Tash keeps Ram's throne warm as Kostiantyn knocks at the door

On the day of the Liz 2 nd ’s funeral, and with Ramesh on holiday, the newly capped 32 budding hopefuls took to the Tooting baize for another clash of cues at Asif’s.
Arriving later than usual - just after 6pm, I saw Richard V playing on table 2 (the old ‘bucket Brunswick’ as Tash coined it) and decided to have a knock, only to find Richard’s cue action much
improved and the pockets skinnier than before, now measuring at almost exactly 4.1 inches (and re-clothed recently). Management and staff are always looking to improve things at our club, which we all very much appreciate.

The pre-tourney 10 ball break’n’run saw Khan break dry on table 4, and the surprisingly tough cannon skill shot of white onto 1 ball onto 2 ball into a chosen corner (all from a line down the
middle of the table) had Ben V and Khan both miss by a distance on the Brunswick. An initial gander at the draw saw the new top dogs Tash, Rod, Cip, and Daniel Son Baker all drawn in
a brutal top half, also alongside Gabriel and G to the J.

Top half first rounds saw last week’s champion Ali motor ahead 3-0 against Tash - who won GJ’s SMB tournament last night - allowing a nice 5-in-a-row comeback for Tash who snagged it 5-3. On the 4.1-inch-pocket Brunswick, Daniel Son nipped past Rod 5-4, brutalising much of the hard work God’s put into getting to 2 nd /3rd in the club’s rankings.  GJ numbed Ranj 5-3 to set up another classic 2 nd round vs Tash. Andy C went 1-4 down vs Erwin on table 4 before turning the tables to actually win a tournament game for the first time in well over a month. Krishen dusted off an out-of-form Joe G 5-2, and Gabriel shredded the mighty Saman without dropping a rack. The last match of the first rounders in the top half saw Ahmad ‘breadstick’ (a tennis term for winning a set 6-1…the winning only one frame being the breadstick) Ben V to send him for an early bath.

Arguably the clash of the first rounders saw Daniel Son turbo past Rod Altes 5-4 on the 4.1-inch-pocket Brunswick (from 3-4 down, no less). If neither felt fortunate to have drawn each other in the first round, they’d be fuming to see Gabriel waiting for them next! In the bottom half, Dmitrius brought Khan to a rolling boil 5-3 and Andrew P edged past Craig L 5-4 (wish I’d seen this – both play with noticeable verve). Glen slayed Ciaran 5-3, Jaz breadsticked Hassan Mehedi, and Konstantin nailed Usman 5-2.  Every time I looked over to table 2 Tomasz Jedlicki was silking another ball in with pinpoint white ball control, but it wasn’t enough to topple newcomer Jamie “rapid fire” O’Brian, who came out ahead 5-3. More breadsticks for the out-of-practice Venables brothers as Shadi overcame Dan V 5-1, and finally Hassan A sailed past Marius by the same 5-1 scoreline.

2 nd rounds in the top half had Ahmad surprise Ciprian 5-2, Andy C dispose of Krishen 5-2, Tash again go 0-3 down against an in-form GJ (who was out for revenge after losing to Tash at SMB yesterday) and again simmer through, this time 5-4, as well as Gabriel fire on all cylinders to bypass Daniel Son Baker on table 6, 5-4.  In the bottom half, Dmitrius Tariajevas blitzed Andrew Phan 5-2, Konstantin bulldozered Glen 5-2, Shadi neatly bounced over Hassan Aljumaili 5-4, and Jaz broke in Jamie 5-2.

This week’s quarter finals saw Tash politely refuse his usual first three frame gifts v Andy C and mashed him up 5-0 with the same killer instinct that inspired Andy to pick up an American cue in the first place. Jaz’s rampage was sharply halted by Shadi’s wand as Shadi ironed him out 5-2, Konstantin steamrollered Dmitrius 5-0, and Gabriel did Ahmad in 5-2, setting up the semis: Tash v
Gabriel, and Konstantin v Shadi.  Gabriel fought valiantly against the man of the moment, Tash, but couldn’t find a way past him - succumbing 5-2, whilst brave Kostya Ivanov (Konstantin/Ducky) somehow saw off Shadi 5-1 (it’s not often you see someone of Shadi’s quality being breadsticked – well done to the 15 year old).

