BCAPL National 8-ball Championships, Las
Vegas, NV: With the recession still in full steam, poolrooms
struggling and people watching their wallets, what to expect this year
was a bit of a mystery. I was hoping to see the same usual faces, the
same booths and hopefully the same vibe. Thus far, the buzz is
definitely the same as it's always been but there's definitely a bit of
a difference. A few masks scattered the tournament room on the first
day but by day two, the H1N1 virus took a backseat to bar table
8-ball. It's May and that only means one thing in PoolWorld - Let the
games begin!
The
biggest surprise hit me when I least expected it. As I was killing
time between matches, wandering from table to table to watch friends
play, an announcement came over the loud speaker that took me waaaaaay
off guard: "Mika Immonen, TABLE 16" Wait, did I hear that right? The
former World Champion, the reigning US Open champion ON A BAR BOX? I
dropped what I was doing, ran over to his table, walking past Shane
VanBoening on yes, another bar table. Allison Fisher was due to make an appearance in the "amateur" room later that afternoon.
It
is always exciting to see the pros play but relate to them can often be
difficult. What Would Mika Do? Well, the answer would be in moments,
right on table 16. I really had no idea what to expect and what I saw
was no doubt an incredible surprise. Mika, like the rest of us, found
the equipment difficult! The fast cloth, tight pockets, small confines
all make for wonderfully consistent play but can be equally
frustrating. Mika's great stroke and amazing pocketing simply were not
going to be sufficient tools to master bartable 8-ball.
In
spite of the fears of the economy, pandemics and all the other concerns
that face our nation, the BCA marches on with their tradition for the
33rd straight year and continue to present the new and exciting. Aside
from seeing your favorite pro befuddled over what to do on the "easy"
tables, all matches are now presented online. Yes, that 's ONLINE and
updated rather quickly. Within minutes of receiving every match score,
the front desk has managed to update the chart so that players can
immediately know results on their iPhones and laptops. With Team-play
set to begin soon, this year will go down as one of the more exciting
and technically improved of all time. Perhaps the Mosconi Cup will one
day have to contend with BCA Grand Masters for Dream Team status, at
least in 8-ball.
