The tighter pockets did cause some changes in my shot selection, mainly to make sure that the object ball would stay close to the pocket in case of miss. Finally, Stevie missed a two ball entirely trying to thin it for a safe, and Shane got out for the win. Shane Van Boening - this was not a "true" double elimination, they just increased the race to 13 from 10. Shane plays unbelievably well, And Stevie really didn't make many mistakes but was still down 8-0 at one point. The game is called Novuss, it is quite popular in Estonia and Latvia, to the point where semi-pro or even pro players exist. By then, the two players had left (turns out one of them was a previous swedish snooker champion) and the owner agreed to play a quick frame with me. At the time I just figured it had changed owners and turned into a snooker hall, but after talking to the owner found out I was just on the wrong side of the building and the pool hall did actually exist as well. Consequently, there were only a couple of people playing (quite well I must say) so I ordered a beer and chatted with the owner who turned out to be a nice gentleman with great command of English, as has come to be almost expected in Scandinavia in general and Sweden in particular.

As some of you know, one-pocket is fundamentally different than any rotation game and it is virtually impossible even for someone with great mechanics and position play to beat an experienced player within the first couple of racks. Although virtually no English is spoken here, it was a great place for me to start playing real pool again after the Laos lull. Laos is an incredibly laid-back place, where time doesn't exist and people are friendly but largely detached. I came here from Phonsavan, Laos and when I arrived at 8pm there was a bus ready to go straight to Hanoi. Now I was in a comparatively huge city, with insane motorbike and bus traffic, what is billiards and people who were much more direct and inquisitive. I decided to stay in Vinh for the night because 13 hours on a cramped public bus had been enough of a day for me. Most tourists try not to stay here for the night. For billiards enthusiasts and pool players who may have missed it, here is the YouTube video of Filipino pool player Efren Bata Reyes, aka The Magician, in Inside Pool’s What’s in the Case segment.

Lee Vann Corteza, aka The Slayer, staged an exciting rally to humble World No. 1 Dennis Orcollo, 11-8, in the finals of the 2011 San Miguel Beer Oktoberfest Festival 9-ball Open Masters held at the Resorts World Manila, Sunday, October 30, 2011. Incidentally, Orcollo is the defending champion of the event. They include Lee Vann Corteza (NBS and JSY Sports), double world champion Ronnie Alcano (NBS and JSY Sports), and Francisco Django Bustamante (Puyat Sports). Efren Bata Reyes, Francisco Django Bustamante, and Rubilen Amit will star with Jennifer Barretta in the motion picture 9-Ball! Two of the world’s billiards champions, Efren Reyes (The Magician) and Francisco Bustamante (Django), together with the Philippines’ number 1 female billiards player, Rubilen Amit (Bingkay), will star with Jennifer Barretta in 9-Ball, an exciting story geared to be one suspenseful, dramatic and authentic pool movie! Django e! Question lang kabayan, totoo ba yung balita na hindi ka sumali dun sa championship kasi naawa ka sa mga kalaban mo na baka mapahiya? That's one take that i have never heard before - their side of the story. Truth be told, their unforgettable win in 2009 in Manila, Philippines, was one of the most exciting finals ever seen in the history of the tour - the Philippines’ awesome duo beating Germany’s best at 11-9!

Truth be told, Web Hosting Choice is a one-stop-site for anyone, and everyone, wanting to know more about webhosting! I was browsing the World Wide Web information retrieval system for up-to-date webhosting services for one of my billiards buddies when I came upon Web Hosting Choice. There's more - get this : it came down to the FINAL BALL of the final rack of the final of the world championship. I saw the same racker girls placing the head ball anywhere from below the 2nd diamond to almost the middle of the table, the rack skewed up to 15 degrees, and sometimes no where near the center of the short rail. There was no checking for tightness of the rack. There were a couple of guys already there practicing and waiting for the early birds. Shane did make a couple of mistakes at this point. Even being down by that much with a $13,000 swing on the line, Stevie kept his composure and did manage to stage a comeback while Shane was on the hill. Daryl Peach is on the hill!