Wednesday 10 December 2014

Controversial Call Against SVB at Pacman Cup



By: Markus Noé

Currently most of the best players in the world are in the Philippines to take part in the Manny Pacquiao sponsored "Pacman Cup" doubles event.  Similar to the first edition of this event which took place in the early fall, there is a "warm up" singles event.

In a match yesterday American 1# player Shane Van Boening was up against local favourite Ronnie Alcano. At the 1hr 25 min mark in the video posted below SVB completes a run-out and fails to call the 10 ball. However it was a straight in shot and it is common practice not to call the shots that are obvious.



As you can see the ref after seeing Alcano jump out of is seat came right up to SVB and told him the bad news. To my surprise even though I know this was a competitive match for money, Alcano does not defend SVB. Despite their past where one time SVB actually backed Alcano at a U.S Open it should just be a professional courtesy to tell the ref to let such a mindless call go. I did look back at a few other racks and SVB was not calling the pocket then and it was let go

After a few words SVB put his cues away and quit in disgust 6-3 down. I am not a fan of the giving up attitude, and I do not believe this was quitting so much as it is a protest. Besides being 1# in America many regard SVB to be the number 1# player in the world, who flew all the way to Philippines to take part in this event. I feel this is a cheap shot and bad for the game what do you our readers think? Feel free to leave your comments on our Facebook posts.

On a side note our own John Morra has made the trip once again to play with Thorsten Hohmann in the doubles event. Last time out they finished 2nd winning $9000 a piece. In the singles event Morra has moved to the final 32 as he has won his first 3 matches, good luck to him the rest of the way.
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11 comments:

  1. J E F R E N10 December 2014 at 12:23

    If that is the rule, and everybody is calling the shot, no matter how obvious, then it is a foul. There should be no grey area here. If some Refs are letting it go and some not, then thats not fair. If there was a players meeting before the tournament, and it was clearly stated that you need to call your shot. then it is the fault of the player no matter if it is "gentleman's rule" or not, the player must call the shot.

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    1. Unknown10 December 2014 at 14:11

      Still not an automatic loss of game for not calling the ten ball. Ten ball should be spotted and incoming player needs to call the pocket and still make it. The ref screwed up.

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  2. Edmonton Slough Shark10 December 2014 at 12:44

    It's generally accepted that obvious shots do not need to be called

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  3. MAdfox10 December 2014 at 13:07

    The referee is an idiot

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  4. Unknown10 December 2014 at 14:48

    This, after SVB berated my brother for quitting him during a one pocket tournament, because SVB asked for and got a referee to clean an object ball?...

    And before you reply with nonsense, let's remember, in a rotation game, you HAVE to shoot the next lowest numbered ball, while in one pocket, risk is evaluated on a shot by shot basis, and has been (by grown men) for decades..

    Typical primadonna..

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  5. Unknown10 December 2014 at 19:29

    If you need a rule to help you win you are a scumbag. Way to go SVB

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  6. Trail11 December 2014 at 08:17

    The rule says: "...the intended ball and pocket must be indicated for each shot if they are not obvious." and "For a called shot to count, the referee must be satisfied that the intended shot was made". So the only way the referee could make this call is if he didn't think this shot was obvious. His argument would have to be something like he thought Shane was going for the side pocket and missed by 4 feet directly into the corner by accident. A lot of guys would have blown their tops but Shane was cool headed and did the right thing. Shame on Ronnie for not making it right.

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  7. Cluttered Bits13 December 2014 at 14:18

    I'm a big SVB fan... but as much as I wanna take his side, I think the shot wasn't really "obvious" until he took it. There were two "easy" pockets available for that shot and I actually thought he'll shoot it in the side, knowing a lot of players prefer the side pocket since it's considered "bigger"... than taking it to the corner which is the longer route. I feel bad for SVB, I think Ronnie should have let it go.

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  8. LorTee22 August 2016 at 22:33

    Personally I think that wherever and whenever it's possible, the game should be decided on the table. The rules have there place and no matter what the rule is, when it's being used about a particular shot or action, it is the"spirit" that should determine the decision. Sometimes you just have to walk away before the situation gets even uglier!! Kudos SVB

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