Earl Strickland says this was his toughest match to date at the time. And his greatest feeling winning ❤❤ Also a great and exciting match to watch because of the excitement and enthusiasm of the commentators. Something that is lacking today. And no negative talk of players. Match is Pure Gold
Oh. wow. Never heard him say that about "toughest to date." Like him or not, he's brutally honest with his feelings. I'm a huge fan of Earl's. Wish he lived closer to Chicago for privates.
I remember watching this whole tournament on Sky TV. It was the most amazing Pool spectacle I've ever seen. None of the other WPA tournaments seemed to match this. I remember being gutted when Reyes lost to Busta, then this final was great.
Definitely one of them, not great insight at times, but hilarious. Another I like, especially when it's the standard pair, is Danny and Encarda...at least one very funny quip each time, usually from Danny, and it often breaks Encarda up where you can hear he can't even continue for several seconds occasionally. There are also entertaining and interesting commentators in other respects, knowledge and insight, like Jeremy Jones, Scott Frost, and Skyler Woodward (knowledgeable and funny, especially when the mullet twins get together, peas in a pod, those two), to name a few.
If you ever played Earl in a professional tournament ,you would realize you dealing with a drama Queen, especially if your winning . Truth is ,Earl is a great player , but as an opponent he is an asshole. That is how the pros feel about him.
@@timothykwong8224 yes, to that, he complained a lot to that guy who fixes that balls on the rack and fusses about that guy a lot. in one of the games he played with efren.
WOW!!! Earls reaction at the end shows just how much pressure he was under. He rose to the occasion. A true champion not taking anything away from Bustamante. So exciting I couldn't stop watching all the way to the end.
This is for me remains the BEST WPA CHAMPIONSHIP Match. I would be happy if WPA would decide to revert their finals fromat to Race to 17 rather than 13.
The one that dont appreciate how good is The Pearl is, is the one that doesn't or don't know how to play billiard...thats why they use to trash talk rather than how to be amaze how tough that shot he make...Salute The PearL and Django...💪👌🎱
One of Earl's best finishes of all time. He really kept his composure here against a tough tough opponent. Fransisco a little unlucky to scratch on the breaks at the worst possible times. Over all, great match!
I was looking at the comment section and nobody appears to know the situation is..Bustamante played with a handicap this whole finals. He was about to withdraw from this finals and wanted to go home because his daughter just died while playing in the semifinals, it was only Efren Reyes that convinced him to play in this finals.
32:33 the announcer has no idea what he’s talking about. Earl had ball in hand. He pocketed the three with low right hand english trying to bump the six to have a clear shot on the four ball. Even if he did what the announcer was saying he wouldn’t be able to see the four ball. They needed real announcers on the old 2000’s world pool matches.
Effren, Francisco, Earl, Mike, Ronny, we will never again see such great billiards players in so many disciplines all at once :D It is lovely to live in interesting times :D Greats upon greats doing MAGIC on the felt...
Earl jumps on a table after a victory, funny how many others do it now lol. This guy is full of knowledge and love him or hate him a lot of players learn from him. Earl and Efren, the ying and yang of pool.
There are other 'yangs' in other aspects, watch Pagulayan, Koi, or Ko, as some examples. NOBODY else is Earl, that's for sure. Good, bad, and indifferent, Earl is a force unto himself, often to his detriment, performance wise. And yeah, a trend setter on some actual beneficial experiments as well, like the extended cue...adopted by more and more pros recently. Weights, loads of nasty looking tape on his fingers, wrist supports borrowed from bowling, etc., not so much. He seems to be dropping the extraneous goofy (and downright dumb) crap, including the whiny "I'm so put upon" attitude, and playing much better though. Excellent!!! The first performance I watched in the current opens was MUCH more the old Earl, he demolished some poor opponent, Jeffrey I IIRC, and would have been highly competitive with any top pro, even with them being on. :-)
When you can overcome your mistakes and bad play, gut it out, and make the shots when you have to -- those are the hallmarks of greatness! It's MUCH easier to win when your position is spot on and everything is rolling your way. You step up and look like an infallible genius with a stick in your hand. But when your position is slightly off on almost every shot, the cuts get progressively more acute, your speed control has gone south, and you're looking at table length shots you should not have had to face-- and you step up and MAKE THOSE shots in front of a gallery, and run out a table that has turned harder than it should have been, THEN you have a right to dance on that table top! Way to go, Earl! And next time -- don't make it so hard on yourself.
