IPT Qualifier

The IPT Qualifier Tournament C was held at Hard Times Billiards! I took full advantage of it by being there all 3 days...boy I'm tired from sitting around. hehe

I always regret not taking enough pictures at tournaments, but I didn't want to bother the players. As you can see, I was sitting pretty close. I got a few good ones...

I feel like I'm still high from all the pool action I watched this weekend. The tournament as filled with top players from all over the world. I am so happy Ortmann qualified. He's my hero!! I remember watching him on ESPN even before I started playing pool. I felt bad because he was all by himself most of the time. He should have beat Orcollo, although he's one tough player also. He had a bunch of Philipino friends/fans (relatives?) with him there and they cried when he won. This is a big deal to them...more than I can even imagine. He was probably the best one there anyway. Wu was also amazing, but I didn't get to see him playing very much.

Can't forget about the Japanese players!! They did so well, but in this tournament, it doesn't mean much unless you get 1st or 2nd place. I hope they got their entry fees paid for the next qualifier. I got to talk to them a little bit. Very nice people :) I also talked to Gallego who speaks fluent Japanese! What was amazing was the fact that he understands jokes in Japanese. He even gave me a lesson. Thank you!!!