There were some interesting things which occurred at the Derby. In a TV table one-pocket match between Frost and Brumback, JB was faced with a leave in which he had to elevate his cue to full masse level in order to nip a ball out of the stack to stay safe. It was a good shot, but after a brief pause, Frost came over and said to JB that it was a foul. He said that his cue had brushed two balls which slightly moved them. John didn’t think it was a foul, since it was “cueball fouls only”, and I was in agreement from the stands.
However, Scott called for Ken Schuman, and after a discussion Schuman did rule it a foul. John accepted it without comment, put a coin up, and took his seat. One or two observers questioned Schuman’s call, but he told them that he could take care of it by himself, and didn’t need their input (which was true).
So there is a difference between the DCC 1P rules, and our own from 1po. If they’d been using our rules, providing there was no other foul on the stroke, then the Frost would simply have been allowed to replace the two balls as close as possible to their original position. I like our rules better.
Playing out the bank pool finals in the middle of the night was a travesty. They always used to play the final few matches on Tuesday. This year they insisted on finishing it out Monday, even though they had 387 players (I believe) in the banks. Their decision probably cost Brumback a third DCC banks title. Obvious fatigue had set in, and John was missing what would normally be hangers for him.
Buddy Hall was waiting for his opponent to show for a banks match in an upstairs room. During the lull a young man very timidly approached Buddy to ask him what kind of cue he was using. Buddy smiled, stuck out the cue to him, and said, “Here, why don’t you hit some balls with it.” The guy’s eyes got real wide, and he gingerly reached out for the cue. He did hit some shots, and actually ran about 7-8 balls. When he handed the cue back to Buddy and thanked him, the kid had a bad stammer, and was obviously not real bright. Buddy then engaged him in a little conversation until Buddy had to go. I guarantee you that that kid will never, ever forget his contact and kindness from the great Buddy Hall.
For me, the most interesting player to watch in the whole event was Chris Gentile from Chicago. He’s a professional poker player and a fearsome after hours 1P player. He man-handled both John Schmidt and Buddy Hall 3-1. He certainly can run balls, but his true strength is a lock-down Chicago squeeze style which completely frustrates his opponents. His other strengths are an unflappable demeanor, a kind of hip chicness, and a self-assured attitude which seems to unconsciously impart to his opponents that they really don’t have much of a chance. I was picking Gentile to get into the 1P final 6 or so, but I don’t know where he ended up. I think he was up all night Tuesday night playing an action match (Brad Smith?), so he might not have been in good shape for his matches Wednesday. I’m sure the action money is more important to him than the tournament. As a matter of fact, I’m surprised that he showed his stuff in a big tourney. That was his “coming out”, so he probably won’t now be able to get the same games.
To my delight, the shuttles from the hotel to the venue ran much more often this year than they did two years ago. I had to make the long trek only about ½ the time. The hotel is very nice, but they nickel & dime you to death. Everything placed in the room tempts one to use it, and to be charged for it. I’m surprised they didn’t charge for turning on the lights! There were more food choices available this year right near the venue: sandwiches, salads, pastries, drinks—all no more costly than, say, New York City…
There seemed to have been slightly fewer tables this year. I believe in 2009 that there were 63 tables. I’d guess that there were 6-8 fewer this year. They’ve mostly ironed out the computer scheduling system, so that ran fairly smoothly. All the match times were posted in advance, and the pertinent web pages were streamed to the hotel TV system. There are still common problems with scheduling when players have not finished the Banks division, but yet are currently scheduled to play one-pocket matches. Many of the matches are postponed until the next day, which then causes the waiting player to have to re-group. The banks may have been the largest division—at least much larger than the 1P, so they’ll have to factor that in for ensuing years.
Doc