He seems to be disappearing all that crap lately and he is playing much better for it. I posit that maybe Earl has some really weird ways of thinking about garbage like that. I expect (am guessing) he gets playing badly (a normal slump, ubiquitous and completely general, welcome to the human race :-/ )and says "I'm gonna do 'this' (weird ass thing) to improve my game", adds the next ridiculous implement like piles of tape on his fingers, wrist supports, weights on his legs, etc. (impediments, more like) and the natural cycle of play performance rises, just like it would without the accoutrements, which wrongly perceptively 'supports' his choice, then gives wrong headed reasoning for it (like the tape stabilizes his fingers...PULEEZ) and he's off to the races on the next goofy addition. A few of them HAVE been beneficial, though, like the extended cue (leaving the extension in place for general play) which many other top pros have adopted. That may have been a result of his playing on the five by ten and just not wanting interrupt his rhythm when he's on and quick to have to grab the extension as often, an actual practical consideration, and he found it helpful (again I'm guessing, with some education employed). It's easy to see why this particular change might help from a physics standpoint, more rotational inertial to steady the stroke, and obvious help when he wants to reach, extending the bridge and moving the back hand rearward on the butt. I've been doing this for a long time and it improves my break speed and accuracy (speed actually measured). Everybody thought I was nuts before. It always amazes me how people 'just know' something that has some merit is 'wrong' and never even give it a try, just for grins, to see. I had one guy give me crap over headphones, long before even Earl and a few other pros had tried it, saying 'have you EVER seen a pro do that?. Well yes, now I have. I got the idea from pros complaining that SVB had an advantage by turning down his hearing aids, which he stopped just to bring the playing field back to level. It did help me with concentration and calmness, no question. And yes, Earl was one I later saw do it. Now he's off on a 16 mm tip for the current US open. My thought is that at least this one might not be detrimental, and might even prove beneficial, we will see. In any case the last set I watched he was playing very much like the old Earl. Joking with the crowd, his bitching and wining to a minimum, almost non existent, and focused while QUICKLY clearing tables...minimal (almost non existent mistakes and some really class action high level of difficulty, big balls shots). I have noticed this trend, and it's gradual increase on the last few tourneys. If someone got through to him, kudos on doing it. He was funny at times with it but mostly just an ridiculous looking and sounding irritant, MHO. I hope it stays that way. If it does I predict you will see him start winning many more tournaments again. He's more fun to watch (for me) without all the antics and with the razor sharp focus and play. If you look at young Earl there was none of the garbage and nonsense, and a whole mess of top tier world class play, much of it virtually untouchable by anyone else at the time. I have heard many people who have been around him a lot say he is a joy to be around off the table, funny, witty, and entertaining. I'm glad to see it is moving back into his game. I saw a practice recently (on video) where he was joking with someone off camera that was giving it back to him, and they both were obviously really enjoying it. I did too. Some pretty funny banter, Earl degrading his play to be funny and telling funny stories about all the horrible things that always happen to him, in a silly light hearted manner, and demonstrating them. Sorry for the tome, your comment just got me thinking about it again. Much total surmise but I'll bet I'm not far off on a good bit of it. I say stay detriment free Earl, and show us some more pinnacle play...no question he can, and is starting to do just that again. :-) :-)
I believe that sky did the coverage. They are the best in the business in my opinion. Warl was always my favorite player. So smoother & plays fast when he's loose! Francisco is a beast also. Great players here!!!!
I was looking at the comment section and nobody appears to know the situation is..Bustamante played with a handicap this whole finals. He was about to withdraw from this finals and wanted to go home because his daughter just died while playing in the semifinals, it was only Efren Reyes that convinced him to play in this finals.
Wow, that was WOW. Thought earl painted himself into a corner with no door or window to exit thru. But after drawing even at 15 games, like him or not. He pulled it out 👍👍👍🎱🎱🎱🥢🥢🥢
He really did. Earl didn't start shooting til the 29th rack lol. Like Forsythe said, when Earl starts shooting fast, watch out! You can tell he really had to dig deep to find it, and he had it flowing those last 4 games. He's poetry to watch when in that zone. I wonder what thought he used for motivation to turn it around?
You know I really love Reyes. Of course, saying he's your favourite pool player is fine but it's a bit like saying LeBron is your favourite ball player. Bustamante has won me over as my 2nd favourite pool player of all time. What cueing abilities and downright mad man level skills!!! A treat to watch every time. The same can be said for Strickland barring his erratic behaviour.
Mike Pawlik, erratic is a nice word for it and a lot of people use it. Sometimes he approaches John McEnroe levels of bad sportsmanship, which for me cloud Earl’s accomplishments and very real skill.
Who doesn't, other than his current opponent. Ranked most loved, even by his peers. :-) But yes, agreed. Not just his play, but his attitude, and the humor it often brings in exit interviews, even with the same answer over and over again. He will be badly missed...but he's still dominating at one pocket, even without the razor's edge shooting (always, anyway, he still comes up with them) of his youth, do to the inescapable influences of aging. There, knowledge is KING, and good lord is does he have an overabundance of THAT!
At about 2:15, one of these commentators totally misspoke saying "Earl hustled at 12 years old for a dime." Try fact-checking before speaking, guy. Earl, himself (In his dvd's Road Stories) said he was a gambler, not a hustler. Hustlers play poorly, raise the bet, then play at their real level. A gambler says "How much?" and good luck to you.
Don't get me wrong , Earl is probably one of the most talented humans ever to pick up a cue . Every sports has different personalities ,in tennis you had John Mc Enroe and Jimmy Conners . Pool has Earl Strickland. Some pool players had extreme class , like Buddy Hall ,Nick Varner, Dan Louie and Efren REYES. Earl reminds me of a Donald Trump , but he was a pool player . We all have different personalities , but it makes the sports interesting . I was always taught , "WIN WITH CLASS , LOSE WITH CLASS , THAT IS THE MARK OF A TRUE SPORTMAN ."
So much winning....tell that to all the farmers who have gone bankrupt under Mr. TARIFF MAN DUMBASS decisions......Earl and Donald are both a little nuts , they have that in common!!!!! Whinners , NOT WINNERS !!!!
