Exhibition Pool
With my Kossack name being side pocket one would assume I have an interest in pool. I have been playing on and off for decades, and consider myself a slightly better-than-average player, though slowing down recently due to physical and vision problems. I still love the game and, while playing, I am able to ignore the rest of the world, especially due to our pool hall prohibition of political and religious discussions.
A few months ago a new pool hall, Racks N Cues, opened in Windsor, a nearby town. We heard a rumor that Shane Van Boening, currently the number one player in the world, would play and instruct players who would sign up and pay for the opportunity. I have watched numerous YouTube videos of Shane; amazing. So I signed up and paid my fee.
Nine ball is a game in which after the break, balls must be pocketed in order, one through nine, in order to win. Shane often does a break-and-run, such that the opposing player never gets out of his or her seat. I’ve seen him accomplish this 8 games in a row!
Here’s a video of a match between Shane and an amazing player named Ko Pin Yi. He won.
Shane was interviewed on a segment of 60 Minutes. It’s really interesting if you have the time.
He seems like such a nice guy, and hopefully will withhold laughter when we play. I totally expect that I will break, not sink any balls, and he will run all nine while I watch in awe. He has developed a break which puts the one ball (always the front ball in the rack) in the side pocket almost every time and thence runs the rest to win.
Kossack BankShot will be there, and that could be interesting, since he seldom misses a bank shot, but on the other hand, Shane seldom misses any shot.
Detailed information on the day is sketchy, but I know I’ll be there from 2 PM till late evening, with a 2 hour dinner break. The exhibition is tomorrow! Wish me luck.