And so to the final. Tash vs Konstantin. Would it be the up and coming Ukrainian or the silkster from hell itself? Konstantin did himself proud in his first final at the club but could only win 2 frames against Mr. Fishonahook who roasted the youngster over his spit before devouring him 5-2, cementing his second place in the club rankings.

Watch out Ram, Tash is back!

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Written by Dan Suh

Category: Home

Published: 21 September 2022

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Ramma Jamma Wins Again and the Destroyer Climbs the Table

A bumper number of entrants last night, as 34 players took part in the best Monday night pool tournament in the whole of Tooting.  Fresh off the back of the 8 Ball Open tournament the night before, where a live audience of 24 watched the live stream of Ramesh winning an epic against Tom Staveley.  This seemed to whet everyone's appetite for pool, and as is always the case, some big guns made an appearance to take down Ramma Jamma. 

Rod the God looked impressive as he swept past Kostiantyn 5-1, whilst Tom Jedlecki whitewashed Mariusz.  Saman also showed a continuation of his fine form as he took GJ 5-3.  Nick Ronase also could be happy to put on a performance, winning 5-1 against Edgar, and Tash could be satisfied as he crushed Tibor 5-1.  However, the result of the early rounds must be Ram's performance against Daniel Baker, who has been recently injured, but considered a very dangerous threat as he demonstrated earlier this year.  5-1 to Ram and that sent shockwaves around the pool hall, as the margin of victory was higher than expected.  A few hill hill battles that really caught the eye too.  Rookie Chris Dews making his first appearance, managed to squeeze past Geordie Glen.  Paz broke Suk to inch over the line for his biggest win this year.  But a big shout to Gauhar Khan, for getting his first win since the beginning of May, as he overcame another newbie, Ervin Demiraj. 

Khan took great confidence from this and in the next round, tore Paz apart 4-1 to win two in a row and head into the quarters.  Surely nothing was going to stop the big man?.....unless you face Hassan Mehedi and get schooled 4-0!  Still, a fantastic run for Khan and goes to show that anyone can win on their day, no matter where you are ranked.

Other notable victories saw Tom Jedlecki demonstrate why he can be a feared opponent on his day, as despite Saman's top top performances in the last 2 months, he couldn't quite stop the marauding Tom, and lost 4-1.  Cip also showed some tremendous form, as he despatched Craig the Bear 4-0.  Ram really wasn't getting it easy this week, and his next opponent was number 3 ranked, Tash.  It wasn't a surprise to see that it went to hill hill, but Ram has such a cool temperament and overcame Tash in the end.  It was also great to see a recent addition to the community, Olly Lawrence, come to the fore with a 4-3 win over Muhammed Ali.  As Olly gets used to playing American pool, it seems evident that he'll become an increasing threat and challenge for tournament wins very very soon.  Nick continued to show that he's also in a bit of a false position by taking Chris Dews apart 4-0, and Hassan Mehedi also put in a fine performance to narrowly beat Ranj.  Of course, the tie of the round saw two heavyweights of the game go toe to toe, but whilst Dan the Destroyer gave Rod the God a real run for his money, God ground the Destroyer into submission and came through 4-2.

The quarters were, strangely, quite one-sided affairs.  Perhaps the previous match against the Destroyer took a lot out of Rod, but he could only take 1 frame off Tom Jedlecki.  Olly Lawrence whitewashed Nick Ronase, Hassan Mehedi demolished Khan 4-0, and Cip couldn't take a frame off Ram.  So into the semis, and Tom quickly swept past Olly 4-0.  Tom had been saying in his pre-tournament interviews that he had been in fine form recently, so it would take an awful lot to beat him.  Perhaps it's the experience, perhaps it's because it was past Olly's bedtime, but he had no answers to Tom's fine play.  In the other semi, Hassan felt confident, he felt that he was the man to take Ram down.  Surely Ram was going to run out of steam, having had to face Dan Baker, Tash, and Cip!  But we know that Ram's made of ice-cold steel, and despite it going to the deciding rack, Ram did it again.  The levels of consistency that Ram shows is quite phenomenal, but Tom had only dropped 2 frames all tournament!  But yet again, all credit to Ram.  4-1 to the number 1 ranked player in Tooting, and he's now broken 9.000 ranking points, a huge achievement over the course of 2022.  In his post-match interview, a beaming Ram said "I'll break 10.000 points before the end of the year.  It gets tougher every week though, everyone is getting better and pushing me to maintain my high levels.  I can see improvements with everyone and that makes me happy".

