ARUBA - day 1

All right, I arrived at my first stop in Aruba, one of the 3 dutch islands out here called the ABC-islands (Bonair and Cuarcao). After a long nap till this morning 11am I went playing Tennis with Thorsten Hohmann, Charlie Williams and Shane van Boening. I lost in the single match against Charlie but could win the doubles together with Thorsten for the lunch! And since we are in Aruba we decided to cool down in the clear water of the sea here - that made my day. I actually don't like the sea too much but here it is just overwhelming - white sand and clear water!










The meeting at the Hustlers pool hall was set for 7pm. With a little delay we started the clacutta. For those that don't know calcutta - each player gets sold and everybody can buy. 1st blind pick went for 900$ and the guy took Mika. Charlie Williams' question was: Mika who??! 2nd blind pick has gone for 1400$ which was Ralf Souquet. Also players like Thorsten, Shane and Niels were "sold" for a couple of hundreds. I went for 60$ :)

With a little practice we all left the club and went back to the hotel to leave for dinner. At the Brazilian Steakhouse around the corner even me as a vegetarian felt great with a big salad and some nice grilled pineapple. Together with the Shiraz my day was just getting to the highest level!















Now we just came back having a drink at the bar and I already look forward to my first game tomorrow against Denmark's Katrin Jensen at 1pm (19.00 CET). Visit ultimate10ball.com to see the tournament chart and the link to the live stream (ustream) - have fun!!

CUE OF CHOICE

About three years ago I switched from my Joss with a 314 Predator-shaft to the Mezz with a WD700-shaft. Although I loved to hit the balls with my Joss it just felt great to hit'em with my new Mezz - maybe the best change ever in my "pool-life".

The quality of the Mezz products is magnificent! There is not more to say about this topic - just perfect craftsmanship and unique as well as beautiful designs. But how did it modify my skills?
Some low percentage shots are now medium or even high percentage shots and the basics are just more solid then anytime before. I improved my massé-game a lot as well as my kicking-game. The WD700 is easier to control because it doesn't produce unintensional spin like the 314-shaft.

Conclusion: I am very thankful that today I am playing with one of the best performing high quality cues world wide. It changed my game to a higher level and also gave me some extra self-confidence - you try it, you'll love it!

VOYAGE

My journey will start on April 28th. Therefore I will write some small posts as kind of an appetizer.

My trip trough the U.S. and before to Aruba will be nice, that's for sure! But what can I and what do I expect? This trip is definitely in the category "the journey is the reward". I will visit three of America's biggest cities, one of them having the nickname "Sin City".

What can I expect?
Lots of games - playing pool all night long - have some drinks in nice bars, casinos and pool halls - maybe a cancelled flight or some of these bed bugs - meet new people and friends etc etc...

But what do I expect?
All right, the time in Aruba is going to be relaxed. A tourney on this fantastic island with four to five more days staying after the tournament is over - great! But then, two weeks in Vegas will be fun anyway. Tourneys, gambling, parties and more gambling! My stay in Los Angeles and New York will make the whole thing even more interesting. Once I have read: a journey means unexpected encounters, beautiful detours, foreign areas, dangerous wandering, lucrative wrecks and creative adventures! And if I feel like "Vince", only for a minute, the whole jounrey was worth it!

ONTOUR

On my tour, starting on April 28, I will visit not only nice tournaments but also beautiful places. I am lucky to visit on of the beautiful caribbean islands, Aruba, as well as Americas biggest and most impressive cities like Las Vegas, Los Angeles and New York!

My first stop will be Aruba for the Ultimate 10-Ball tourney...

Stop #2 will be "Sin City" Las Vegas! Although I hope to play three tournaments in these two weeks- WPM Qualifier, the World Pool Masters itself and the 1st U.S. Open 10-Ball - I hope to visit the Garnd Canyon and the SkyWalk. Let's see if there will be some luck on my side...

The City of Angels will be my 3rd stop - the Seminole Pro Tour is waiting. My second visit in this legendary area - last time is 16 years ago, let's see what is left and what will be new...

At last the City that never sleeps is on the list - hello Big Apple and hello Joss Tour and Predator Tour! Will be some fun for sure...