@@timothykwong8224 I agree with a hell of a lot of what you say.....that being said, I'd take Earl any day for Prez over the bought-n-paid for idiot that Trump is......for the rich.
@@lovepeace3015 that was fixed bs and efren cheated, also amateur staff let him get away with trash coughing over and over on purpose every time earl was on the roll. not a professional match. earl best player
i love the pool and snooker pocket cameras here's numerical order number 1 ball at 54:30 number 3 ball at 2:13:00 number 5 ball at 1:23:12 number 6 ball at 36:37, 1:42:26 and 2:02:49 number 7 ball at 1:18:28 number 8 ball at 3:18 and 1:22:36 number 9 ball at 13:01, 49:25, 57:51, 58:19, 1:23:28, 1:56:17 and 1:56:29
Spot on. When I watch Pool on here from the US in the 90s, I was surprised to see I enjoyed the commentary as much as the game. In the UK, everything is drama, no insight whatsoever.
Earl should make his OWN RUclips channel and put up his favorite videos like the Joe Rogan impersonation. Classic. Play music like Bad Company's Shooting Star... and all the world will love you just as long ..as long as you are.. a *shooting* *star*
The camera work was atrocious. I don't want to see the audience. I don't want to see a close-up of the balls or the players faces. I want to see the how the puzzle is solved. The positioning for the next shot. The finesse. The beauty of the game. That being said, I saw something I never thought I'd see; Earl Strickland missing two, very easy, consecutive shots. But, he settled down and came back in championship style. A great match.
Can you imagine being an elite pool player in the last 30 years and knowing if you finally got past Efren somehow, Busty, Parica, Andam Luat, Pagulayon and a handfull of other monsters a 1/2 step behind would still be waiting for you.
What a game, wow. One of the closest matvhes in any sport ever. Didn't much care for him jumping on the table at the end but it's in the heat of the moment, we all do silly things.
Some people here judging how Earl reacted when he won the match, IMO Earl can do whatever he wants at that table after that hard match. Well deserved. What a great match and both great players. There will never be another Earl. that ERA was the best times in pool for me.✊💯
Earl didn’t start that . At least not there. I first saw Kim Davenport do it after winning at a Professional Tour Championship in the 90’s.Don’t know if he was the first either.
The commentators talking like Earl was out of this match early when Fran went up 2 racks or something ! Its a race to 17 , Earl is better all around plain and simple ! Way to show them all CHAMP !!!🏆 💪 🙌 👏
That missed 1 to 9 combo has really started the jinx to Django. Too bad i felt that he was taking better shots than Earl. But Earl was just too clutched.
is this the game where he stands on the table?? I seen his say 2002 was the year he did that, and he declared that game the pinnacle of his entire legacy
@@_the_concestor_8185 He addressed that too, he said that was meant for himself, in his own mind, at that very moment. He said that game was the best game he ever played, and was the most rewarding win he ever won. He said since he was a young child he always wanted to stand on the table, and say that. This game was the only game that warranted such an action, and he wanted to grasp the moment.
@@anthonyaman1488 you’ve never won anything worthy of getting on the table for starters. Second, you said you were a “legend” and I simply was reminding you that you aren’t even a “legend” at your own High School/Town, let alone nationally…😘
I asked Earl about this match years later and he said going in he wasn't playing well. He also felt Busti deserved this title considering his circumstances but,.... when Busti started to scratch on his break.......
Bustier chokes Earl doesn't chole but is impatient.. meantime Efrem stays up late playing cards or chess causing mistakes..at his best n sober Keith McCready was the best
Earl is one of the greats but I think he was a little over rated he played in an era where pockets were so wide and forgiving he struggled when pockets were more tough and tighter later in his career , I think the players now would of beat him back then there just better overall now like in any sport players get better over time
And we wonder why pool died...camera man zooming in on everything but the game...faces DURING THE SHOT, a F'n ring on Bustamante's hand instead of showing the actual shot being played, pocket cameras showing absolutely nothing of value, including players arms/hands several times, obnoxious commentators trying to way oversell every play. Pool needed NONE of this, it's sad to see they couldn't see this. RIP Billiards
Earl “The Pearl” Strickland is the undisputed best 9-ball player ever to play the game. If you doubt me look at his head to head (high profile) tournaments against Efren Reyes and you’ll see Earl was dominant.
@@1000elochess Earl Strickland U.S. 9-Ball Titles (5) World 9-Ball Championships (3) Efren Reyes U.S. 9-Ball Titles (1) World 9-Ball Championship (1) These are the only Titles of record. In other words, when they’re both gone future generations will only be able to retrieve information on open Titles. Earl Strickland knew that Billiard archives would only include records of US 9 ball titles and World Titles which is why he always seemed to step up his game during these tournaments.
The year 2002 was probably the darkest year for Bustamante, especially considering his experience at the World Pool Championships. While the tournament was still going on, Bustamante was most shocked when he received a phone call from his wife informing him that his daughter, who was less than a year old, had died. Devastated by this, Bustamante strongly considered forfeiting his contention at the tournament to return to the Philippines, but some people around convinced him to go on. On his way to the final, Bustamante bested Antonio Lining in the last 16, Efren Reyes in the quarter finals, and Ching Shun Yang in the semis. In the final, he met Earl Strickland, the 2-time winner of the tournament. Bustamante was leading most of the time and could have won the title. At one point, he went for a jump shot but missed. Strickland returned to the table and won three racks in a row to win the match 17-15.
