Fake Taxi Back In Pole Position
With Gabriel “Fake Taxi” Vasilache chasing down the number 1 spot all year, he’s performed some minor miracles in clawing back a 1.5000 point deficit against Ramesh “Ramma Jamma” Gokhul. And now the race really is on. With so little time left in the year, it could easily come down to the final week to determine the number 1 spot, to reign supreme and claim the King of Tooting title.
29 of London’s Finest, plus a couple of other stragglers, rocked up at what is now known as “old” London Snooker Tooting, to pit their wits against each other, try to create upset and tears, and taunt Rod “the God” Altes and Obi “Jedi Knight” Anyouku.
As is usual, first up was the usual Break and Dish, where Gabby was drawn out of the hat, and the stern looking Captain Haddock smashed up the break and sunk a ball, leaving him a straight easy 1 ball into the side pocket to give him a real chance of glory. Plenty of gulps as it looked an easy layout, but as Gabs went for his first pot, audible gasps from the onlooking crowd almost deafened the arena as he somehow missed! Jaws and pints were dropped in disbelief and at £50 a ball, Gabs stood there, motionless, replaying the miss in his head over and over again.
Into the first round, and bizarrely enough, there were no real upsets, something that we all look forward to, when seeing the extreme levels of disappointment on players’ faces when they unexpectedly lose. Dainlus Zvirblys put up a good fight against Abdou Saidi, , whilst Andrew “I play better with my jump cue” Phan almost shot himself in the foot by being taken to hill hill by newbie, Pete Hanmer, who happened to be playing with a racker. Sean “Scarf” Avery and Andy Adams were having a titanic battle, as both are evenly matched. Andy’s been away from MNT for a while, but he hasn’t lost his competitive spirit, and managed to secure the win after going hill hill. And Ali “Sandals” Haidery had a really hard fought match against Mark Legaspi. Mark’s got a really nice stroke and has not really shown what he’s capable of yet, but he’ll be really pleased to have beaten Sandals, 5-4, after losing to him last week, 5-3.
The second round, though, did throw up a big surprise, as Nick “LuckboxQ” Ronase decided to demonstrate where his game is at right now. Nick was, earlier, found asleep on the sofa, and had to be roused from his deep slumber by being sat on by Dan “Seoul Destroyer” Suh. Feeling pretty pissed off at being awoken from his deep sleep, Nick faced Dan in the first round, and absolutely ripped him a new one with a really strong performance. That’ll be the last time Dan wakes Nick up by dry humping him on the sofa.
Anyway, Nick continued his good form, as he faced the local minor deity, Rod. Rod’s been a little inconsistent this year, and Nick really turned it on to win 4-2, but still, a big upset and Nick was on a roll.
Elsewhere, Ahmad Jomaa managed to push Sunny “Boy” Garib to the wire, but Sunny’s one of the top dawgs in Tooting, as evidenced by being one of only a small handful of players to have broken through the 8 point barrier, and he’s never going to roll over and allow anyone to tickle his impressive belly.
And finally, Mark Legaspi had the task of having to face Obi. Matches with Obi tend to be gruelling and as much as the community enjoy referring to him by his second nickname, “Slowbi”, it’s simply because Obi is a resilient player, highly competitive, and knows how to grind opponents down. Obi and Mark really battled hard, but it was Obi who demonstrated his tenacity yet again, and won 5-4.
Into the quarters, and some tasty matchups were in prospect. Battle of the Organisers, Ciprian “Spin King” Dandu and Andrew went hard at it. With Andrew barely scraping through the first round, and Cip showing one or two glimpses of his glorious past, you might think that Cip had it in the bag, but once Andrew gets going, he can play, even though he has a tendency to play to the imaginary 5 second shot clock in his head. A close match between the diminutive Vietnamese and chunky Romanian, but Andrew often kicks into another gear, the deeper he goes into events, and clinched the win at the death.
