WPC 2007 Finals

JAM said:
He really is a nice guy. I'm not sure what has him up in arms about this topic. In fact, Eric. is a hero on some fora/NGs, but that's the topic for another thread! ;)

JAM

I think you might have me confused with another Eric :confused: :eek: :D

All Erics are nice :)

Eric.
 
I rack balls said:
Hah I don't know this is so much fun :D, I stole the whole "another moronic post" quote from him. Maybe because that was probably the most enjoyable match I have ever watched. So many moments that made me say WOW. I was literally jumping around in my living room as the last racks were played. And to have someone bash the players and that match just seemed absurd to me. I am not upset in the slightest just dumbfounded by his logic.............. eh I am over it..............

Eric.


I did not bash the players.... I said that the quality of play was below their normal standards....
 
I rack balls said:
I think you might have me confused with another Eric :confused: :eek: :D

All Erics are nice :)

Eric.

I don't think so, but it ain't the first time I have been wrong.

JAM
 
BPG24 said:
neither one looked like they belonged in that tournament, much less in the finals....

That was IMO a bash and completely contradictory to what my feelings were on the match, but hey everyone has their own opinion..............

Eric.
 
I rack balls said:
That was IMO a bash and completely contradictory to what my feelings were on the match, but hey everyone has their own opinion..............

Eric.

we don't have to agree on the match, that is fine.... But attacking me personally is classless....
 
BPG24 said:
we don't have to agree on the match, that is fine.... But attacking me personally is classless....

I agree, I apologize, things got outa hand........................

Eric.
 
I rack balls said:
I agree, I apologize, things got outa hand........................

Eric.

I apologize as well,

next time I wil try to describe my view of the match without any possibilities of it offending anyone... As it was definately not my intent..
 
just wanted to say everyone in the Uk are so proud of of what Daryl has done, he played awesome all tournament after his loss in the first game..also Karl Boyes played out of his skin and made a name for himself in the pool world, if Daryl hadn't won then Karl's acheivement wouldn't of been overshaddowed so much but 2 brits in the last 4 is great and probably will never happen again.

The Final wasn't the best and i feel for Gomez missing the 5 and 9 it could of all been so different..hopefully this win for Daryl will do great things for British 9-ball.
 
I agree that they played below their normal speed, but my argument was against the fact they played "horrible". That's all
 
BPG24 said:
Anyone who think that the quality of play in that match was great, IMO has no clue what top notch pool is....

The safety battles were average overall at best (for pros).... And they both made way too many mistakes...

I am a huge fan of safeties and have studied the strategies of the game...
I have a pretty nice collection of books and videos on the game, and I am one of those ppl who study it... I also play a decent game myself....

So all of you Haters can say what you want to, But you couldn't be more wrong...

10 years ago you could have said that I didn't understand the stratagies of the game, but after years of play, practice, and studying I would say I understand the game pretty well



BPG, you just gotten spoiled with seeing Gomez run rack after rack, after
rack before the powers that be (sic) decided to change tables for the
finals alone. You must've also gotten used to seeing Peach run out from
every conceivable angle against his earlier opponents, that's why the 2007
finals left a sour taste in your mouth. Your high expectations of a great
finals match basing it from their previous matches and it came out a dud
was a big disappointment. I'm probably sure you're not alone that we didn't
see it coming. You probably have tons of great videos were the likes of
Efren making his "Z" shot in the finals against Earl, or the greatest game in
a 9-ball finals between Django and Fong Pang Chao at the CoC, and a lot
more that will make this year's 2007 WPC finals pale in comparison, but one
thing I do know, this year's finals was the most compelling display of human
emotions on both extremes. The frailty and the determination of the human
spirit was in full blast as we saw one held his nerves under hostile environment
while the latter just broke down in pieces makes great TV, and not great
pool. This could be the shot in the arm that pool is waiting for, I hope all
the sports networks saw this year's finals match and pick it up from there.

We've witnessed high quality pool countless of times, but it didn't do any
good to pull the masses to the game, specially the TV masses, or consumers.

We've witnessed great counter safeties were everyone thought the other
guy was a goner. There were stretches of brilliance from both sides and
the pendulum swung back and forth as the pool gods couldn't decide whom
to blessed. The finals would be devoid of drama if everybody played like a
pool playing machine, were everybody expects the players to make what
they're suppose to make, even under extreme pressure. How many easy
misses did we saw that we can even make with our eyes closed, a lot! A
comedy of errors, a sprinkling of great shots, a pinch of great safety
battles, and a ton of high and low emotions is great TV for me!

It was everything you could've asked for, well, except for great pool from
start to finish. But still...
 
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gobrian77 said:
Are you serious? The final match of the WPC is supposed to be a battle for the title of BEST pool player in the world- the winner gets a check for 100K (plus all the sponsorshiip benefits that go along with it)- they are expected to put on a show of the finest kind- one where the fans are dazzled by their brilliance at the table and inspired to try to bring their games to a level that might one day approach theirs (not that that will ever happen...)

I was there.

I guarantee you that at the moment the final nine ball went the man who made it was the best player in the world.

Why? He outlasted hordes of players also vying for the crown. He did it in hostile territory with a very hostile crowd against him.

These two players played world class nine ball. They had some wobbles but on the whole they played brilliantly. In rack 25 when the score was 12 to 12 they had a long safety battle where both players had TOUGH kick shots that they hit perfectly and got good rolls.

In my opinion this finals was one of the best ever. Two players, cinderella stories, one a veteran with lots of experience but no major titles, the other a qualifier, a local product who was carrying the weight of his nation's hopes on his young shoulders.

Both players started out jittery. Both came with brilliant shots and heartbreaking misses.

