Earl STRICKLAND's 5th US OPEN 9-BALL TITLE - 2000 US OPEN 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIPS (vs. Takeshi OKUMURA)

From September 2000 - One of the greatest accomplishments in modern professional pool - Earl's Record-Breaking 5th US OPEN 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE!
This match has Earl at his PEAK and the play by both him and Takeshi OKUMURA is epic, heart-wrenching, innovating and spectacular! With expert commentary by Bill Incardona and Nick Varner, this is a Treasure for all of pooldom!
REMASTERED in HD
Earl held the record on his own for 16 years until Shane Van Boening tied his record of FIVE US OPEN wins in 2016... You can watch that epic match here:
• SVB's record-tying 5th...
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©2000, 2020 Accu-Stats Video Productions
#earlstrickland #takeshiokumura #accustats #billiards #usopen9ball #9ball

[@Luckydad2]

Great to hear Earl speak to the crowd at the end. He has his wild moments (no excuses; he needs to check himself often), but the guy is human, he loves the game, and is a legend.

[@5000rgb]

Sometimes his passion for the game and competitivity got the best of him but those are also what made him such a brilliant pool player. Even with his flaws, he has done a lot for the sport.

[@joulupukki1607]

Imo earls games are best when his emotions kick in its so fun to watch unlike those boring robots

[@bgjb-r1499]

I miss this Earl Strickland, a ferocious competitor who loves the game of pool. I do not like comparing players from different eras but to this fan Earl Strickland is the undisputed best 9-Ball player in the history of the game.

[@bobbylight111]

nick varner commentary is a treasure, what a great pool brain he has

[@scottisitoro3953]

Really??? Earl ahh ahh well, he's ahh ahh..

[@derrickallen2054]

​@@scottisitoro3953so what he says uh a lot, big deal. He's forgotten more than you'll ever know.

[@daleyasuhara4978]

I never seen earl smile so much, usually he's sulking in his chair ,if he's having a bad day... Earl the pearl one of the greatest of any time

[@BoBurson]

Agree with other posters that I think this shows Earl’s human side, or the “real Earl.” Fearless aggressive competitor but above all loves and respects the game. This side of him is what he will be remembered for, IMO.

[@billysikes1374]

Wish there was videos of Earl's first and 2nd US Open wins, love the 80s videos

[@BladeRunner-td8be]

Great match and commentating. I have always loved watching Earl play this game. His long bridge, accuracy, speed of play, intensity, and the way he spins the cue ball are five reasons I enjoy watching him. In his prime, I consider Efren to be the best overall professional pool player, but given a choice of any other professional, Earl has always been my pick for the most exciting player to watch. As an aside, Earl was marginally stronger than Efren in the game of nine-ball. Cheers

[@jamesdavis8731]

Yes, I think Efren is the all around greatest player of all time. But I think Strickland is the best nine ball player ever. When in his prime he was just a pure genius. Too bad he let his emotions get the best of him at times. He could have been even better.

[@preachaman3661]

no one has played as good as earl for as long as earl. Almost 50 yrs as a top player and still going.

[@joulupukki1607]

Earl is lebron of pool

[@josephdanhernandez6297]

@@joulupukki1607 and efren is the jordan of poll

[@joulupukki1607]

@@josephdanhernandez6297 kinda true cause efren was good at every pool format and amazing in many

[@clintonehrhardtsr122]

greatest pool player of all time , force to be reckoned with

[@layladogg7280]

This looks much better on my iPhone than on my vhs tape! Thanks

[@m1ndst0rm3d9]

For those haters of the "Pearl" rack 15 is the reason why he is thee Best...!!! The kick shot on the 6 was insane

[@drewdrew7968]

He made 3 shots that were out of this world

[@shortydancer]

I watched this video years ago. Thank you Accu stats for having a remastered edition.

[@tylertkelley6779]

The Euro-bots do not understand why Sir Strickland is a national treasure; how about a kick-carom or a combine bank clean into the 5-hole? When he is aiming at the fried egg, do not be surprised when it comes-up juevos rancheros, what we call a breakfast of champions in the 9-footer race to 9 5 ahead world!