So another tournament win for Ram, but it's true to say that everyone is upping their game.  Some of the lower ranked players are really pushing hard to put pressure on all of the top players.  It's true to say that the standard of pool has changed since the beginning of the year, and it's down to all the players who are competitive, committed to the community, and most of all, welcoming to all, creating a really positive atmosphere at all the tournaments.  An example of which has been evident as people are genuinely happy to see some of the lower ranked players get their wins and show improvements, as we all want each other to keep improving.  Much respect to all the top players who take the time to encourage the weaker players get better.  

Player rankings have been updated fully, and for those who bother scrolling to the bottom, you may notice that one player has finally risen off the bottom of the leaderboard!  Have a superb week guys and hope to see loads of you next Monday.

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Written by Dan Suh

Category: Home

Published: 06 September 2022

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Muhammed Ali Proves His Greatness

Monday night and 37 of the best players in London (maybe not all 37 can claim to be the best though) gathered at London Snooker, Tooting, for the Multiball tournament.  Local legends who are known throughout the UK, like Ramesh Gokhul, Tashunka Schultz, GJ Oyangoren, Gabriel Vasilache, Ciprian Dandi, Hassan Mehedi, Tomasz Jedlecki, and Daniel Baker are well-known throughout and beyond London, and the importance of regularly having such high quality in the field means that everyone needs to step up and achieve the standards of these guys.  Lesser known, but no less talented players, like Rod Altes, Muhammed Ali, Kostiantyn Ivanov, Martin Leonar, Dan Suh (stop laughing), and many more are snapping at the heels and this is what makes Monday nights THE place to be to play pool, at least on a Monday night.

The early rounds saw a huge clash of titans, as Ram and Rod battled out early on.  With Ram ranked number 1 and Rod consistently ranked 2 or 3 this year, you might expect a close battle, but surprisingly Ram came through with relative ease, 4-1.  Interviewed on LFP TV, Rod took the defeat well but explained that a new tip that hadn't been bedded in, had caused his loss.  With Ramesh touring around the world over the next 6 weeks, we'll see less of him for a small while, meaning that if one person can show Ram's levels of consistency over the coming weeks, they will be reining in the diminutive Guyanan. 

Quite a few whitewashes in the early rounds, with Nick Ronase offering a lack of resistance against Daniel Baker.  Paul Choong couldn't really get his game together against Kosta, Sean feeling the full force of Tash's good form, whilst Martin Leonar quickly despatched Arul.  Additionally, Big Jim lost out to Cip, Gabriel demonstrated his usual qualities against Ali Haidery, Hassan Amin completely destroying Khan, and rookie Ankita Sharma couldn't nick a frame against Edgar.  Don't really think she could even hold the cue properly either, nor even chalk her cue...bit of an odd entry in any case.  

Hill hill battles were plentiful too.  Muhammed Ali nicked a win in the first round against Ben Venables, and had another hill hill battle against Hamza Itum to progress to the last 16.  Sher was delighted to have overcome Joe Granville, his first win since May.  Ciaran might claim result of the night, as he beat Tom Jedlecki (last week's finalist).  A huge battle between Hassan Mehedi and Geordie Glen, but Hassan just edged it in the final frame.  And of course, Dan Suh pushed GJ (Garry if you didn't know) Oyangoren to his limits as he ground GJ down but somehow a dodgy pocket robbed the Destroyer of a valuable win.

