Yesterday (which would be Saturday), I went to see the middle day of the Midwest 9-ball Tour, held this time at Shooters in Olathe, KS. I didn’t enter for two reasons… 1. the $50 entry fee, and 2. I expected the competition to be stiffer than I could handle. Given that, I was just going out there to observe, and hopefully pick up some tips.

Lets just say I saw some amazing pool. David Matlock and Jimmy Wetch were the two best shooters I saw yesterday, with a younger fellow named Chad a close third. There was also a small group of 3 or 4 12-14 year olds who were far too good, and far too cocky for their age. It really made me think back on what *I* was doing at 14 years old… not the right things, apparently.

Matlock, more than anyone, showed real mastery of the table. In the two or three dozen games I saw him play, I only saw two mistakes. At one point, he kicked at a ball, hit it, and then sent the cue ball off two other balls, another rail and into the corner pocket for a scratch. Could have happened to anyone. Later on, he let the cue-ball travel about 3 inches further than he meant to… which he easily recovered from. Other than that, though, he played nearly flawless position, and didn’t miss a single ball. Watching Matlock was watching pool played the way it was meant to be played. Nearly flawless position play. No difficult shots… ever. He made it look *easy*. The word "Maestro" comes to mind.

Hehe, at one point in the day, we decided to hit some balls around on a 9′ table and passed the billiards table in the process. Matlock was in the process of pulling off a really nice point-scoring shot at the time. Right when we passed, Matlock’s opponent saw the shot complete, and exclaimed rather loudly "That’s *bullshit*, Dave!". Maybe you had to be there, but we were, and we laughed.

Mike Robinson and Dom Scrivo, two guys from my APA 9-ball team both entered, and given the level of competition, did very well. Dom won Friday night, and the lost his next two matches on Saturday. Mike lost Friday night, won his first match on Saturday and lost his second. It’s not that Dom and Mike were playing poorly, it’s just that the other guys were getting *all* the rolls. That’s OK, though… the tour is coming back around again in December. Give me a couple years playing like I am now, and I may be ready to enter… even if I’m not ready to win.

There was more than just playing going on though… as is pretty typical, there were cue-makers as well. Barnett was there with his Lathe, ready to do emergency work if someone needed it. Jim Buss, and Joe Salazar were there showing off some of their latest. There was some amazing work there. I still, however, like the more simple designs, rather than the more flashy ones.

All in all, it was a highly rewarding experience. :)