[@MrShark4488]

people can say what they want but Earl is probably the best 9 ball player ever....5 US Open 9 ball wins and 6 WPA World 9 ball Championships and is the only player to win the WPA World 9 ball Championship in 2 consecutive years says it all not to mention he ran 11 9 ball racks in a row and got screwed out of the the Million dollar prize for doing so even though it was supposed to be 10 racks in a row

[@eastorange89]

how did he get screwed?

[@drewdrew7968]

He did end up getting most of it, but had to wait years.. then had to pay his lawyer a good chunk as well.

[@JohnBowl14690]

He ran 11 racks in a row using a cheap $120 cue stick. Some cue snobs who spent $1000 on their cue sticks will always say that it wasn't a stock cue. But in fact, the modifications done on his stick were only to his liking like shaft diameter. It had nothing to do with the cue itself. In essence, it was just a cheap cue.

[@RichardsWorld]

I used to just happen to play at Q-Masters once in awhile when I was stationed in Norfolk. I would always see Barry Behrman and his son working really hard. They didn't just stand around and watch his staff work. Once in awhile I'd see his son playing. That was the good ole times.

[@FullTiltRico]

Barry gave so much to the game. RIP Barry

[@Fleur_de_lis2k]

In matches there's either no commentary, sub par commentary or good commentary. This is immortal.

[@daddylongleg605]

He made some amazing shots to win this title he deserved it.

[@raymondphillips7107]

Say what you will, like him or dislike him, when he’s in stroke he’s almost unbeatable

[@pete1735]

Wow that's one of his best games no one would have beat him he was on a rail

[@FloridaRaider]

Earl in his prime...effortless pool

[@vebnew]

Earl..... WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@buiuh1260]

the Million man Pearl the GOAT

[@brianmackessy5270]

Earl is a Genius no doubt about it 👍 the amount of times his opponent got lucky was frightening........

[@vebnew]

Earl STRICKLAND NAILED IT

[@jamieduncan3066]

Listening to Nick Varner is gold. The way he laughs at himself as he talks always makes me laugh, and what he says isn’t necessarily all that funny. Then there is the word “interesting”, pronounced: inner-resting

[@5000rgb]

His delivery is a lot like Buddy Hall, another great commentator.

[@drewdrew7968]

@@5000rgb I always have to listen closely to tell the difference between the two, got to listen for the gum chewing 😁

[@yesterdaystreasures797]

Great match !

[@georgesotiriou7051]

59:30 That worked out beautifully. What a tool.

[@RyanJacksonElectrical]

1:01:30 The only person in the building that saw that shot was Earl. Wow.

[@stevewimmer9758]

Best ever.. Efren included

[@joulupukki1607]

Depend on game. 9 ball and 10 ball earl for sure better cause break so important in those games and efren had weak break but there is many billiard game where efren would beat earl.. efrens positional play was little better his banks and kicks were better and i give safetys to efren too. Earl was pocketin machine with great power and was all around good in all the things i mentioned so both great players i would not even bother to compare them

[@2869may]

@@joulupukki1607 I agree for the most part, But FIVE Us Opens says a LOT...!

[@martinsawicki2716]

@@2869may Back then the field was waaaay lower level compared to the level in recent years. Havent seen anyone miss so many balls as Okumura did in a major final.. ever

[@2869may]

@@martinsawicki2716 how much lower.....?

[@drewdrew7968]

@@joulupukki1607 I think Efren probably was the greatest of all time, he just played better longer.. But, if you match Earl's prime against Efren's, I give it to Earl. When Earl was on, no one was beating him. But in the end, Earl told Efren he was the greatest... With an ego like Strickland has, I can't imagine how hard that was for him to say. Both Legends

[@mattfahnestock6178]

Focused beast

[@jeffjohnson7657]

Pat Fleming, does video exist of Earl’s 1984 or 1987 US Open victories?

[@AccuStats]

Sadly, no.

[@angelopetrozzi44]

They don’t call him The Pearl for nothing💪🎱

[@ayenunu]

Finally the Gene was out of the bottle.. Thanks for uploading...

