clock seemed meaningless in his match.
I also found this youtube vid of him titled "Tony Drago makes fastest TV century in 3 minutes 33 seconds....The announcers comment is "watch this and don't blink"...LOL
click here for clip
Anyway, I LOVED watchin' him play and am delighted with his win!
I took a few pics of him in the WPM and thought I would post them here.....
CONGRATS TONY!!!!!
Congratulations AGAIN to Tony!
Joe
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Tale of the Tape via Semi-Final matches
Francisco Bustamante v Jeremy Jones
Francisco Bustamante
Score 885
Shot 92% 59 64
Break 55% 6 11
Break N Run 18% 2 11
Fouls on Break 0% 0 11
Jeremy Jones
Score 867
Shot 91% 51 56
Break 40% 2 5
Break N Run 20% 1 5
Fouls on Break 20% 1 5
Tony Drago v Marcus Chamat
Tony Drago
Score 909
Shot 97% 91 94
Break 36% 4 11
Break N Run 27% 3 11
Fouls on Break 0% 0 11
Marcus Chamat
Score 867
Shot 91% 58 64
Break 43% 3 7
Break N Run 0% 0 7
Fouls on Break 0% 0 7
Tony Drago had a very high shooting percentage of 97%, compared to the other 3 shooting at about 92%.
Not surprisingly, Francisco Bustamante commanded a high break % - making something on more than half of his breaks for 55%. While Tony Drago made something on about 1/3 of his breaks.
Tony Drago did not play defense nearly as effectively as the other 3, but rarely ever needed defense due to his high offensive skills. But was near average for pro level in ability to get out of opponent's defense. Francisco Bustamante demonstrated the highest defensive skills.
Some of the rulesets favored Drago i.e. the 30 second shot clock, which was never a factor in his case (often shooting about 6 seconds or less). And forcing the hard break, made for more offensive shoot-outs as opposed to defensive battles. Also, with the recent change from 9-ball to 10-ball, the pros are still working on learning that sweet spot for the break, which will help them to string racks together.
Tony Drago demonstrated his shooting skills and versatility by winning the first 10-ball competition that he has ever entered. Congrats to Tony Drago!
Francisco Bustamante v Jeremy Jones
Francisco Bustamante
Score 885
Shot 92% 59 64
Break 55% 6 11
Break N Run 18% 2 11
Fouls on Break 0% 0 11
Jeremy Jones
Score 867
Shot 91% 51 56
Break 40% 2 5
Break N Run 20% 1 5
Fouls on Break 20% 1 5
Tony Drago v Marcus Chamat
Tony Drago
Score 909
Shot 97% 91 94
Break 36% 4 11
Break N Run 27% 3 11
Fouls on Break 0% 0 11
Marcus Chamat
Score 867
Shot 91% 58 64
Break 43% 3 7
Break N Run 0% 0 7
Fouls on Break 0% 0 7
Tony Drago had a very high shooting percentage of 97%, compared to the other 3 shooting at about 92%.
Not surprisingly, Francisco Bustamante commanded a high break % - making something on more than half of his breaks for 55%. While Tony Drago made something on about 1/3 of his breaks.
Tony Drago did not play defense nearly as effectively as the other 3, but rarely ever needed defense due to his high offensive skills. But was near average for pro level in ability to get out of opponent's defense. Francisco Bustamante demonstrated the highest defensive skills.
Some of the rulesets favored Drago i.e. the 30 second shot clock, which was never a factor in his case (often shooting about 6 seconds or less). And forcing the hard break, made for more offensive shoot-outs as opposed to defensive battles. Also, with the recent change from 9-ball to 10-ball, the pros are still working on learning that sweet spot for the break, which will help them to string racks together.
Tony Drago demonstrated his shooting skills and versatility by winning the first 10-ball competition that he has ever entered. Congrats to Tony Drago!
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