World Cup - Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt - Sun., Dec. 4 - Sat., Dec. 10, 2022
- Thread starter albatross
- Start date
Just watched the semi-final match between Dani and Marco. What a fascinating match. It was a match of 2 halves. The first half was a magnificent example of attacking billiards. Dani started the first half with a run of 11 and Marco ended the half with a run of 11, and a 27-19 lead all in about 6 innings.
The second half was the opposite, tight defense and the balls rolling badly made it a grind, with Dani's run of 9 the only real attack. To cap it off, with Dani leading 48-38, Marco got screwed out of a point by yet another incompetent refereeing decision depriving him of a clear point - the third referring blunder I've seen in limited watching of mainly highlight clips. It deprived him of the opportunity to continue his run and try to come from behind and win (a run of a further 12 being not outside his abilities) and Dani then quickly finished it off.
Some observations:
1) The UMB should allow video review of disputed points. They don't come up that often and they should want to get it right
2) Some of the referees should never again be allowed to referred in top level events
3) If there is a better commenting team than Torbjorn and Bert in any cue sport I don't know who they might be. Torbjorn has amazing technical knowledge of the game, the players, kisses and position, while Bert adds encyclopedic knowledge of the history of matches and tournaments over the past 30 years.
4) I had a Kozoom subscription for years and let it lapse. They had good production values but had no commentary. FiveandSix, which did this match and the 15 minute highlights clips on YouTube has even higher production values in shot instant replays with tracking and especially with a lot of high level commentating. I don't think they have the breadth that Kozoom has - no small games, no 5-pin, no lesser events like leagues, but it looks like it is a lot cheaper to join on Youtube than the cost of a Kozoom subscription. I haven't checked out the details yet, but clicking on the Join button shows membership, which gives you full replays, as costing "from $1.99 per month". I was in the middle of the match when I gave joining a quick look so I don't know what "from" means in this context. Plus, as previously mentioned, they have a lot of high-level English commentary.
Looking forward to the final.
The second half was the opposite, tight defense and the balls rolling badly made it a grind, with Dani's run of 9 the only real attack. To cap it off, with Dani leading 48-38, Marco got screwed out of a point by yet another incompetent refereeing decision depriving him of a clear point - the third referring blunder I've seen in limited watching of mainly highlight clips. It deprived him of the opportunity to continue his run and try to come from behind and win (a run of a further 12 being not outside his abilities) and Dani then quickly finished it off.
Some observations:
1) The UMB should allow video review of disputed points. They don't come up that often and they should want to get it right
2) Some of the referees should never again be allowed to referred in top level events
3) If there is a better commenting team than Torbjorn and Bert in any cue sport I don't know who they might be. Torbjorn has amazing technical knowledge of the game, the players, kisses and position, while Bert adds encyclopedic knowledge of the history of matches and tournaments over the past 30 years.
4) I had a Kozoom subscription for years and let it lapse. They had good production values but had no commentary. FiveandSix, which did this match and the 15 minute highlights clips on YouTube has even higher production values in shot instant replays with tracking and especially with a lot of high level commentating. I don't think they have the breadth that Kozoom has - no small games, no 5-pin, no lesser events like leagues, but it looks like it is a lot cheaper to join on Youtube than the cost of a Kozoom subscription. I haven't checked out the details yet, but clicking on the Join button shows membership, which gives you full replays, as costing "from $1.99 per month". I was in the middle of the match when I gave joining a quick look so I don't know what "from" means in this context. Plus, as previously mentioned, they have a lot of high-level English commentary.
Looking forward to the final.
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It's hard to find good help. I think the top players would sometimes rather play without a referee.
I was a little disappointed in Dani for not stepping up.
It is interesting, the participants rights/ responsibilities during officiated matches.
I don't think the player should have any input at all.
If the power is there for dani to say it was a point, it must also exist for him to say another point was not one.
Better for the ref to have sole an final responsibility for determinations.
Bert and Blomdahl? Brilliant. It is kind of annoying to watch the highlight reels and have much of their exchanges truncated though. I keep a paper with 'can you please finish this story, Bert?' matters and it is full! Just kidding.
And commentary is usually in Korean. May just be the Vegas and sharm al sheik that provide English.
In the match where the ref blundered on one of Blomdahl's points it was his opponent who intervened and the point was allowed. Ideally I would agree with you, but when the refs are incompetent, as in this event, the players need to and should intervene, as necessary, IMO. Particularly when video review is not allowed. And I've seen that happen several times in other high level events. It seems to be baked into the ethics of billiard players. I think that Bob Jewett is right, that the players would just as soon play without refs. And the whole problem disappears if the UMB would simply allow video review on the very small number of disputed calls. But the UMB is not known for their decision-making. 3c would be one of the easiest sports/games to implement video review at top level events.
Appallingly, the ref who blew the Zanetti call was the referee for the finals.
Appallingly, the ref who blew the Zanetti call was the referee for the finals.
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I only got to see the highlight excerpt of the final match but it was, as our British friends would say, a cracker. The Korean kid, 24-year old Myung Woo Cho, was fantastic, beating Dani 50-45 in 17 innings. And it wasn't just his level of play, it was that he withstood the pressure of Dani's excellent play. It was great to see a young Korean player step up and beat one of the true icons of the sport over the last 25 years. I think we are in the midst of a changing of the guard, although the European icons are not going gentle into that good night. If anything they have elevated their play. The creativity of both players in some really difficult positions was off the chart.
I was disappointed that Blomdahl wasn't on the commentary. The Korean who co-commentated with Bert was OK, but Blomdahl is on a whole different level.
I was disappointed that Blomdahl wasn't on the commentary. The Korean who co-commentated with Bert was OK, but Blomdahl is on a whole different level.
We also did English commentary during the Ankara and Ho Chi Minh World Cups in 2022.