HomeAbout Billiards DigestContact UsArchiveAll About PoolEquipmentOur AdvertisersLinks
From the Publisher
By Mike Panozzo
Mike became editor of Billiards Digest in 1980 and liked it so much that he bought the company. He has served on the Billiard Congress of America board of directors and as president of the Billiard & Bowling Institute of America.


Archives
• November 2024
• October 2024
• September 2024
• August 2024
• July 2024
• June 2024
• May 2024
• April 2024
• March 2024
• February 2024
• January 2024
• December 2023
• November 2023
• October 2023
• September 2023
• August 2023
• July 2023
• June 2023
• May 2023
• April 2023
• March 2023
• February 2023
• January 2023
• December 2022
• November 2022
• October 2022
• September 2022
• August 2022
• July 2022
• June 2022
• May 2022
• April 2022
• March 2022
• February 2022
• January 2022
• November 2021
• October 2021
• September 2021
• August 2021
• July 2021
• June 2021
• May 2021
• April 2021
• March 2021
• February 2021
• January 2021
• December 2020
• November 2020
• October 2020
• September 2020
• August 2020
• July 2020
• June 2020
• May 2020
• April 2020
• March 2020
• February 2020
• January 2020
• December 2019
• November 2019
• October 2019
• September 2019
• August 2019
• July 2019
• June 2019
• May 2019
• April 2019
• March 2019
• February 2019
• January 2019
• December 2018
• November 2018
• October 2018
• September 2018
• August 2018
• July 2018
• June 2018
• May 2018
• April 2018
• March 2018
• February 2018
• January 2018
• November 2017
• October 2017
• September 2017
• August 2017
• July 2017
• June 2017
• May 2017
• April 2017
• March 2017
• February 2017
• January 2017
• December 2016
• November 2016
• October 2016
• September 2016
• August 2016
• July 2016
• June 2016
• May 2016
• Apr 2016
• Mar 2016
• Feb 2016
• Jan 2016
• Dec 2015
• Nov 2015
• Oct 2015
• Sept 2015
• August 2015
• July 2015
• June 2015
• May 2015
• April 2015
• March 2015
• February 2015
• January 2015
• October 2014
• August 2014
• May 2014
• March 2014
• February 2014
• September 2013
• June 2013
• May 2013
• April 2013
• March 2013
• February 2013
• January 2013
• December 2012
• November 2012
• October 2012
• September 2012
• August 2012
• July 2012
• June 2012
• May 2012
• April 2012
• March 2012
• February 2012
• January 2012
• December 2011
• November 2011
• October 2011
• September 2011
• August 2011
• July 2011
• June 2011
• May 2011
• April 2011
• March 2011
• February 2011
• January 2011
• December 2010
• November 2010
• October 2010
• September 2010
• August 2010
• July 2010
• June 2010
• May 2010
• April 2010
• March 2010
• February 2010
• January 2010
• December 2009
• November 2009
• October 2009
• September 2009
• August 2009
• July 2009
• June 2009
• May 2009
• April 2009
• March 2009
• February 2009
• January 2009
• October 2008
• September 2008
• August 2008
• July 2008
• June 2008
• May 2008
• April 2008
• March 2008
• February 2008
• January 2008
 
December: ‘Look What They Did’
December 2021

There is a scene in “The Godfather” in which Vito Corleone goes to the undertaker’s morgue to view the body of his son, Santino, who had been ambushed by a rival gang. As he looks at the bullet-riddled body, he chokes up, mumbling, “Look what they did to my boy.”

For some reason, that scene popped into my head in Norfolk as I settled in for the recent International Nine-Ball Open.

[Listen, I get it. That’s an over-the-top, overly dramatic analogy to make. But, hey, it’s my column and I get to reference one of my top-five movies of all time.]

The 2021 incarnation of Pat Fleming’s $50,000-added tournament featured a host of changes from previous years. Remember, Fleming ran Barry Behrman’s U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships in Norfolk for several years before the Behrman family sold the storied tournament to Matchroom Sport. To me, the International is simply a rebranded version of the U.S. Open that Behrman had run for 40 years, and that had justifiably earned a reputation as the toughest tournament in the world to win. It is/was a staple in the Norfolk area, an area rich in pool history.

That is the tournament I loved. And that is the tournament that I want to see continue, under whatever banner. It’s the tournament, not the name, that I relished.

Before I address the changes to the 2021 event that left me nonplussed, let me be clear: This is Pat Fleming’s tournament. He is the person who kept a major tournament going in Norfolk after the U.S. Open departed for greener pastures. He does it at his own expense. He has to drum up sponsorship. He has to make commitments to the venue. He guarantees the added money. He sells the tickets. He produces the live streams.

And to do all that, he must produce a tournament that will draw that money, draw those fans, draw the players, and make everyone happy.

Tough task.

I also know, through years of watching him, that Pat Fleming doesn’t make changes without a lot of thought and consideration.

But that doesn’t mean I have to agree with them.

In my view, the changes in 2021 took away many of the nuances that made the Behrman U.S. Open/Fleming International the toughest event in the world.

First, the full double-elimination format was scrapped in favor of double-elimination to the final 32 (16 unbeaten players, 16 one-loss players), and single-elimination from that point on.

Also, the traditional winner-breaks rule was changed to alternate break. And to accommodate the likely longer battles, match lengths were trimmed from 11 to 10.

I felt like the International fell into a trap by doing what everyone else is doing.

I understand that single elimination is easier to follow, and the days are shorter. But the experiment comes at a cost. The field was cut to 32 three full days before the final. Players who would normally still be battling on Friday night left town Thursday morning. How’d that sit with all those loyal ticket buyers, most of whom roll into town Thursday night or Friday morning for the weekend? (And how’d the hotel like all those players checking out early?)

More importantly, full double elimination to the title match (which was then extended to a longer race) is one of the things that made the U.S.Open/International the toughest test in pool. And the longer races and winner-breaks format brought the best out in the game’s stars.

Don’t believe all that makes a difference?

Just ask 2021 International winner Albin Ouschan.

The two-time World 9-Ball Champion is clearly one of the top players on the planet. Yet his history at the U.S. Open and International has been borderline abysmal. Until this year. What changed?

“I definitely think I had a disadvantage in previous years with winner break because I could never run two or three in a row,” Ouschan said after his win. “I always had opponents who made a four- or five-pack. And if you go to the loser’s side, you’re almost done because you have to win, like, 10 matches.”

Exactly my point. There is no argument that a 200-player, double-elimination, long-race tournament is harder to win than an event that breaks to single elimination for the last five rounds. When a player won the U.S. Open/International Open, they knew they’d outlasted the best field in the world under the toughest conditions. Especially if they had to battle through round after round of elimination matches on the loser’s side, each round facing a top-flight player who’d just been bumped out of the winner’s bracket.

(A smaller gripe was the use of three-point rule on the break. People! Please stop this nonsense. For starters, the International used referees and rackers, with the 9 on the spot. Taking the racks out of the hands of the players was enough to dissuade most from babying the break.)

To his credit, Fleming acknowledged that several of the changes proved less than great. Going forward, single elimination will start at the final 16. And the three-point rule will go away.

Not enough, for my taste.

I beseech you, Pat: Separate your event from everyone else. Keep it unique. Market it as the toughest test on earth. Winning the Event-Previously-Known-as-the-U.S. Open used to be career-defining. Keep it that way.

MORE VIDEO...