Gokhul Rams Rod

With Ramesh "Ramma Jamma" Gokhul going out in the first round last week, and Rod "the God" Altes taking full advantage to close in on the top spot, this week was going to be a tense affair.  The whole talk in the arena was whether Ram had lost his form or could Rod finally sneak into the top spot in time for the season end.  With the final round of the year to take place on December 12th, it was vital that Ram and Rod perform, as there would only be one more round after this one, to clinch the coveted top spot.  The arena was buzzing with excitement as the draw took place, and to everyone's relief, Ram and Rod were in opposite ends of the draw.  Could there be a a Ram vs Rod final tonight to make the final tournament of the year an absolute nail-biter?

As we know, it's not all about the top two players, though.  Ram and Rod might strike fear into opponents almost as much as the Destroyer does, but there were 28 of London's finest pool players chomping at the bit to upset the apple cart.  Noticeably, in the first round, Gauhar Khan and Dhari Alduraibi played out the most dramatic match.  Khan has had a pretty decent November, with a 50% win ratio, whilst Dhari pushed Craig "Bear" Laurie to hill-hill last week, so couldn't be underestimated.  A tense affair, littered with mistakes, great safety, and some wonderful potting saw Khan summon all of his powers to overcome Dhari 5-4.  Well played big man!  Meanwhile, Craig was firmly focused on flexing his grizzly like muscles, disposing Ervin Demiraj 5-0 to set up a tasty encounter against Rod in the second round.  Craig told ESPN: "I'm in good form, I can beat anyone, and I want a rematch against Rod after losing to him in last week's final.  I'm not attending as much as I want, yet I'm still ranked 10th, so it's obvious I'd be challenging for top spot if I'd been able to get here most weeks".  Fighting talk indeed from the highly dangerous Grizzly Bear.  Another to lay down the gauntlet was another of the best players in the house.  Gabriel "Hitman" Vasilache was looking imperious as he easily picked Sorin Stancu apart 5-0 to set up a mammoth match up against Ram.  Gabriel had no comment when interviewed, and just stared into the camera menacingly before sitting down to watch videos of car-washing.

Of course, pre-tournament favourite, Dan "the Destroyer" Suh had to face Henri Linnainmaa, but under trying circumstances.  With South Korea getting absolutely hammered by Brazil on the TV screen next to the table, the Destroyer was somewhat distracted and Henri sent Dan crashing out early doors. 

Into the second round, and tie of the round goes to Joe Granville for holding his nerve to win 4-3 against Hassan Aljumaili.  Doug "the Shark" Clark also kicked into a different level by beating Andrew Phan 4-1, telling Sky Sports Arena: "I couldn't miss.  Every pot was perfect and not even Joshua Filler would have taken more than 1 rack off me".  Meanwhile, Ciaran "Big Boy" Boylan squeezed the life out of Carl Locsin, not giving Carl a chance to win even 1 rack.  Certainly, all eyes were on some of the big guns battling out for supremacy.  Rod faced Craig in a re-run of last week's final and came out with the same scoreline as last week, 4-2 to Rod.  Meanwhile, Ram played out a 4-2 win against the very dangerous Gabriel.  The wins for Rod and Ram meaning that 2 of the highest ranked players in the tournament had been knocked out early.  Was this to leave a clear path to the final for the both of them?

Into the quarters, and some of the challengers were trying to leave their mark on the evening.  Geordie Glen Hargreaves was looking a bit like his normal self again.  Ruthless in his attacks, Glen went for it and easily overcame Joe to win 4-0.  Ciaran was determined to disrupt Ram's progress, but Ram was on a mission to win, and came through unscathed, 4-1.  Meanwhile, Doug had another impressive performance to send Saman home early with a 4-2 win.  And finally, Shadi did everything he could to beat the immortal Rod, pouncing on Rod's mistakes and taking it to hill-hill.  But Rod called upon his supreme powers to nick it at the death to continue his advancement.

