First off I would like to wish everyone a Happy New year and may your 9 balls not rattle all year.These past two weeks have been busy for me with work and family as the holidays always are however I did find some time to attend a few tournaments.
On the 27-28 of December I hit the road to Saint-Hyacinthe to play in a 1000 dollar added handicap tournament. 63 ppl showed up and the Calcutta was 4600 so their was some money to be won. In my first match I played an A player who recently beat Quebec legend Alain Martel in a Pro tournament. He was spotting me 2-9 and unfortunately lost on the hill. But not without controversy as in my opinion my opponent attempted to shark me and did so successfully. Once I was shooting a 9 somehow all his equipment found its way to the floor in a loud crash. Then I played a very difficult full table combination on the 9 to bring myself to the hill first then he screams foul. Accused me of hitting another ball during my follow through however my Girlfriend who was watching never saw it, neither did a few others and I did not feel it. But he made such a dog an pony show out it I was forced to re-rack. After these incidents there was a noticeable drop in my performance and it cost me the match. So of course one of my new years resolution is to acquire a better mental game that handle these type of players.
I was able to get a handle on my game after that match as I grinded out the B side afterwards for 5 matches and finished tied for 13 and just in the money. My good friend Justin Miller who 2013 was a real coming out party for, continued to impress as he finished 4th and lost to the guy who eventually won the tournament. Miller played a solid game as he is AA and spotted over 50% of the field.
Little did I know just a few days after I made my New Years Resolution I would get a chance to put it to practice. My first match this past Saturday in AA tournament in Pierrefonds Quebec did not start out well for me as I was down 2-6 when my opponent decided to take a break. I took this moment to wash my face relax and refocus and it payed off. As I quickly found my game and began my comeback. However once I got to 6-7 he accused me of cheating by marking two games at a time, which is impossible as I did not even get to the paper to mark the game I just won. Then after that, twice I had him on 2 fouls but he would not let me call him on it, said it did not happen and tried to take advantage of my poor french by making me explain each time exactly how he got to two fouls. Needless to say once again I was rattled and my preformance once again suffered long enough to lose 7-9. I bounced back next set 7-4 then lost a hill match to a strong player. I left this tournament disappointed as I knew I let a guy who I should of, could of, and would of have beat, get the best of me with cheap tactics. I could lay the blame on him but there are many more like him out there and if I am going to reach my goal and get to the next level I will have to learn to block this stuff out. But man is it frustrating sometimes. Till next time.
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