mr. truedue was making a big announcment today at 11:00AM what was it? anyone?
Colin Colenso said:Anyone think Mike will win?
It should make for some good TV! Playing 2 matches at once gives him an excuse if he loses. Nice touch
Good to see those who were willing to make the investment getting a bit more bang for their buck.
I guessed he would, and think he did give his best effort.jjinfla said:Do I detect a bit of skepticism that Mike is playing all out?
After all, he is an old man. According to KT. A fat one at that.
Wish I was that fat.
LOL
TannerPruess said:Second-Chance Winners Close “The Mouth”
Saturday, January 28, 2006 - 12:53 p.m.
Mike “The Mouth” couldn’t talk his way out of his two losses to second-chance winners Louis Ulrich and Imran Majid. In an unanticipated move earlier this morning before the matches began, Kevin Trudeau announced that eight players already eliminated from the qualifier would be selected to match up with Sigel in a race to 8, and if they won, they would earn free entries into the remaining three qualifiers. Ulrich and Majid were the first two selected, and both will be going to the next qualifier on the IPT’s dime.
“I see I’m not gonna win a game on this table,” Sigel muttered while down 3-0 to Majid. Simultaneously playing Ulrich on the neighboring table, Sigel bounced back and forth between matches. “Uh huh, you didn’t blitz me, I knew I’d win a game,” he cried as he thrust a bead across on his side of the wire, making it 3-1.
Ulrich had taken a 3-0 lead, but then Sigel managed to knot the score, while slowly England’s Majid crept closer to the finish line of 8 games (instead of the traditional 10). While Sigel stretched across the table to pocket the black 8 ball, referee Lou Sardo called a foul on him. Sigel was unaware that foul rule encompassed every ball and was quite vociferous about his displeasure. “I wish someone would tell me a rule once in a while. Thanks, Lou. I mean, you could’ve at least flipped a coin or something,” he ribbed. Sardo is not only the referee for Mike’s matches this weekend, he is also providing the IPT with their official tour racks, the M-5000s.
Majid continued to dominate their match, while Sigel seemed to pour most of his concentration—and comments—out on his match with Ulrich. From being down 3-0 at the beginning, now Sigel was on the hill with Ulrich at 6. Ulrich, who originally hails from San Diego, CA, but recently relocated to Atlanta, caught a reprieve, though, and make it a double-hill event. When he broke and ran the final rack, he was quite overwhelmed.
“I didn’t come here with any expectations today,” he explained. “They told me what they were going to do, so I had to give it a shot. With twenty-four players in a hat, I didn’t expect to be drawn, but I was ready to play.
“I’ve never met him [Mike Sigel] before,” Ulrich added. “He was being himself at the table, and I actually didn’t enjoy it, because he talks a lot, and I don’t say much when I’m at the table. But Mike Sigel, when I was a kid, he was the first guy I saw play pool on TV, and he was winning all these tournaments at the time, so I got a bunch of tapes from him. I learned a lot, stuff that he had put together. It’s kind of one of those things that I get to beat the guy that I learned from, even though I never met him.”
Both players had already planned on attending the remaining three qualifiers, but they agreed that the free entries will help out quite a bit.
Majid broke and ran the table to reach the hill but hooked himself on his last solid in the final rack. Sigel, though, was unable to capitalize, bobbled his last solid in the pocket and handing the match to Majid.
“I didn’t think I would get chosen,” Majid exclaimed. “I thought I’d give it a go, I woke up early, and I was quite excited about it. Because as I was coming into the country, at customs they said that the customs agent was a very lucky customs guy, that whoever comes past him gets lucky. So I guess that’s what it is—the customs guy. I’m chuffed. It’s even better than running six racks, isn’t it? “
Trudeau is planning on drawing two more names for another simultaneous match-up with “The Mouth” momentarily.
Visit the IPT for the latest news on their ongoing qualifying event.
Thanks for the report professor. I guess he hasn't been putting a ton of time in on the tables since the KOH.TheProfessor said:i watched him play both the matches and Sigel seemed off his game. He missed some easy shots and his position play just wasn't there.