The only surviving Filipino cue artist at the World Pool Championship in Manila, Roberto Gomez, dubbed as "Superman", morphed into molten marshmallow in his first ever world title match. The Englishman Daryl Peach took the title via a 2-game win.
After a fiery performance that led him to the finals, including the 11-0 trashing of Niels Feijen, and sensational victories over Kuo Fu-cheng and Karl Boyes; the Filipino Superman succumbed to pressure and obvious jitters that were manifested at the pool table itself. It was a public suicide for crying out loud!
The precision with which he disposed of seeded players at the early stage of the tournament vanished like a daydream, replaced by the nightmare of an awful miscue that engendered national frustration and overwhelming disappointment. Daryl Peach played the steadier game and held his nerves in check amidst a very noisy hometown crowd. He was cheered by the appreciative crowd.
Superman, or is it Superflop, lost not because he was a lesser player, but because he was not even above average.The enormous expectations he generated from the Filipino fans, who witnessed the fall of "Magician" Bata Reyes, Django Bustamante, and Ronnie Alcano, turned into an exasperating letdown at the homestretch.
There's an old saying that goes: "...don't count your chicks before the eggs hatch..." Perhaps this Superman was counting his prize money and the fame and adulation that it will bring him when he takes the title. This is a surefire way of losing focus. Not only did the eggs fail to hatch, but figuratively, his eggs are now impaled in his cue stick because of it.
Harrrrwk...Twooophe'...Ting.
After a fiery performance that led him to the finals, including the 11-0 trashing of Niels Feijen, and sensational victories over Kuo Fu-cheng and Karl Boyes; the Filipino Superman succumbed to pressure and obvious jitters that were manifested at the pool table itself. It was a public suicide for crying out loud!
The precision with which he disposed of seeded players at the early stage of the tournament vanished like a daydream, replaced by the nightmare of an awful miscue that engendered national frustration and overwhelming disappointment. Daryl Peach played the steadier game and held his nerves in check amidst a very noisy hometown crowd. He was cheered by the appreciative crowd.
Superman, or is it Superflop, lost not because he was a lesser player, but because he was not even above average.The enormous expectations he generated from the Filipino fans, who witnessed the fall of "Magician" Bata Reyes, Django Bustamante, and Ronnie Alcano, turned into an exasperating letdown at the homestretch.
There's an old saying that goes: "...don't count your chicks before the eggs hatch..." Perhaps this Superman was counting his prize money and the fame and adulation that it will bring him when he takes the title. This is a surefire way of losing focus. Not only did the eggs fail to hatch, but figuratively, his eggs are now impaled in his cue stick because of it.
Harrrrwk...Twooophe'...Ting.
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