MAGIC IN THE CUE

Magic in the Cue... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yes, it was the one he used to win the 2011 U.S. Open One Pocket Championship with. We all know it is the Indian and not the arrow, right? Well, it could not be more true than in this case. When Efren walked away from the table, Alex P was "admiring" his Efren's cue and I asked Alex to tell me what kind of cue it was. Alex being the perennial pixie, quipped, "bamboo stick", grinning wildly. That brought a chorus of laughter from the gallery and I slipped on down to the TV table to get a closer inspection of Efren's personal cue. I and most others have seen Alex's respect for Efren on more than one occasion. Alex and the rest of the Filipino players all acknowledge Efren as THE KING. One time during the tournament Efren was walking past Alex and not talking to anyone, Alex bowed low and extended both of his hands toward Efren like you see in the movies and would not stop until Efren shooed him away with a wave of his hand. I thought that was some funny stuff. Wish I had that on video. Alex is my favorite comedian pool player for sure.

Getting back to the cue.....It was a rather thin shaft, just guessing that it was probably below 12.0 mm. The cue but itself had a few points but for all practical purposes, it was a very plain looking cue. Another thing that caught my eye was the collar of the shaft. It was odd to say the least and did not match the collar on the butt of the cue. The taper looked similar to a pro taper but I can't be sure as I did not have a caliper with me. Alex had been hitting some balls with THE CUE and I took my chances with facing the wrath of Efren. I know, I know it was stupid for me to hit balls with the champs cue but sometimes as human beings we do stupid things. I figured that my excuse that I was Efren's OFFICIAL "mini-tournament backer" might give me a stay of execution if the tip were to fly off of the cue or the ferrule breaking.

Alex warned me that he did not give me permission to use the cue and I acknowledge that and inspected the cue closer. The ferrule had a thin line under it where there was "separation" from the wooden shaft. I placed my fingernail along the separation to make sure that I was seeing things clearly and sure enough there was a thin space not quite as thick as my fingernail under the ferrule. On one side of the shaft, the ferrule actually extended out enough for my fingernail to sit under the ferrule. I was careful not to put pressure on the ferrule for fear of it coming off. I knew I didn't have much time as Efren would be returning soon. My blood pressure was increasing with each passing second so I set up my signature shot, the one with the object ball frozen to the middle diamond on the foot rail. Cue ball in the kitchen on the head string with the cue ball almost perpendicular to the object ball. I aimed just like I do with my OB Classic Pro and put the same amount of English and was very careful in doing so. My eyes almost popped out of my head when I saw that the cue ball hit the rail approximately 2 1/8" from the object ball. I shot a second and third time, thinking maybe I was being too careful or not aiming careful enough. I have made this shot many, many times and could not believe that I could not even hit the object ball let alone make it. After aiming directly at the object ball, I managed to barely clip the object ball, not coming close to making it.

I whined to Alex that I couldn't play with THE CUE. Alex, opined, "That is what makes Efren such a great player". Efren can truly play with any cue if he can beat the best one pocket players in the world with THAT CUE. I stopped after a few shots just in time to see Efren returning to the table and took a few moments to ask him a few questions, not wanting to disturb his continuity and focus. He replied that the cue was made or provided to him by Denny Glenn if I heard him correctly. Denny Glenn must be some kind of sorcerer and had given THE CUE some magical powers that only Efren can control. For me, the experience although it aged me quite a bit, I simply came away with more awe than I already had for "Bata". I still don't know if Efren saw me hit any balls with his cue. I only hit four shots with it but I know I couldn't play with it. I was just thankful that he didn't have one his minions punish me for my foolhardy move. As the tournament came to an end, I was in my room, listening to the commentary by Billy I, Corey Deuel and I think Larry Schwartz and I was kind of dozing off because of lack of sleep from the prior days. I set the alarm clock for 3:30 am so that I could donate a few dollars to the blackjack tables before I left for my 7:30 am flight and when I woke a couple of hours later, showered and packed my suitcase for the very early departure, who would I see sitting at the table next to me but THE KING himself. When he walked close by my table, despite still being embarrassed by my outrageous move, I managed to mutter a "CONGRATULATIONS CHAMP" and he kindly smiled at me and tapped me on the shoulder. He must have passed on some of his magic to me as I won the next few hands of blackjack and retired a winner. JoeyA