Dandu 2, aka Cip’s brother, Marius Dandu, is a beast of a player, and demonstrated it by winning his 9th game in the last 12, which shows the damage the beast of a player can inflict against most players, when he shows a little bit of patience. A 4-2 win over the very consistent and straight cueing Ciaran “Paddy Power” Boylan. Very impressive indeed. Marius only had one word to say in the post-match interview: “LAAAAAAD”!
Gabby and Sunny was surely the match up of the quarters. The two highest ranked players in the comp, and it was just a shame that one of them would end up going home early. No real surprises in that it was a match where only one mistake would cost you a rack, and so it proved. Occasional mistakes were punished, and Gabs ran out winner, 4-3.
And finally, Nick took on Obi, in what looked like being a massively one-sided affair. Nick reached the hill first, leading 4-0, but as stated before, Obi’s one of the toughest competitors, who never gives up, and he came back at Nick, putting heat on him and bringing it back to 4-4. With a large crowd forming to watch this match, Obi and Nick went at it, both looking nervy, but in the end, Obi just couldn’t quite clinch it, and Nick rifled the 9 ball home.
The semis had Andrew against Dandu 2, which was a good match between two players who tend to go for the throat. No real surprise that it didn’t last too long, but it was a close affair, with Marius progressing after a 5-3 win. In the other semi, Nick just couldn’t get going against Gabby, and despite winning 5-1, Gabby could feel that he was going to have to step up again, if he was going to beat Marius in the final
As has been the case for Marius in the past, the final was just a step too far, and Gabs deservedly ran out 5-2 winner, and not only that, rose to Number 1 in the rankings with only two more tournaments to go.
Next Monday 9th December, will see Gabs try to extend his lead, or even lose his lead, depending on the results. The following Monday 16th December, will see Ram back to give it one attempt to wrestle back control. That will wrap up the 2024 season, but don’t forget that 23rd December will see the LFP Christmas Party and Awards Night.
Have a great week and see you next Monday.
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Salami Punani and his Barmy Army
Another over-subscribed MNT by LFP at LST, meant that we had yet another full field of 32 battling it out, with players coming from all corners of London. Something was in the air that night, according to Rod “the God” Altes, as he proudly proclaimed to the press, before the tournament started, that he really felt like he was going to win that night. Perhaps this was to be God’s night, as he looked very tidy in the warm-up, and we all know what he’s capable of.
The anticipation mounted, and just before the proceedings started, Gabriel “Fake Taxi” Vasilache’s name was pulled out of the hat for the Break and Dish, but regrettably a dry break ensued, much to the disappointment of the onlooking crowd, but not as disappointed as Gabs looked!
Into the first round and as it’s always said, the top players are at the mercy of the lower ranked players. The lower ranked players are like a pack of hounds, ready to pounce on an out of form, cold, and complacent higher ranked player. The sheer delight in causing an upset, or at the very least, being competitive and giving them a fright, is what motivates the lower ranked players, and gives them to drive to keep improving. Take Stephen “Outlaw” Stedman. Up against So “the sniffer dog” Shaw, one of the most talented players around. Stephen is still learning the game, and gave So a bit of a fright as he went 2-2, and that made So jolt into action to win 4-2. A sterling effort, nonetheless. Meanwhile, Tom “Diver” Daly, much like Stephen, is also learning the game, and he took advantage of some mistakes against the talented, yet temperamental, Marius “Dandu 2” to get to hill hill. Unfortunately, Tom’s going to have to learn to hold it together under pressure, but a fine performance to put Marius under pressure. And then Ranj “Lucky” Sarraj had the misfortune of having to face Ramesh “Ramma Jamma” Gokhul. Ranj is one of those who can cause an upset and has actually been to a semi-final this year. Ram had to dig in deep, whilst Ranj let the occasion get to him a little, and it was Ram who emerged as victor. Again, great effort from Ranj, and almost caused the biggest upset of the year.
The only other close match was between newcomer Razvan Spataru, and Dan “out in the first round” Suh. Razvan could clearly play a bit, whilst Dan did his best to self-destruct, but managed to come from behind to bring it to hill hill. However, Razvan held his nerve better than Dan, and progressed to the second round.
