This article is on the front page of AZ but I'm posting it here in case some of you didn't see it. It's a little time sensitive but what the heck. The World Ten Ball has been a great tournament so far and we're down to the final 16, with most of pool's heavyweights getting ready to slug it out. What could be finer?
Enjoy it..
NEW STARS AND A SUPERHERO OF THE GREEN FELT
by Ted Lerner
Manila, Philippines-- The Philippine National Junior Champion, 19 year old Jericho Banares and Germany's Thorsten Hohmann went toe to toe, and blow for blow on center stage yesterday in what turned out to be one of most entertaining pool matches of the year. It was a do-or-die match with the winner moving on into the last 64 and the loser heading home. Banares showed the guts and gritty fire that a pool star is made of. Playing on the TV table in a match shown live around Asia, Banares had every reason to fold up against his better known opponent. First Hohmann jumped out to a two rack lead. But Banares kept his cool and stormed back, eventually taking a 6-2 lead. The youngster played brilliantly, took some daring and well rewarded risks, played some clever safeties which forced two fouls on the German, and generally gave Hohmann a good chance to find out just how comfortable a Philippine-made chair can be. Just like a good slugfest, though, Hohmann shook off the cobwebs and stormed back to tie up the match at 6-6. This would have been a perfect time for Banares to let doubt and worry overcome him. But the flashy kid from Batangas, showing the daring and lack of fear one can only expect from someone too young to know better, answered with some heavy leather of his own. In fact there were several occasions he could have easily closed up shop and let Hohmann steamroll him along the way to the finish line. Instead it was Banares who buried the Hitman on the way to an impressive 9-7 whipping of one of the world's best players.
***
I love Banares' game He fears nobody, has a burning desire to win, loves playing in big time matches, and has an aggressive style and swagger that fans immediately take to. In nearly every match I've ever seen him play over the last year, he has stormed out to a lead, looking like he's going to simply crush his opponent. Then, he always seems to wilt for a few frames, letting the other player back in the match. But just when you think he's about to choke, he pulls off some amazing shots and finds a way to win. This kid is a magnet for edge-of-your-seat excitement, and Filipino fans, and plenty of foreign ones too, are starting to pay attention big time.
**
Banares is unquestionably a new star in the local pool scene. If he can go far in the World Ten Ball Championship, he will have surely arrived on the world stage too. Jericho is just one of several unknown Filipino players who have done well for themselves so far in the tournament. Veritable unknowns also barging into the knockout round of 64 at the PICC are Demothenes Pulpul, Victor Arpilleda, Arnel Bautista and Leonardo Didal.
Raya head Yen Makabenta may have sounded like he was just putting on a brave face when he said that most of the Filipino players who boycotted the World Ten Ball won't be missed. But it was Makabenta who has been insisting all along that the Philippines is so loaded with world class pool talent, that there are stars waiting to be born around every corner of Manila and beyond throughout the archipelago. Now we can see he was dead-on with that assessment. Wait and see if one or more of these Filipino players makes a serious move through the field in the next few days. The newspaper and television reporters on hand will be writing volumes about the new star in their midst, the mayor from the player's town and the extended family of that player will flock to the PICC, and Filipinos everywhere will root for one of their own to take the gold.
**
The Billiards Manager and Players Association of the Philippines(BMPAP) may have been hoping that whoever wins this year's World Ten Ball Championship will have a big fat asterisk next to their name. After all, they claim, the top Filipino players chose not to compete in the World Ten Ball. How, the thinking goes, can anyone consider themselves a real champion if they haven't gone up against the Philippines best?
Well, let me be as frank and as kind as I can be. Sorry, guys, you're not really missed at the PICC this week. Sure, there's not a player or fan here who wouldn't want that all the best players from all over the world would slug it out for a world title. But the fact is that, except for a few top name Filipinos, the field assembled in Manila this week is the best lineup of pool heavyweights in the sport this year. This is a genuine world championship and besides a few sideline conversations about why the Philippine top guns aren't here, the focus is on the top drawer action going on the ten Brunswick tables.
And therein lies the lesson. There is really only one indispensable player in Philippine pool and that is the walking God, Efren Reyes. If Reyes were playing in the tournament you can guarantee that crowds would be flocking around him even when he heads to the bathroom. After Reyes, you've got perhaps four guys who are really considered top echelon. Francisco "Django" Bustamante comes next, followed by Alex Pagulayan, then Dennis Orcollo, and Ronnie Alcano. After that, the list of talent that joined the boycott is surely long, but no pool fan anywhere in the world is ready to commit suicide just because Antonio Lining, Lee Van Corteza, Ramil Gallego and Joven Bustamante aren't here. Even the likes of World 9-Ball runner up Roberto Gomez sitting on the sidelines doesn't bother anybody.
