WPC 2007 Finals

BPG24

BPG24

Banned
First off, congrats to D Peach...

he had to beat 3 of the hottest/best players in the world in order to win.... So he is deserving of his crown...

However.....
The match itself was dreadful to watch, both guys played bad overall, neither one looked like they belonged in that tournament, much less in the finals.... Outside of some decent safety battles......

I understand about the pressure of the situation, but thats what they have trained there whole life for.........

This got me to thinking about other world championships.....
Has there been a World championship, or National championship in any sport recently (last 20 years) where both parties involved played this badly?

Maybe I was expecting too much, after watching all of the TV matches leading up to the finals... There was some amazing play in every round...
Busta and Superman both dominated their opponents once the round of 64 began... As well as others.....

For those of you that sat through the whole thing... What are your thoughts?
 
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I watched the whole match start-to-finish- I agree the play was less than stellar...

Both these guys absolutely deserved to be in the final based on their play in the earlier rounds- it seemed like Gomez, who was blessed with so many fortunate rolls in previous matches, finally received some of the bad luck he'd miraculously avoided a couple of days ago- he played scared the whole match, and it was sad to see.

There was nothing "amazing" in the match, other than watching two guys be utterly beaten down by the pressure of playing in the biggest match of their lives- they would not have survived the first round with play of that caliber.

I can't remember ever seeing such poor play from both sides in the championship game of any sport I've ever watched.
 
I'll give the tournament orgganizers credit for solving the "soft break" dilemma, though- there wasn't one soft break used in 32 games today.

If you don't want soft breaks, change the playing conditions that reward the use of it, rather than the game itself- nicely done.
 
It was awful to watch, neither of these players would have made it to the finals without soft break. I was just dreadful, the unforced errors and the horrible safeties. When efren plays safe most of the time his cue ball will glue on to an object ball, during this match the safeties were left in the open.

I was more interested on the money games updates at one-side, thanks table 1.;)
 
gobrian77 said:
I'll give the tournament orgganizers credit for solving the "soft break" dilemma, though- there wasn't one soft break used in 32 games today.

If you don't want soft breaks, change the playing conditions that reward the use of it, rather than the game itself- nicely done.
Click to expand...

Do you think the organizers regret changing the playing conditions when it resulted in less than stellar play?

And I found it refreshing to see players at this level feel pressure like the rest of us.
 
I'm sure I would have played much better!! (yea right)

It's easy to say that this guy or the past champ or so and so could have played so much better. I know they would have liked their chances too----FOR FREE. I thought Peach did fairly well under the conditions and I am proud as can be of him, and Mr. Boyes. I remember when a certain corner ball was going in each and every time in the same exact corner in the US Open 89 or 90. They were playing position on the one ball and Varner, Archer, Sigel and Cardona were running racks like water. It was so easy looking for them and made for an entirely different game of nine ball. They had Buddy in the booth while Cardon played and he said that he did not like it at all. They moved the spot a couple of inches but it didn't help one bit. Corner ball still shot right in the corner. All of those good players agreed that it was bad for the game. They said that it should be in question whether or not a ball goes in. I know that there are several players that read this forum who are unknown to the general public who could put together multiple racks if the corner goes straight in and the one is sitting in front of the side with a stop shot to get on the two. I realize that playing in front of large crowds for large prizes takes seasoning and experience. Anyway congratulations to Peach as well as Danny H,, and thanks a lot for all of the updates from the posters...
 
BPG24 said:
First off, congrats to D Peach...

he had to beat 3 of the hottest/best players in the world in order to win.... So he is deserving of his crown...

However.....
The match itself was dreadful to watch, both guys played bad overall, neither one looked like they belonged in that tournament, much less in the finals.... Outside of some decent safety battles......

I understand about the pressure of the situation, but thats what they have trained there whole life for.........

