This is a picture of Carlo Biado, who Shane played against and lost, and then won against. Carlo is a new up-and-coming poolplayer from Bugsy Promotion, and I expect him to perform well if he ever gets to compete in big tournaments...
I bet the poolrooms are PACKED and that the air is filled with excitement.
Wish I was there to see it. Not many times do the best of anything get together unsanctioned and duke it out. Local Pinoys are getting a huge treat.
Also interested in how the playing conditions are there and the differences.
Talking with some Pinoys here they mention that everyone is right around the table and that they write on the match table.
Based on my experiences from the poolhalls One Side, Fusion and Side Pocket, I guess the places are packed.
At One Side there are big matches every single day. You can walk in at any given evening and most likely end up watching some of the following guys playing eachohter: Ronato Alcano, Alex Pagulayan, Dennis Orcullo, Efren Reyes, Fransisco Bustamante, Roberto Gomez, Jharome Pena, Lee Van Corteza, Jeffrey De Luna, Carlo Biado, Warren Kiamco and the list goes on and on...
They play eachother mostly in 10-ball, but sometimes in rotation (15-ball) and 9-ball too. Since my last visit I heard that they have quit playing with handicaps, and they try to match up even all the time. This was something Edwin Reyes (RIP) posted a while ago, and said it was to make the younger talents better, and not afraid of the best.
The races are normally 17 or more, and the most normal race is between 25-33. Always winner breaks, and a referee is racking the balls, calling fouls, cleaning the table, make sure that there are babypowder available, marking the table with powder if balls can be moved (not all ball foul) and keep control of the score. For this the referee gets a % of what the winner gets paid, normally 10 % unless the bet is high, then the amount is agreed on before the match. The referee's are either other players who aren't in a match, or older men. (A race to 21 for 5,000 pesos = about 500 pesos for the referee for about 4 hours work. A daily salary for a waitress is between 150-350 pesos. $ 1 = 47,5 pesos)
At One Side, there is a guy who is control of all the sidebets. You just talk to him, hand him what you want to bet, for example 10,000 pesos, and tell him that you would like to bet on Shane vs Busta. Then he walks around and tries to find one or more to cover your bet. When the match is over, he hands you your winning, and you give him around 5 %.
At Side Pocket there is also guys like that, but when I have been there people are betting on each rack on the big matches, screaming out loud. For example if Shane - Busta plays at Side Pocket the table would be surrounded by 50-100 guys, and before each break people would scream "Shane Shane Shane Shane" if they want to bet on Shane, and show fingers for how many hundreds of pesos they want to bet. It's like a circus when people are screaming and waving and agreeing on bets
Most funny moment for me was when Lolong was playing there. Try to say Lolong 10 times in a row real quick, and then imagine 50 Filipinos doing the same, waving their hands
Ahh... how I miss Philippines...
EDIT: The tables at One Side are tight pockets, Brunswick Gold Crown Metro, 9 tables
