Torbjorn Blomdahl and pool

T

TimurA

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Apart from Reyes-Blomdahl 9-ball exhibition match in internet, I could not find very much.I espacially wonder his results in USA pool tournaments he entered in 90's.

He is clearly a kicking monster , but do you think he has significant chance against top pool players ,who potted billion balls from their childhood till now? Was he succesfull at his attempts or did he commit suicide professionaly in his USA endevours?

regards,

Timur
İstanbul,Turkey
 
TimurA said:
Apart from Reyes-Blomdahl 9-ball exhibition match in internet, I could not find very much.I espacially wonder his results in USA pool tournaments he entered in 90's.

He is clearly a kicking monster , but do you think he has significant chance against top pool players ,who potted billion balls from their childhood till now? Was he succesfull at his attempts or did he commit suicide professionaly in his USA endevours?

regards,

Timur
İstanbul,Turkey
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I do not know why he would want to compete, in the first place. He is one of the top 3-Cushion player in the World. But, I can tell you this for certain, if he made the choice to start competing in Pocket Billiards tournaments I personally think he could be very successful. The man's temperament, along with his natural ability with Billiards would serve him very well.

Now, my opinion is not based upon conjecture, I have personally played 9-ball him.

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Take care
 
He did not play in tournaments here, Timur, but I'm reliably told that his pool is VERY strong. Three examples: when Jimmy and Ewa Mataya were still married, he stayed there as a house guest and Jimmy could not beat him on their own table in the basement (they came out playing 9-ball). The last time he played billiards here, the management asked him to play a few racks of 9-ball with one of our best players (Marco Marquez) just for fun, and he won more racks than he lost. And when I asked Mika Immonen how much pool he had seen Blomdahl, he simply looked at me and said, "Enough." Hope this helps. GF
 
TimurA said:
... I especially wonder his results in USA pool tournaments he entered in 90's. ...
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I don't recall that he entered any tournaments in the 1990s in the US. He did have a very brief exhibition match with Efren (9B+3C) that is available on YouTube.

He presently plays in a European pool league (mentioned in another current thread) in which each player plays 14.1, 9B and 8B each match. He also plays some one pocket, but seems to be inventing each shot anew as opposed to relying on 1P experience -- he often shoots surprising shots and they often come out surprisingly well.
 
Hi George :) Nice to see you in the past few days

I was watching Blomdahl playing Bob Jewett in 07. In their straight pool game he ran a 65. In a one pocket game he ran 8 and out (while Bob is still teaching he the rules / he never played 1P before)

Here are some of the videos found on youtube:

1995 Challenge Match in Tokyo 3C + 9B Efren Reyes vs Torbj?rn Blomdahl
http://library.cuetable.com/showthread.php?t=1374&highlight=reyes
 
He plays WORLD CLASS pool. Even better than most because he has all the three-cushion knowledge to go with it. He has beaten Reyes in exhibition and beaten Ortmann in exhibition.

I see pure pool players - champions - missing caroms, combinations, kisses, tickies, and kick shots that are hangers for 3-cushion billiards players.

The fact is that billiards adds so much more depth to the game. If Blohmdahl chose to play full time then he would certainly be top five and would certainly raise the bar.

If you want historical precedent then look at Harold Worst who held titles in 3 cushion billiards, Snooker, 9-Ball, One Pocket and 14.1. He trained under Willie Hoppe. Went to Johnston City and challenged the field and beat every player who played him even at 9-ball.

However that doesn't mean that pure pool champions are slouches. You don't run 10 racks of nine ball without major talent, nerves, and knowledge. Just like Efren raised the bar, also due to his billiards background, Torbjorn would do the same and pool players would get even better than they are now.
 
At this point in his life, I seriously doubt Torbjorn would break the top 20 in pool even if he dedicated his life to it. He's maybe the greatest 3-C player ever and one of my absolute favorite players in the world, but I doubt Torbjorn would ever consider himself to have a chance against top pool players in their prime.

He obviously can play great, but he might not be able to break the top 20 players in the Phillippines alone over the long haul.

If he dedicated himself to pool at a young age like billiards, he just may have been one of the greatest. I guess he'll just have to live with his record of playing billiards like God for two decades.
 
bud green said:
At this point in his life, I seriously doubt Torbjorn would break the top 20 in pool even if he dedicated his life to it. He's maybe the greatest 3-C player ever and one of my absolute favorite players in the world, but I doubt Torbjorn would ever consider himself to have a chance against top pool players in their prime.

He obviously can play great, but he might not be able to break the top 20 players in the Phillippines alone over the long haul.

If he dedicated himself to pool at a young age like billiards, he just may have been one of the greatest. I guess he'll just have to live with his record of playing billiards like God for two decades.
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You could bet all that you could muster on that bet and you would lose. Looking at the current rankings I don't see any player that would beat Torbjorn consistently.

There is no top player that has played him who doesn't respect his pool game.

I would bet you everything I could beg borrow or steal that on any ranking system currently in use - If Torbjorn played a full two seasons of pool in the same amount of tournaments as the current best players in the world, that he would break the top twenty EASILY.

You are drawing dead on this proposition. As the best three-cushion player alive, Torbjorn Blohmdahl is AUTOMATICALLY one of the top 20 living pool players on the planet.
 
At the risk of comparing apples to oranges, I'd say Blomdahl is a very talented and capable chef who knows the art of cutting "any fruits".

He enjoys pool, but he has focus in life and is very good at it: 3 Cushion Billiards. To find out more about his ability in pool, you might want to check this thread below. I have made a few diagrams showing what he did back in July this year when he came to new york.

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=106767&highlight=blomdahl

Btw, call me a fruit head if you'd like :)

Also, if you are as drunk as I am now, check out some good singing here:
http://library.cuetable.com/showpost.php?p=2449&postcount=7 (scroll down)
 
Torbjorn started out playing pool in Sweden. They have had a pro-tournament where a lot of American pro's entered and he finished second.

he went to 3C, just like his father who was a champion, lesser one though, as well.

in 06 and 07 he played on our team of dijkje duinzigt in the proteamleague (.nl)

he certainly impressed with his game and the amount of quality he can put in a shot AND his break. especially from the box. At the time he was not invited for the IPT, but he certainly could have done a lot of damage in 8-ball


poolkrant.nl
club-8.nl
 
bud green said:
At this point in his life, I seriously doubt Torbjorn would break the top 20 in pool even if he dedicated his life to it. He's maybe the greatest 3-C player ever and one of my absolute favorite players in the world, but I doubt Torbjorn would ever consider himself to have a chance against top pool players in their prime.

He obviously can play great, but he might not be able to break the top 20 players in the Phillippines alone over the long haul.

If he dedicated himself to pool at a young age like billiards, he just may have been one of the greatest. I guess he'll just have to live with his record of playing billiards like God for two decades.
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Also, if he were able to be a top 20 player in the Philippines then he would certainly be a top 20 player in the world. But he would easily crack the top 20 pool players in any nation on the Earth.
 
thanks for all the replies.

I have been convinced that he could be very competitive and impressive in professional pool if he decides to direct his full attention to the game.

As a side not, he is 4th in the 3C rankings just after Mexico 3C World Cup.

Regards,

Timur
 
The September 2008 issue of Billiards Digest - page 27 - There is a column titled "On the Spot" - Blomdahl is asked why he does not play more pool and he states that he does not trust his stroke for pool. In 3-c there is a greater margin for error while in pool any stroke errors and you get punished. I could not get a link on the Billiards Digest site into this article.
But that is basically what he said. I wish my pool stroke was that bad -LOL . But he should know.
 
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