With a smaller field this week, of only 23, but that’s 23 of the very best London has to offer, MNT was in UK Open mood, with a few of the community participating at the Copperbox at the end of May and early June.  With this in mind, Monday saw UK Open rules, with winner breaks, and the Breakbox that the pro’s have mastered, but for most of the rest of us, it’s still a bit of hit and hope!

With Ramesh “Ramma Jamma” Gokhul winning the last 3 tournaments, the pre-match press conference had a special buzz as Ram told the reporters that he had to push himself and ensure that he breaks the current win streak record of 23…held by himself.  “I’m a legend and I want to set records that won’t be broken in Tooting for at least 100 years.  In fact, the records I set may never be broken…ever!”  Fighting talk indeed, but all totally believable and said with an air of confidence that makes Ram seem invincible.

First up was the Break and Run.  Yet again, we’re nearly a year and a half into this and I am still yet to be drawn out of the hat…meanwhile Muhammed “He’s the Greatest” Ali, King of the Dry Breaks, got selected and stepped up to dry break again!  Having said that, there was a genuine excuse this time as his break cue was found to be broken, so unlucky Ali. Maybe next time…which will probably be in only a few weeks time again!

The first round had two matches that really got the audience on the edge of their seats.  This year, Ramon “Twitch” Navarro has been in scintillating form.  Only losing to Tashunka “Witko” Schultz, Martinho Correia, and Rod “the God” Altes, and winning all his matches that reach hill-hill.  Ramon truly has nerves of steel but never has had to face the might of Dan “Seoul Destroyer” Suh, with his psychological warfare tactics.  With Mrs Suh out of the UK, Dan has been back in practice on a daily basis and showed that he could go toe to toe with Ramon by going to hill-hill.  However, in the final rack, it was Ramon who won the safety battle and made a crucial bank to go through to the next round.

The other tight affair in the first round was between Ali Haidery and Mariusz Wiszowaty.  Two  of the lower ranked players, but nonetheless, both capable potters and dangerous against any opponent.  Both were looking for openings in each others’ games, and it was inevitable that this would be a tight affair.  To hill-hill it went and despite the nerves, Ali managed to get over the line and win his first ever match at an MNT!  Ali was delighted and we’re really happy for him, although gutted for Mariusz too. 

The second round featured one hill-hill match.  As reported, Ramon is yet to lose a match after going hill-hill, and despite the best efforts of Andy “Banks” Curzon, Ramon did it again, winning 5-4, displaying his brilliance in tight situations.  King of the Hill-hill!  In other matches, Tomasz Jedlecki, took Arjon “the Beard” Hasi to the cleaners by whooping him 5-0.  A surprising result, as Arjon has really come into some good form lately, but Tom can play to the very highest level at times, and showed it against Arjon.  And finally, in the second round, the most notable victory came for Marc Harris, who overcame a resurgent Andrew Phan.  Marc played sensationally well to keep up with the Speed Pool King, capitalising on any mistakes, and came through as 5-3 winner after keeping Andrew in a tactical battle in the 8^th rack, and getting a fine combo to get over the line first.  Well done to Marc, who records only his second ever win at MNT.  Regrettably, the cameras were more focused on Marc than Andrew, whose disappointment couldn't be disguised.

The quarter finals looked very promising, as Tomasz faced up to the number 2 player in Tooting, Tash.  Tash was looking on fire, having taken Henri “the Finnisher” Linnainmaa apart in the previous round, and continued his fine form into his match against Tom, beating him 6-2.  Ram was still going through the gears, as Ramon gave him a tough test, but couldn’t get to the hill and Ram started to tighten the noose and won 6-4.  Meanwhile, Dan “Grindr” Jenkins, famous for his gritty style of play, ground out a tough win against Jim “Greecey Slim Penis” Siampanis, despite the scoreline being recorded as 6-2.  Dan spoke to Sky Sports Arena after his match: “I can’t understand how I’ve won that game against the Slim Penis.  Somehow I found myself in a winning position and I don’t really know how that happened.”  And finally, in the quarters, a resurgent Ciprian Dandu, really piled on the pressure on Marc with an emphatic display of precision play that saw Cip advance after a 6-0 whitewash. 

The big match of the semis was between Tash and Ram.  Two brothers from another mother, both are evenly matched in terms of talent, but only one could get to the final.  As is always the case between these Titans of Tooting, they didn’t disappoint and the quality was superb.  Both were pouncing on each other’s mistakes and punishing each other, but Ram’s determined to set new records and eased through 6-3.

The other semi-final was between Cip and Dan, where after a number of weeks of sub-standard performances, Cip’s ‘C’ game still had him ranked in the top 10.  Such is the man, Cip’s ‘A’ game matches anyone’s, and a younger Cip might well have challenged Ram at the very top.  Still trying to rediscover past form, Cip showed signs of his best game, whilst Dan continued to grind his way into the match, but Cip had too much to offer, and a 6-2 win ensued.

With the bit between his teeth, Cip faced up to Ram in the final.  It was decided to only race to 4, and Ram raced into the lead by playing to his usual high standards.  Cip did his best to get back, but Ram continued to exert the pressure, pot his way out of any trouble, and ended up winning 4-2.  An impressive victory, where Cip actually did little wrong, but Ram did everything right.

Ram is currently on 20 straight victories, winning the last 4 tournaments in the last 4 weeks since he got back from his travels, and he only needs 4 more wins to beat the record.

So, calling on everyone next week!  Get yourselves to Tooting next Monday and let’s take down Ram.  His ranking points are at the highest he’s ever been! Let’s stop him in his tracks and ensure that the record of 23 isn’t stretched beyond belief.  I've worked out how to stop him, and it's fairly simple.  Break and Dish if you get on the break, or put him in a snooker that is touching ball if you run out of position.  And if he does make a mistake and leaves you in a snooker, make sure you're jump shots are as good as your normal shots.  Simple.

And let’s make sure that we get plenty of practice in before the UK Open starts on 30^th May!  Don’t forget that we are expecting quite a few of us to either be participating on the first day, OR, in attendance to support our guys.  If you can get the day off work, it will be great day out, and supporting our guys will be hugely important.