The last 16 saw Sher involved in another hill hill battle, but Tej clawed it back to win 5-4.  Daniel Baker absolutely wiped the floor clean with Ciaran to win 4-1.  Kosta tried but made too many errors to take advantage of his opportunities against Ram and lost 5-2.  GJ had, perhaps, exhausted himself in his previous match against the Destroyer, and lost 4-0 to Tash.  Muhammed Ali went into another hill hill battle against Ramon, and nicked the win at the death, again!  Meanwhile, Hassan Mehedi overcame Martin 4-3, and Edgar faced a higher quality opponent in this round, against Hassam Amin, and still came through without dropping a frame.  The other matchup saw local Romanian rivals, Cip face Gabriel.  No surprise that it was a high quality game that went to hill hill, but Gabriel eventually came through.

The quarters had Tej run out of steam against the ever impressive Daniel, whilst Tash couldn't quite find the consistency that he has before 10pm (his bedtime) and lost out to Ram. Muhammed Ali decided he didn't want any more hill hill battles, and whitewashed Hassan Mehedi.  And Edgar came up against a very impressive Gabriel. The semi final always sees some impressive games, and the short races really puts players under pressure to perform from the off.  The first semi had Ram and Daniel face each other, and unsurprisingly a game of immense quality ensued.  Ram built up the momentum, though, and saw Daniel off 4-2.  In the other semi, Muhammed Ali might be accused of running out of steam in previous attempts, but not on this night.  Gabriel will be disappointed, but Ali kicked into another level to win 4-2.

The thing with Ali is that he is a high quality performer on his day.  His potting skills are, at times, frightening, and he is immensely competitive.  He has reached finals before, but he can lose concentration, or maybe it's the aura of Ram, but Ali is yet to win a tournament.  Until last night!  Maybe Ram's head was already on holiday, but Ali put together his best performance of the year as he demolished Ram 4-1.  The emotion got a bit much for Ali as he jumped on the table shouting "I'm the greatest, I'm the king of Tooting, I told you suckas that no-one can beat me!" as the crowd watched on.  A fine performance, but the big question is whether he can continue this on whilst Ram is away.  Plenty of players will know that there's a huge opportunity for them, it's just a case of who will grab their chance?

Finally, I am away for a few weeks, so Andy Curzon will be taking over the reports and there might be some small delays in getting everything posted up.  I'm really grateful to those who take the time to read these, but remember that the gratitude really should go to Cip and Andrew for their tireless efforts for no reward at all.  Please support the tournaments, the organisers, and be welcoming to all new players (so long as they know how to hold a cue).

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Written by Dan Suh

Category: Home

Published: 13 September 2022

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RAMESH, ROD, AND TASH CONTINUE TO HEAD THE FIELD

This week, due to Covid, your regular reporter has been unable to write up a report. Instead, Andy Curzon has stepped in to write an absolute epic. If it's too long to read, the summary is that Rod can't break, Ram won the tournament, Rod and Tash are pretty much always just behind Ram. 

Stats will be updated later in the week.

Courtesy of Curzon Publications:

Door open and sun out at 3pm as the curtains raised for another pool fest at the Club.

8 ball; race to 5; double elimination; awaiting 23 players - vying for a seat at the winner’s table, alongside Ramesh and his band of champions.

First came the 10 ball break and run.  A mis-spin had Tash stand up and sit down as the re-draw found God Altes at the helm, but he kindly decided to break dry and let the pot expand for next week and on.

First rounds saw newcomer Hassan A play some great pots vs the young Kostya, pained by millimetres-out position a few times to deny him any frames, allowing the hungry Ukrainian a nice whitewash on the Brunswick.  By his own standards Joe G wasn’t firing on all cylinders against Nicolas Ronase, who prevailed 5-1.  As usual, whenever Ronase breaks the distinct loud high-pitched crack calls my attention.  Tash never let Paul going (who I think was borrowing a cue for the day) – another whitewash by Mr. Smooth.

Elsewhere, still in the first round we had father & son newcomers Alex and Oliver Lawrence – both accomplished English 8 ball players – Alex saw of Ramon 5-1 on table 6, coming back from 0-1 down and Oliver’s match with Daria was fantastic – game of the round.  Dynamic pots paired with perfect position a lot of the time from Oliver drew a few people’s eyes to table 4 but Daria’s mettle came through 5-3.  Ramesh had a nice relaxing meal before his first round vs Andy C and after offering the first break and sharing the first two (poor quality) frames ran out both of his breaks and missed one other shot to storm a 5-1 thrashing.