THIS WONDERFUL MATCH REVEALS TO ALL WHY BOTH, BUSTAMANTE AND EARL, CANNOT DEFEAT EFREN REYES!!! THEY BOTH MAKE TOO MANY MISTAKES UNDER PRESSURE AND IN THE CLUTCH SITUATION!! EFREN DON'T MISS IN THESE SITUATIONS WHEN HE'S WOMPING ON THESE TWO CHAMPIONS OF THEIR PROFESSION!!!
@@roelantonioona517 KUMPARE from the Spanish compadre, literally "godfather" The words kumpare and kumpadre in the Philippines refer to close male friends, particularly for the type of friendship that is strengthened by the fact that one is the godfather of the other's child.
i never get tired of watching this classic match
😮
😊😊😊😊😊 Pop😊
Ah u ni mo by mo
. Mo😊 hu hu hu ni Dr dr mo by
Mo
😊 mo@@tomwright996
🎉🎉🎉 1:07:49 6🎉
But quality is kinda ass
Earl Strickland says this was his toughest match to date at the time. And his greatest feeling winning ❤❤ Also a great and exciting match to watch because of the excitement and enthusiasm of the commentators. Something that is lacking today. And no negative talk of players. Match is Pure Gold
Thanks for spoiling the match dumbass
Oh. wow. Never heard him say that about "toughest to date."
Like him or not, he's brutally honest with his feelings.
I'm a huge fan of Earl's. Wish he lived closer to Chicago for privates.
This was an AMAZING match. 2 of the best in the WORLD!💯
the 3 best reyes strickland bustamante
One of the top matches ever played
I remember watching this whole tournament on Sky TV. It was the most amazing Pool spectacle I've ever seen. None of the other WPA tournaments seemed to match this. I remember being gutted when Reyes lost to Busta, then this final was great.
We
He probably owed Buste a title or 10.
Bub y ok
@@edmundoeguia3649kkkkkkk*k*
Who cares
I love his attitude the way he control Himself amazing 😍
Thats got to be 1 of best matches ever. Loved it.
Sid Waddell in my opinion , is the most entertaining commentator in sports God rest his soul .
Icetecker agreeeeee! 🙏🏼😊🙏🏼
I used to think his yelling for no reason was annoying but the more and more I watch this old games I've come to enjoy his banter.
Definitely one of them, not great insight at times, but hilarious. Another I like, especially when it's the standard pair, is Danny and Encarda...at least one very funny quip each time, usually from Danny, and it often breaks Encarda up where you can hear he can't even continue for several seconds occasionally.
There are also entertaining and interesting commentators in other respects, knowledge and insight, like Jeremy Jones, Scott Frost, and Skyler Woodward (knowledgeable and funny, especially when the mullet twins get together, peas in a pod, those two), to name a few.
@@wombra8314 0
Is he dead?
I'm most definitely on Earl Strickland side when it comes to the way he reacts on certain pool matches and I want everyone to know that!
If you ever played Earl in a professional tournament ,you would realize you dealing with a drama Queen, especially if your winning . Truth is ,Earl is a great player , but as an opponent he is an asshole. That is how the pros feel about him.
me too
@@timothykwong8224 yes, to that, he complained a lot to that guy who fixes that balls on the rack and fusses about that guy a lot. in one of the games he played with efren.
Second thought, earl had plenty of mistakes also, including two scratches, very tense and exciting match. Thank you.
Hint: Don't think so much.
WOW!!! Earls reaction at the end shows just how much pressure he was under. He rose to the occasion. A true champion not taking anything away from Bustamante. So exciting I couldn't stop watching all the way to the end.
❤❤
Francisco had trouble at the end. He scratched on two breaks and he missed an easy one nine combination that would’ve put him up 14 games to 11,
Great match! Loved it.
This is for me remains the BEST WPA CHAMPIONSHIP Match. I would be happy if WPA would decide to revert their finals fromat to Race to 17 rather than 13.
It's not about the sport anymore; it's about increasing time tor advertisers by reducing the number of games.
The one that dont appreciate how good is The Pearl is, is the one that doesn't or don't know how to play billiard...thats why they use to trash talk rather than how to be amaze how tough that shot he make...Salute The PearL and Django...💪👌🎱
Couldn't of said it better myself!
my two favorite players tbh
One of Earl's best finishes of all time. He really kept his composure here against a tough tough opponent. Fransisco a little unlucky to scratch on the breaks at the worst possible times. Over all, great match!
I was looking at the comment section and nobody appears to know the situation is..Bustamante played with a handicap this whole finals. He was about to withdraw from this finals and wanted to go home because his daughter just died while playing in the semifinals, it was only Efren Reyes that convinced him to play in this finals.
When you start playin great pool at that level.......that's what dictates games.....( Bad Rolls)
@@xxxdonyvaixxx efren might have lost on purpose to bustamante because of that. They are good friends
@@Definitely_Someone no but
@@Definitely_Someone bullshit
32:33 the announcer has no idea what he’s talking about. Earl had ball in hand. He pocketed the three with low right hand english trying to bump the six to have a clear shot on the four ball. Even if he did what the announcer was saying he wouldn’t be able to see the four ball. They needed real announcers on the old 2000’s world pool matches.