[@AccuStats]

You're welcome

[@_I_KNOW_HOW_THE_FLOWERS_FELT_]

😉😯😉 ... I'LL BE WATCHING 😯😉😯 ... THANKS IN ADVANCE PAT FLEMMING AND ACCUSTATS !!! 🥳

[@AccuStats]

We are holding off on the premiere until tomorrow night, Wed 9/30

[@_I_KNOW_HOW_THE_FLOWERS_FELT_]

😢 ... I UNDERSTAND ... 😢 ...

[@user-pn8ls9ty8y]

a veces de afuera se ven que está fácil el juego pero por un error se pierde el juego y a veces por más que cuides el juego también se pierde ahí es donde se dice que es la suerte que tiene cada jugador

[@thedevilinthecircuit1414]

Is the foot end of that table level? Watch the path of the 2 ball on the first break.

[@tgh223]

look bad didnt it

[@rtbt8185]

Speech was as good as the match

[@xanh350]

Question for equipment geeks out there! What is the brand of Earl's Glove, I really like it's style.

[@drewdrew7968]

I believe Earl was strictly Cuetec back in these days

[@cdr_902]

Looking forward to this gem. Thanks for all the great vids!

[@AccuStats]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@genehendrix1847]

53:46 nice one

[@yabazolife6666]

若かりし頃のストリックランドやば はやいうまいかっこいいの三拍子揃っとる

[@yabazolife6666]

奥村さんの4ラック目やばすぎワロタ

[@jaywall6305]

LEGEND 💪💪💪💪💪 5 TIMES

[@dillhole4603]

Deep diving again. 👁️👁️ 3:09 into the video the commentators collectively said “uh” 25 times so far. At 7:07 the “uh” factor is off the charts. I suggest zero volume unless you wanna hear “uh” countless times.

[@shirsendubiswasshaon2861]

1:27:20... Corey Deuel

[@Jiraiya51]

Thank you for this. Accu Stats can you upload US Open 2001 final Corey Deuel vs Mika Immonen ?

[@AccuStats]

In time, we will.

[@Jiraiya51]

@@AccuStats Ok thanks I'm waiting that.

[@windandpool]

Hi, Accu-Stats Video Productions! Japanese pool fans are searching for "1994 World 9ball Championship final Takeshi Okumura vs Yasunari Itsuzaki " video. If you have the video, I'd like you to upload.

[@AccuStats]

Sorry, but we do not have that video.

[@windandpool]

@@AccuStats I got it. Thank you for the response!

[@MrJdsenior]

Sometimes it looks like Earl employs more cue ball antics than he needs to, but MAN, he pretty much ALWAYS gets it exactly where he needs to. An amazing player, especially back in his prime, as this demonstrates. If I tried that twice in a row it would be a DISASTER. I'm not too sure all the goofy nonsense he wears now on his left hand does anything for him, not physically, anyway...always makes me wonder if it isn't just more "antics". He's definitely even a mental giant at pool, though, so who knows, really? Never a dull moment with Earl, I will say that. "Require a big stroke" "I don't know if he can slide up" "If he has to draw out of there, Nick, it's gonna require ...) And he was jacked close to the rail for that draw. Don't know what others think, but if that isn't the DEFINITION of a shot where the likelihood of a miscue is high, I don't know what is. My guess is that thought was somewhere in his mind, as he KNEW he was playing it at draw extremes, goofy stroke angles, etc. Not only requires a big stroke, but a damned accurate one. Drop that tip just a millimeter too low on that awkward stroke and a miscue will be the outcome. Percentages, percentages, and not just on the pocketing side. Boy, it was a different Earl back then...near zero mouthing off, and just razor sharp concentration. A couple of those shots, especially that carom in the close corner on the 9 were just awesome. The one carom with the carom ball close to the spot and the 9 in that same corner that the other guy made was a hell of a shot, too.

[@drewdrew7968]

I think the weights, and wraps, was Earl trying to figure out a way to fight father time.. I think he believed it helped him, so it probably did at times. As a pool player all my life and now 50 years old, I an tell you things have changed, can't even really quite put my finger on what it is exactly? Eyes can be corrected with glasses, but you just don't see the ball the same way. 🤔It's hard enough for a guy like me, can't imagine how Earl feels

[@2869may]

1:27:29 isn't that a young Billy Thorpe....

