Hi, Doc. The one-pocket tournament was a race to 3, alternate break. The finals was a race to 5. The B side player does not need to beat the A side player twice, just an extended race.
Some of the matches exceeded 3 hours, which held up the charts. Jeremy Jones, Kid Delicious, Brian Jones, Dave Bollman, and a few others are excellent one-hole players, but their matches did seem to take a long time. We won a few jellybeans betting on Dave Bollman. He's still a one-pocket machine!
I was chatting with Rodney Morris and asked him what kind of cue he uses. He said he's using a Sambozi (sp) and has been shooting with the SAME cue since 1990.
Scott Frost ended up in the hotseat of the one-pocket tournament. The match between Tulsa's Brian Jones and Houston's David Guitterez dragged along for 3-plus hours. The audience was restless, especially those who were enjoying a little wagering on the side.
The shot of the tournament came during the match between Jeremy Jones and Keith. Keith shoots the 8-ball towards his hole, but the ball just hung there in the jaws. Jeremy, wanting to at least get this ball out of Keith's hole, aimed for it and, using some sort of super-duper english in Keith's hole, the cue-ball whizzed around the 8-ball and hit the side-tit of the pocket and threw the 8-ball into Jeremy's hole. The crowd jumped to their feet and cheered. It was one of the best one-pocket shots I've seen in a long time, and to execute it successfully in the heat of battle like Jeremy did was great to watch.
After pocketing the 8-ball, Jeremy leaves Keith a ball in the middle of the end rail, about a foot and a half from his hole, with the cue-ball way down the other end of the table. It was a lot-of-green shot and looked impossible from where the cue-ball was laying, like a 90-degree angle. Keith always likes to use his inside englishes. He hit the rail first, I think, and the spin made the object glide into his pocket. This was the next shot after Jeremy's super shot, and again, the crowd erupted in loud cheers and applause.
I asked Jeremy after the match about that 8-ball shot, and he said it was just a lucky shot. From the rail, it looked like a trick shot, and instead of just knocking it in Keith's hole, like some would, he figured a way out of the trap. Great shooting!
There are a few VIP seats with 8-1/2-by-11 sheets of paper on them listing the names of the VIP's. They are padded high chairs with arm-rests. Some VIP seating chairs have names of local businesses and sponsors of the tournament. Gene Hooker, one of the tournament promoters at Fast Eddies, has two seats with the name "Hooker" written on them. Some of the ladies and I were laughing when we saw the dilemma of sitting in one of Hooker's seats, stating, "I'm not sitting in any chair with the name 'Hooker' written on it."
I still don't know who won the tournament, as I'm sitting in the hotel lobby using their computer. I guess I'll find out when I head to the pool room at 12:00 noon today for the 9-ball tourney kick-off. I'm looking forward to a great day after -- FINALLY -- a good night's sleep!
JAM
