SEMINOLE PRO TOUR - day 1

All right folks! First of all sorry for the wrong link to TAR earlier this week. The live-stream for the Seminole Pro Tour is on right here!
Well, there is not much to say today: I won my first round against a local player by the score of 7:2 and my next one against the 3rd living legend on my trip - José Parica! - by the score of 7:5. I was actually up 5:0 but suddenly forgot how to hold my stick and didn't take the chances he gave me till we finally tied up at 5 each. For the next two games I have to say that none of us really deserved it but he just missed another easy shot to see me running the last three balls and get away undefeated into day 2.

Back to LOS ANGELS

First of all I'd like to thank everybody for their b-day wishes via facebook and text message! I really appreciate it and was overwhelmed how many people took a minute to write something - COOL!
My day "started" at the Tonic Club in Santa Barbara, enjoying party time. Party-bus, nice drinks, cool people, good music and a swollen foot was the final score! Special thanks to Nadine, Natalie and Josh for the last 3 days, the party and last but not least the b-day cake just after being awake - as good as it gets!












Today I experienced what it means to be in a LA-traffic when everybody got off work. I headed back from Santa Barbara to the Hollywood Blvd. in Los Angeles to compete in the Seminole Pro Tour over the next three days. Looks like I at least kind of find back to my game as the strange equipment in the last few weeks took a lot of my self-confidence. I still have to fight for every shot and couldn't develope a fluent game yet. But sometimes pool is not a game, it's a fight, a mental fight!

ISLA VISTA

Enjoying live in Isla Vista (near Santa Barbara) on the UCSB campus is just nice! Life slowed down a little bit after the two weeks in "Sin City" and that's in fact exactly what I needed - nice.
On this occasion I am also checking out the web a little bit more than the last 4 weeks and found a video-shot of the last night at my home pool room again. Thank you Franzi for taking the vid! It was a fun night and I'd like to thank again everybody that showed up that night. I will definately think back to all the years I spend in "Daimler-City" every once in a while!

Don't forget to tune in over the weekend and Memorial Day for the first Seminole Pro Tour stop in California. The guys from TAR (www.theactionreport.com) will stream it live to your home pc all three days of play! Players like Reyes, Bustamante, Gomez, Dominiguez, van Boening, Immonen and many more are awaited. Indeed a high-quality field again! Check it out!

SANTA BARBARA - Isla Vista

Sometimes, betweeen all the matches and tournaments it's just necessary to go away from the green felt and see something new. That's exactly what I am doing right now. A few weeks ago I found out that I friend of mine from Stuttgart is studying near Los Angeles and after some chatting I said to visit here. So here I am now on the campus of the UCSB and enjoy the people and living here. The campus is not only huge but also very cool with a lot of easy going people. And this is, I guess, the only place where the cars have to watch out for the bicycles because there are so many!!


























In the evening I just met a pool player that I got to know only like a week ago in Vegas. We went for a beer to downtown Santa Barbara and I have to admit that this is maybe not the biggest place but very nice and with a lot of air. Also put an eye into the town's only pool hall - also tiny with only seven tables! I guess somebody got to open up a pool hall here...

LOS ANGELES - Hollywood Billiards

After the past few days in Vegas I indeed needed some kind of time-out. Therefore I took a long sleep last night and didn't plan anything for today.
But before I could fell asleep last night I made a very cool experience. The guys from Pool-Stage made it possible to tune me in the State Championships of Baden-Württemberg's live stream to do commentary together with nobody else than Ralph Eckert. It took them maybe 45 minutes to have it all set up and having a connection via Skype directly to "Die Drei - Billard,Dart and more..." in Sindelfingen/Germany. Thankyou guys, David, Stephan and Michael for this very nice intermezzo!

Today, as said, I took it slowly. I enjoyed Hollywood Billiard's cuisine, played some pool and read in a book that one of my postseason's teammates recommended - Tiziano Terzani's "Das Ende ist mein Anfang" (the end is my commencement).

Later in the evening, around midnight, Oscar and Ernesto Dominguez showed up to renew the cloth for the upcoming Seminole Pro Tour stop next weekend. While Ernesto already occupied with the Gold Crowns - thank God there aren't any Diamonds this time - Oscar and me played some cheap practise sets. And this time, after losing two sets in Vegas, I at least could get out even. As at Pool Sharks las week it was a pleasure to play him. Oscar and also his father seem to be different than most American pool players - decenct guys which are not show-offs and don't need to shark thier opponents during the game. Thank you very much for another fair game!

Goodbye Las Vegas - Hello Los Angeles

The days after my out in the US Open 10-Ball I checked out the Las Vegas nightlife again... and I didn't get disappointed! The clubs are just nice and the people celebrate themselves different than back home. The club "XS" at the Wynn was the place to be yesterday - at least for me. Second time visiting this club I could see the real size of it with all the outdoor terrace they have -just stylish and off the hook!