[@samhicks874]

Close! That's a young Corey Deuel

[@holtenfield]

As @Sam Hicks said, that's definitely Corey Deuel. Although being a pro since about 95, he was just becoming an internationally known player. Billy Thorpe, on the other hand, would have only been about 6 at this time. I think this was the first year Corey represented USA in the Mosconi. And one year before his greatest professional year. 2001 saw him winning many tournaments. None bigger than the US Open 9 Ball. That's the year that he changed the break shot forever. You may not see a lot of big titles after the mid 2000s for Corey. But thats because he is doing his work on the money tables. Guy is still a monster. What he lacks in pure ball making (like a Filler, or Shaw), he more than makes up for with his patterns, strategy, and overall pool IQ.

[@scottisitoro3953]

No it's an older Kaiser Soze.@@samhicks874

[@TheJohnCooperShow]

That mark zuckerberg asking for picture with earl?!

[@_I_KNOW_HOW_THE_FLOWERS_FELT_]

🤔😯🤔 ... 1:26:14 ... HOLY !?¿!! ... MIGHT BE !¿!?!! ... 🤔😯🤔 ... SURE LOOKS A LOT LIKE " OLE' MULTI BILLIONAIRE Z DAWG " ¿!¿! ... 🤔😯🤔 ... SIMULATION ?? ... MULTIVERSE ?? ... PROOF OF TIME TRAVEL ??? ... 🤔😱😯😱🤔 ...

[@dzarren]

17:45 Why does okumura put a cloth over the pocket here?

[@CKC-gk2dh]

Just a guess but probably to cover the glare of the lights.

[@holtenfield]

@@CKC-gk2dh good guess. That had to be why. I've seen shooters do it to prevent their cue scraping over the metal corner hardware on the table, it even the raised pocket liners of the sides. But, he wasn't in any kind of jeopardy of either during that shot. As you said, he must have been blocking a distracting glare coming from the overhead, or tv lights. Savvy move.

[@holtenfield]

55:32 you can see how reflective the rails are. And at 59:29 they actually discuss it.

[@frankmanzano5024]

My 2 favorite players all time in order Efren (effy) the magician Reyes and Earl the pearl Strickland. No players add up to these 2 guys. I like Shane too and Skylar they would be 3 and 4 number 5 is James Arañas in my book excellent player too. Honorable mention Dennis Orcullo(robocop) also Jason Shaw and Joshua Filler, Ko Pin Yi, and last Fedor Gorst. These guys to me are the top 10 cream of the crop players today

[@peternwosu4817]

Ko ping Chung is up there too

[@keithrodriguez7653]

The look in Strickland eyes gives me the impression he’s on some heavy stimulants 😂, or a lot of coffee 😅

[@FullTiltRico]

You're completely wrong. What you're seeing is desire. This man jogs 10 miles a day. Does 1,000 push ups & sit ups, then plays tennis & golf (both at an extremely high level) and practices pool as hard as he can. He's never done stimulants at anytime. I've known him since 1982 and he's in terrific condition.

[@scottisitoro3953]

Great stuff. His intensity makes his eyes totally focused and I'm striving to get to that level every practice. Look for me to take the Tour by storm soon.@@FullTiltRico

[@scottisitoro3953]

I can guess by that idiotic remark what your level is.

[@keithrodriguez7653]

Clearly you guys can’t take a joke …. Lol

[@daddylongleg605]

@@FullTiltRicohe just admitted in a podcast to doing hard drugs. Aka stimulants. He said he doesn’t anymore and I don’t believe he was high during this match but he has done hard drugs.

[@0Caracalla]

@1:21:21 Earl #1

[@caohaithanh1134]

1:05:43 What??? lmao

[@brianwylie633]

Okumura plays so slow and it irritates Earl so bad 😂

[@donaldseyah6526]

I think uhh earl uhh uhh is uhh great uhh really uhh uhh great uhh!

[@scottisitoro3953]

Yea...Varner's bad speech patterns made me just watch with no volume...enjoyable !!!

