I drove up to the Turning Stone Casino and Resort in Verona, NY which is about 4-5 hours away to watch the pros battle it out for $25,000 in prize money in the Joss Northeast 9-ball Turning Stone Classic XII.
The weekend was kind of a blur so I'll just make some commentary on the photos I posted up.
(Click on Picture to Enlarge)
The weekend was kind of a blur so I'll just make some commentary on the photos I posted up.
(Click on Picture to Enlarge)
My buddy and hero Sarah Rousey. She had a great tourney and was the last woman to be knocked over to the one loss side.
She ran into Oscar Dominguez from California, a kid who plays with an 8mm shaft, and he didn't miss one damn ball the entire set. She had a couple of mistakes, scratched on the 9-ball once and scratched on the break once, and that was the difference in the match.
She played Stevie Moore next, a well known men's professional, who basically out-safed her. I think you could see the difference in skill between the top men pros and the top women pros in how tight Stevie's safes were and how his kicks weren't just to make contact but to kick-safe you back. She put up a great fight and had him scared but came up just a little "short". (Ha!)
Overall, a great finish for Sarah. Congrats!
She ran into Oscar Dominguez from California, a kid who plays with an 8mm shaft, and he didn't miss one damn ball the entire set. She had a couple of mistakes, scratched on the 9-ball once and scratched on the break once, and that was the difference in the match.
She played Stevie Moore next, a well known men's professional, who basically out-safed her. I think you could see the difference in skill between the top men pros and the top women pros in how tight Stevie's safes were and how his kicks weren't just to make contact but to kick-safe you back. She put up a great fight and had him scared but came up just a little "short". (Ha!)
Overall, a great finish for Sarah. Congrats!
Dennis Hatch. Local guy, from Buffalo, and was the crowd favorite. He also seems to be popular with the internet crowd as well with statements by the internet woofers that some that top professional players, Mika and Shane for example, are afraid to gamble with him. I'm not so sure about that but I'd love to see a match like that happen. (TAR! Make It Happen!)
I don't know much about him but I heard he was a really great young player who ran into some trouble with the law and that set him back a bit.
He came in 2nd so he's definitely a good player. (BUT he did have a bit of luck on his side. More on that later.)
I don't know much about him but I heard he was a really great young player who ran into some trouble with the law and that set him back a bit.
He came in 2nd so he's definitely a good player. (BUT he did have a bit of luck on his side. More on that later.)
My Amsterdam League teammate and also the 2008 Player of the Year, Mika Immonen. Great tournament as well with a good, solid, 3rd place finish. He was killing opponents until the last day where he just looked a little bit off and not himself. He drank tea which had caffeine when he's usually doesn't drink any caffeine and that may have done it. He did some things I rarely seen him do - scratch a lot, miss easy open shots, etc. which gave his oppenents, Souquet and Hatch, too many opportunities.
Still, solid performance and will be one of the favorites to win any events he's in this year.
Still, solid performance and will be one of the favorites to win any events he's in this year.
He also measures...and measures...and measures...before he decides to shoot.
I hate to say it but I was glad he was eliminated cause he was going to hold the tournament up.
Thanks Shane. I feel better about myself now.
I also have to admit, there's slow players and there's Ralf. Ralf actually put me to sleep. Yep, I fell asleep watching him play. He's a machine and has a set pre-shot routine that he won't deviate from - not even if it's a hanger. It took him 10 minutes to run the hanging 8-ball and the hanging 9-ball. I do have to admit, he's a hell of a player. Nothing fancy, just really really effective. Only...
Slow. Effective. = Coma.
Mario Morra. John Morra's pops. I was watching him play and I was like "how is this dude still on the win side?" He's a little unorthodox but he's definitely a player. His safeties were excellent. They didn't look "lock up tight" but then you noticed that there's balls in the way of all the directions you need to kick to to make contact. Just a really really smart player. By the end of the event I was very impressed.
Shawn "Big Bubba" Putnam. Why does he always look in pain when he shoots? Is that pain or constipation?
Anyway, Shawn also dogged a 9-ball. It was to win the set against Dennis Hatch. It gave Hatch an opportunity when he really should've been knocked out. So instead of 9-6 and the win it's now 9-7. Hatch breaks dry and Shawn scratches going from the 1-ball to the 2-ball. Talk about 9 lives for Hatch. Hatch runs out that rack and breaks and runs the next one to sent Shawn home.
Goes to show that everyone misses and everyone "dogs it". (I feel soooo good about myself right now.)
Also goes to show that you really can't give players at this level extra opportunities at the table.
Still, solid 4th place finishes for Big Bubba. Should've been 3rd at least though. That missed 9-ball cost him $1,000. Ouch.
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Okay, Turning Stone Casino. What the F*ck? I tried to play the slot machines only the slot machines don't take actually physical money. I have to go and get a card, load the card with money, and then use that to play.
You. Have. Got. To. Be. F*cking. Kidding. Me.
I've never seen or heard of this so...I guess I won't be playing slots.
Roulette it is and, yes, I did pull a "Jay".
Running through the casino to get to the food court for a quick bit before sweating the early round matches I stop at the roulette wheel and break out $50. I get 10 $5 chips.
Spread them out.
Bam. Hit a number.
Spread some out again.
Bam. Hit a number.
One more time.
Bam. NUMBER 24!!!
I had just $10 on it but that's still $350 and doesn't include what I had in my hand.
Gave a little back but still had enough to cover my expenses for the weekend.
Score!
Italian food at the Hamilton Hotel in Rome, NY.
Two orders of mussels. An order of prime rib. Pasta, stuff mushrooms...and more. Enough food to feed 7 people well.
$100.
How's that make you feel?
You. Have. Got. To. Be. F*cking. Kidding. Me.
I've never seen or heard of this so...I guess I won't be playing slots.
Roulette it is and, yes, I did pull a "Jay".
Running through the casino to get to the food court for a quick bit before sweating the early round matches I stop at the roulette wheel and break out $50. I get 10 $5 chips.
Spread them out.
Bam. Hit a number.
Spread some out again.
Bam. Hit a number.
One more time.
Bam. NUMBER 24!!!
I had just $10 on it but that's still $350 and doesn't include what I had in my hand.
Gave a little back but still had enough to cover my expenses for the weekend.
Score!
---
Italian food at the Hamilton Hotel in Rome, NY.
Two orders of mussels. An order of prime rib. Pasta, stuff mushrooms...and more. Enough food to feed 7 people well.
$100.
How's that make you feel?
Most excellent write up, Bro .. glad to see you blogging on frequent basis.
ReplyDeleteMaybe see u and monkey in Vegas in May ..