The second round is usually incredibly competitive due to players being a little warmed up. Some absolute humdingers of matches as Ciprian “Spin King” Dandu pushed Ram all the way, but it was Ram who managed to edge the encounter. Dan “Turnip” Jenkins, fresh off the jubilation of his wedding, seemed to carry all this positivity into his match against Gabriel. Strangely, Gabriel was off-form again for a second week, and Turnip took advantage to claim a smash and grab and send Gabs home early. Josh Roberts can be very proud of his performances, as he had taken out Mariusz Wiszowaty in the first round, and pushed Dandu 2 all the way to hill hill in the second round. However, Marius did the dirty on Josh, 3 fouled him at hill hill, but hopefully Josh will gain confidence from pushing Marius all the way. Meanwhile, Glen “the Hitman” Hargreaves signed off his year with a loss to Saman “Salami Punani” Gholami, but after his loss, he spoke at the press conference:
“Why aye man, Salami Punani plaaaayeed some erv the best pool aaa’ve seeeen in a whiiiile like, well deserved win, hadaway and shite like.” Glen signs off the year with a major operation on his back this coming Wednesday evening, and as has been reported on before, may or may not return to action, and even he does, may never be the same player again. He’s shown what he’s capable over the last couple of weeks, and on behalf of everyone in the local pool community, we very much hope that Glen can return to the beast of a player that we know he can be. All our very best wishes to Glen and his family.
Rod, after all the pre-match hype, failed to give newcomer, Razvan Spataru, a god-like welcome, and bombed out 4-1 after missing crucial pots and opening the gates of heaven wide open for the Romanian to take full advantage of, leaving Rod looking devastated as he left his fans (followers) disappointed, wondering whether they might need to change their religion.
For me, though, we all love a good grudge match between players who know each other so well. Alan “Spanish Assassin” Llorente found himself up against his sparring partner, oldest school friend, and fierce rival, Obi “Jedi Knight” Wan Kenobi Anyouku, the number 1 Nigerian in London. Little between these two in practice, but Obi is known for his bottle and his incredible ability to pot crucial pots under pressure came to the fore as Alan’s challenge wilted away. Having said that, Alan and Obi really battled hard at the start of the game, as after 37 minutes, the scores were still tied at 1-1, and the knives were being sharpened in the press room for the longest two racks ever played in Tooting. Slowbi and Alan Slowrente really entertaining the crowd with their tactical play.
The quarters saw Razvan up against the quietly efficient and dangerous, Arjon “the Beard” Hasi. So up against Ram. Turnip against Salami Punani. And Dandu 2 up against the Obi, whose force was well and truly flowing within him. Arjon, sporting the finest beard in Tooting (although Sean Avery’s beard is rapidly competing very closely), is well-known for being one of the most ruthless potters in Tooting. Up against Razvan, whose confidence was sky high at this stage, the two went at it hammer and tongs. A brutal high quality match where Razvan managed to snatch the win, sending him into the semis.
So Shaw and Ram served up a veritable feast of pool in their quarter-final. Both players are absolutely top tier and it really was no surprise that it went to hill hill. However, Ram grabbed his chance in the final rack and ran the balls out to win. A very high quality match, which took 35 minutes to complete 7 racks, demonstrating the attacking flair on offer.
In the other half of the draw, Saman made Turnip mash by absolutely walloping Dan 4-0, and the force appeared to have deserted Obi, as Dandu 2 turned it on to win 4-0 also.
The semis, therefore, had the overwhelming favourite to win MNT this week, Ram, up against Razvan. And Salami Punani up against Dandu 2. Razvan had already destroyed the Destroyer, turned God’s followers into sinners, trimmed the Beard, and against Ram, jammed the Ram right back down his throat with a convincing 4-1 win, leaving Ram shell-shocked. This big Romanian was on fire and watched the other semi-final play out to see who he’d face. Would it be his fellow Romanian, the diminutive yet highly aggressive Dandu 2? Or Salami Gholami, the man considered to be the most improved player in Tooting? As is often the case, Marius tried his best to get into his stroke, but somehow couldn’t get into his stride, and was easily punished by the Salami, and with the writing on the wall, Marius prepped himself for the inevitable, as Saman ran away with it, 4-0.