Good for you Earl, made good on that promise of a 15yr old kid "I'm gonna be the world champion". Paratrooper Club Fayetteville NC.
.
.manpk. Derby
Manok derby
@@laniebeetundag8636
L
Effren, Francisco, Earl, Mike, Ronny, we will never again see such great billiards players in so many disciplines all at once :D It is lovely to live in interesting times :D Greats upon greats doing MAGIC on the felt...
Not on the felt.! They did not play on “felt” !!!
Earl Strickland is from my town and I think a lot of him I even played golf with him he's good
Greensboro?
@@stevenchampion8137 ĺu6 de ti te veo pronto okey
@×@##×
Waa ⅖s336899
1o8pooXxcm¼1
²
38
North Carolina
Earl jumps on a table after a victory, funny how many others do it now lol. This guy is full of knowledge and love him or hate him a lot of players learn from him. Earl and Efren, the ying and yang of pool.
How cute... ting and yang. Very clever
There are other 'yangs' in other aspects, watch Pagulayan, Koi, or Ko, as some examples. NOBODY else is Earl, that's for sure. Good, bad, and indifferent, Earl is a force unto himself, often to his detriment, performance wise. And yeah, a trend setter on some actual beneficial experiments as well, like the extended cue...adopted by more and more pros recently. Weights, loads of nasty looking tape on his fingers, wrist supports borrowed from bowling, etc., not so much. He seems to be dropping the extraneous goofy (and downright dumb) crap, including the whiny "I'm so put upon" attitude, and playing much better though. Excellent!!! The first performance I watched in the current opens was MUCH more the old Earl, he demolished some poor opponent, Jeffrey I IIRC, and would have been highly competitive with any top pro, even with them being on. :-)
u7u
What is Ying yang?
When you can overcome your mistakes and bad play, gut it out, and make the shots when you have to -- those are the hallmarks of greatness! It's MUCH easier to win when your position is spot on and everything is rolling your way. You step up and look like an infallible genius with a stick in your hand. But when your position is slightly off on almost every shot, the cuts get progressively more acute, your speed control has gone south, and you're looking at table length shots you should not have had to face-- and you step up and MAKE THOSE shots in front of a gallery, and run out a table that has turned harder than it should have been, THEN you have a right to dance on that table top! Way to go, Earl! And next time -- don't make it so hard on yourself.
It is never boring to watch matches of these two plus Efren.
Django played so well considering his circumstances! No way I could play after losing a child!😢 RESPECT
Camera man sure loves his close ups! Rather irritating and unnecessary.
Back when he didn't have his gauntlet. Good ol' Earl
He seems to be disappearing all that crap lately and he is playing much better for it. I posit that maybe Earl has some really weird ways of thinking about garbage like that. I expect (am guessing) he gets playing badly (a normal slump, ubiquitous and completely general, welcome to the human race :-/ )and says "I'm gonna do 'this' (weird ass thing) to improve my game", adds the next ridiculous implement like piles of tape on his fingers, wrist supports, weights on his legs, etc. (impediments, more like) and the natural cycle of play performance rises, just like it would without the accoutrements, which wrongly perceptively 'supports' his choice, then gives wrong headed reasoning for it (like the tape stabilizes his fingers...PULEEZ) and he's off to the races on the next goofy addition.
A few of them HAVE been beneficial, though, like the extended cue (leaving the extension in place for general play) which many other top pros have adopted. That may have been a result of his playing on the five by ten and just not wanting interrupt his rhythm when he's on and quick to have to grab the extension as often, an actual practical consideration, and he found it helpful (again I'm guessing, with some education employed). It's easy to see why this particular change might help from a physics standpoint, more rotational inertial to steady the stroke, and obvious help when he wants to reach, extending the bridge and moving the back hand rearward on the butt. I've been doing this for a long time and it improves my break speed and accuracy (speed actually measured). Everybody thought I was nuts before. It always amazes me how people 'just know' something that has some merit is 'wrong' and never even give it a try, just for grins, to see. I had one guy give me crap over headphones, long before even Earl and a few other pros had tried it, saying 'have you EVER seen a pro do that?. Well yes, now I have. I got the idea from pros complaining that SVB had an advantage by turning down his hearing aids, which he stopped just to bring the playing field back to level. It did help me with concentration and calmness, no question. And yes, Earl was one I later saw do it.
Now he's off on a 16 mm tip for the current US open. My thought is that at least this one might not be detrimental, and might even prove beneficial, we will see. In any case the last set I watched he was playing very much like the old Earl. Joking with the crowd, his bitching and wining to a minimum, almost non existent, and focused while QUICKLY clearing tables...minimal (almost non existent mistakes and some really class action high level of difficulty, big balls shots). I have noticed this trend, and it's gradual increase on the last few tourneys. If someone got through to him, kudos on doing it. He was funny at times with it but mostly just an ridiculous looking and sounding irritant, MHO.
I hope it stays that way. If it does I predict you will see him start winning many more tournaments again. He's more fun to watch (for me) without all the antics and with the razor sharp focus and play. If you look at young Earl there was none of the garbage and nonsense, and a whole mess of top tier world class play, much of it virtually untouchable by anyone else at the time. I have heard many people who have been around him a lot say he is a joy to be around off the table, funny, witty, and entertaining. I'm glad to see it is moving back into his game. I saw a practice recently (on video) where he was joking with someone off camera that was giving it back to him, and they both were obviously really enjoying it. I did too. Some pretty funny banter, Earl degrading his play to be funny and telling funny stories about all the horrible things that always happen to him, in a silly light hearted manner, and demonstrating them.