But what else to say about Las Vegas?
I played two tournaments in the same hotel. In fact I failed qualifying for the first, but the difference between
Matchroom Sports and the BCA as a promoter of pro events is significant. The whole TV arena setup was different. The press releases as well as small features were just handeled unlike. Another point that decreased the level of the US Open was the equipment. The Diamond tables are just not ment to be a part of pro events. To quote Raj Hundal: "this was the first time ever that I have seen Efren looking irritated". And that really does mean a lot! The rails are bouncey unlike the Brunswick tables and, more important, don't bounce the same every time. This just took a lot of self-confidence of a lot of players in this tournament and limited the level of the event itself.


Matchroom Sport, in my point of view, did a great job again. The only thing I didn't like was the chosen pool hall for the qualifier. We played on four different kinds of tables with two different sets of balls (even mixed up and not having all the same size sometimes). That is not really the right way to do a qualifier for a championship like the World Pool Masters.
Off the pool halls and tournaments, on the one hand, I liked Vegas. Not only because of the strip, the good food, the clubs, but also because the people I met there. All together just one hell of a trip! On the other hand I was kind of disappointed of "Sin City". Some hotels didn't finish the buildings because the money ran out. This leaves a strange and inglorious touch. Also the old-fashioned lighting doesn't exist anymore. The new hotels are more stylish and keep the colours simple but still have a pompous interior design. It's a very nice place to go but not the Vegas you might remember from the movies.

Today I had to catch my flight to Los Angeles. Everything worked out good. In fact I can call myself lucky this time because I didn't have any trouble with flights, hotels or other arrangements. Also "Enterprise's" car is working fine - for an American car - and I could find Hollywood Billiards straight away! Even the motel "The Hollywood Downtowner" had a room left for me to stay. Good rolls I guess...

LAS VEGAS - rien ne va plus!

Took a time-out yesterday and didn't go to the "Riv" to watch any match. Instead Jonny and me went to see Cirque du Soleil. What a show! Nice! I am sure that I will see another CdS-show in the future. Everytime I go to see a show like this - just like "The Blue Man Group" - I am very impressed by these overwhelming performances. After the show, on the way back to the hotel, we also attended the Pirates-Show at the Treasure Island which was nice to see but not compareable with CdS at all!

Today I actually felt pretty good and self-confident going to the table just after lunch. Nobody else than another legend of the sport, Mr. Target-Pool himself, Kim Davenport. Sometimes you miss the start, sometimes you just play bad. This time I really tried to play the right patterns but just didn't get any payday in the first couple of games. After a while I was down 1:5. I could catch up to go 4:5 but scratched on the 7 - just a stupid shot I made! The funny thing was that he took a time-out only a few minutes later, at the score of 4:6, after I had to play a safty due to the layout after the break. He came back and didn't do good on that kick-shot. This was the last time the spectators have seen him at the table while I was running a 4-pack to win the set 9:6!

With this game in the back and more and more confidence I went to the table for the 6pm-round against former European #1 Mark Gray. I had to play him only once before in the IPT qualifier in at Rileys Victoria in London. Back then I beat him with a solid stroke 10-3 to finish him in that qualifier. But today the cards played different. I just didn't get in stroke and missed some very easy and important shots in a row. My defense was better than his but still I couldn't get that damn table cleared up. After only 60 minutes I had to say good-bye with a 3:9 loss. The rolls in Las Vegas haven't been on my side this time - should rather play the cards I guess...

Tonight the BCA is having a cocktail-kinda-party at the Blush. I might gonna check this one out and see what the late hours gonna give me...
Stay tuned for next week's tourney at Hollywood Billiards in Los Angeles. The Seminole Pro Tour stops by and I am sure to see some of the world's best players again!

LAS VEGAS - U.S. Open

The reason why I didn't write for two days is that I tried to be just focused and not talking about my game too much anymore. And, in fact, it helped a lot! Yesterday I won my first round match against Keith Bennett from the US 9:4 after trailing 2:4. Played solid and added some good shots to the game.

Today Mike Dechaine, a well known pool player from the east coast, was waiting for me. I played okay in the beginning of the match but somehow could not get the games home. Being down 1:4 I pushed another gear and game back strong, leading 5:4 now. But as it is sometimes, the gas only takes you a couple of miles but then runs out for some reason. That is exactly what happend today - fuel was empty and after a bad 2nd period of the game I had to face the loser's round, getting beat 6:9!

