The scoresheets have been tabulated, correlated, and sent on for updating. They should be updated to this site some time today. With 3 weeks to go, some divisional races are getting tighter while others are all but decided. Please note that all teams will be competing in the playoffs, which will start on April 28th (8-Ball) and April 30th (9-Ball). No team is out of it, as there is ample precedent for last-place teams making it through the playoffs to win their division.
The league committee will be meeting soon to formalize the playoff format, and the information will be posted here.
There are still some league issues that need to be addressed:
PLAYER PLAYOFF ELIGIBILITY: The committee met prior to the start of the season to make it as easy as possible for people to be playoff eligible. With 3 weeks left in the season, it is still possible for anyone who has played at least once thus far to compete. The rule states quite clearly "No one will be eligible to play in the playoffs for any team unless they have played in at least 7 individual matches or on 5 seperate occasions for that team during the course of the season." Someone who has played only once can still qualify under the "7" if he plays twice in the 3 remaining matches. Someone who has already played twice can still qualify under the "5" if he plays once in each of the remaining 3 weeks. Please have a look at this weeks player standings. Those names that are already playoff eligible have been highlighted in red. 130 people have qualified so far in both 8-Ball and 9-Ball. There is also a new listing showing player records for both 8-Ball and 9-Ball on one sheet, so that people who play in both can see how their respective records compare.
SCORE SHEET COLLECTION: The rules clearly state that: "After a match is completed, please arrange to have the score sheets forwarded to Mark so that the results can be compiled and tabulated. Please do this as quickly as possible so that the site can be updated in a timely manner. They can be dropped off to a collection point (Hideaway Bar), scanned and E-mailed in, faxed in or even phoned in.
The collection of scoresheets is starting to border on the absurd, and it is reflected in the number of missing results every week. This past week we are still missing 4. In an effort to hang on to whatever sanity I still have left, I am not going to bother trying to track them down each week. No more phone calls and no more visits to the bars responsible. Going forward, the standings will be updated every friday with whatever forms have found their way to me. If forms are still missing once the season ends, I will simply make a guess at what the score might have been and decide what the final standings will be.
FILLING OUT SCORE SHEETS: The rules clearly state: "Please keep in mind when filling out the forms that the information will be recorded. If a team has players with the same name, please distinguish betwen them. A nickname or initial will suffice. Print any unusual names legibly, and make sure that an individual player is always listed under the same name."
I have forwarded some of the scoresheets to the "Ripley believe-it-or-not" people, but they think I'm just taking the piss. Trying to decipher the scoresheets each week is taking up way too much of my time. Half the time, the 2 scoresheets do not tally, Amazingly, many that do are both wrong. Many are simply unreadable. Often the team names are not filled out, and sometimes they are filled out with the wrong team name and wrong date. If a Steve 1 and a Steve 2 play one week for a given team, how am I to know who to credit the following week when only Steve plays? Some people opt for a mid-season name change, usually because of bad records. Sometimes a team captain will call me up to correct a mistake he made, which I do, and then he makes the same mistake the following week. The same is true for Thai names, which seems to vary almost every week. If a Nom Yai and a Nom Lek play for a bar one week, and a Nom plays the following week, I may or may not have the hands on experience neccessary to know which one she is.
We are now approaching 800 league players. I have to research more than half the names every week because all new names require specific updating to the worksheet. I am still sitting on the lion's share of the league revenue, and do not want to start applying it to my blood pressure medication.
READING THIS SITE: I thought I would pass on some useful information to those that complain that print on this site is too small. Simply hit "Control" and use the scroll on your mouse. It's Magic.
The 9-Ball team tournament went down in pretty much the same fashion as the 8-Ball. Somewhat surprisingly, there were less people for the 9-Ball. There were still enough to field 8 teams, and most of the night was spent playing pool. Steven Lee, currently ranked 13th in the world in snooker, was on hand to take on anyone interested in having a game against someone of his stature...and many did. He even filled in as a ringer for one of the teams.
The 2 events were probably not an entirely fair way of testing out the new playing formula because so many people were playing together for the first time, but I think most people did get the gist of it. I spoke to a lot of people regarding how they felt about it. The results were pretty evenly mixed, with some people loving it and others hating it. Those that did like it, though, were split on whether it would work well for league play, From an administration point of view, the current format is easier to work with I would say that the bottom line of the "test" is that we will stay with the format we have been using. Almost everyone agreed, however, that the format we tested would be a perfect way to handle tiebreakers in the playoffs.