The crowd was excited for the final as Razvan, was on a roll. You don’t beat Rod, Arjon, and Ram to get to a final and expect to lose. But, all the bookies had Salami Punani down as the clear favourite. Co-commentator for DAZN and training partner of Saman, the Greatest Ali, said before the final, “Saman will win easily. He’s playing so well right now, I don’t think anyone can beat him right now. He deserves it and I reckon he could win 5-0”. Prophetic words, as Salami got down to business and totally shook up Razvan. Storming into an early lead, Saman played flawlessly, and his only mistake cost him a rack late on, but in the end, it was an easy 5-1 win, sending his fans into delirium. This means that Saman wins his 2nd MNT of the year, surges up to 9th in the rankings, and 12th in the top 100 players…EVER, breaking into the 7 point region, which is considered to be top tier. Well done Saman!
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12th Time Lucky For The Greatest Ali
MNT was back this week, after last week’s epic Blind Scotch Doubles event, which is not recorded within the rankings. The Doubles tournament is always a great event as the top half players pair up with a lower half player, and you really get to see some of the lower half players step up and show what they are capable of when going deep into the comp. A great example of which was Danny “Tsunami” Navidi’s performance alongside Doug “the Shark” Clark, who overpowered the pre-tournament favourites, Ciprian “Spin King” Dandu and Daniel Millen.
Into this week’s event, and with Ramesh “Ramma Jamma” Gokhul out of the country, it was time for Gabriel “Fake Taxi” Vasilache to step up and reclaim his top spot. Ram and Gabs have been really at it of late, as Gabs took the top spot from Ram, only for Ram to claw it back. Ram, we understand, was tuning in from Vietnam, to see if Gabs could get back to winning ways and take advantage of Ram being away.
The first round, as always, is a tricky round to manoeuvre. Recent semi-finalist and rapidly improving Ali “Sexy Boy” Haidery faced Richard Vinluan, known for his immense amount of custom made cues for sale. Richard performed really well against Ali, and took him to hill-hill, but Ali’s recent upsurge in form led to the win, but Richard can be happy that he competed hard and went all the way.
Last week’s finalist in the doubles was relative newcomer, Daniel Millen. Transitioning over from English pool Daniel has shown good potting skills, but had the daunting task of facing the beastly Saman “Salami Punani” Gholami, who has shown remarkable improvements throughout the year. Perhaps it was Saman’s experience that ensured he came through a very tight affair against Daniel, but Daniel will undoubtedly be gaining quite a few good results in weeks to come, as he’s showing a lot of promise.
Andrew “I play better with my jump cue” Phan, was up against debutant Veselin Todorov, who grabbed a racker and displayed some really good individual shots. Andrew stepped up the pace, but found himself struggling, whilst Veselin kept taking advantage of Andrew’s mistakes and took the match to hill hill, but Andrew dug deep to inch over the line. Andrew’s eyes may well hurt this morning, as he spent around 80% of the match rolling his eyes to the back of his head as he spent almost the entire match being disgusted with himself.
Joe Granville seemingly only gets let out once a month, and his monthly appearance at MNT saw him face the sometimes brilliant, Obi “Jedi Knight” Anyouko, the number 1 Nigerian in London. He even has a Nigerian passport to prove it to Ken “London’s number 2 Nigerian” Ofili, who attempted to question Obi’s claim to the prestigious title, earlier this year. Chew on that Ken! Anyway, for whatever reason, Obi always seems to attract the largest crowds to his matches, but you could see some of the heckling get to him. This led to Joe taking advantage and despite the closeness, Joe came through what was a gruelling affair.
Meanwhile, the other very tight match was between Marius “Dandu2” and Henri Linnainmaa. The previous 4 encounters between these two players of completely contrasting styles have tended to see Marius meltdown and lose patience, as Henri’s methodical and calm approach has won him each match. However, this time was different as Marius was able to keep his temperament in check and despite the close encounter, managed to win at the death.