Next game is on Thursday, 1pm local time. I will definately be hard to battle now because I feel much stronger than the days before although I lost today. Having a time-out tomorrow I will go and watch one of the nice shows at the strip - maybe some "cirque du soleil"
... edit: "Cirque du Soleil" ce soir! Just booked the best seats...

LAS VEGAS - Sunday

Today at 5pm local time the 1st 10-Ball US Open is underway and therefore it was just perfect to have a relaxing Sunday at Mark's place. We enjoyed a nice lunch, the sun and of course his pool in the backyard which was just the place to be on that sunny, hot day!

Later on we went to the "Riv" to see some of the the last action in this year's World Pool Masters watching Ortmann vs. Kuribayashi in the semis and the final between Orcullo and the Japanese. Any of these players deserved it! Finally it was Orcullo and one of all the titels Europe is holding slipped away. But just this week there is a new one to get and I am sure the European players will perform strong - hope to do so as well although I wasn't happy with my game in the last 3 weeks.

STORY of last night

When you go to the USA for a couple of weeks to play some tourneys you should know that there's gonna be some action around to see. Every day in Las Vegas we could see some nice money games or were even involved ourselves in one. But last night is one of tthese stories that you might wanna tell for the next couple of months or even years.

When we entered Pool Sharks last night around 10pm it was Shane talking to that strange guy that already lost somewhere between 40-60000$ the nights before. So finally, after maybe one hour of discussion about which table etc. they finally started to play. Shane won 20000$ from that guy the night before and now they were also playing for about 10-15000$ in a race to 13 9-Ball. Of course Shane had to give some weight:

- five on the wire (five ahead for the other guy)
- all the breaks for that guy
- ball in hand after each break
- the 4-Ball and the last four

After two to three racks the discussion came up to rack with the magic rack and Shane somehow agreed after ca. 20 minutes, so they continued. With a really solid game and lots of missed chances from that guy - let's call him Dizzy - Shane won the game 13:9 (13:4) and collected the cash. Now the whole thing started over and they tried to figure a new deal. At one point Shane suddenly was supposed to play Cory Deuel in one pocket but denied. After probably 30 more minutes of bullshit talking the new deal should be Dizzy playing Busti - of course all the "high-rollers" came down to Pool Sharks to get their own piece of the cake - with the same weight like in the match against Shane before but this time in a race to 38 with 18 an the wire!! It took another hour and nobody really knew if the action is on or not but finally they started - what a match.

Busti played strong from the beginning but still tied up at seven games a piece so it was a race to 31 with still 18 on the wire! Now Busti started to play perfect and took down the next few games to have a seven games lead after the next nine racks - 15:8. What happend now was strange! The guy that made the rack changed from the 10-Ball Magic Rack to the 9-Ball Magic Rack and suddenly the 9-Ball went straight to the side pocket four out of four on the next breaks. One guy even told me that the rakcer put some money AGAINST Busti himself. Dizzy now had a high and put a "7 pack" together to tie up at 15 each. Some lucky shots, some actually good shots as well made the air getting thinner for Busti every minute. But he still stood tall and tried to fight going to 23:18 after the next dozen of racks. But everybody in the room knew that the weight now is just too much to win with because Dizzy always has the break and of course the chance to pocket the 9-Ball or 4-Ball on the break or playing a combo after that.

After a couple of more minutes it fionally came down to the 4-Ball on the table, a thin cut to the middle pocket - and it was IN! The game goes to Dizzy as well as most of the involved money. They game itself was for 25000$ with again 46000$ in side bets which made that 4-Ball a 71000$-Ball. Definately one of the most expensive shots I have ever seen so far. Crazy night that was, just crazy!
For me one thing is getting clearer and clearer: Busti is THE player. They way he plays, the touch he has, the mental strength and his personality itself is just great. After watching him in action in Manila before for a few times and now here in Vegas he is definately becoming my favorite player in world, that's for sure! The shots he makes as well as the kicks... unbelievable! Just a MUST to see!

Read more about last night on AZBilliards' forum

Las Vegas - qualifiers

Today it was the last chance to get a spot for Matchroom Sport's World Pool Masters which kicks off tomorrow at noon with 64 of the world's best players. Couple of high performance players put their names on the list for the two qualifiers today at Pool Sharks, just 3 miles off the strip. Luke Riches from Matchroom Sport already wrote a report - check it out HERE.

So there is still a little tiny hope left to get a spot. But the past taught me that I qualify straight away or not at all. Let's see what's in the box this time...

Besides the game itself I met two guys over here in Sin City. On the one hand it's "Swissman" Markus Gfeller who lives in the US for over 30 years. It's nice to speak Swiss German, especially when your conversation partner is a hell of a guy. Secondly I met one of my first teachers in the game - living legend Rafael Martinez! I visited him in Hannover/Germany about 11 years ago and haven't seen him since then. Was great to see him again!

