Everyone has their inspirational figures in whatever they do. In pool mine are (in no particular order):
(keep in mind that the only tournaments I saw on tv were WPBA 9-ball championships and trick-shot champs)
Jeanette Lee The Black Widow. She is fun to watch, a deadly shot and seems to be willing to help out others with the game.
Mike Massey Trick-Shot champ for a whole lotta years. I’ve never really seen him play any standard pool, but looking at his achievements on that site says I wasn’t watching pool when he was winning every title around. He makes an interesting cameo in the movie Pool Hall Junkies.
Allison Fisher Again, discovered by sunday afternoons ESPN WPBA tournaments. Extremely solid player – and she is friendly on tour. A friend of mine got to play her and she was so very nice.
Monica Webb I like her because she reminds me of me sometimes. She has the shots, the ability, but she falters from time to time. Although she did finally win the WPBA 9-ball championship, congrats to her.
Most recently, thanks to BilliardClub.Net’s youtube channel, I’ve been able to learn some of the male players of the game. Of course:
Efren “Bata” Reyes – Just amazing. Simple, solid and ridiculously good.
Tony “The Tornado” Drago – I really like this guy because, again, he reminds me of me. Not in his flaws, but in his style. He plays very quickly, almost as if from the gut – but his brain just works quickly. I’ve found that the longer I look at the shot, the more likely I am to miss it. When I play at my “natural” speed, it’s quite a bit faster and I tend to be quite a bit more successful in both shot-making and position.
I feel I have to mention this next one because it was by chance that I stumbled across her blog – which solidified by decision to buy a measle ball – and also to create this blog.
Liz Ford A fairly new (2005) pro player who I would like to watch progress. So far, her blog has been entertaining and informative. Thanks Liz!
Who do you like?