Monday 30 August 2010

Eurotour Finland

Well guys, just got back from Finland. I finished 5th eventually losing to the winner, Nick Van Den Berg. I did well to qualify for last 32 after losing my opening match 8-5, after that i won 5 matches in a row to qualify for the KO stages. I drew Ralf Souquet, probably the worst draw posible, but played perfect and romped home 8-2. I followed this up with a very similar performance against good friend Chris Melling, winning 8-2 again. In the quarters agains Van Den Berg i got kicked in-off twice off of my break...and that was it basically....i didnt do much wrong and lost 8-2. Thats the way it goes sometimes in this game, you have to take the rough with the smooth.
Karlos Boyes finished 2nd and nailed the first place in this years Mosconi Cup by finishing number 1 on the rankings, so well done to him for this, and also a great season in general.....a well deserved spot for sure!
I finished 2nd on the rankings well clear of 3rd place, and i was the only player to win 2 events in the series so i am well in the mix for one of the other spots, and because the European players (except for Karl) have not performed further afield this season, it should make my 2 Eurotour wins a big factor in the remaining places.
But lets just wait and see what happens with that.....

Next up is the World Cup of Pool in Manila where Boyzi and myself will be trying to make more history in the pool world!

Saturday 21 August 2010

Up coming events and Preperation

Well, both me and Karl have been putting plenty of time in on the table, trying to get as ready as possible for the World Cup of Pool on 7th-12th September in Manila. For any of you that dont already know, this event is a Scotch doubles event (alternate shots), with 32 countries participating. Its promoted by Matchroom Sport, and is televised and broadcast around the world. The event is invite only, so for us English players its very hard to make the team because we have so many good players now-a-days, and its pairs so only 2 players get the nod.


















Anyway, practice has been going really well, we were going to alternate between my house and Karls but my table has not arrived yet so i have been going up to Karls place. He has a nice tight Dynamic table in his purpose built room, and it makes you knuckle down because anything touching the rail on its way to the pocket wont drop!
We have been mainly focusing on our timing and gelling around the table, because there is a shot clock in this event, speaking though experience its best not to get bogged down with too much talking inbetween shots. It sounds simple enough to do, but when slight doubts come in on certain shots is when it gets hard. Anyway, things are progressing well, and we will be fine tuned ready for this big event. We went out earlier today to pick up our attire for this event, i wont say too much about it, but we could be in with a shout for the $1,000 prize for the best dressed team! lol

Before then, we both have a big event in Finland...the Finland Eurotour. Its more important for Karl and myself than most because we are ranked 1 and 2 on the rankings after winning 3 from the last 6 events between us (Karl 1 and me 2), and the player who finishes number 1 after this event is guaranteed a place on the European team for this years Mosconi Cup.
 
The only other player who could possibly finish number 1 is Niels Feijen, but both Karl and i would need to have a nightmare event and also niels would need to win it to acheive this. What ever happens in Finland though, all 3 of us are very much in the mix for the remaining places.
Obviously, if we can pull a win off in Manila (World Cup of Pool) then this wouldnt do us any harm towards the call up either!

After the World Cup of Pool in Manila, i will be staying on there for another week to play some golf and basically chill, before moving on to Shanghai for the China Open. This is another major event which was won last year by Thorsten Hohmann. Its an excellent event which also has a seperate Ladies China Open event running along side it, where all of the top ladies are in attendance.
This event is also Televised, so there will be more chance to gain great exposure for my sponsors.

After this i then go onto Sarajevo for the Sarajevo Open (also Televised by local TV). I am very much looking forward to this event as i have heard so many good things about it from other players. There is a ring game which i am in before the main event, and this is held in one of the cities top casinos.

I could go on and on about events after that such as th U.S Open and portugal Eurotour etc, but i will go through those a little nearer the time.
I will also update you on my results in the events mentioned above as i play through them.

So all in all, my preperation is going very well, and i have a pretty busy schedule over the next few months. Its a little like the waiting for a bus......one minute there are none, then they all come at once!
Nothing new in the life of a Professional Pool Player!

Sunday 15 August 2010

10 letters to remember.....

Determination
Ability
Respect
Yogurt
Limits

Positive
Experience
Athlete
Concentration
Harmony

Now i will go through them one by one....

Determination
Never get disheartened during matches, i know its hard sometimes when luck seems to be going against you, but its just like anything else.....the more you practice staying determined in your head, the better and more consistant you will get at it.


Ability
Try to realise your own ability, and where you can improve your game through practice. Try to put more time into the more inconsistant parts of your game.....dont just practice the things that you are already good at!

Respect
Always respect your opponent, even if they are a much weaker player than yourself. Not doing this is how matches are lost, when things are taken for granted.

Yogurt
Sounds funny doesnt it? Well someone once told me that when you travel to foreign countries, try eating a local plain yogurt before you do anything else. This will help prevent bacteria taking over your body....help prevent the old dodgy tummy etc.

Limits
When your playing in matches, you have to know your limits. Why risk handing the table over to your opponent by taking on a shot that you are not 100% that you will make? I see a lot of players trying to "keep up" with their opponents, and losing because of it. Learn to play your own game, and dont get intimidated into taking on a shot that you shouldnt be.

Positive
Speaks for its self really. Keep positive thoughts running through your head at al times. And just like Determination.....practice makes perfect.


Experience
Its true what they say, there is no substitute for experience, so try and play as many events that you possibly can, it will give you good seasoning, and in the end it will hold you in good stead.

Athlete
You see this a lot on facebook..... John Smith "athlete". Well, if you look at the majority of the top players, they all keep in shape. Obviously some take it further than others, but i strongly believe that keeping fit helps your pool game.

Concentration
It goes without saying that a pool player need to have excellent concentration skills to acheive his/her goals. But this skill doesnt come naturally, it takes practice just like everything else in order to acheive the highest concentration skills. I practice this more than most things as i am a strong beleiver in "the zone" !!


Harmony
You hear players coming off the match table saying "he played his A game, i couldnt do a thing!" Well, the reason why this guy has just acheived his "A game" is because he managed to gel all his ability, concentration, skill, positivness, experience, and determination all together at the same time. When this happens, it doesnt matter who you are playing, and trust me, its an awesome feeling!

Wednesday 11 August 2010

Thanks for checking out my new blog.

First of all, thanks for checking out my new blog.
I hope that you enjoy it.
I will be posting many stories about my pool over the coming months, from practice drills, to tournament preperation, and from tournament results and form to my expectations in the game. In fact i will be posting on almost everything to do with me and my pool game.

So please keep coming back to check out what mt latest news is.

Thanks again,


Daryl.