Sorry for the tome, your comment just got me thinking about it again. Much total surmise but I'll bet I'm not far off on a good bit of it. I say stay detriment free Earl, and show us some more pinnacle play...no question he can, and is starting to do just that again. :-) :-)
I believe that sky did the coverage. They are the best in the business in my opinion. Warl was always my favorite player. So smoother & plays fast when he's loose! Francisco is a beast also. Great players here!!!!
Great match. I was rooting for Earl the entire time, and it pained me to see him make so many mistakes. Thankfully his true colors came through.
same here, other than 2-3 careless mistakes he played perfect
I was looking at the comment section and nobody appears to know the situation is..Bustamante played with a handicap this whole finals. He was about to withdraw from this finals and wanted to go home because his daughter just died while playing in the semifinals, it was only Efren Reyes that convinced him to play in this finals.
@@xxxdonyvaixxx wow
xxxdonyvaixxx which makes Earl’s celebration at the end totally inappropriate.
john mcclure when someone has just learned that his daughter just died, it’s bad form to jump up on the pool table after beating him.
Wow, that was WOW. Thought earl painted himself into a corner with no door or window to exit thru. But after drawing even at 15 games, like him or not. He pulled it out 👍👍👍🎱🎱🎱🥢🥢🥢
He really did. Earl didn't start shooting til the 29th rack lol. Like Forsythe said, when Earl starts shooting fast, watch out! You can tell he really had to dig deep to find it, and he had it flowing those last 4 games. He's poetry to watch when in that zone. I wonder what thought he used for motivation to turn it around?
Wow! Fantastic classic match, 2 greats at their best.
00A⅞7⅞⅞⅞⅞77778807777777777777777777777777777
what a great match in history
Made me feel proud of E.B.R. and inspired me to play pool again.
That's a great River Dance break.👯🕺💃🕺💃🕺
Wow, Kept me on the edge of my seat till the end
He really stroked that 8 ball to get position on the 9. Impressive control. Well done Earl. And congrats on a great match Busta. !
You know I really love Reyes. Of course, saying he's your favourite pool player is fine but it's a bit like saying LeBron is your favourite ball player. Bustamante has won me over as my 2nd favourite pool player of all time. What cueing abilities and downright mad man level skills!!! A treat to watch every time. The same can be said for Strickland barring his erratic behaviour.
Mike Pawlik, erratic is a nice word for it and a lot of people use it. Sometimes he approaches John McEnroe levels of bad sportsmanship, which for me cloud Earl’s accomplishments and very real skill.
@@johnsrabe - Another top-in-his-field player with a bad attitude was Bobby Fischer.
Who doesn't, other than his current opponent. Ranked most loved, even by his peers. :-) But yes, agreed. Not just his play, but his attitude, and the humor it often brings in exit interviews, even with the same answer over and over again. He will be badly missed...but he's still dominating at one pocket, even without the razor's edge shooting (always, anyway, he still comes up with them) of his youth, do to the inescapable influences of aging. There, knowledge is KING, and good lord is does he have an overabundance of THAT!
@@johnstorton no, Fischer had a good time.
I'm just confused how LeBron comes up over Jordan in basketball, but to each their own..
Django is a fun player to watch for me.
What a match!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
At about 2:15, one of these commentators totally misspoke saying "Earl hustled
at 12 years old for a dime." Try fact-checking before speaking, guy.
Earl, himself (In his dvd's Road Stories) said he was a gambler, not a hustler.
Hustlers play poorly, raise the bet, then play at their real level.
A gambler says "How much?" and good luck to you.
Don't get me wrong , Earl is
probably one of the most talented
humans ever to pick up a cue . Every sports has different personalities ,in tennis you had John Mc Enroe and Jimmy Conners . Pool has Earl Strickland.
Some pool players had extreme class , like Buddy Hall ,Nick Varner,
Dan Louie and Efren REYES.
Earl reminds me of a Donald Trump , but he was a pool player . We all have different personalities , but it
makes the sports interesting .
I was always taught , "WIN WITH CLASS , LOSE WITH CLASS , THAT IS THE MARK OF A TRUE SPORTMAN ."
Earl Strickland and Donald Trump only have 1 thing in common, they're both winners.
So much winning....tell that to all the farmers who have gone bankrupt under Mr. TARIFF MAN
DUMBASS decisions......Earl and Donald are both a little nuts , they
have that in common!!!!! Whinners ,
NOT WINNERS !!!!
@@timothykwong8224 I agree with a hell of a lot of what you say.....that being said, I'd take Earl any day for Prez over the bought-n-paid for idiot that Trump is......for the rich.
Sorry but efren reyes trashed strickland at the king of the hill 200k price money
@@lovepeace3015 that was fixed bs and efren cheated, also amateur staff let him get away with trash coughing over and over on purpose every time earl was on the roll. not a professional match. earl best player
Earl “the pearl” played a fantastic match. He was in top form!!
I don't like Earl much, but I respect his game. That 7ball at 2:45:25 was cold blooded.
Normal reaction. He'd watch you bleed out.