But why do we watch sports? To see the games at the highest level and the humans struggling at the limit of their existence to triumph.

When Peach was confronted with the bank shot at 15:15 after he came up short on position from the previous shot where he had to shoot a jacked up reverse draw off the rail........would he play safe, would he bank it????

And he went for the bank and came up short. Leaving a moderately difficult shot for Gomez but the pressure........ oh my god the pressure.

And Gomez just misses it by a little bit.

What isn't exciting about that?

It was a hard fought battle. And if you were there then you could have felt the tension that Peach and Gomez were under. One had a whole nation against him and they let him know it - the other had a whole nation on his back and he struggled with the weight.

Watching pool played dead perfect with text book cosmo runouts is about as exciting as watching paint dry. You all know that. Watching two world class players fight it out and having it come down to who can hold their nerves at the right moment.

That's a championship performance.
 
BPG24 said:
LOL.... Keep the dinner...

The kicking and safeties in that match were not impressive at all, compared to other shots in similar situations by the same players and other pros.....

There were a few that were executed well....

Man I don't know if you and I watched the same match. We sure have differing opinions.

Beauty in the eye of the beholder I guess. I was just happy to have been able to watch it in person.
 
John Barton said:
Man I don't know if you and I watched the same match. We sure have differing opinions.

Beauty in the eye of the beholder I guess. I was just happy to have been able to watch it in person.


Maybe my standards are just higher.......
Congrats on getting to be there
 
IMO, it was the WPC Finals. and the way they played under such high tension, deserves a lot of applause. you could not ask for more out of it. I, Myself couldn't have played much better than those two, do you?
 
Hail Mary Shot said:
IMO, it was the WPC Finals. and the way they played under such high tension, deserves a lot of applause. you could not ask for more out of it. I, Myself couldn't have played much better than those two, do you?

Do I what?

Are you comparing world class players to Amateurs?
kinda pointless isn't it?

As I have stated 25 times already..... these guys have spent their whole life training for this.... Amateurs have not
 
ah, some people just don't see some of the finer points in playing high level pool. they are so caught up with pocketing that they failed to see the elegance of creative safety plays and moving back the cue to the proper angle.

that finals is the most thrilling. it has all the elements, drama, agony, and exhilirating relieve after winning a rack.
 
John Barton said:
Watching pool played dead perfect with text book cosmo runouts is about as exciting as watching paint dry.

I have a feeling that's not what BPG24 was hoping for.. me either.

It was emotional and exciting but got ridiculously painful to watch in my opinion.. kind of like watching olympic figure skating or that one match between Archer and Fusco where they dog the 9 ball 4 or 5 times in the final rack of a hill-hill match.

The commentators go on and on about the pressure and the emotion and what not and I'm thinking come on!! a straight in 5 for this title are you kidding me?! Peach misses the 9 ball.. Gomez has a shot he woud make 99/100 if he just fires it in but pokes at it .. not even close.

What did Danny and Billy say during that Archer match while they banging away at the 9 ball? Maybe they should flip a coin for this one..

That's how I felt at the end of the Gomez Peach finals.. what.. I stayed up until 6 am to watch two guys hand it back and forth?

[EDIT: there were actually quite a few comments that were rather funny Danny and Billy made concerning the lackluster finish of Archer and Fusco.. I would pay anything to listen to Danny D commentate that match!]
 
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If we could all perform at our expected level why would we need competition? There are thousands of Olympic athletes who train all their lives for their special event. Why are there winners and why are there losers. Because they are human beings doing it and not machines or robots. That is what makes the event so interesting and important. You could say to an athlete ""you didnt win a medal why not? Arent you a trained athlete?". You would sound so stupid.

I understand a need for an audience to see perfection. When Pavarotti failed to crack a high C the Italians booed him. Never mind he was a great tenor. But sometimes it dont happen and all your feelings about what a aficianado and "student of the game" you are goes out the window. Its because you yourself are not up there doing it. So your judgement is really of the fan. The amateur. Someone who has no idea what it is to be competing for the best in the world.
 
I didn't want to get too involved in this "debate" but..

yobagua said:
Why are there winners and why are there losers. Because they are human beings doing it and not machines or robots. That is what makes the event so interesting and important. You could say to an athlete ""you didnt win a medal why not? Arent you a trained athlete?". You would sound so stupid.

This statement is absurd.. the fact that human beings are playing pool in the WPC isn't what makes it "interesting and important". Only human beings play pool.

That being said I think I know what you are getting at. You probably love the drama of the Olympic games (I'm speculating based on the above quote). I personally can't stand it. It's not that I wouldn't like to watch the top athletes compete in those events it's the atmosphere under which they do it..


yobagua said:
I understand a need for an audience to see perfection. When Pavarotti failed to crack a high C the Italians booed him. Never mind he was a great tenor. But sometimes it dont happen and all your feelings about what a aficianado and "student of the game" you are goes out the window. Its because you yourself are not up there doing it. So your judgement is really of the fan. The amateur.

Again, another absurd statement...

I'm not looking for perfection.. I'm looking to see a top pro player in the finals of the biggest match of his life not hand the match over to the other guy because of weak nerves.. only to have the other guy hand it back for the same reason.. only to .. you get the idea..

What the heck does an opera singer getting booed have to do with BPG's feelings about the finals of the WPC? We've already been over "you aren't a pro and don't know what you are talking about." I know what I am talking about and am a D player at best. I watched two guys dog it.. simple as that. Peach did close it out though and deserved to win. I just wouldn't buy the tape of this match or think of it fondly..

yobagua said:
Someone who has no idea what it is to be competing for the best in the world.



Uhmm, how would you know?
 
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