The 2nd half of the season resumes next week. The week off gave me the chance to gather up some missing scoresheets. The site will be updated tomorrow, with both 8-Ball and 9-Ball complete except for a postponed game in each that should be made up shortly.
The league held it's 8-Ball team tournament last night at the Ball In Hand in Times Square. This was a first for the league, held in an effort to test out a new playing formula. While the jury is still out regarding the formula, I would say that the evening proved to be a big success. Quite a few people suggested we make a mid-season team tournament a regular part of the league. I think it proved to be a good evening for all who showed.
Just over 60 people showed up, which turned out to be a very workable number. I was concerned that there might be far more than that(or far less). I intentionally did not "market" the event, so all who attended did so because they either knew about it from this site or heard about it by word-of-mouth. As always, some people I expected to show up didn't and people I did not expect did. We broke into 8 teams, using 4 of the 7 Ball In Hand tables. The other 3 tables were in constant use, though. Everyone got to play a lot of pool, which was one of my objectives. Play continued pretty much non-stop until closing time, and beer consumption was in line with regular league play. It was actually a lot less chaotic than I expected, as everyone came with a good attitude and an interest in simply having an enjoyable evening.
We will be doing this again on Wednesday for 9-Ball. It might be a bit more chaotic, as I think more people will show up. Almost all who showed up for 8-ball said they would be back, and word-of-mouth should motivate more people to make it. Hopefully, it will still stay at a workable number and people will get to play a lot of pool.
I want to thank all that showed up last night for making the evening work so well. I had a great time, and I wasn't the only one.
As per the schedules for both 8-Ball and 9-Ball, there are no games scheduled for week 6. Instead, we are going to hold a mid-season team tournament to test out a new playing format. Participation is optional, but all are welcome.
WHY? Many people are familiar with the annual Bangkok/Pattaya challenge. It is played under a format that many people seem to like. A number of pool leagues around the world have changed to this format. At the last committee meeting, those that are familiar with it wanted to try it out in the Bangkok Pool League this season. I have never played it personally, and wanted to do a trial run to see how it goes. There are plusses and minuses to it, and those that show up in week 6 will be asked their reaction to it. If positive, we will test it out again for the playoffs. If the consensus is again positive, we will be using it next season.
WHAT? Rather than have 8 individual matches determine which team wins, the entire match will be played AS a team. In 8-Ball, for example, it will be a team race to 15, with each match being 1 leg. The 1st team to reach 15 legs won will win the match. The home team will write down 4 players names. The visiting team will look at the names, and then decide on 4 names to match up against the other teams players. Strategy will obviously play a greater role. A team can opt to put their best player up against the other team's best player, or opt to sacrifice their worst player in an effort to win the other 3 legs. After the 4 legs have been played, it will then be reversed, with the visiting team writing down the 4 names first. This will continue until one team wins 15 legs. Note that the "15" will be for league play. Time restraints will not allow us to play to 15 for this event. The number of teams, number of players per team, and the number of legs needed to win will be determined by how many people show up on Monday and Wednesday.
WHO? People who show up as a team and want to play together certainly can. I expect most people to show up well short of a team. No problem, as teams will be created to accommodate all that show up. If a small group of people from an existing team want to play together, they can, but players will be added so that all teams are roughly the same size.
WHEN? 8-Ball will be on Monday, March 10th and 9-Ball will be on Wednesday, March 12th. We need to start this no later than 8:00 to maximize play. I am asking those that can to please show up early. An early start means more games can be played. We will try to accommodate all that show up.
WHERE? The Ball In Hand at Times Square.
Please note that this tournament is a test, and it is a first for the league, No part of this is etched in stone, which is why we are testing it. Our hope is that, at the very least, it will be a fun night of free pool, a chance for people to play with and against new people, and good chance to see how people feel about this format. There are no trophies, nor prizes, but the first drink is on the house.
The current standings are now posted through the halfway point in the season. I am still missing a few score sheets, and a there are also 2 postponed games that need to be made up. As per the WEEK 6 post, regular league play will resume as usual in week 7.
Sanook Bar has dropped out of the league in both 8-Ball(Blue Division) and 9-Ball(Blue Division). They will be replaced in the schedule by McAndrews Bar. It is located just off Sukhumvit Soi 20. Just hang a right into the first small subsoi, about 25 meters into Soi 20.