@@TAXCOLLECTOR-mx3mg shoot my liver out and hand it to me. His words.
How i love this battle and the Skysport
Great match. Earl said Bustamante was the hardest opponent to beat.
When? Where? Are you from Earth?
I’m wondering why do these announcers got to scream into the
microphones.?
That audience can’t hear them.
Dedication and devotion.
There were a few bad shots but at this level they are the most entertaining :)
i love the pool and snooker pocket cameras here's numerical order
number 1 ball at 54:30
number 3 ball at 2:13:00
number 5 ball at 1:23:12
number 6 ball at 36:37, 1:42:26 and 2:02:49
number 7 ball at 1:18:28
number 8 ball at 3:18 and 1:22:36
number 9 ball at 13:01, 49:25, 57:51, 58:19, 1:23:28, 1:56:17 and 1:56:29
Great match but these guys doing the commentary need to find something else to do. It is much more enjoyable when you mute the sound.
If you have only 30 seconds to spend here watch this: 2:46:00
at 1:08:24 I would like to say *thank you* to the cameraman
Like him or not, he is and was one hell of a player. Good for you my friend.
It would be awesome to see him in the money games in the 70s.
too bad for bustamante here he lost the cue balll twice in a break
EARL KEPT IT TOGETHER .
The commentator favor's Earl " 55:00 - 55:30 " better in any player in the world " ? EFREN REYES IS LAUGHING !
So thankful US announcers arent like this. Unecissarily intense and loud. I prefer a calm insightful and or admiring commentator for pool.
Spot on. When I watch Pool on here from the US in the 90s, I was surprised to see I enjoyed the commentary as much as the game. In the UK, everything is drama, no insight whatsoever.
I hope the players can't hear the commentators because they are LOUD.
Pumunta kumalat grasa sa bola ng iyong tatay
Shandallaha?
Earl should make his OWN RUclips channel and put up his favorite videos like the Joe Rogan impersonation. Classic. Play music like Bad Company's Shooting Star... and all the world will love you just as long ..as long as you are.. a *shooting* *star*
this was 17 years ago, i remember watching this live while playing pool in the club
Thanks
8 US open and World 9 ball championships and 8 victories. All time great
The camera work was atrocious. I don't want to see the audience. I don't want to see a close-up of the balls or the players faces. I want to see the how the puzzle is solved. The positioning for the next shot. The finesse. The beauty of the game. That being said, I saw something I never thought I'd see; Earl Strickland missing two, very easy, consecutive shots. But, he settled down and came back in championship style. A great match.
why?
@@useranother667 Exactly
@@RT-Ford 😏
2:46:17 THE BEST MOMENT !!!!!!
Can you imagine being an elite pool player in the last 30 years and knowing if you finally got past Efren somehow, Busty, Parica, Andam Luat, Pagulayon and a handfull of other monsters a 1/2 step behind would still be waiting for you.
Earl ,The Pearl can really give it a swirl or a twirl. He never gets mad and gives it a hurl. So folks enjoy Earl and his cur stick curl.
😆～當年我也是守在電視機前，目不轉睛的盯著螢幕……最後史翠南獲勝跳上球桌的那一幕～有點嚇到我😓
A great jump shot though, none the less.
He's a strange man, Strickland. Mad as a bottle of fish. But Christ, is he great.
Mark Hilton he truly is strange i agree... but when prime earl was at his best he played on another level than everyome else.
Is a bottle of fish mad is the question
I thank Earl strikland a great player he stand tall with.any of his Collies l injoy watching him play
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Exodus 20 7 KJV
Efren Reyes smashed him
They have the homerun derby in baseball they should have a stroking contest for pool. The fans would absolutely love it!
29:44 The Magician!!!!
Yes, the Magician watching Earl win his 3rd World Championship
Filipino masters so humble. like Efren Reyes!!
jango has let out a yell like that before
Efren reyes vs invincible willie mosconi ( 1940s)
59:46 hey look Mr. Bean
Ooh yes, so realy. 😂👍
Hahahaha
and Al Bundy behind him =))
thought Ron oSullivan was watching for a moment
@@mariusalexandru3409 so funny. 4 touchdowns 😁
Earl Strickland . One of the best shot makers of all time.
What a game, wow. One of the closest matvhes in any sport ever. Didn't much care for him jumping on the table at the end but it's in the heat of the moment, we all do silly things.
Too bad
5:18 Worst impression of a southern American accent ever
😂😂😂.....no doubt about that!
I dont know what the hell that was s'posed to be.
Needs more cagun
Some people here judging how Earl reacted when he won the match, IMO Earl can do whatever he wants at that table after that hard match. Well deserved. What a great match and both great players. There will never be another Earl. that ERA was the best times in pool for me.✊💯
Everyone jumps on the table now when they win a major tournament. Earl started a tradition
Earl didn’t start that . At least not there. I first saw Kim Davenport do it after winning at a Professional Tour Championship in the 90’s.Don’t know if he was the first either.
The commentators talking like Earl was out of this match early when Fran went up 2 racks or something ! Its a race to 17 , Earl is better all around plain and simple ! Way to show them all CHAMP !!!🏆 💪 🙌 👏
No
2:30:50 Turning Point 🎱
2:47:04 , I think. He seemed preoccupied with other thoughts.
