[FULL] - Earl Strickland The Story The greatest ever
He is also known as one of the sport's most controversial players for
his outspoken views and his sometimes volatile behavior at tournaments.
Early days
Strickland started playing pool at the age of 9. After intensive practice, he entered his first professional tournament aged 15.
Career
Strickland rose to national prominence in 1983 with a victory in
Lake Tahoe.
[2]
This was followed in 1984 by the
Caesars Palace Pro Billiard Classic in Las Vegas.
According to sources, Strickland played "like a polished gem."
He was
beginning to be a dominant force on the tournament trail and recognized
as a future world champion.
He had the "skill, endurance, patience,
temperament, and tenacity of which champions are made."
[3]
Because of his dominance, Strickland was named
The National Billiard News Player of the Year in 1984.
[4]
He won the 1988 World Open championship, after a momentous final confrontation between himself and Mike 'Captain Hook' Sigel".
A 45-second shot clock was used to monitor each shot because the
tournament was being recorded for broadcast for a seven-week series.
At
the conclusion, Sigel commented he could feel the pressure of being
clocked.
Strickland, on the other hand, said they "could have made it
only 30 seconds between shots, and it wouldn't have mattered."
[5]
At the 2004 Derby City Classic, a week-long multiple tournament event held every January in
Louisville, Kentucky, Strickland was one of six competitors in a
nine-ball ring game.
Veteran
Grady Mathews,
when introducing Strickland, says that when Strickland is in the house,
"A hush ensues, and there is an expectation" due to his brilliant
shot-making capabilities and unpredictable behavior.
[6]
In May 2012, Strickland approached the Clann Eireann Pool Team with a
view to signing a 2-year contract, although negotiations have now
stalled pending a team discussion.
Awards and accolades
Strickland is a multiple winner of the prestigious
Player of the Year Award,
[7] and his career highlights include five wins at the
U.S. Open Nine-ball Championships (more than any other professional pool player worldwide), and the
WPA World Nine-ball Championships.
Strickland is the only
WPA World Nine-ball Champion ever to win the event in consecutive years.
He was also an ever-present player for the American team in the annual
Mosconi Cup tournament, from its inauguration in 1994, up until 2009.
Strickland once ran 11 consecutive racks against
Nick Mannino during the first
PCA tournament in 1996 where there was a stipulation that anyone who could
break and run 10 racks would win
US$1,000,000.
[8]
Jimmy Mataya, who was present at the event, witnessed Strickland's last shot, a tough
nine-ball combination in which Earl showed no fear and "fired it in with authority" to win the prize.
[6]
For 2007, he was ranked #6 in
Pool & Billiard Magazine's "Fans' Top 20 Favorite Players" poll.
[9]
Controversy
Strickland has engaged in exchanges with fans, players, referees, and tournament officials.
His 2003
World Pool Championship match with
snooker star
Steve Davis was particularly notorious.
Before the match, Strickland had given a particularly charged interview with a
Sky Sports
reporter, in which he complained that fans had been disrespectful to
him (booing when his name had been broadcast over the PA), and that the
event "revolves around Davis" (the event was organized by
Matchroom Sport, which was headed by Davis's manager
Barry Hearn, while Sky's coverage had featured Davis heavily to win an audience in the UK).
He also appeared upset that
Sky Sports had shown numerous replays during the build up to the match of Davis beating him in the previous year's
Mosconi Cup, the match which settled the event in favour of Team Europe.
During the match, Strickland entered the arena visibly downbeat, and
after beginning the match in a quiet mood, Strickland soon began to
engage in heated verbal arguments with fans and then referee
Michaela Tabb.
TV microphones caught him using foul language to one member of the
crowd, then telling Tabb to "shut up" when she reprimanded him.
In
response, Davis made use of his entitlement to take a break in the
match.
(Davis admitted later that the timing of this was intentional,
leaving Strickland to the mercy of the crowd.)
During the gap,
Strickland put his fingers in his ears to block out the crowd's support
for Davis, to the derision of the crowd, who mocked the gesture, and
cheered loudly for Davis whenever Strickland took his fingers out.
Late
in the match, he responded to Davis' missing of an easy shot by sharply
leaping out of his chair, fists aloft, shouting to the crowd "Yeah! He
dogged it!"
When Davis took a second break, Strickland loudly complained
that players were only entitled to a single break, telling the crowd
"He's Steve Davis, he can do what he likes," another reference to his
belief that Davis's status at Matchroom Sport afforded him special
treatment.
Strickland's tirade against Davis, the crowd, and the rules of the
event, continued through the main part of a post-match interview, before
visibly calming and apologizing for his behavior.
[10]
After admitting regret over his reactions during the encounter with
Davis, Strickland entered the arena for his next match carrying a bunch
of flowers which he gave to Tabb by way of an apology, and proceeded to
play in a much calmer manner for the remainder of the event.
[11]
Davis would go on to liken his match with Strickland to his 1980s snooker matches against
Alex Higgins, another player noted for his combination of impressive play and enigmatic behavior.
Mosconi Cup
At the 2006
Mosconi Cup, which took place at
Rotterdam,
Netherlands between December 7 and 10, the audience was loud, cheering and blowing horns when rooting for Team Europe.
During a match with
Nick van den Berg,
someone shouted from the audience for Strickland to "shut up" since he
had continued talking while opponents were taking their shots.
The noise
was so intense that referee
Michaela Tabb warned spectators they could be thrown out of the arena if they persisted.
[12]
Strickland broke his cue out of frustration during his match against
Thomas Engert, smashing it against the floor after a failed attempt at a shot.
He replaced the broken shaft and went on to win the match 7-4.
[13]
One year later, the 2007 Mosconi Cup in
Las Vegas
saw Strickland complain strongly about the misbehavior of European
players and fans, reaching its peak in a particularly bad-tempered clash
between himself and reigning world champion
Daryl Peach
where the referee (again Michaela Tabb) had to separate the two amid
fears their animosity might turn violent.
Whereas most matches in the
event were followed by live TV interviews with both players, Strickland
refused to participate, while the normally mild-mannered Peach stated
"Strickland is the scum of the Earth, everyone knows that."
Given the
opportunity to retract the statement moments later by the interviewer,
he declined.
The next year, 2008, saw the Mosconi Cup played in
Portomaso,
Malta.
Strickland's open night match again saw him repeatedly argue with
European fans in the crowd, and also repeatedly comment aloud that the
table was playing too easily.
In a post-match interview, he stated that
it was bad for the sport if the public sees top players in a high
profile event using a table that was clearly playing more easily than a
standard club table.
When the crowd gave a mixed reaction to his
comments, he turned to the spectators and attempted to rally them by
calling "Do you want to see us have an easy time out here? Or do you
want to see these guys shit on themselves?"
Presenter
Andy Goldstein
immediately apologized to viewers, an action that prompted Strickland
to further argue that such language is acceptable, citing
Tiger Woods as a fellow sportsman who has used such language on TV without being challenged.
Asked about the possibility of banning Strickland from future events for his behavior, Matchroom Sports founder
Barry Hearn
stated he would always want Strickland to participate in the firm's
events, since his presence "guarantees drama and unpredictability."
Strickland, though, would be dropped by the USA team for the
2009 Mosconi Cup and was not selected again for the next three years before returning to the team in 2013.
Source:Wikipedia.org
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