The last of the close affairs almost saw a huge upset, as Tom “Diver” Daly put in a sterling performance against Muhammed “He’s the Greatest” Ali. A wide chasm separates the two on the experience chart, but Tom’s been working on his game really hard, and possesses solid potting skills when he really puts his mind to it. You might expect Ali to win through fairly easily, but Tom’s obviously made of stern stuff, as he rolled up his sleeves and almost snatched the win. All part of the learning curve for Tom, but should be proud of his efforts.
Final words on the first round, but Danny’s Tsunami, this week, turned into a bit of a light breeze, as the wiry Stephen “Outlaw” Stedman absolutely obliterated Danny 5-1. And Usman “The Uzi” Khokhar ran out of ammunition against Ranj “Lucky” Sarraj, who had yet again progressed to the next round having to borrow a cue from Dan Suh.
Leading into Round 2, and Sexy Boy Haidery kept up his recent good form, and won through against Mark Legaspi 5-3. Battle of the Dandus caused confusion amongst the crowd as cries of “c’mon Dandu” confused the brothers as they played out a relatively one-sided affair where Cip won 5-2. Meanwhile, James Earp, also making his singles debut at MNT, was showing some really positive signs as he took Dan “Turnip” Jenkins apart and won 5-3. The match of the round, though, belonged to the battle between Ranj and Dan “normally out in the first round” Suh. Both have a strong friendly rivalry, and like to heckle each other at MNT, with Dan having lost to Ranj a month ago with Ranj using Dan’s cue (he wasn't allowed to borrow his cue, so had to borrow Uzi's this time round), but controversy was caused at the end of the first or second rack, as their frenemy status was tested to its limit. Both players argued over the scoreline, with the crowd unable to agree, mainly Usman, who was watching but couldn’t remember. Ranj and Dan continued to argue but in the end, it was agreed that Ranj would likely win in a physical fight, and in the end, to save time, Mr Stubborn won through, leaving Dan having to try and win an extra rack to progress. This left Dan smarting, ready to unscrew his cue and throw a piece of chalk at Ranj, but without a uniloc cue, and only one piece of chalk in his possession, he decided against it. The match played out fiercely, as Dan played pretty much with a point to prove, and Ranj struggled to keep in touch and in the end, Dan won 5-3 (6-3 according to Dan). At the press conference, Dan said, "I've done this Saladin thingy before, and he beat me with my own cue. That ain't happening again, no chance, and then he has the cheek to ask to borrow my break cue. Unbelievable." Ranj refused to talk to the press, but walked out of the arena shouting "Dan Chicken-Hearted Suh".
The quarters saw Sexy Boy lose heavily to the in-form Rod the God, whilst more controversy in the match between Saman and the Greatest Ali, as tempers flared between Saman and Milan over missing chalk, and Saman lost heavily to Ali who remained composed whilst Saman lost his head. Cip took Gab to 4-4, and was looking like he might regain his lost form, but Gabs had the edge and progressed to the semis. This left Dan and James Earp to play out a gruelling affair, with plenty of mistakes as both players struggled to dominate each other. James was just starting to get his game together but his calf muscle went and collapsed on the floor with paramedics having to be called to attend to him. After some treatment, James returned to the table, but wasn’t quite able to regain his composure, and Dan won 5-4 to advance to the semi-finals, for the first time since rankings started, nearly 3 years ago.
The semis had Rod and Ali face up to each other. Ali looked like a man possessed, whilst Rod just couldn’t put away some of the crucial chances. Ali was playing very well indeed, and managed to progress to the final with a 5-3 win. The other semi saw Gabs entertain Dan, and Dan had run out of steam. Despite a promising start to the match, where scores were level at 2-2, Dan made critical mistakes and Gabs delivered the final blows.