The semi-final line-up looked very tasty indeed.  Doug had been playing some beautiful stuff, and over recent weeks, had been displaying the kind of form that earnt him a top 10 place earlier in the year.  1 loss in the last 5 games, so Doug was bang up for taking on Rod.  Meanwhile, Glen had showed earlier this year, that he's capable of winning tournaments, but had suffered from a loss of form over summer.  But as they say, form is temporary, and class is permanent.  Glen was equally ready to come flying out of the blocks against Ram.  Glen's record against Ram in 2022 hasn't been good, though.  In two previous encounters, Glen was yet to take a rack off Ram, but this time round, Glen pushed Ram all the way, looking like there might be a famous victory...but Ram finished Glen off to win 4-3.  In the other semi, despite Doug's fine form, Rod had one eye on the final and nothing was going to stop him from getting there.  Rod had already beaten Doug twice earlier this season too, and as the magic apple juice flowed through Rod's veins, an easy 4-1 victory ensued to ensure a Rod vs Ram final.

As we know, Ram had recently been a little off-form by his standards, since his return from his world tour.  Only 2 wins from 4, losing to Rod and going out in the first round last week to, admittedly, a top top player in Craig.  With social media awash with stories of Ram's decline, all eyes were on this final.  I had previously requested interviews with Ram about his recent performances, but his refusal to provide a pre-match interview demonstrated his focus on this final.  And what focus Ram showed...winning 4-1.  The cool-headed Ram answered his critics but didn't let it get to his head.  Offering up some words at the end of the match, Ram said: "it's been a brilliant season so far, to be pushed by God who has missed a fair few weeks shows his high standards.  This win means that it goes to the wire, just want the fans wanted!".  Rod offered up his congratulations too by saying:  "Ram's a great competitor and missed weeks too.  It's great to have a target to aim for, and I'll do everything I can to overtake Ram and end the season as number 1".  

Amazingly, just before the final, Rod had briefly gotten to number 1 spot, but the loss to Ram meant that Ram was back on top with one week left to go.  

Finally, remember that December 19th is pencilled in for the End of Season Christmas Special.  It would be great to see as many of you come down for the awards ceremony, and loads of mini tournaments, plus food and drink.  Next Monday 12th December is the last official tournament of 2022.

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Written by Dan Suh

Category: Home

Published: 07 December 2022

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Feel the Wrath of Rod

MNT was back up to the maximum 32 entrants today as a star-studded line-up showed up.  Ramma Jamma was back from his international tournaments, ready to reclaim his crown.  However, Rod’s been pretty dominant in Ram’s absence, and this was going to provide an extra edge to last night’s MNT.

Not forgetting the other contenders:  Martinho Correia has proven to be a classy opponent, Gabriel Vasilache was fresh off the back of a strong showing at GB9, Daria Siranchuk has been performing really well having come third in the Norway Open, and pre-tournament favourite, Dan “the Destroyer” Suh, was feeling confident having fared well at Total 9 Ball and beating Paz on Saturday by an unprecedented 3 sets to 0, winning all sets 5-0!  (I wasn’t allowed to mention it at the club yesterday). 

Moving into the first round, and there was one match that was full of quality and drama.  Two newbies to the ranks entertained the crowd with a display that showed that either player might well progress to the latter stages.  Michael Sagar from the Netherlands fought hard against Kuwaiti, Nasser Alomani, and in the end it was Nasser who ended up disappointed, losing 5-4.  Nasser told the press afterwards, “I’ll be back next Monday, and there’s no doubt I will win the tournament”.

Another significant match was how Daria turned up the heat on Mariusz with a 5-0 drubbing, demonstrating how well she’s been playing lately.

The second round saw one match go to hill-hill, and that was between the mighty Ciprian Dandu and Rod “the God” Altes.  Cip might not be playing as much, but he has the ability to put gods in their place, but Rod isn’t just a god, he’s “the God”.  Despite Cip’s efforts, Rod put his foot on the accelerator and held his nerve to progress to the quarter.