Sticking with the winner’s side for a tick, in round 2 Rod “God-when-I-decide” Altes overcame Peter Hsu 5-0, continuing his bid to nip at the heel’s of Ramesh alongside Tash at the top of Tooting Pool Charts!  Ali HK beat Nicolas Ronase 5-0 and Ali The Greatest had a heck of a fight vs Ricardo – the last frame from Ricardo to win 5-3 was precision pool.  His action reminds me more of an American pool version of Shaun Murphy’s than anyone else’s at the club – that heavy, controlled swing (as opposed to maybe an Efren’s lighter entry to a shot) – solid as a rock.

The rest of the 2nd rounds saw Andrew P beat first-timer Alex Lawrence 5-2, Tash defeat Sean 5-1, and, wait for it…Ramesh to be hill-hilled (how many times has he hill-hilled up boys?!) by the mighty Saman.  But for me the two matches of the second round were Glen and Daria (which saw Glen snag it 5-3 on a wonder cut of the black off the 15 ball into the middle to take it 5-3) and Shadi vs Kostya.  Played on the Brunswick, it was to-and-fro (visibly frustrating both a smidgen), with quality up and down from both but one of those absolute thrillers, Kostya pipping Shadi 5-4.

Loser’s first round saw Alex Lawrence bash up Andy C 5-3 form 0-3 down, Shadi find some good form to prevail over Joe G5-1, Ali triumphed over Paul 5-1, Nick came out ahead against Hassan A 5-3, Oliver Lawrence to beat Peter Hsu 5-3 (Peter played well as Oliver started to find his game), and Ramesh whitewash Ramon.

Second loser’s round had on-form Daria Siranchuk break Alex’s heart 5-4, Shadi outwit Sean 5-2, had Ali find a way through Nicolas R 5-1, and Ramesh storm past Oliver (wish I’d watched this one) 5 frames to 3.

Third round of single-time-losers saw Daria win against Ali HK 5-3, Saman win another hill-hill, this time against Shadi, Glen shoot past Ali 5-1, and Ramesh see off Kostya 5-2.  

Continuing the loser’s rounds (although the timings of the matches were not in this order) Saman took out Daria 5-2 and Ramesh whitewash Glen to qualify for the 5th of 7 loser’s rounds.  In the 5th loser’s round Saman saw off Andrew P 5-1 (Saman might be the most improved player at the Club this summer from what I’ve seen these past few weeks) and Ramesh overcame Ricardo 5-1.

In the heated rematch loser’s round 6 between Ramesh and Saman, Ramesh pulled himself into the zone for another whitewash (5-0) to play Tash in the final loser’s round before the big final.  Predictably back to his ways, Ram snuck past Tash 5-4 (so many hill-hill wins for Ramesh this year – a man of bottle) in another match I wish I’d seen to give full report of.

Finishing on the winner’s side, Rod cruised past Saman 5-0, Ricardo toasted Ali HK 5-1, Tash thrashed Kostya 5-0, and Andrew P won against Glen 5-2.  Round 4 winner’s side Rod exacted his third whitewash in a row, this time against Ricardo and Tash hopped past Andrew P at the final hurdle, 5-4.

In the winner’s semi (which is a single match because of the double elim set-up) Rod Altes allowed Tash a single frame just to appear human to set up the RamRod final we’d all been holding our breaths for.

The top two players at the club (I’d put Tash there as their equal when he’s not playing with a breaking cue) decided to play race to 7 in the big final, and Ramesh, at this point having played 9 matches so far in the tourney (as opposed to Rod’s 4) prevailed again (7-2) to allow for an absolute monster % of tournament wins this season at the Club.

It's a privilege to play with these guys and for me a joy to see the standard increase (a rising tide lifts all boats) as it is month on month here at Ram Palace 😉

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Written by Dan Suh

Category: Home

Published: 31 August 2022

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