2014 Derby City Classic Diamond "Big Foot" Challenge

Once again the Derby City Classic held the "Big Foot" Challenge.  This is 10-ball on a 10 foot Diamond table with, I believe, 4.25" pockets.  It was an all-star lineup featuring players such as Ralph Souquet, Efren Reyes, Rodney Morris, Corey Deuel, Neils Feijen, Shane Van Boening, Dennis Orcollo, Earl Strickland, Francisco Bustamante, Darren Appleton, and more.

Each player put up $1,000 with $16,000 added.  The winner got $16,000 and 2nd place $8,000.  I did not get to watch all these matches, but I did watch online via Accu-Stats live stream Sunday night and Monday night (Semi-finals and Finals).

Neils Feijen is a beast.  He handily sent Corey Deuel packing with an opening round defeat 11-2.  He then took down Efren Reyes by a score of 11-8.  In his 3rd round match, he trounced his Mosconi Cup teammate, Ralph Souquet 11-4 to face Shane Van Boening in the Finals.

Shane Van Boening had an opening round match against Dennis Orcollo and beat him 11-8.  He then faced John Morra in a close, hill-hill match that I watched on Sunday night.  It looked like Shane would easily take him down, but with a large lead (6-1, I believe), John Morra came fighting back to eventually make it hill-hill.  Shane managed to get the win.  I also watched the Earl Strickland vs. Francisco Bustamante match.  I really had no favorite between these two, but I figured Earl would have the advantage since he likes these big 10 foot tables with tight pockets and he practices on a 10 foot table.  It wasn't meant to be for Earl.  He was playing good, but Bustamante got a few rolls and defeated him 11-7.  Surprisingly, Earl didn't have a meltdown, although he had the crowd laughing about the bad rolls he was getting.

Shane then faced Bustamante Monday night, which again looked like it was going to be all Shane as he got ahead early 7-3.  Bustamante got the score to 10-8 after Shane missed the 10-ball for the match.  Shane got the win in the next rack.  Final score was 11-8.

The Final was Neils Feijen vs. Shane Van Boening.  Yet again it looked like SVB was going to dominate the match.  Neils won the first 2 games, but SVB took over from there.  Shane won the next 6 games, breaking and running 2, 2 packs and took a comfortable lead 6-2.  Neils capitalized on a Shane miss, but in rack 10, Neils rattled the 10 leaving a tough, table-length bank for Shane.  Shane thought about playing safe, but fired the bank 10 feet down into the corner.  SVB took a 7-3 lead.  The next rack showed just how tough this Diamond 10 foot table was.  Shane got on the 10, but rattled it in the corner pocket.  He left Neils a long, but makeable shot on the 10.  Neils also rattled it, leaving a straight in shot to give Shane an 8-3 lead.

Shane got on the hill with the score 10-3, but Neils wasn't going to go down without a fight.  Shane broke dry in rack 14 and Neils ran out to make it 10-4.  Neils eventually fought to 10-7, but in rack 18 and the final rack of the match, Neils accidentally went off the 8-ball and scratched in the side pocket.  It was over then.  Shane ran out the rest of the rack to take the win 11-7.

I love watching these top players play on this big 10 foot table.  As the commentators said at one point, it really separates the men from the boys.  Banks, One Pocket, and 9-ball is still to be determined at the 2014 Derby City Classic, but after it was all said and done on the "Big Foot", Shane Van Boening is your winner.

Here is the final bracket if you would like to see how your favorite player fared.

http://www.azbilliards.com/tours_and_events/124-derby-city-classic/6069-derby-city-classic-2014-bigfoot-10-ball-challenge/brackets/59-main-event/

Earl Strickland The Story

I recently found a video on YouTube while searching for pool videos of Earl Strickland.  It's called Earl Strickland The Story The greatest ever.  The video is about 45 minutes long and it's a documentary on probably one of the greatest pool players ever and also probably one of the most misunderstood pool players ever.

If you are a fan of Earl Strickland or don't know much about him, you really should watch this video.  Before watching this, I had always thought Earl was just a whiner and liked causing controversy.  I thought maybe his "game" was antagonizing the other player to throw off his opponent's game.  After watching this video, I have a little better understanding of what makes him who he is.

It's a very excellent look at the fiery Earl Strickland.  There are some really good stories that Earl tells and some of the top pros talk about him also.  It's at times funny, at times inspiring, and at times really sad.

If you have about 45 minutes, take a look.  You might change your mind about Earl too.

Can Team USA make a comeback in Mosconi Cup?

     The 2013 Mosconi Cup was hyped up in the months and weeks before the tournament started.  The United States had selected their top players, bringing back the fiery Earl Strickland, veteran team captain Johnny Archer, top US players Shane Van Boening, Dennis Hatch, Rodney Morris, and even the legendary, Buddy "The Rifleman" Hall as a non-playing co-Captain.  The all-star team was set...and they went down in the worst loss ever.  The previous worst loss by Team USA was 11-5 in 2008.