What's going to happen, and indeed is already happening, is that the World Ten Ball is going to produce new Filipino stars who can be just as big, if not bigger, than the ones whose names we've come to know over the last few years. Alcano was not much known outside of pool circles before he won the 2006 World Pool Championship. Gomez was a complete unknown until his stunning run last year. Now, with these guys missing, you're going to have new stars like Banares and Pulpul emerging. With an all-time stellar field and the action getting better everyday, and the juicy fact that $400,000 waits at the finish line, I'd say the ones who didn't play in this tournament are the one who lost out.
In a way I feel sorry for these guys. But then again, I'm certainly not dwelling on it. They made their decision and, like in anything in life, you have to take responsibility for your own actions. Like every other pool fan, I have forgotten that that these guys are not even here, and instead am squarely focused on the mouthwatering action set before us. This is going to be one beautiful slugfest on the way to the World Ten Ball Championship.
**
After three days of play in the group stages it's become obvious that the break shot will be the key to whomever captures the title. Pay close attention to the two balls racked just behind the 1-ball. Players are beginning to find a sweet spot where if they hit the one ball just right, the two balls behind it each track towards a side pocket. Often times one ball will drop down. The other component players are working on is trying to park the cue ball in the middle of the table while drawing the one-ball back down table towards a corner. US Open Champion Shane Van Boening performed this to perfection in his 9-0 destruction of Taiwan's Kuo Po Cheng on Tuesday.
**
Van Boening looked razor sharp in whitewashing Kuo and is one of my favorites to win this week. Shane knows where victory will come from.
"It's all about the break," he said after beating Kuo and moving on into the round of 64. Van Boening said that he practices his break shot for five to six hours a day at his home in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. On top of this, he plays 10-Ball almost exclusively these days, except, of course, where the tournament uses the 9-Ball format.
The 23 year old Van Boening is dead serious about winning this week. He came into town about a week early and got loose by playing a bunch of money games at some local pool halls. The word is that he got beat for some pretty big money. But Shane's not too worried. He knows money games and competition are two different animals. Shane is staying out of the pool halls for the rest of the tournament and is also keeping a low profile on Manila's night scene. During last year's World 9-Ball Championship, Shane was seen with a Filipina by his side during every match. Eventually he crashed out of the last 32. This time, he's wisely keeping to himself so long as he's in the tournament. Good idea Shane. You can party like mad after you hoist the trophy on Sunday afternoon.
**
When Austria's Jasmine Ouschan systematically took down a very tough Thomas Engert of Germany to barge into the knockout stage and send the German packing, you could practically feel the buzz swirling through the air of not only the PICC, but the entire pool world as well. All I can say is, "Wow!!" In a sudden death match-up, she stared down some serious pressure and showed a game that had few flaws. She stalked the table, showed a consistent rhythm, broke well and recovered when she made mistakes. Afterwards she was mobbed by adoring and star-struck Filipino fans, who crowded around her to snap pictures and get an autograph.
The match with Engert was shown live across Asia on ESPN and I can only imagine how her blonde locks were turning heads in a continent where nearly everyone has black hair. But with Jasmine you better believe it's more than good looks. This woman has the whole package: charisma, looks, talent and the confidence to back it all up. Jasmine plays with a determined look on her face and strides confidently around the table plotting her moves. The fact that she likes to compete against and regularly beats the men is another story line that even non-pool fans find irresistible. Jasmine plays regularly against the men on the Euro Tour and also competes in the US on the Women's tour. She recently took third in the World Straight Pool Championship in a field of mostly men. She says that she prefers to play against the men, because she actually gets more fired up to play men than women.
"The men are the best players and if you want to improve your game, you have to play against them," she said. The talk in the PICC is that most of the guys are afraid to play her. Apparently the pressure of playing and possibly losing to a girl wears on the psyche of the men. It's not that they don't think she's not up to the challenge of playing against the men. But clearly Jasmine is an underdog in every match she plays against a man and the young Austrian thrives in this position.
If she manages to win this week, or gets anywhere near the trophy, Jasmine will become the biggest and best thing to happen to both men's and women's pool for years to come. Even if she goes home early, she's already poised to reach the heights of the sport. With her country girl looks and desire to regularly take on and beat the men, Jasmine could be marketed as a sort of feminine pool superhero, a Powerpuff Girl of the green felt. Even non-pool fans would love that story.
**
For some fun few moments of surfing on the Internet, go to www.mastering-pool.com and check out 2001 World Pool Champion Mika Immonen upcoming instructional DVD set. The three DVD set is not yet out, but you can preorder on the website. The site also has an entertaining trailer which will give you a sneak peak into what's on offer. This is some great stuff, with Mika performing some amazing shots backed up with dramatic music. The first DVD is geared towards beginners, the second one for intermediate players, and the third one for advanced players. Mika, who's been chatting up the DVD this week at the PICC, says that there are some state of the art animated graphics that accompany the footage. If the DVD's are anything like the trailer, Mika could become pool's version of James Bond.