That missed 1 to 9 combo has really started the jinx to Django. Too bad i felt that he was taking better shots than Earl. But Earl was just too clutched.
god i love that guyyy haha way to get it done
is this the game where he stands on the table?? I seen his say 2002 was the year he did that, and he declared that game the pinnacle of his entire legacy
@@_the_concestor_8185 He addressed that too, he said that was meant for himself, in his own mind, at that very moment. He said that game was the best game he ever played, and was the most rewarding win he ever won.
He said since he was a young child he always wanted to stand on the table, and say that. This game was the only game that warranted such an action, and he wanted to grasp the moment.
I kinda enjoyed when they would wear the tux’s ... just made it look so classy
Jumping on the table.
Classy.
Bro, STFU, don’t tell Champions how to celebrate their title…😔😔😔😔
@@Georgie_4E4 Bro STFU. Don't tell a legend how to criticise a prick.
@@anthonyaman1488 you’re not even a legend at your high school, Tony…🙄🥱
@@Georgie_4E4 Why? Because I didn't jump on a pool table ?
@@anthonyaman1488 you’ve never won anything worthy of getting on the table for starters. Second, you said you were a “legend” and I simply was reminding you that you aren’t even a “legend” at your own High School/Town, let alone nationally…😘
I asked Earl about this match years later and he said going in he wasn't playing well. He also felt Busti deserved this title considering his circumstances but,.... when Busti started to scratch on his break.......
Classic match
Bustier chokes Earl doesn't chole but is impatient.. meantime Efrem stays up late playing cards or chess causing mistakes..at his best n sober Keith McCready was the best
That’s a misnomer
8th game run out from earl was amazing
Amazing match
Earl is one of the greats but I think he was a little over rated he played in an era where pockets were so wide and forgiving he struggled when pockets were more tough and tighter later in his career , I think the players now would of beat him back then there just better overall now like in any sport players get better over time
Earl plays every day on a ten foot table with four inch pockets.
And we wonder why pool died...camera man zooming in on everything but the game...faces DURING THE SHOT, a F'n ring on Bustamante's hand instead of showing the actual shot being played, pocket cameras showing absolutely nothing of value, including players arms/hands several times, obnoxious commentators trying to way oversell every play. Pool needed NONE of this, it's sad to see they couldn't see this. RIP Billiards
Would you play the combination or would you play the caom ? Game 22. right down into the heart of the corner pocket 12-10 Bustamante
Didn’t like the jumpshot in the beginning. Thought you had to hit the cue above the equator? Looked like he hit it 1/3 of the way up from the table
So folks enjoy Earl and his cueball curl.
Earl “The Pearl” Strickland is the undisputed best 9-ball player ever to play the game. If you doubt me look at his head to head (high profile) tournaments against Efren Reyes and you’ll see Earl was dominant.
Bullshit
If you mean high profile, like a 100,000$ match purse game, yup I saw Efren stomped Earl in that game.
@@1000elochess Earl Strickland
U.S. 9-Ball Titles (5)
World 9-Ball Championships (3)
Efren Reyes
U.S. 9-Ball Titles (1)
World 9-Ball Championship (1)
These are the only Titles of record. In other words, when they’re both gone future generations will only be able to retrieve information on open Titles. Earl Strickland knew that Billiard archives would only include records of US 9 ball titles and World Titles which is why he always seemed to step up his game during these tournaments.
Jose " amang" Parica never beaten by earl strickland in all their matches ...
The real game of pool is not actually the likes of this tournaments... It's the cash game or we called it here in philippines money game.
The year 2002 was probably the darkest year for Bustamante, especially considering his experience at the World Pool Championships. While the tournament was still going on, Bustamante was most shocked when he received a phone call from his wife informing him that his daughter, who was less than a year old, had died. Devastated by this, Bustamante strongly considered forfeiting his contention at the tournament to return to the Philippines, but some people around convinced him to go on.
On his way to the final, Bustamante bested Antonio Lining in the last 16, Efren Reyes in the quarter finals, and Ching Shun Yang in the semis. In the final, he met Earl Strickland, the 2-time winner of the tournament. Bustamante was leading most of the time and could have won the title. At one point, he went for a jump shot but missed. Strickland returned to the table and won three racks in a row to win the match 17-15.
Thanks for your moronic spoiler.
The commentary, and camera angles make this very difficult to watch.
that celebration tho lmfaoooo
2:30:51 watch that cue ball action
Lot of that in the game. Amazing stuff.
THIS WONDERFUL MATCH REVEALS TO ALL WHY BOTH, BUSTAMANTE AND EARL, CANNOT DEFEAT EFREN REYES!!! THEY BOTH MAKE TOO MANY MISTAKES UNDER PRESSURE AND IN THE CLUTCH SITUATION!! EFREN DON'T MISS IN THESE SITUATIONS WHEN HE'S WOMPING ON THESE TWO CHAMPIONS OF THEIR PROFESSION!!!
Why is this a race to 17? Please explain.
Django's son died 3 days before the final .. Efren gave his way to his" KUMAPRE "
it is Kumpare
@@roelantonioona517
KUMPARE from the Spanish compadre, literally "godfather" The words kumpare and kumpadre in the Philippines refer to close male friends, particularly for the type of friendship that is strengthened by the fact that one is the godfather of the other's child.
King of the world now ain’t I!
@2:12:34 : Eminem - Shady's Back (saxophone solo outro)