Into the final, and Ali had previously faced Gabriel 11 times at MNT, with Gabs winning all 11 encounters. This was surely going to be a tense affair, and it certainly was as Ali made solid progress, moving into a 3-1 lead. Around this point, more controversy occurred, as movement in the crowd put Gabby off, and Ali surged into a 4-2 lead. On the hill, and the final rack was hugely nervy as a missed 9 ball by Ali left the cue ball on the rail, with Gabby needing to pot this half ball off the rail, but that kind of shot is difficult for anyone, and it left Ali with an easy pot to win. A huge Tim Henman fist pump from the Greatest Ali, as he almost cried with joy at having finally beaten Gabs at MNT.
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Greg "Little Lord Fauntleroy, John Motson, People's Champion" Mostyn Recaptures Form
As is the case every Monday, LFP presents MNT at LST, and 32 of London's Finest rocked up in Tooting to see the battle for top spot ensue. The man in form has to be Ramesh "Ramma Jamma" Gokhul, who appears to have put on the afterburners recently by winning every tournament he enters, including the recent Total9Ball event at Redhill, and LFP's Winter Open at Tooting, only the night before, beating Rico Diks in the final. But Gabriel "Fake Taxi" Vasilache was chomping at the bit to get into the evening's proceedings as he had lost his top spot to Ram, and his competitiveness means that he will surely be fighting hard to the end of the year to regain his position.
The first round was an absolute epic round. Ram looked fired up and must have been trying to set an LFP record for fastest win as he pounced on Tom "Diver" Daly and won 5-0 in just over a quarter of an hour. To compare, Greg "Lord" Mostyn also won 5-0 in his first round match against Abdou Saidi, but took nearly 40 minutes to get the job done. Likewise, Jim "Dimitrius Greecey Peri Peri Slim Penis" Siampanis also won 5-0 against Paz "The Punisher" Brennan in a similar time of 40 minutes. Ram was clearly on fire, and poor Tom was left stunned at the flawless play of Ram. Elsewhere, though, was just hill-hill battle after hill-hill battle. 7 of the 16 matches went hill-hill. Newcomer, Mark Legaspi edged it against Freddie Yang. Muhammed "He's the Greatest" Ali could count himself lucky to win against Andrew "I play better with my jump cue" Phan after Andrew looked to dominate Ali but fell at the final hurdle. Dainlus Zvirblys could be very satisfied with his work against Mariusz Wiszowaty, whilst Nick "LuckboxQ" Ronase just about came through against the ever-improving Andri Doci. Ervin "Vini" Demiraj had to face the onslaught of the mighty Danny "Tsunami" Navidi, fresh off the controversy on Sunday, after being mistaken for Khan, and also being embroiled in Chalkgate, as he proved that his belly can absorb the impact of a chalk being thrown at him like an inflatable rescue jump cushion that the local fire brigade might use. Vini and Danny tore into each other as Vini surged into an early lead, only for Danny to unleash Tsunami mode and bring it back to 4-4. At 4-4, however, Vini was playing with tremendous skill, and just needed to get position on the 9 Ball, but somehow scratched off the 8 and in the end Vini looked inconsolable as his brother Sam gave him hugs and comfort at the end. Elsewhere, Rod "the God" Altes had the daunting task of facing the fearsome Gabriel, but somehow both players kept making uncharacteristic mistakes, and in the end, Gabby somehow managed to creep over the finishing line. In the last match of the first round, with the entire arena of fans and players watching on, Sean "Scarf" Avery was really going toe to toe with Robert "Dread" Nightengale. Sean kept nudging himself in front, but Rob kept fighting back to hill. With a chance to win, Sean attempted the long bank on the 9 Ball, but rattled it in the pocket and the huge crowd gasped in amazement as Sean took off his glove and conceded, drawing an end to a very hard fought first round.
