Efrens play at the DCC

[One Pocket Ghost]

Ok now, all of you Efren fans, don't misinterpret this post and think that I'm knocking Efrens game - I'm definitely not, and having been fortunate enough to have seen him play in person about twenty times, I also think he's the best all-around pool player in the world, and has been for a long time.....That said, the bracket results don't tell you exactly what went down, so to give a fuller picture, for the people who, sadly, couldn't be at the DCC, I'm just going to report a little about Efrens play being 'human' in some of his matches, which resulted in his coming extremely close to not winning the one pocket division.

First off let me say that in the 9 ball division he was at the top of his game and played superb, making everything, and winning that division decidedly.

But for some reason his one pocket tournament play was a different story - he uncharacteristically was missing shots and several times lost control of 'whitey' resulting in scratches or selling out. These mistakes were a big part of the reason that amazingly, he was down 2 games to 0 in his match with Andreas Roschkowsky ( who was traveling with Ralf Souquet ) and he was down 2 games to 0 in his match with David Matlock. In the next three games, both Andreas and Matlock had chances to win these matches and couldn't close the deal, letting Efren eventually come back to win.

Then in the semifinals Efran had a match with Tony Chohan. Tony was playing great against Efran and the scene at the end was 2 games to 2, and 6 balls to 6 in the final game......Needless to say all three of these matches provided the best sweating the crowd could ever hope to have......Well at this point, the crowd gasps, as Efren hits a ball horrible and leaves Tony along the long rail halfway between the bottom rail and the side pocket facing his own pocket with his two winning balls right in front of him, a couple of inches off of the rail and just past the side pocket. All he has to do is shoot one of the balls straight down the rail into his hole, ( a medium length shot, not a long or a short shot ) and draw back about 7 inches for a simple shot at the match winning ball. As anybody who has ever seen him play knows, Tony has an extremely smooth, sure, and powerful stroke...Well, he shoots in the first ball, attempts to draw the cueball back 7 inches and the cueball just sticks right there without drawing back at all...Everybody in the crowd looks at each other in disbelief and Tony looks like he wants to break his cue ( I know I'd want to break mine )....This shakes up Tony enough that on his next shot he attempts to play a safety, hits it bad and sells out, and Efran proceeds to run the two balls he needs and wins the match.


After it was over a few of us were talking and we decided that Efran has a great two-way thing going for him...not only does he have the most talent, but also just because they are playing against him, seasoned top players will often dog a key shot against him that they probably wouldn't have against anybody else.

[lucky13]

I was at the DCC as I have been every year but one. I have a different take on Efrens play.
It isn't that he played bad it's simply that his mistakes are so few and far between that when he does scratch or miss cue we can hardly believe what we are seeing.
I disagree when you say his nine ball play was better than his one pocket. He played both exceptionally well as usual. However, he went undefeated in the one pocket event, while he suffered a loss that forced him to use his buy back in the nine ball.
Of course, what really matters is the end result and he claimed top prize for both events.
I do agree with your take on the other players. They don't seem to play with the same confidence when they find themselves matched up against The Magician.
I would like to see the Russian player (stalev???) who came to DCC two years ago return. If his game has continued to improve as I'm sure it has, and he still as that unshakable composure about him, then it would be interesting to see him and Efren match up.
Of course I would put my money on experience and watch the Magician do his tricks, but it would be a great game I think.

[gulfportdoc]

After it was over a few of us were talking and we decided that Efran has a great two-way thing going for him...not only does he have the most talent, but also just because they are playing against him, seasoned top players will often dog a key shot against him that they probably wouldn't have against anybody else.

That is certainly true. I think we all tend to be more tense when we're playing someone who plays at or above our speed. I'm sure Efren feels the same way. However, in regards tournament play, I'm always reminded of what Mike Caro said about poker tournaments, which applies almost as well to pool tournaments. To paraphrase: "If I play twice as well as everyone else, I'll win the tournament once in a hundred times!" In other words there's a lot more going on than one's good play. In pool, it's the rolls and luck. I've won tournaments simply because of stupid mistakes by other players, and I've certainly lost tournaments for the same reason. Usually it's not a guy's overpowering play that gets him the win, but rather his making fewer mistakes than the other players. Arguably Efren is the greatest pool player of all time; however nobody wins a tournament without rolls and luck.

Doc

[suki]

Ok now, all of you Efren fans, don't misinterpret this post and think that I'm knocking Efrens game - I'm definitely not, and having been fortunate enough to have seen him play in person about twenty times, I also think he's the best all-around pool player in the world, and has been for a long time.....That said, the bracket results don't tell you exactly what went down, so to give a fuller picture, for the people who, sadly, couldn't be at the DCC, I'm just going to report a little about Efrens play being 'human' in some of his matches, which resulted in his coming extremely close to not winning the one pocket division.

First off let me say that in the 9 ball division he was at the top of his game and played superb, making everything, and winning that division decidedly.

But for some reason his one pocket tournament play was a different story - he uncharacteristically was missing shots and several times lost control of 'whitey' resulting in scratches or selling out. These mistakes were a big part of the reason that amazingly, he was down 2 games to 0 in his match with Andreas Roschkowsky ( who was traveling with Ralf Souquet ) and he was down 2 games to 0 in his match with David Matlock. In the next three games, both Andreas and Matlock had chances to win these matches and couldn't close the deal, letting Efren eventually come back to win.