[@tgh223]

u trolls just kill me all u do is find something to bitch about u have a sad life

[@Drcool1042]

The only thing uglier than Okumura's stroke is that rug. I don't know how he got to this level, painful to watch.

[@scottisitoro3953]

Yep there's a dead squirrel on that guys dome.

[@Drcool1042]

I was referring to rug on the floor@@scottisitoro3953

[@scottisitoro3953]

both are nauseating.@@Drcool1042

[@thedevilinthecircuit1414]

Eureka! That carpet is the missing page from The Voynich Manuscript!

[@5taycool]

why so angry ? beautiful pool

[@user-tb2ip3py9i]

奥村撞くの遅すぎ。今時じゃないね。

[@_I_KNOW_HOW_THE_FLOWERS_FELT_]

* ❤😯👍👍😯❤ THANK YOU SINCERELY FOR UPLOADING AND SHARING THIS VIDEO 📹 !! - I HONESTLY APPRECIATE IT !! - GOD BLESS 🙏 EVERYONE WHO HAS EVER POSITIVELY INFLUENCED AND AFFECTED THIS GREAT SPORT - IN ALL IT'S MANY FACETS - INCLUDING YOU MR. FLEMING !!!! - GOD BLESS THE WAR ... AND ALL THE LESSONS IT HAS IN STORE !! ❤😯👍👍😯❤ ... P.S. I CAN HONESTLY THINK OF NO OTHER SPORT THAT HAS A HALL OF FAME WHERE YOU COULD WALK INTO A ESTABLISHMENT ON ANY GIVEN DAY - THEN IF SO CHOOSE - PLAY AND / OR CONVERSE WITH APPROACHABLE WORLD CLASS HALL OF FAME PLAYERS - I HAVE HAD THAT EXPERIENCE AND PLEASURE ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS - BUDDY HALL ... SHANNON DAULTON ... JOHNNY ARCHER - NICK VARNER ECT ... JUST TO NAME A FEW ... JUST LOOK AT ALL THE FANS AROUND EARL ... NO ARMED SECURITY GUARDS ... NO ROPES OR BARRIERS ... COREY JUST WALKED RIGHT UP AMONGST ALL THE OTHER FANS TO SHAKE HIS HAND AND CONGRATULATE EARL ... TO SEE EVERYONE AROUND EARL AND THE SMILE ON EARLS FACE ... AND YES EARL IS MOST LIKELY MANIC DEPRESSIVE ... I HAVE RAN TOURNAMENTS WHERE I HAVE SEEN IT AND PERSONALLY FELT HIS WRATH ... I HAVE SEEN THE ANGER UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL ... AND I AM NOT JOKING WHEN I SAY EARL AND A " CRITIC " IN THE CROWD GOT INTO IT HOT AND HEAVY AND THE " CRITIC " TOLD EARL TO STEP OUTSIDE TO FIGHT - AND HE WAS GOING TO BEAT EARLS A$$ 🤬 ... YET EARL LOVES THIS GREAT GAME / SPORT MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE ON GODS GREEN EARTH ... JUST LOOK AT THE INTENSITY AND SERIOUSNESS DURING HIS INTERVIEW AT THE END ... HE SWITCHES FROM SMILING AND LAUGHING AND BEING AT THE TOP OF MOUNT OLYMPUS TO ... BEING DEAD SERIOUS ABOUT HIS LOVE FOR THIS GAME AND VOWING TO GET THIS GAME MORE RESPECTED / APPRECIATED AND POSITIVE EXPOSURE WORLDWIDE ... GOD BLESS THE WAR ... AND ALL THE LESSONS IT HAS IN STORE !! - SO MOTE IT BE !!! *

[@user-uq9ns3kg7c]

あまりにもアウェーで見てるのがいたたまれない。実力の半分も発揮できなかったんじゃないかな。残念だ。

[@martinsawicki2716]

Never seen such worthless racking in my entire life. The 9 tracking towards the corner on almost all breaks. I think they made more combos on the 9 than regular shots.

[@ferm4131]

Gusta más Earl por su humildad pero la perla creo que le ganó más veces a efren de lo que pensamos y fue demasiado tiempo el número 1 en usa que no es nada facil