Decisions decisions - European open final Raga v Alcaide

Why Anton Raga turned down the pot and played safety at 12-11? Find out the options and comment below what would you do?
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[@backyardbilliards101]

I think it all boils down to how you're feeling at that moment. If you are just not feeling the shot you play safe. Everybody wants to criticize but you don't know unless you're in that situation. At least he puts us up out there. So I got big respect for that

[@Arclight24]

Even if Anton did not win, I’m still happy for him, rising high on the European open, he’s a young gun, he’s ready for the big leagues, love to see him in the US tournaments 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻 the grandsons of efren Reyes continuing the legacy of Filipino pool ❤️❤️❤️👍🏼

[@concerncitizen8988]

Hey Darren, hats off man. I like your show, demos of different options and analysis of some important scenarios that might have affected or even changed the outcome of the pool game. Keep it up. 👍

[@frankrodriguez6050]

I think he played the right shot, cue ball leaked out on him , tough table to play on , I wouldn't change anything but the execution but that's Billiards the game is so unpredictable.!!!

[@totoydevastator8231]

Another great insight from the Dynamite. I think the previous rack when the score is 6-8, where Anton missed a very difficult shot on the 2, made Anton think to not force it if the shot is difficult. I was also surprised he opted to play safety. Killing the qb shot is difficult esp when ur hyped and nervous as u might overshoot it. Same w/ follow as it might hit the 6&9

[@yuchub7389]

Same darren! The correct shot is 2oclock inside spin. It works perfectly!

[@peteralfudalan3225]

thank you darren thats perfect insight. kudos!!!hope you can get back to game soon champ..

[@mulkraja719]

I was also confused why ball 2 was not included, I thought I was hiding in ball 7, after being examined it wasn't, that was the beginning of Anton Raga's defeat even though it could be intended and it was easy for an Anton Raga to follow the right effect.

[@poolpassion]

Anton RAGA did the right shot no question about it. He is so smart because he chose the right shot at that moment. But because of the shotclock he was bit pressured and he overhit it just a little bit. Anton did the right shot at that moment just so unlucky to overhit it a little. That guy will smash all the high ranked fargo rated players in the future, believe me. 🎉

[@rodconner9079]

Really don't know which way I'd play it until faced with it; seems anyway ya go with it with an intended result that's beneficial -- all movement would need to be spot-on. Personally, in the situation -- I believe I'd go for the pocket (vs Safe) to stay at the table and take my chances. Love the explanation!!! Be Safe

[@RichardsWorld]

Looks like you could power draw two rails? Draw to the upper right rail, and then the cue ball keeps going and bounces off the bottom rail?

[@munnfrunsa]

Is forward with slight left around 6 and 9 and past the right side of the 8 on? Its a bit of a small area to hit I guess. Potentially could hit it harder and come 4 rails between 7 and 5 and back up behind the 7 to the middle of the table. Seems tough and possibly not possible because of the angle the speed creates. A fancier shot would be a stun with right side and come between 8 and 9 and go 3 rails around to the middle of the table. Possible alternative safety idea: hit the right side of the 2 sending it off one rail to bottom cushion/6-9 area and running white behind 6-9 and up towards 4-5 area. These seem fairly optimistic shots but some ideas that I'd be interested to see if are manageable in real life for these pro's.

[@lidro4230]

Thanks idol for making this video..

[@shortydancer]

Thanks for the analysis! I think I play safe there under the lights. High inside for me is a miss. And the safety seems a bit easier.

[@giannisfarsarakis4964]

What about a center hit on the cueball to go around the nine, long short long. Needs a lot of speed but it is an option. I can't see the exact angle from this camera, if it is too straight for this shot.

[@richardparker7168]

Appreciate your analysis as always!

[@sargentomor4019]

Great vid as always. He definitely should have attacked that 2 ball and on the final rack he should have played safe.

[@19sniper]

I'm surprised you didn't like killing the cue ball the most out of all options! You left yourself in pretty good shape on the 4 ball if you ask me. And killing the cue ball takes away the factors you were most worried about (playing loads of English thus increasing chances of missing, and rails, cloth not reacting the way you would hope in newer conditions

[@anthonykeller5120]

What about using just force follow trying to get the cue ball far enough down the table on your left hand side to play the ball in the opposite corner pocket? You have to get the cue ball between the six and the eight balls, but it doesn’t look any harder than the others you showed. I’m a very aggressive player, though, and could be talking out my a$$.

[@larryking4519]

I did the same pattern, follow with right english, cue ball came straight in position for the next ball

[@AznJsn82091]

It's all about the percentages. What do you have a higher chance of accomplishing?

[@jin18vermor43]

Yup, Raga had that momuntem winning 4 games from down 11-8 i think, Too bad his safety shot gone wrong. . The opponent's mindset when he get back to table having a chance was he can kill it. . Anyways the match still went on either way because Raga had still the chance to win it in the final rack. . Unluckily the 6-ball didn't went in, I just think the 2-ball with raga's ability to create was super easy for him. . Peace. .

[@jin18vermor43]

"momentum" 😅😅

[@gerardodelarama1164]

We are all Human!

[@dirkswish31]

This is what i've been waiting for

[@etoangtunay9619]

That is the way anton raga is dangerous for safety shot , and control the white ball ,the first time i saw his game i delighted control the ball , carlo biado is avoiding anton in money game as i knew out of thier 21 games maybe biado won 7 or 8 times , and also with dennis orcollo the money games they played is, i think 8 games only once dennis won.,,only anton raga beaten fsr when he play 2 months ago in manila . fsr won 2 other . banares and orcollo.,,,race to 90.