The second round was, perhaps, less dramatic. Ram continued to define the word "efficiency" as he tore Ranj "Lucky" Sarraj apart in 25 minutes. Elsewhere, Dainlus Zvirblys continued his fine form with a good win over Nick Ronase, whilst it was a pleasure to Glen "the Hitman" Hargreaves progress to the quarters with a hardfought win over the Tsunami, 5-4. As you may already be aware, Glen's faces countless numbers of issues over his health, and is lucky to even be playing considering he has many days where he is left incapacitated. He is due to go back for surgery, of which there is no certainty for his health whatsoever, but needless to say, the entire community wishes Glen nothing but the best as his operation comes up in just over a week's time. So, it was really good to see Glen tame the Tsunami, leaving Danny to resemble something more like the air that comes out of the hand dryer in the toilets. The other epic battle in the second round was between Gabriel and Dan "out in the first round" Suh. In normal circumstances, Dan fails to progress beyond anything like 8:30pm unless he gets a bye, but had a fortunate win over Alan "Spanish Assassin" Llorente in the first round. This left the rather daunting task of having to face one of the most intimidating opponents in Tooting, Gabriel. Betfair had Gabs at 4-1 for a whitewash in under 30 minutes, but somehow, Dan managed to get his nose in front with a series of flukes and a little bit of good play. Gabs seemed a little shocked as at some points in the game, Dan was able to pull off some worldies, and pushed himself to go 4-2 up. With the biggest upset on the cards, Dan found himself with an easy 8 to get on the 9, but somehow realised the situation and completely bottled the easy 8 and after that, it was a complete collapse. Dan was left disconsolate afterwards, but could take a lot of positives as he sat in the corner of the arena replaying the missed 8 ball in his head over and over again.
The quarters saw Ram drop his first rack, against Saman "Salami" Gholami, but ended up winning 5-1. Sam Storey, was quietly being his very efficient self, winning 5-0 against the Greatest Ali, whilst Glen's run continued against Dainlus, and won 5-3. The match of the quarters had to be between Gabby and Greg "Lord" Mostyn, who likes to lay claim to the title of "People's Champion" and is also known for his excellent John Motson style commentary. Gabby, for some reason, maybe affected by the big scare caused in the previous round, was just not his usual self. Just a little off form, but by this stage, a little off form will get punished, and Greg is certainly starting to regain his own form again, the form he showed earlier in the year where he looked like he might sustain his elite status with his ranking breaking through the 8 point barrier, one of only 8 players to have ever attained 8 points! Gabs tried his best, but too many mistakes cost him in the end, whilst Greg was finding his confidence and progressed to the semis with a 5-4 win. This was a huge dent to Gabby's hopes of reclaiming top spot, and in the semis, Ram further opened up the gap in the ranking points with a whitewash over Sam Storey. In the other semi, Greg had to face Glen, who was gathering momentum, and was looking favourite to win after the went hill-hill. A super pot on the 8 left him an easier 9 to pot, but just at the wrong moment, he stroked it poorly and missed the pot, leaving Greg an easy 9 to win. Gutted for Glen, but he will take a lot of positives from his night's work, but that 9 ball will haunt him for some time to come. At the press conference after the match, Glen had this to say "why aye man, I canna beleev ah missed that shot like. It wuz eezyuh than the 8 and my arm went funny, y'naa whut I mean like?"
And then to the final. Everyone felt that Ram had it in the bag. The bookies made him 4-5 favourite but Greg has been in this position before, and he came out all guns blazing. It's not like Ram had an easy run to the final, but Greg was playing brilliantly to get to the hill first. Ram did everything he could to fight his way back, but made a mistake to bring the scoreline closer, and Greg took full advantage to secure his MNT win and leave Ram to kick himself. Speaking to DAZN after the match, Greg thanked his fans from around the world for the support they had provided him, and all the well wishes before he departs for Japan for a month off in the land of the rising sun.
Lastly, just a final point about communication from players, please. It's vital for the organisers to start the tournament on time and get through matches quickly. What helps is the organisation at the start, as we want to start by 7pm, not try to figure out whether players are turning up or not. If you know you'll be late, then text Cip and Andrew earlier than 6:45pm. When you do arrive, no matter what time, please report in to Cip and pay your entry fees, rather than have him chase people around. And finally, please listen out to your match start, as we don't need to waste time trying to find players to start their match, or have matches delayed because a player has to go for a smoke or toilet when they could have already done so. Late finishes impact players and organisers, and respectfully, we ask all players to help the organisers run the events more efficiently.
Many thanks and have a great week.
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