Anyway I will be playing the BCA US Open 10 Ball next week also at the Riviera here in Vegas. Till then I got to do lots of drills to get my game together again. Maybe I will also get into some action in one of the pool rooms here and sight seeing is a must!

That's it for tonight. Hope to get back with better tomorrow...

Edit: went up and down the strip tonight to get a little bit of air in my head and to make some pics and also vids. Here is the one I did at the show of the Bellagio. Nice!

Las Vegas - arrival

Yesterday I had to leave Aruba - but from "one happy island" I went on to "one lucky place"! Las Vegas or "Sin City" was calling. And even the departure was nice because they did all the border stuff and customs right there in Aruba so I didn't have to pick up my belongings in Chicago (pit stop), drop them of again and hurry. Perfect! After 2 long flights without any food I arrived at the McCarren International in the evening. It was planned that my friend Jonny Stojanovic would pick me up there but somehow we just missed each other for almost an hour as I decided to leave to the hotel by myself.










The Wynn! - just one nice place. The entrance, the casino itself, the reception and the room - wow! Just over whelming! But nothing is as good as nice food in an empty stomach. I was lucky that Jonny thought the same and also came back to the hotel just a couple of minutes later than me: let's go eat!















Today and the tomorrow I will have days off. The qualifier at Pool Sharks will start Tuesday night. Let's see what happens till then...

ARUBA - day 10

Once the Ultimate10Ball Open here in Aruba was over the time came to enjoy all of the island. Peter Nielsen from Denmark extended his holidays and stayed as well for couple of more days.

On Tuesday night we participated in a small tourney here on the island but somehow both of us failed! On Wednesday we all went to the beach with Ditto, Katrine and Niels, Orietta and Bert as well as Chad. We spent couple of hours there enjoying the sea and its fishes doing some snorkeling - it was really amazing we all felt like a fish sometimes ourselves.
In the evening we were invited to Ditto's place for some bbq. We all sit together, enjoyed the nice food that Ditto's wife arranged for us and of couse some latin music. I shouldn't forget to mention that Peter and me never let a afternoon slip away without hanging out at the beach - so nice!

Today will be my last day on the island for this year. My flight to Las Vegas takes off just a bit before 2pm tomorrow. But one thing is for sure: that was not the last time for me going to Aruba - one happy island!

ARUBA - day X

There s not much to say about my game yesterday. Never got the feeling and required self-confidence on these tables here. They just play too strange - I used the following words of Forrest Gump a few times: life is like a box a chocolates, never know what you're gonna get! At the end of the day I lost to Charlie Williams 8:3 but in fact should have lost 8:0.

On the other side, this meant that I got free time! My opponent of an earlier round in the tourney, Peter F. Nielsen, and me went out to have a drink. The weather, the people and music were over the top and we definately had a blast!



















The upcoming days I will stay in Aruba, till May 8. On Saturday I will fly to Las Vegas. But till then I just gonna enjoy life here... stay tuned!

ARUBA - day 2

Had my first match today at 1pm against Denmark's Katrine Jensen. Was a very funny and strange game at the same time. On the one hand, I didn't know it was alternate break, on the other hand, Katrine and the referee also didn't realize it until I broke at the score of 2:0 and Katrine asked the ref if everything is going the right way. Finally they took me one game off and it was her break - pretty good deal for me! Later on Katrine made it to 4:7 but suddenly the score was 5:7 instead. So I asked about the real score and after a short discussion I gave 'em the choice of having me breaking again (altough I just broke) at the score of 7:5 or it's her break at 7:4. They have chosen gate 1 and after a safty and out I finally won the game.

The beach was on the to-do-list now! We enjoyed the clear water and white beach again today having some fun there - watch out for these guys:










(thanks Thorsten for the pics)

The afternoon was followed by dinner at Gianni's Ristorante around the corner and I have to say that this was probably the best pasta ai quattro formaggi I have ever had! Amazing!

With a good food in my stomach I was ready for my 11pm match against Denmark's Peter F. Nielsen, a former Euro Tour Pro. He also joined the taiwanese tour for three years in the middle of this decade. But the most important thing of the evening and also the strongest opponent for both of us was the table. Somehow they play worse every hour. Maybe because of the ac, maybe because of the tables itselves or the balls (object balls from Raschig and cueball from Aramith/Saluc). To make a long story short I won 8:5 but couldn't feel very happy because I just know how it has to be for Peter. I didn't really play better than him but somebody gotta win...

Lucky me - Peter has to play again on the loser's side tomorrow morning 9am while I can enjoy a nice sleep having my match against Shane van Boening at 1pm. Let's hope they are able to fix the tables - cross fingers!