     So what went wrong?  You just about could not put together a more veteran team of professional pool players.  Each of the Team USA players are some of the best in the world.  Billiards Digest has an extensive article in the January 2014 issue which discusses in length the differences in Team Europe and Team USA's approach to the 2013 Mosconi Cup.  This, I feel, made the difference.

     Team Europe were a cohesive team.  The team Captain, Johan Ruijsink, didn't play.  He was there to coach.  He communicated with his team months before the tournament.  They collectively discussed the tournament.  They arrived together several days before the tournament.  They ate together.  They practiced together...get the picture here?

     Now let's look at Team USA.  Johnny Archer, arguably one of the best players in the US and a veteran of the Mosconi Cup tournament (16 consecutive appearances) was again team Captain.  But the difference being Johnny was also playing in the tournament and he's a pool player, not a coach.  Then there are the other players...Dennis Hatch, Shane Van Boening, who appears to be a pretty nice guy, but does seem to have an air of arrogance (just my opinion here, folks), and we all know the reputation of Earl Strickland.  Lastly, there is Buddy Hall.  I've watched some interviews online and he appears to be a super nice guy.  He's obviously a great pool player, probably one of the best ever.  Here's a quote from the Billiards Digest article by Buddy Hall when asked what he would tell the Team USA players, "I'm not going to say much.  I'm here if they need me."  It sounded like he wasn't even utilized.  Johnny Archer was reported to say that he, "couldn't speak to his players in any authoritative way as a captain, because they were all champions just like he is."  Team USA was doomed before the tournament even started.

     How can Team USA solve this problem?  It needs to start now and I believe the first step in the solution is a team coach.  No offense to Johnny Archer, but the team Captain needs to be a non-playing, motivational coach.  This coach needs to be determined...not a few months before the tournament...now. This coach needs to find a way to bring 5 of the top professional pool players together as a team.  The second and more difficult step is the team itself.  Who is going to play?  AZBilliards.com has a list of the all-time career money earners, since, at least in my mind, more money equals more tournament wins, so just for fun let's pick the team based on the top career money list.  We would have Johnny Archer, Shane Van Boening, Rodney Morris, Corey Deuel, and Earl Strickland...wait, what?  Except for Corey Deuel, this was the 2013 team!!!!!

     Is this the best way to pick the team?  Who else is there?  Continuing down the career money list let's throw some more names out there.  Charlie Williams, John Schmidt, Jeremy Jones, Mike Davis, Gabe Owen, Shannon Daulton, Tony Robles, Mike Dechaine.  I skipped a few that I'm not sure how well they play and after these names the players I'm familiar with start to rapidly dwindle.  The US has a talent problem.  There are a lot of great players in the US, but at Mosconi Cup level?  Probably not.  The talent is pretty vast in Europe and Asia since they have more tournaments and a more structured pool world.

     The article from Billiards Digest quotes Barry Hearn, promoter for the Mosconi Cup tournament, as saying, "There's no leadership in American pool.  Someone has to come up to the plate and figure out how to improve the lot.  American pool is too centered on individual needs."

     Team USA needs help and needs help fast.

 

2013 Mosconi Cup Teams

The 20th Mosconi Cup Tournament kicks off December 2, 2013, in Las Vegas, Nevada.  This year will be an epic showdown.  Some of the top names in Men's professional billiards will be doing battle.  Team Europe has won five of the last six Mosconi Cup titles and the last three in a row, so the USA will be looking to bring the title back home.

Team USA

Johnny Archer (Captain)
Buddy Hall (Vice-Captain)
Shane Van Boening
Dennis Hatch
Rodney Morris
Earl Strickland


Team Europe

Johan Ruysink (Non-playing captain)
Darren Appleton
Karl Boyes
Niels Feijen
Mika Immonen
Ralph Souquet

The Mosconi Cup game is 9-Ball with various singles and doubles matches.  Assuming they follow the same rules as 2012, the rules and format can be seen here.

The tournament will be streamed live over the internet and tickets for the event can be purchased through Ticketmaster.  For more information, visit http://www.matchroompool.com/mosconi-cup

My thoughts on this year's tournament.  I believe this is the year team USA will bring the title back to the United States.  Team Europe has a really strong team, but when it comes to 9-ball, there isn't many better than Johnny Archer, Shane Van Boening, and Earl Strickland.  Not to mention the co-captain is the legendary Buddy Hall.  There's no doubt team USA is strong with Earl Strickland having recently won at Turning Stone, Johnny Archer's record-breaking 17th appearance in the Mosconi Cup Tournament and professional veteran, Rodney Morris who won the 2013 US Open 10-Ball Tournament back in July, Dennis Hatch who was on the last USA winning team in 2009 (MVP that year), and Shane Van Boening who seems to win just about everything he enters and arguably one of the best players in the world right now.