Other significant results saw Ahmad Jomaa get whitewashed by Gabriel, and the Destroyer get completely rinsed by Michael Sagar, who perhaps was fully focused on beating Tooting’s most intimidating opponent.    

The quarters saw two epic battles.  Firstly, the conqueror of the Destroyer came up against the silky Martinho.  This was a tense match, where both players had to really use their wits.  Some great tactical play from Michael and Martinho, but it was Martinho’s experience that finally shone through to win 5-4.  The other absolute monster battle was between Rod the God and Ramma Jamma.  Rod had been sufficiently wound up throughout the evening, as comments from the crowd could be heard by the local deity.  During the pre-match interview, Rod said “I keep hearing people saying that Ram’s my arch-nemesis, or my Achilles Heel, but that’s just not the case.  The media are hyping this whole thing up.  I’ll trust my game and show that there’s no such thing as an Achilles Heel.” 

5-4 to Rod.  No media hype.  Job done.  Just another win.  Onto the semi-finals.

In the other quarters, Gabriel continued to show fine form by beating Joe Granville 5-0, whilst Daria suffered a bit of a scare against Alexander Vilmanis, but her game is really getting good under pressure, and she went through to the semis with a 5-3 win.

The semi-final between Daria and Gabriel proved to be the most dramatic.  Both players playing well, both players determined to win, and the crowd were treated to a tight and tense affair.  Absolutely no surprise to see this one go to hill-hill, and Gabriel called upon his many years of experience to snatch the win at the death.

The other semi was between Rod and Martinho.  Rod was in the mood to put the pedal to the metal and ran out 5-2 winner.  The emphatic win brought us to the final, between two in-form players.  Gabriel “the Hitman” Vasilache, and Rod “the God” Altes.  This was going to be a battle of wills, but fired up from the media stories and crowd comments, Rod went to another level to earn another MNT win. 

In the press conference, Rod went on to say “to all those who doubted me and to all those claiming that the return of Ram would affect me, you have felt my wrath and power.  To everyone who made such false claims, you are forgiven.  Peace be with you.”

Strong words from the Tooting deity indeed, and proved his doubters wrong.  A massively deserved victory and a very high quality night of action at London Snooker Tooting.  Rod is fast-catching Ram, but the big question is whether Rod can overtake Ram before the end of the year, and claim top prize?

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Written by Dan Suh

Category: Home

Published: 22 November 2022

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Tight at the Top

The MNT is really hotting up as we're edging closer to the end of the year, and you can barely separate Rod "the God" Altes and Ramesh "Ramma Jamma" Gokhul for the race to the Number 1 spot.  A mere 0.011 points separate the two Goliaths of Tooting after what was another big night at London Snooker Tooting.  Regular Tooting reporter, Dan Suh, reports from last night's action.

The night started off with a really strong first round showing.  Three of the first round ties went to hill-hill.  Newbie Dhari Alduraibi faced an in-form Andy Curzon, who was off the back of a 6 in 9 winning record in recent weeks.  Unknown quantity that he might be, Dhari snatched victory at the death and Andy was left to rue his chances.  Gauhar Khan faced up against another newbie to Tooting, Jim Williamson.  Khan has a lot of experience in the game, and he summoned up all of his panther like prowess to progress to the next round.  One of the big results was Ram losing out to Craig "Bear" Laurie, where Craig took every chance that came his way and played flawlessly to win 5-1.  Absolutely the result of the night fell to Dan "the Destroyer" Suh.  A bit like a non-league team facing a Premier League side in the FA Cup, the odds were stacked heavily against the Destroyer, as he faced the might of Ciprian Dandu.  Cip, however, just wasn't at the races, and the Destroyer is starting to befit his fearsome reputation, taking his chances when needed.  5-4 to the Destroyer, who celebrated as if he'd won the World Cup.  This sits 2nd in the Goliath table, where Saman still sits at no 1 after beating Ramesh back in August.