Enjoy it..
NEW STARS AND A SUPERHERO OF THE GREEN FELT
by Ted Lerner
Manila, Philippines-- The Philippine National Junior Champion, 19 year old Jericho Banares and Germany's Thorsten Hohmann went toe to toe, and blow for blow on center stage yesterday in what turned out to be one of most entertaining pool matches of the year. It was a do-or-die match with the winner moving on into the last 64 and the loser heading home. Banares showed the guts and gritty fire that a pool star is made of. Playing on the TV table in a match shown live around Asia, Banares had every reason to fold up against his better known opponent. First Hohmann jumped out to a two rack lead. But Banares kept his cool and stormed back, eventually taking a 6-2 lead. The youngster played brilliantly, took some daring and well rewarded risks, played some clever safeties which forced two fouls on the German, and generally gave Hohmann a good chance to find out just how comfortable a Philippine-made chair can be. Just like a good slugfest, though, Hohmann shook off the cobwebs and stormed back to tie up the match at 6-6. This would have been a perfect time for Banares to let doubt and worry overcome him. But the flashy kid from Batangas, showing the daring and lack of fear one can only expect from someone too young to know better, answered with some heavy leather of his own. In fact there were several occasions he could have easily closed up shop and let Hohmann steamroll him along the way to the finish line. Instead it was Banares who buried the Hitman on the way to an impressive 9-7 whipping of one of the world's best players.
***
I love Banares' game He fears nobody, has a burning desire to win, loves playing in big time matches, and has an aggressive style and swagger that fans immediately take to. In nearly every match I've ever seen him play over the last year, he has stormed out to a lead, looking like he's going to simply crush his opponent. Then, he always seems to wilt for a few frames, letting the other player back in the match. But just when you think he's about to choke, he pulls off some amazing shots and finds a way to win. This kid is a magnet for edge-of-your-seat excitement, and Filipino fans, and plenty of foreign ones too, are starting to pay attention big time.
**
Banares is unquestionably a new star in the local pool scene. If he can go far in the World Ten Ball Championship, he will have surely arrived on the world stage too. Jericho is just one of several unknown Filipino players who have done well for themselves so far in the tournament. Veritable unknowns also barging into the knockout round of 64 at the PICC are Demothenes Pulpul, Victor Arpilleda, Arnel Bautista and Leonardo Didal.
Raya head Yen Makabenta may have sounded like he was just putting on a brave face when he said that most of the Filipino players who boycotted the World Ten Ball won't be missed. But it was Makabenta who has been insisting all along that the Philippines is so loaded with world class pool talent, that there are stars waiting to be born around every corner of Manila and beyond throughout the archipelago. Now we can see he was dead-on with that assessment. Wait and see if one or more of these Filipino players makes a serious move through the field in the next few days. The newspaper and television reporters on hand will be writing volumes about the new star in their midst, the mayor from the player's town and the extended family of that player will flock to the PICC, and Filipinos everywhere will root for one of their own to take the gold.
**
The Billiards Manager and Players Association of the Philippines(BMPAP) may have been hoping that whoever wins this year's World Ten Ball Championship will have a big fat asterisk next to their name. After all, they claim, the top Filipino players chose not to compete in the World Ten Ball. How, the thinking goes, can anyone consider themselves a real champion if they haven't gone up against the Philippines best?
Well, let me be as frank and as kind as I can be. Sorry, guys, you're not really missed at the PICC this week. Sure, there's not a player or fan here who wouldn't want that all the best players from all over the world would slug it out for a world title. But the fact is that, except for a few top name Filipinos, the field assembled in Manila this week is the best lineup of pool heavyweights in the sport this year. This is a genuine world championship and besides a few sideline conversations about why the Philippine top guns aren't here, the focus is on the top drawer action going on the ten Brunswick tables.
And therein lies the lesson. There is really only one indispensable player in Philippine pool and that is the walking God, Efren Reyes. If Reyes were playing in the tournament you can guarantee that crowds would be flocking around him even when he heads to the bathroom. After Reyes, you've got perhaps four guys who are really considered top echelon. Francisco "Django" Bustamante comes next, followed by Alex Pagulayan, then Dennis Orcollo, and Ronnie Alcano. After that, the list of talent that joined the boycott is surely long, but no pool fan anywhere in the world is ready to commit suicide just because Antonio Lining, Lee Van Corteza, Ramil Gallego and Joven Bustamante aren't here. Even the likes of World 9-Ball runner up Roberto Gomez sitting on the sidelines doesn't bother anybody.