Then in the semifinals Efran had a match with Tony Chohan. Tony was playing great against Efran and the scene at the end was 2 games to 2, and 6 balls to 6 in the final game......Needless to say all three of these matches provided the best sweating the crowd could ever hope to have......Well at this point, the crowd gasps, as Efren hits a ball horrible and leaves Tony along the long rail halfway between the bottom rail and the side pocket facing his own pocket with his two winning balls right in front of him, a couple of inches off of the rail and just past the side pocket. All he has to do is shoot one of the balls straight down the rail into his hole, ( a medium length shot, not a long or a short shot ) and draw back about 7 inches for a simple shot at the match winning ball. As anybody who has ever seen him play knows, Tony has an extremely smooth, sure, and powerful stroke...Well, he shoots in the first ball, attempts to draw the cueball back 7 inches and the cueball just sticks right there without drawing back at all...Everybody in the crowd looks at each other in disbelief and Tony looks like he wants to break his cue ( I know I'd want to break mine )....This shakes up Tony enough that on his next shot he attempts to play a safety, hits it bad and sells out, and Efran proceeds to run the two balls he needs and wins the match.


After it was over a few of us were talking and we decided that Efran has a great two-way thing going for him...not only does he have the most talent, but also just because they are playing against him, seasoned top players will often dog a key shot against him that they probably wouldn't have against anybody else.
Not following you around but so the people know and as I posted in AZ Tony was not at 6 balls but he in fact owed one and had run 7 and made the 8th ball and would have one if he did not owe that one. IMO the draw shot was about 2 ft. and he drew 1 ft. or so , but still not enough. I think he was worried he might jaw the ball out if he hit it too hard imo. I was going to ask him but did not want to monday morning quarterback with him as I know he felt bad as he had the match won. The next game he sort of fell apart and had no chance once he let Efren back in it.

[One Pocket Ghost]

Not following you around but so the people know and as I posted in AZ Tony was not at 6 balls but he in fact owed one and had run 7 and made the 8th ball and would have one if he did not owe that one. IMO the draw shot was about 2 ft. and he drew 1 ft. or so , but still not enough. I think he was worried he might jaw the ball out if he hit it too hard imo. I was going to ask him but did not want to monday morning quarterback with him as I know he felt bad as he had the match won. The next game he sort of fell apart and had no chance once he let Efren back in it.


Suki, I have to respectfully disagree with you about the distance and the outcome of Tony's draw shot - I'll stick by my version....I do agree with you though that the reason that he didn't draw back whitey was that he was scared that he might rattle the shot and not make it.

[Jimmy Caruso]

I was right on top of this shot. I don't remember the cue being more than two feet from the object ball, and the required draw was a foot or less. I don;t know what happened, but the ball only drew an inch or two at most. Trying not to hit it too hard? Ball skid? Not low enough on the cue? Tight grip? I really felt for Tony, because he should have won the set. He can make that shot in his sleep, but it just wasn't there when he needed it.

I believe he asked Efren which ball he would have shot first and Efren said he would have shot the other ball (requiring either a force to the opposite side rail and back for shape, or a difficult hold on the cue to give a hard angle cut for the next shot). Then Efren set up the balls and shot the same shot Tony missed and drew it back easily for shape.

[One Pocket Ghost]

I was right on top of this shot. I don't remember the cue being more than two feet from the object ball, and the required draw was a foot or less. I don;t know what happened, but the ball only drew an inch or two at most. Trying not to hit it too hard? Ball skid? Not low enough on the cue? Tight grip? I really felt for Tony, because he should have won the set. He can make that shot in his sleep, but it just wasn't there when he needed it.

I believe he asked Efren which ball he would have shot first and Efren said he would have shot the other ball (requiring either a force to the opposite side rail and back for shape, or a difficult hold on the cue to give a hard angle cut for the next shot). Then Efren set up the balls and shot the same shot Tony missed and drew it back easily for shape.


Jimmy, thanks for backing up my version of this shot/situation - I was also sitting right in front of the shot. A previous post incorrectly said that he drew whitey back a foot - no way - as we both saw and said, he only drew the ball 1 inch.

[SactownTom]

I talked to Tony Chohan about that shot Wed nite. He told me that what was on his mind was rattling the OB in the pocket. That loss, tied the match up at 2-2.

He also admitted to having chances in the last game, but couldn't close.

Tony's only 23 and has a lot of game for that age.

And he still has problems with his older (1 year) cousin Amar Kang. Both players have the potential to become two of the game's best players.

They are regulars at Hard Times Billiards tournaments and are prominent high finishers (top 6 in most events) in any tournament in California.

I was right on top of this shot. I don't remember the cue being more than two feet from the object ball, and the required draw was a foot or less. I don;t know what happened, but the ball only drew an inch or two at most. Trying not to hit it too hard? Ball skid? Not low enough on the cue? Tight grip? I really felt for Tony, because he should have won the set. He can make that shot in his sleep, but it just wasn't there when he needed it.

I believe he asked Efren which ball he would have shot first and Efren said he would have shot the other ball (requiring either a force to the opposite side rail and back for shape, or a difficult hold on the cue to give a hard angle cut for the next shot). Then Efren set up the balls and shot the same shot Tony missed and drew it back easily for shape.