WPC 2007 Finals

yobagua said:
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.
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exactly, from the eyes of an spectator. I can just imagine the WTF, OS, HS profanities uttered during those crucial misses. though I must say that I also love to watch perfection, though I also don't miss to give a benefit of a doubt to those two players being in the finals. remember that Superman got Kryptonite for a weakness, and Lex Luthor's got a bald head. :D :D :D
 
It was painful to watch Gomez fold in the end. When he stood up in the middle of his stroke on the 9-Ball cut, I knew he was done.
 
Those of you chiming in, making comments like...
Some people just don't appreciate the finer points in top level pool, have no idea what you are talking about.... My favorite game is 1 pocket...
I like strategy, and knowledge based games... like chess for example...
if you think I wanted to see 17 racks ran from the break than you have badly missed the point of the post

9 ball is not my game of choice, however I have studied the game, and played it for a long time, I have seen top level pool many times...

You do not have to agree with my opinion about the sloppiness of the final match, but don't make stupid remarks like, he doesn't understand pool....
 
BPG24 said:
Maybe my standards are just higher.......
Congrats on getting to be there
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I guess so. I take the view that both players put up their cash. They had to qualify to even be there - either by virtue of being the best where they came from or by entering tough qualifying tournaments.

Playing under the most pressure either player has ever faced I allow that they will dog a few shots.

I know how much pressure I feel when I play in any mid sized amateur tournament.

So I can forgive a few missed shots. I tend to focus on all the great shots, the touchy safeties, the pro-level run outs that only a pro has the skill to do. I like the nuance of the game which includes the psychology of it.

To me this was pressure nine ball at it's finest.

This wasn't like last year where Alcano broke the balls and ran out a downtable pattern every time. Where Souquet was the one struggling to make a ball on his break.

This was a year in which two world class players fought a full fight to very end. In between the misses there was plenty of great professional pool.

That's my standard. And I got my money's worth as far as I am concerned.
 
bagofpaper said:
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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Well, it wasn't painful to watch for me. I guess it's just different perspectives. I guess you had to be there to appreciate it all.

Yeah you stayed up till two am to watch two world class players play their hearts out battling for the biggest victory of their lives.

Whatever disgust you felt watching a miss you can be sure that the players themselves felt thousands of times worse about it than you did. You can be sure that they were in constant mental agony for four grueling hours.

The pool was great. Both players came with fantastic shots, both players ran racks deftly, both showed incredible knowledge and courage.

The atmosphere was electric - I don't think that this could be conveyed properly on TV.

If any of you on here think you can make the shots that Gomez or Peach missed 100 out of 100 with the kind of pressure that they faced then you have a bet. Let's just pick all the missed shots and you can shoot each of them 100 times. You lose a finger for each miss.

That should approximate the pressure.
 
I have received a couple PMs about me pulling for Bustamante and Gomez over Daryl Peach. :(

Sometimes we all have our favorites in sports events. I'm a diehard Redskins fan, living in Washington, D.C. :)

I have Washingtonian friends who pull for our arch enemies, the Cowboys. :eek:

It is no secret that I wanted Francisco Bustamante to win this year's WPC. I thought he played well in the entire tournament and was very deserving of a win. Bustie is a friend of mine, which is one reason I was in his corner, pulling for him.

I do not know Daryl Peach. I have seen him at a couple tournaments here in the States. He seems like a nice chap.

Just because I did not pull for Daryl Peach to win does not mean I do not like him. I just want to clarify that in public on this forum, for those who seemed upset with me pulling for Gomez.

I don't know Gomez at all, but there was something about him that touched my heart.

We all root for who we want to win. It does not mean we hate the other side that we did not root for.

I have said this before, and I will say it again. I did not like the "bird break" format of this year's WPC. To me, it was like feed the monkey and watch him sh*t. I am not the only one who feels this way.

The break shot should not be the determining factor for a win in a world-pool championship, IN MY MOST HUMBLE OPINION. The break is only but ONE SHOT. Should someone who mastered the soft break on the equipment advance in the charts? Bustamante did the same thing to Alex Pagulayan, beating him 11 to 2. This would have NEVER happened if not for the bird break.

I do not fault those who feel the opposite of me. We are all entitled to our views.

JAM

That's my story, and I am sticking with it!
 
I think the play was superb considering the circumstances. In 2005. final Wu Chia Ching badly miscued on a simple draw shot! Twice! Ouch!

One other thing. All these great pro players are extremely good under pressure. But all of them have their limits. I mean, final of the World Pool Championships. It can't get any bigger than that, no tournament gets even close. That's once in a lifetime opportunity. 100K $ is nice, but secondary. To be called World Champion with your name written in history books is what really counts. At 15-15 it became a race to 2. Nobody gets trained for that. You either make it or you don't.
 
I just wanted to see both these guys play as well in the final as they played in their earlier matches- I wasn't looking for a superhuman effort, or even anything better than what they had already showed me- I wanted a continuation of the display of skill I had seen just a day earlier.;)

I think they both played poorly in comparison to the play they exhibited previously- that doesn't mean their play was poor in general- it was only poor in comparison.

I plan to be there next year for the finals if I can work it out- we can argue then over a beer if you like.:cool:
 
You keep saying I like strategy, I have studied, I have played a long time, I have seen...Everything is I. What are your fellow posters? Potted Plants? Ive been playing for over 40 years. Been around since Mosconi, Lassiter, Cowboy Jimmy Moore, Joe Balsis, etc. Even when Toupee Jay Helfert was wearing his toupee. So what!

Why dont you stop and think about not the I but the We as in pool community in general. The match and event was wonderful. It was great to see an outsider come in and persuade the opposing force to recognize his talents. It was great for a young man who no one has heard of before come into the limelight and is an authentic star. So it doesnt fit YOUR perfect fantasy of the final game. Can you not hear the cheer and enjoyment of the crowd and what it has done for the international name of pool. There will be more Gomez' coming out of the Phillipines. THere will be more 9 ball players in a country that loves the game of snooker and 8 ball.
This is all part of the game. And I only feel sorry for those who do not respect and. cant be a part of that.
 
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yobagua said:
You keep saying I like strategy, I have studied, I have played a long time, I have seen...Everything is I. What are your fellow posters? Potted Plants? Ive been playing for over 40 years. Been around since Mosconi, Lassiter, Cowboy Jimmy Moore, Joe Balsis, etc. Even when Toupee Jay Helfert was wearing his toupee. So what!

Why dont you stop and think about not the I but the We as in pool community in general. The match and event was wonderful. It was great to see an outsider come in and persuade the opposing force to recognize his talents. It was great for a young man who no one has heard of before come into the limelight and is an authentic star. So it doesnt fit YOUR perfect fantasy of the final game. Can you not hear the cheer and enjoyment of the crowd and what it has done for the international name of pool. There will be more Gomez' coming out of the Phillipines. THere will be more 9 ball players in a country that loves the game of snooker and 8 ball.
This is all part of the game. And I only feel sorry for those who do not respect and. cant be a part of that.
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......................................................
May this thread R.I.P
 
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