So I look for Team USA to win the Mosconi Cup in 2013.

Pool on YouTube: An invaluable training tool

Sometime in the last couple of years or so, YouTube started allowing users to upload videos longer than 15 minutes.  This has created a treasure trove of billiard videos you can use as a training tool.

Not everyone is fortunate enough to attend professional tournaments and watch the pros in action or live in an area where the pros hang out.  So the next best thing (that's free) is to watch billiard videos on YouTube.  Just for fun, I searched for "Billiards" on YouTube.  The search says there are about 350,000 videos related to that search term!  I narrowed it down some by applying filters of "Upload in the last year", "HD quality", and "Long 20 ~ minutes".  That returns a little over 2,000 videos.

So how can you use billiard videos on YouTube as a training tool?  I'll give you my list of what I watch for, then break each down a little.

1.  Pattern play
2.  When to play safe
3.  How the pros escape trouble
4.  Commentary
5.  How the pros approach/think a shot

1.  Pattern play.  This, for me, is one of the most important things I like to watch.  After the break, look at the layout of the table.  Where are the trouble balls?  Are some balls tied up?  How will the pros break those up?  Try to play the rack out in your mind.  Watch how the pros play the rack out.  Did they play out the rack how you thought it out?  Also watch how they set themselves up for the next shot.  Invaluable stuff.

2.  When to play safe.  A lot of times when I'm watching the pros play, it's interesting to see when they play safe and when they go for a shot.  Watch what factors play into when they play safe.  Is the next ball tied up?  Is it early in the match or a hill-hill, do or die situation?  Also, watch how they play safe.

3.  How the pros escape trouble.  This is also interesting to watch.  Most of the top pros have such precise cue ball control they can really lock their opponent up.  Does the pro jump over the ball, kick at the next ball, or play an intentional foul, further tying up balls?  If they kick to escape trouble, is it a 1 rail kick? 2 rail kick, or more?  Try to figure out why they played that particular shot.

4.  Commentary.  All of the tournament matches will have commentators calling the match.  Most of the commentators are former or current pros, or have been around pool a long time in some fashion.  For the most part, the commentators will give you a good idea of what the shooter is thinking and how he or she will play the shot.  Not only will you get insight into the match, but maybe some good stories too!

5.  How the pros approach/think a shot.  Every player approaches the shot a little differently.  Some walk around the table really studying the layout, some use their cue to point where the cue or object ball will go or where they are attempting to have the cue ball stop.  And some players like Earl Strickland just bang the balls in.

Watching the pros play, how they play the rack, when they play safe, and listening to the commentary is an important training tool.  Check out some of these videos on YouTube, take notes, practice some of the layouts to see how you do, and improve your game!

The Decider Results. Shane Van Boening vs. Earl Strickland

Well, it's all over except Earl's rants.  Shane Van Boening swept Earl Strickland in all 3 days of pool in Helena, Montana.

Day 1 was a race to 30 in 9-ball.  Shane Van Boening won by a score of 30-20.

Day 2 was a race to 30 in 8-ball.  Shane strung together 8 racks to finish off Earl 30-22.

Day 3 was a race to 30 in 10-ball.  Shane beat Earl by a score of 30-27.

Here are some stats compiled by Pool-Trax.net

Day 1 - 9-ball

Day 2 - 8-ball

Day 3 - 10-ball

I personally did not watch this event, seriously considered purchasing the PPV live stream, but decided against it.  I would have liked to have watched Shane Van Boening run those last 8 racks on Day 2!!  Maybe it will be up on YouTube sometime.

I really like these one-on-one matchups against top professional players.  I hope many more of these types of events can be held.  Earl Strickland thinks the pros should play on 10 foot tables.  Apparently 8-ball is easier for the pros.

What do you think?

The Decider. Shane Van Boening vs. Earl Strickland

Two of the top professional pool players in the world, Shane Van Boening and Earl Strickland, are facing off this weekend in Helena, Montana in a 3-day match-up of 9-ball, 8-ball, and 10-ball.  The competition is taking place on a 7 foot Diamond bar box table and is being live streamed by POVpool.com.

Yesterday, Shane and Earl played a race to 30 in 9-ball.  Shane Van Boening won the match by a score of 30-20.  Today, the action took place at 1 p.m. Pacific/4 p.m. Eastern and once again, Shane Van Boening came out on top by a score of 30-22.  Shane found his break towards the end of the match and strung together 8 racks to finish off Earl.

Tomorrow, (August 4, 2013) the action starts again at 1 p.m. Pacific/4 p.m. Eastern with another race to 30, this time in 10-ball.

If you would like to tune in and watch live, go to http://povpool.com/decider-tickets/