Who was the last player that really impressed you?

[cuesmith]

Many thanks!

I find it odd that he would choose Germany. I would think he would quickly run out of opponents there.

But maybe Efren got first pick...and chose the US as his victim!!

Why do you think Efren came here first time as Caesar Morales?
I'm sure it had to do with sponsorship, not from a billiards standpoint but for a visa. People who live in the US are spoiled. They are used to being able to travel just about anywhere they want to. When you live in a 3rd world country, such as the Philippines it's nearly impossible to get a visa to travel to most countries. I was married to a girl from the Philippines and it took 5 years to get her a visa to come to the US. Believe me if it was easy, 1/4th of the Philippines would be here, not to mention the Chinese, Mexican, Cuban, Haitian, African and dozens of other countries that would "empty out"!

 

[morthnrdy]

The last player to impress me was this young man I met at the Derby named Jason Hunt. He finished top 20 in the Banks division---a nobody from Buffalo NY. He made numerous runs of 3 and 4 and I saw him break and bank out twice----once in two seperate matches. This kid was hammering the balls in the pockets at light speed and shooting without even looking where he was aiming. It was quite exciting to watch and he seemed draw a crowd every match he played. He beat Roberto Gomez and had Jeremy Jones and Ronnie Alcano on the ropes----Ronnie got 2nd by the way....
This was the most recent player I have seen that has truly impressed me.
TvMike

thats funny a nobody from buffalo, ny...we in buffalo always get stomped on, no matter the sport, even pool...seriously i am from ny, lived in the south and will return but i am back in ny for a while and shoot with D. Hatch on a good basis and he is as good as they get, IMO, when he is on top of his game. But your right about Jason, Ronnie Alcano huh, he must of been shootin lights out... anyway, he was here for a while and went on the road again but he shoots pretty sporty and loves the action. and for what it's worth, Dennis Hatch in last years MCP shot as good as i have seen in a while, under the pressure, etc...he was pretty sporty, very underrated IMO, BCA ranks him at 5th and he never played the US OPEN...Hopefully he will come out of his shoes this year. J

 

[lstevedus]

Dennis Orcollo....His action match against CB at the Derby was very impressive. Some on this forum have even mentioned that he didn't even play that well.....I thought he looked extremely good.

I wish I had been able to see him play Chris. I saw him play Shane in the finals at the Derby after he beat Mika 7-1 in the semis. He played flawlessly, very impressive.

 

[thehat]

Louie Roberts 1980's st louis area
best i ever saw
my name is Curtis (The Hat) Swift
louie beat me like a stepchild

 

[wahcheck]

a page from history...

...I know the OP said no video match or TV, but what impressed me most was Efren's comeback against Earl in the "Color of Money" match......He was down 17 games (104-87?) in a race to 120; after watching Earl run rack after rack as only Earl can do, so naturally and like a machine, I would've thought anyone would've folded their tent and gave up.........but you all know the end result....still probably some of the best 9-ball you'll ever see in history.

 

[01rkclassic]

Not the last but the most impressive I think I saw was Nick Varner in the mid 1980's,he drove from KY to Airway Billiards,stepped out of his car and started 7-8 packs,never out of line,always on the right side of the ball.

 

[JG-in-KY]

I was just at the Derby so I saw a lot of great players. I agree with Shane and Brumback being very impressive. A player that impressed me (as I hadn't seen him since the Derby a few years back) was Mike Dechaine. He not only played good, but had that "air" about him. You know, when a player is playing good and feels like he is supposed to win! He seemed pretty fearless and wanted to play anyone.

 

[morthnrdy]

if were goin back

if were goin to earlier erra's, Dennis Searcey in the 70's and 80's, 1 of the best players on the road...a name many of you may not know but ask archer or any of them that played back than he was the nutz...god rest his soul.