What's going to happen, and indeed is already happening, is that the World Ten Ball is going to produce new Filipino stars who can be just as big, if not bigger, than the ones whose names we've come to know over the last few years. Alcano was not much known outside of pool circles before he won the 2006 World Pool Championship. Gomez was a complete unknown until his stunning run last year. Now, with these guys missing, you're going to have new stars like Banares and Pulpul emerging. With an all-time stellar field and the action getting better everyday, and the juicy fact that $400,000 waits at the finish line, I'd say the ones who didn't play in this tournament are the one who lost out.
In a way I feel sorry for these guys. But then again, I'm certainly not dwelling on it. They made their decision and, like in anything in life, you have to take responsibility for your own actions. Like every other pool fan, I have forgotten that that these guys are not even here, and instead am squarely focused on the mouthwatering action set before us. This is going to be one beautiful slugfest on the way to the World Ten Ball Championship.
**
After three days of play in the group stages it's become obvious that the break shot will be the key to whomever captures the title. Pay close attention to the two balls racked just behind the 1-ball. Players are beginning to find a sweet spot where if they hit the one ball just right, the two balls behind it each track towards a side pocket. Often times one ball will drop down. The other component players are working on is trying to park the cue ball in the middle of the table while drawing the one-ball back down table towards a corner. US Open Champion Shane Van Boening performed this to perfection in his 9-0 destruction of Taiwan's Kuo Po Cheng on Tuesday.
**
Van Boening looked razor sharp in whitewashing Kuo and is one of my favorites to win this week. Shane knows where victory will come from.
"It's all about the break," he said after beating Kuo and moving on into the round of 64. Van Boening said that he practices his break shot for five to six hours a day at his home in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. On top of this, he plays 10-Ball almost exclusively these days, except, of course, where the tournament uses the 9-Ball format.
The 23 year old Van Boening is dead serious about winning this week. He came into town about a week early and got loose by playing a bunch of money games at some local pool halls. The word is that he got beat for some pretty big money. But Shane's not too worried. He knows money games and competition are two different animals. Shane is staying out of the pool halls for the rest of the tournament and is also keeping a low profile on Manila's night scene. During last year's World 9-Ball Championship, Shane was seen with a Filipina by his side during every match. Eventually he crashed out of the last 32. This time, he's wisely keeping to himself so long as he's in the tournament. Good idea Shane. You can party like mad after you hoist the trophy on Sunday afternoon.
**
When Austria's Jasmine Ouschan systematically took down a very tough Thomas Engert of Germany to barge into the knockout stage and send the German packing, you could practically feel the buzz swirling through the air of not only the PICC, but the entire pool world as well. All I can say is, "Wow!!" In a sudden death match-up, she stared down some serious pressure and showed a game that had few flaws. She stalked the table, showed a consistent rhythm, broke well and recovered when she made mistakes. Afterwards she was mobbed by adoring and star-struck Filipino fans, who crowded around her to snap pictures and get an autograph.
The match with Engert was shown live across Asia on ESPN and I can only imagine how her blonde locks were turning heads in a continent where nearly everyone has black hair. But with Jasmine you better believe it's more than good looks. This woman has the whole package: charisma, looks, talent and the confidence to back it all up. Jasmine plays with a determined look on her face and strides confidently around the table plotting her moves. The fact that she likes to compete against and regularly beats the men is another story line that even non-pool fans find irresistible. Jasmine plays regularly against the men on the Euro Tour and also competes in the US on the Women's tour. She recently took third in the World Straight Pool Championship in a field of mostly men. She says that she prefers to play against the men, because she actually gets more fired up to play men than women.
"The men are the best players and if you want to improve your game, you have to play against them," she said. The talk in the PICC is that most of the guys are afraid to play her. Apparently the pressure of playing and possibly losing to a girl wears on the psyche of the men. It's not that they don't think she's not up to the challenge of playing against the men. But clearly Jasmine is an underdog in every match she plays against a man and the young Austrian thrives in this position.
If she manages to win this week, or gets anywhere near the trophy, Jasmine will become the biggest and best thing to happen to both men's and women's pool for years to come. Even if she goes home early, she's already poised to reach the heights of the sport. With her country girl looks and desire to regularly take on and beat the men, Jasmine could be marketed as a sort of feminine pool superhero, a Powerpuff Girl of the green felt. Even non-pool fans would love that story.
**
For some fun few moments of surfing on the Internet, go to www.mastering-pool.com and check out 2001 World Pool Champion Mika Immonen upcoming instructional DVD set. The three DVD set is not yet out, but you can preorder on the website. The site also has an entertaining trailer which will give you a sneak peak into what's on offer. This is some great stuff, with Mika performing some amazing shots backed up with dramatic music. The first DVD is geared towards beginners, the second one for intermediate players, and the third one for advanced players. Mika, who's been chatting up the DVD this week at the PICC, says that there are some state of the art animated graphics that accompany the footage. If the DVD's are anything like the trailer, Mika could become pool's version of James Bond.
