Back in Action

Last weekend I played in my first big tournament in Zurich. Last year I attended the Gstaad Swiss Open so this wasn't my first tournament in Switzerland but the Color of Money 9-Ball Tournament was still an interesting experience.

There are a few differences that I have noticed about Swiss pool vs. American pool. The players here actually use practice time to, well, practice...I know that is a funny concept because most players I know in the U.S. just "shoot" when they have time on the table. The local private club near my house has "training" nights 2 days per week and when I attend, all the players are actually running drills and shooting alone, each on their own table. The mechanics of the average amateur player here is far better than what I see in the U.S. Most players there, even the more advanced ones, spend little time on their form and have adjusted to their bad habits, myself included. Most players here are very deliberate with their pre-shot routines and have a very mechanical approach to the game. I believe a lot of what they do is guided by the PAT system which is popular here.

While all of this is a refreshing thing to see, the negative to pool here is that there seems to be little interest in spectating. When leaving the private club the night before the tournament, I asked a fellow player if he weas going to watch the tournament. He looked at me like I was crazy like "why would I do that?" The first thing that flashed in my mind was a view of the bleachers that have to be brought in for the Texas Open each year to make room for all of the paying spectators. This brings me to the next point, pool tournaments are not big business for the pool halls.

In addition to not bringing in lots of extra spectators for the tournament, the format of the tournament did nothing to encourage business for the poolhall. It was a round robin format with timed rounds and short breaks in between rounds. I of course made another "American" mistake when I ordered a rum and coke half way thru the round robin stage to calm my nerves. Apparently drinking is prohibited during the tournament and is grounds for disqualification, as well as the use of any drugs.
I like this rule as it pertains to promoting pool as a "sport" rather than a game played in bars but it does little to help bring in revenue for the pool hall. The rounds ran on schedule with no waitresses tending to the match tables so also no revenue there. They took a one hour break for lunch (Everyone at one time) so naturally, most players were ready to get out of the poolhall for a bit and left for lunch rather than ordering food there.

The format of the tournament itself was very professional. All the tabulations were done electronically, score sheets were printed for each round and everything ran quickly. I liked the round robin format because it allowed all players to get their money's worth as everyone was guaranteed at least 7 matches. It was a 64 player tournament, 8 groups of 8 with the top 2 of each group advancing to the single elimination final 16 bracket. The only part I didn't like was that the round robin stage was based on total games won, no value on winning or losing your match. So you are better off losing 7-9 than winning 6-3. The rounds were race to 9 with a 45 minute time clock. I was impressed by how quickly most players played. There were no gimmicks and slow playing and all the "extra" sharking that goes on with some of the tournaments here where players have the slow playing down to an art.

Overall I was very happy with how I played. Since I moved I have practiced much more than I have in the past 2 years so this was my first real tournament after I have been able to put a little time in on the table. Since it had been sooo long since I really felt like I was playing well I had no idea what to expect about my performance. I always feel like I play worse in men's events so I also had low expectations. Being one of 2 girls in the 64 player field, I'm sure the guys in my group were happy to see me there. My boyfriend is a former Swiss Champion and still one of the top players in the country. Unfortunately for his group, the other top ranked player, Dimitri Jungo, was also in their group so they were drawing dead from the first rack. Marco and Dimitri had nearly perfect scores coming out of the round robin stage.

My first match I was happy to find that my opponent spoke perfect english so it was easy to ask him questions about the format, etc. To my surprise I broke and ran my first rack and I think that set the tone for the rest of that match. I won my next few matches with ease but still felt a bit uncomfortable, like I could be playing better but just didn't have a "polished" game yet. Then I saw my next match was against the leading player in our group who was handing out 9-0 and 9-1 losses all day. This was when I illegally ordered the rum and coke (to calm my nerves) before I was immediately warned by every player around me that I wasn't supposed to do that. I also came out with a good first rack played almost flawless. We traded break and runs most of the match until I accidentally touched a ball while bridging over it at 3-3 which could have been disaterous for me. He ran out that rack and B&R the next so I was suddenly down 3-5. I beared down though and took advantage of all of my chances at the table and came out with a 7-5 win. I was undefeated going into my last round of the round robin stages but I had not won enough games to have a shot at advancing. The top 2 guys in my group were consistently reaching 8-9 wins (except when they played me) while I was averaging 6-7 so I had no shot. If I won the last match 9-0 I would tie with the 2nd ranked player in my group. But I was a little wound up about the whole process and lost the very first game so I mentally had given up after that point.

All in all I was happy with my play and enjoyed the format. It certainly helps everyone get their playing time and the single elimination for the final 16 made for some very exciting matches.

Getting this tournament under my belt has given me the itch to play again so I'm ready for the 2012 events to start. Unfortunately, the Women's 10-Ball Italy Open is the same weekend as the Paris Open which is taking place at a pool hall that I have always wanted to visit. So naturally, we are going to Paris instead of Italy. Seeing the lack of women's pool in this area has also sparked my interest in running some events so we'll see if I can put something together next year.