One whitewash in the first round, where Ramon Navarro obliterated Mariusz Wiszowaty 5-0.

The second round saw Paz "the Punisher" Brennan face Ciaran Boylan.  Ciaran has recently been trying out a new stance, but couldn't quite get into his groove, so decided to revert back to his snooker stance, and it reaped the rewards as he ran away with an easy victory over the Punisher.  At this stage, a big mention to Paz and Ciaran for supplying some free beers as gratitude for letting them into the Tooting gang.  It was much appreciated and shows what a great community we have at Tooting. 

Also in the second round, newbie Dhari faced up against Craig.  Being a newbie, reputations mean nothing to Dhari, and took Craig right to the wire, but in the end, it wasn't enough and Craig sneaked into the quarter-finals.  

Notably, Sean "Scarf" Avery looked like a potting machine, so Gabriel "Hitman" Vasilache had to dig deep to get to the quarters, but only after Gabriel admitted in the press conference that Sean had gifted him 3 racks.  Olly Lawrence produced some of the finest potting displays against the Destroyer seen at Tooting, to ease through 5-1.  Olly said he was intimidated by Dan's bodyguards, who has recently shot to TV stardom, so he ran around the table on fire!  GJ "Panda" Oyangoren looked unbeatable against Doug "the Shark" Clark and explained that a mixture of luck and Doug not performing won him the match.  Meanwhile, Rod eased past Ranj Sarraj with the kind of ruthlessness that we've come to expect, and Ramon continued his fine form to beat Saman Gholami.  Result of the second round, though, goes to Gauhar Khan.  Muhammed "he's the greatest" Ali couldn't stop the juggernaut-like momentum of Khan, although Khan played down his efforts in the post-match interview: "Ali was a bit distracted after winning £380 in the skill shot, so this was the only chance I'll get to beat Ali".  Ali was unavailable for comment, but the skill shot win of £380 must have been a small consolation for losing to Khan.

The quarters saw two of the big guns face each other.  Gabriel had earlier played his chances down by telling Sky Sports that he had "zero chance" of winning tonight, and perhaps that played on his mind a little as he went hill-hill with Rod.  That little element of doubt might have crept into Gabriel's mind, as Rod finished up and ended up in the semis.  Two huge wins for Craig and Ramon, as they threw down their gloves to the rest of the field by securing their semi-final places without losing a single rack.  And finally Ciaran's night ended as GJ was revving up his engine to win 4-1.

The semis looked tasty indeed.  GJ vs Craig, and Ramon vs Rod.  It's true to say that Ramon has some style about his game, and participating in his first semi-final of the year against the fearsome Rod, the occasion might have gotten to him.  Ramon lost out 4-2, but it's highly likely that Ramon will be back challenging for further progression, very soon.  Moving to the other semi, and Craig was really flexing his bear-like muscles.  If GJ is a panda, then Craig is a grizzly bear, the meanest badass bear on the planet, compared to the rather docile and cute panda.  4-0 to the Grizzly Bear and nicely set up for the final.  GJ said afterwards, "the fans love pandas more, and I'm here for the fans".

Those who follow London's Finest Pool community at Tooting know that Craig is no stranger to winning.  You also know that Rod is on fire of late, on a 14 match winning streak before the final.  A final of high quality, but in the end, a few mistakes cost Craig in the end, and Rod extended his winning streak to 15.  In fact, Rod's lost two matches at MNT since the 26th September.  He needs two more to go second in the winning streak competition, as Ram holds the current record of 23.  Most importantly, Rod is now within 0.012 of overtaking Ram, and that means next week's competition has an extra bit of spice.  This time next week, we could have a new leader, as the race for top spot heats up as we enter December.

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Written by Dan Suh

Category: Home

Published: 29 November 2022

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More to come from the God of Tooting?

Sorry for the late update, but last weekend was a big weekend for pool fans, especially for representatives of Tooting and the London’s Finest Pool community. 