This got me to thinking about other world championships.....
Has there been a World championship, or National championship in any sport recently (last 20 years) where both parties involved played this badly?

Maybe I was expecting too much, after watching all of the TV matches leading up to the finals... There was some amazing play in every round...
Busta and Superman both dominated their opponents once the round of 64 began... As well as others.....

For those of you that sat through the whole thing... What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...


What the hell kind of match where you watching, I mean at the start both men had there wobbles and for a minute it looked like daryl might run away with but when both men found their feet that final was OUTSTANDING. Are you just a sore loser because a fillipino didn't win?.

Or are you just a sore loser.
 
I agree that the play was sub par, but I enjoyed the excitement.

I think right now I am regretting staying up all night to watch ths whole darn thing (I am so tired, but I did spend the entire evening with Michaela Tabb).

I think watching the match was well worth it. I've been in the situation where you are playing a final and can't seem to get anything going due to nerves, so I can relate to what they were going through. Its sad that Gomez's emotions got the best of him - all in all - great match with a lot of momentum swings - lots of excitement - and we ended up with a great champion - and a great player that almost became champion. Great show - OUTSTANDING commentary from my buddy Jerry Forsyth - I wish a safe trip home for everybody - thanks to Mike Howerton and Jerry Forsyth for all of their AzbTv updates - great week for pool as always.
 
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BPG24 said:
This got me to thinking about other world championships.....
Has there been a World championship, or National championship in any sport recently (last 20 years) where both parties involved played this badly?
Click to expand...

There has been many times where the pressure has overcome the players in a major finals, one that comes to mind is 1988(?) US Open 9 Ball finals, Grady Mathews had Nick Varner against the ropes in the finals, then suddenly I think he realized he had the title of US Open Champ, that may have crept in. He let Nick back in many times and one time too many.
 
This was grinding and suffering at it's finest! I thought Gomez was playing well below his previous speed, and Peach was playing ok but not great.

The begining/middle of the match was odd. Because of the misses, the rolls came into play. Gomez got a lot of bad rolls in this and he did not or was not able to capitalize on Peach's mistakes. He also started getting on the wrong side of balls in simple posituion play and kept facing awkward situations. He looked pre-occupied.

Peach is the ultimate grinder - makes mistakes but keeps on coming. At the end, Roberto's nerves finally just gave out. He looked as if he was going to burst into tears. I hope he can come back in the future because I really enjoy watching him play when he's relaxed.

Chris
 
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9 ball said:
What the hell kind of match where you watching, I mean at the start both men had there wobbles and for a minute it looked like daryl might run away with but when both men found their feet that final was OUTSTANDING.
Click to expand...

I happen to agree. Yes, there were some unforced errors in this one, but the tactical sequences in this match were, at times, breathtaking, and made for some high theater. For those who only enjoy watching a runout powerfest, perhaps this match didn't deliver.

For those who wanted to see both players tested to the limit in their use of push out, defense, kicking, and two way shots, like SJM for example, this match delivered in a big way.

The irony is that this match was the kind of match in which the Filippinos seem almost unbeatable, as billiard knowledge and speed control are king in such an encounter. Peach showed us he can play the power game in his match with Bustamante, which must go down as one of the greatest ever matches at the WPC. In the final, however, despite only average offensive execution by Darryl's standards, he showed how well he can grind it out in a tactically-oriented match.

I loved the final, and suspect anybody fascinated by the strategic aspects of nine ball loved it, too.
 
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BPG24 said:
First off, congrats to D Peach...

he had to beat 3 of the hottest/best players in the world in order to win.... So he is deserving of his crown...

However.....
The match itself was dreadful to watch, both guys played bad overall, neither one looked like they belonged in that tournament, much less in the finals.... Outside of some decent safety battles......

I understand about the pressure of the situation, but thats what they have trained there whole life for.........

This got me to thinking about other world championships.....
Has there been a World championship, or National championship in any sport recently (last 20 years) where both parties involved played this badly?