[@diegopozo1242]

Hi darren i love the videos you upload i would like to know what cue tip you use and is it soft or medium

[@martinsawicki2716]

Great vid pal. Big error for me was him not taking his time extension and commit more to either the hook or attack..

[@billgarland09]

great explainer thanks

[@jaypisme2343]

I was pulling for Raga so hard

[@malekbouhajja8469]

what about stunning with inside going 3 rails between the 8 and 9 6 or maybe go with extreme left top and go two rails between the same gap

[@bangungot_tv]

Hi Darren! i think he do wanted to shoot the 2 but in the last minute he change his mind under pressure and shot clock, lets go back few racks before this, i think if my memory serves me right it was on rack 15 if im not mistaken, where the score was 6 - 8 in favor of anton. he is also shooting ball 2 and he missed big time, then david makes a run 5 straight racks score went to 11 - 8 in favor of david, in my opinion in rack 23 (Score 11 - 12 in favor of anton) if that is right, suddenly under time pressure last minute the rack 15 where he missed the 2 hunts him... that is my conclusion! what do you think?

[@joshsomebody832]

Definitely top right. Hitting it smooth

[@rydmerlin]

Out of 10 how many times can you bank the 2 ball?

[@leoandsan]

I don’t think it would have checked as much as your table and also the 4” pockets make it a harder choice to consider

[@lukewalker1051]

We agree after all you explained. He played the correct shot which was the safety and wrong execution. The reason he messed up was he wanted to hit the object ball more on the right hand side to provide the natural off the side rail for safety behind the cluster. This was wrongful thinking as you point out because 'he didn't take care of the object ball'...too focused on the cue ball. In summary, if there is a lesson in all this which you teach implicitly is...when playing safe, always make sure the 'object ball is safe' from easy pocketing. In the hierarchy of importance, making the object ball safe is more important than hiding the cue ball. Yes, hiding the cue ball is important. But many times the cue ball ends up 'in the window' which sells out a safety and what happened here. Raga actually missed the safety both ways, a. by not putting the object ball in the center of the opposite foot rail and b. hiding the cue ball behind the cluster which was hard to do because he needed to hit the object ball more off the right than he wanted. He ended up 'splitting the baby' and lost on both fronts. Not doubt he was conflicted. A tough call. Great analysis. Pretty clear by your explanations of these critical missed opportunities, why you are a champion. You have superior knowledge. A suggestion is...please make these analyses a youtube video series following championship tournaments. These mistakes are generally the difference between winning and losing. Cheers. PS. In Raga's position, I would have gone for the same safety. But most good players would have been more focused on putting the object ball in the middle of the short foot rail, even if the cue ball wasn't hidden behind the cluster. You stated you would have gone for the right hand follow shot. I would have considered it, but figured it was too big a risk, not only missing the shot, but due to the cue ball sliding. You hit it on your home table 'perfectly.

[@danielestrella2818]

Do you have Am amino sytem? If so could please have a video Show How you excute it

[@maxlahoud]

Is the bank to the bottom corner opposite the 4 ball not an option to consider, given the slick table conditions?

[@robertl426]

It was very difficult to get on the 4 ball from there, so I don't blame him for playing the safety at all.

[@abdullatifalawadhi9224]

He has a chance in banking it isn’t he? If i will not use the defense shot, i would choose banking it for sure and attacking it!

[@newyou5689]

We Filipinos just hate guessing where the white ball stops😂

[@pauljohnson9698]

Deep screw with right hand side easy

[@mackomacky4098]

Try to play with anton raga in Money Game then you'll see a fire spitting dragon😂😂😂

[@listenu]

What about straight draw shot?

[@luxshampoo8520]

raga really made me mad when he didn't pocket the two! I hope he didn't do it to fix the match!

[@dwakeling38]

I vote safety, I just don't think the ball grabs enough on the back rail with the inside-english shot, on new cloth. Theory-crafting by an amateur at its finest!

[@cj-ef1rp]

Everyone’s a professional sitting at home 😏 You have to realize, angles at the table, and the conditions of the table can’t be translated on the TV or across the Internet. You’ve got to trust his decision as he knows what he feels, sees, and has confidence in at the moment.

[@madaboutsnooker147]

the 8ball was in the way for him to play an attacking shot he felt comfortable with. I dont think the safety attempt was bad, he just overcooked it slightly. If he hits it slightly softer, i think david makes a foul as the paths were very tough to go around for a hit on the 2.

[@chrisknowles64]

Well, Darren is actually ...

[@doraemon402]

Or... he clearly made a mistake and pointing it out is not a crime

[@yuchub7389]

Darren just pointing out the options. Theres no right or wrong here

[@cj-ef1rp]

@@yuchub7389 I was not criticizing Darren, I was concurring with him (in case you misunderstood my post).

[@user-nx2rv4bx3w]

He got paid😂😂😂

[@jepsti6468]

Micky mouse hit raga so hard... hay..

[@peterheal1960]

Why is there so much debate about how Mr Raga played this shot, He clearly saw things differently, leave it at that, For him he played the right shot, It’s as simple as that.

[@jmgalvez02]

Exactly

[@robbysuarly4669]

100% agree..❤❤

[@mrjohngambles]

I dont think this shot was replicated correctly. The 4 and 5 was separated more and the angle was less steep than shown here.

[@HillbillyIslandLife]

First

[@raskolnjikov1]

He absolutely chose the right shot, as well as with the 6, he just misplayed it. Had it gone right people would be crowning him a genius. It happens, no need to philosophize on it too much. Maybe instead of this bullshit you could recreate some of the amazing shots he played and made to get himself to the finals and 12:12.