A number of us went to Redhill for the Total 9 Ball event. Hasan Aljumaili, Tolik Petrov, Daria Siranchuk, Gabriel Vasilache, GJ Oyangoren, Tomasz Jedlecki, Muhammed Ali and (pre-tournament favourite) Dan Suh were all attending and surprisingly, it was Dan the Destroyer who got the furthest by getting to the quarters, finishing at 1am.  The lateness took its toll on the Destroyer, with highlights being the wins against Anthony Ginn and taking Mark Foster to hill-hill before losing in the quarters.

This was followed by the LFP Winter Open, where a huge number of the Tooting regulars turned out, making up over half of the field.  A decent showing from the Tooting faithful, but in a field that contained some extremely strong UK ranked players. The quarter-final line up demonstrates the strength of the competition, with Imran Majid beating James Welch 7-0, Gabriel Vasilache beating Hasan Shahid 7-3, Craig Osborne beating Mark Foster 7-5, and Rod the God Altes beating Anthony Ginn 7-2.  Imran Majid went on to lift the trophy, by beating local Tooting deity, Rod Altes, in the final, but a good showing by Rod who succumbed to a seriously good opponent.

MNT was in full swing on Monday night, with a “special” night planned, as Straight 14.1 pool was the discipline to be played.  As is the case with the seldom played disciplines, a smaller turnout was expected, but the die-hards were out to have a thoroughly enjoyable evening, in an event that carried no ranking points. Being a community, it was good to be able to play against each other in a relaxed manner, but still fiercely competitive.

If you’re not completely aware, straight pool is massively skilful and relies on excellent potting, positional, and carom skills.  The idea is to keep potting and build up a run of points.  The record is held by Jayson Shaw, who put together a run of 714, which is over 47 and a half racks of potting.  Incredible stuff.  But could someone at Tooting be as incredible?

The answer is no, but that didn’t matter.  The quarters saw one of the most imperious, but also shocking results, as Rod faced up to Shadi Ed, who we all know is a superb competitor.  However, Shadi just couldn’t get out of the blocks and lost 75-9 to Rod.  Doug “the shark” Clark also had an emphatic win over Khan, who just couldn’t get into his rhythm.  Meanwhile, Ali and Dan had a tight affair until Ali surged ahead and demoralised the Destroyer.  And in the last quarter final, Saman and Kostya had a really tight game, with Kostya just coming through at the death to win 75-65. 

The semis saw an exciting game between Ali and Kostya, where Ali just capitalised on Kostya’s mistakes to win 75 to 49.  The other semi saw Doug up against Rod for the second week in a row, and again, thoroughly enjoyed watching Rod play his way to a comprehensive victory.  In his post-match interview, Rod further rubbed it in by admitting that he’d never played straight pool before, and reminded Doug that he had lost to a player who hadn’t even been playing American pool for a year.  Doug responded with asking what kind of monster was Rod going to turn into after he gains some real experience in the game?

It's no exaggeration to say that Rod was pretty much on fire, especially having played so well the night before in the Open, and Ali had to stand and watch Rod march his way to victory.  It was a remarkable performance.  Not that Rod didn’t make mistakes, but because Rod is playing in such a way that you have to be immensely brilliant at this game to capitalise on his rare mistakes, which demonstrated that Rod’s immortality in this game is only minor.

A bit of an Achilles heel for Rod, though, is Ramesh “Ramma Jamma” Gokhul.  It’s true to say that Rod has the game to beat Ram, but can he do it every week, once Ram is back in Tooting?  Surely that must be the benchmark, and regularly beating Ram will be one of Rod’s objectives in 2023.

As is always the case with our fantastic community at London Snooker Tooting, it was a really enjoyable evening, and I believe we’re back to 9 Ball this coming Monday.  Make sure you keep your eye on the WhatsApp group and have a great weekend.

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Written by Dan Suh

Category: Home

Published: 18 November 2022

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