Monday, April 19, 2010

2010 World Cup of Trick Shots Team Selection

I'm getting word that the 2010 World cup of Trick Shots teams will look like this:

USA: Andy Segal, Bruce Barthelette, Tom Rossman, and Jamey Gray (unless Dave Nangle wins Trick Shot Magic in which case he would replace Jamey.

Europe: Nick Nikolaidis, Luke Szywala, Stefano Pelinga, and a player to be named, likely between Gabi Visoiu and Florian Kohler, again, pending performances at Trick Shot Magic.

2009 ESPN Trick Shot Magic Recap and Analysis

I just finished updating the 2009 Trick Shot Magic matches. Yeah, I'm a bit late, but no one else online is doing it ;) The semifinal matches featured Nick Nikolaidis versus Andy Segal and Eric Yow versus Sebastian Giumelli. The final pitted Andy Segal versus Sebastian Giumelli. Check out the selected shots as televised by ESPN. I have online videos of some of the shots too.

Ultimate Trick Shot Tour Stop #3 at Shooter's Billiards

The third tour stop of the Ultimate Trick Shot Tour was this last Sunday. We had a pretty good turn out of 13 players, which made the brackets a bit tricky, but everyone was guaranteed four matches. I got grouped with Gil Olsen, Andy Segal, Bruce Barthelette, Jason Kane, Gordon Hedges, and Paul Danno. Matt MacPhail, Dave Nangle, Jamey Gray, Peyton Thomas, Dainius Stipinas, and Joe Bonge were in the other group.

In my first match, I played Gil. He had some really creative shots including a jump-masse railroad shot. He didn't convert too many of his shots though and I ended up winning 5-1. I played Andy in my second match and lost 7-3. I got close on a few shots, rocking hanging balls, so maybe it should have been closer. After a bye, I played Paul in my third match. We both didn't do so well although I again nudged a couple hanging balls without pocketing them. The final score was 3-2. In my last group match, I went up against Gordon, getting to try out some of his crazy shots, including a splitting triple jump which I failed miserably at. I ended up winning in the end though, 4-3.

That was good enough for third place in my flight and a trip to the playoffs against Matt. The match was tense all the way through as we each made the same shots. He missed my last challenge, but I missed his as well leading to a tie breaker, a five rail kick and lag to a ball on the spot. We both shot it pretty horribly, but after some deliberation and fine measurements, I was declared the winner by less than an inch. That gave me a semifinal date with Andy again. He made most of his challenges and I wasn't able to take advantage when he missed and ended up losing 6-3. Dave lost his semifinal to Jamey, so I had to face him in the third place match. He got off to a poor start and I was able to take a three point lead and held it for the rest of the match, winning 7-4 to take third place. Andy ended up beating Jamey in the final for his second win on the tour.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

ESPN 2010 Trick Shot Magic Players

This is an update to the ESPN 2010 Trick Shot Magic initial roster. It looks like the final player will be none other than Florian "Venom" Kohler from France! Should be a great show!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Season Wrap Up

Our team lost in the playoffs this week, finishing our season. I lost my match after scratching on the 8 ball. My opponent played well for his handicap level. We were tied 2-2 after the matches so we went to a tiebreaker match. They put up the guy I played and I decided to match him up against one of my other teammates. Perhaps the highlight was when she was using the mechanical bridge to help with a shot on the 8 ball and, after making the shot, tried to remove the bridge from the table and flung it straight up into to one of the lights shattering the bulb and spraying glass all over the table. Oh, well, guess there's always next session.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

2010 Trick Shot Magic Update

ESPN's Trick Shot Magic for 2010 is scheduled for Sep 1 and 2, 2010 in Las Vegas! The field is almost set with one spot left to be determined. The current invitees are Andy Segal (defending champion), Jamey Gray, Gabi Visoiu, Nick Nikolaidis, Stefano Pelinga, Tom Rossman, and Dave Nangle. If the past is any indication, look for it to be on TV in December.