Maybe I was expecting too much, after watching all of the TV matches leading up to the finals... There was some amazing play in every round...
Busta and Superman both dominated their opponents once the round of 64 began... As well as others.....

For those of you that sat through the whole thing... What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...

You will not have seen this if the soft break never exist.
 
I think to many people Daryl Peach is relatively unknown. Not many are aware of his ability. This year he won German open Eurotour event where everybody who means anything on european pool circuit was there. Eurotours are big alternate break 9ball events which are very hard to win and where nobody really dominates.

His straight pool high run is over 350 balls and he's also accomplished 147 in snooker several times. I got this data from reading Pro9 board where he posts. He is a world beater cueist, no doubt about that. I'm not surprised at all that Daryl won in the end.

Beating 3 hottest Filipino players is no accident! Congratulations to Daryl!

And oh, by the way...finals of WPC are almost never better quality wise than previous rounds.
 
I enjoyed watching the finals a lot, and the environment for both players was difficult, the crowd noise, the lack of crowd noise, et cetera.

Keith watched small pieces of the final, but did not see the entire race to 17. However what he did see, he said he thought the soft break was a joke. For example, says Keith, no way Bustamante beats Alex Pagulayan 11 to 2 without the soft break. He also said if this is what it takes to win the WPC, then he's coming out of retirement.:D

[All players have big egos, so please excuse Keith's comment! He did not see the entire WPC, like we did.] BUT he does have a point about that soft break/winner break format.

Personally, I thought both players had some brilliant moments on the field of green, but both players also stumbled several times. Truly, either one could have captured this title. They both had their chance.

Having said all of the above, I do not want to take anything away from the winner. A win is a win, no matter how pretty or ugly it is, and for that reason and that reason alone, the 2007 WPC champion is worthy of respect.

JMHO, FWIW!

JAM
 
I COMPLETELY DISAGREE. I thought it was a fantastic match, strung a few racks, EXCELLENT safety play, some great breaks, and many superb outs by both players, great shot making. Just because they didn't string 17 racks together.................. great match in terms of everything except running tons of racks IMO. The most exciting match I have seen in quite some time. Don't give me crap about "if it wasn't for the soft break" it isn't like only one player could use the soft break each match. Peach's brilliant safety play won him the title and that would have held the same effect with the hard break. Looked like they didn't deserve to be there???????? :confused: :confused: :confused: :eek:

Eric.
 
I don't think it's fair to imply that Darryl only won because of the soft break. After all, he proved he has an incredible tactical game also. Fantastic, creative safeties, productive jump shots, excellent kicking.

I was glad to see the table adjusted, though! Hopefully they'll improve the situation next year, right from the beginning.
 
I think if they wanted to stop the soft break they should have waited to next year...I think it is BS that they did this in the finals only...
 
9 ball said:
What the hell kind of match where you watching, I mean at the start both men had there wobbles and for a minute it looked like daryl might run away with but when both men found their feet that final was OUTSTANDING. Are you just a sore loser because a fillipino didn't win?.

Or are you just a sore loser.
Click to expand...


I'm confused by this post... I am not filipino, nor do I know any filipino's, so your are talking out of your A** with that statement....
Shows the kind of person you really are...

D Peach played badly IMO.... So did Gomez....
 
Also, someone should list how many break and run outs there were in the whole match... I am sure it was less than 5.....

IMO top notch players should find a way to get out!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sorry if you don't agree
 
BPG24 said:
Also, someone should list how many break and run outs there were in the whole match... I am sure it was less than 5.....

IMO top notch players should find a way to get out!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sorry if you don't agree
Click to expand...


It was the luck of the break, not that they weren't playing good enough to get out. There was a time when Gomez strung 4 together and I am sure Peach ran a minimum of 3 if I remember. If you don't get a shot nothing you can do, u must not play much nine ball :D

Eric.
 
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