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!
May 7, 2010
May 2, 2010
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!
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!
May 1, 2010
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!
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!
April 30, 2010
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!!
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!!
April 15, 2010
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!
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!
April 9, 2010
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!
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!
April 2, 2010
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...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
