Pro9.co.uk Exclusive Interview
Euro Tour Netherlands Open 2007 winner
House of Billiards Weert
Smeetspassage 3
6001 KM Weert
The Netherlands
www.epbf.com
www.hobweert.nl
www.eurotour.nu
Monday 8 October 2007
Imran Majid talks to Pro9.co.uk about Euro Tour success!
"What's his secret weapon", "what does winning a Euro Tour feel like", and "how much do pro pool players earn" - Pro9 asked him all this, and more, in our interview with "The Maharaja of Pool" Imran Majid.
"Read More" for the details.
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Congratulations on doing the unthinkable... Winning two Euro Tour events in one season. Some of the top players have said that it is too difficult to stay at the top of the rankings but you've managed to win two events in one season! How did you do that?
Imran
Hi guys thanks a lot... I have won two Euro Tour events but one was last season in Italy and one recently this season. This season I won two Weert Opens, one of them was a Euro Tour event and the other was the annually run event which is still sanctioned and run by the EPBF. Just had to clear that up. However... The annually run Weert Open is always a star studded field with a lot of entrants so you could say that I have won two in one season. Yes not bad going eh?
Yes it is very difficult to stay at the top of the rankings and I believe the major cause of this is the easy playing conditions. Some people say that it is the toughest tour in the world because of this. Even some of the best players in Europe cannot dominate because the playing conditions have brought everyone on more of a level par. Corner ball dead, everyone making 3-4 balls, running out six balls on buckets usually. To win two events was a fantastic feeling. The morning after winning the second Euro Tour I woke up the whole house by screaming "YEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!!!!!!" What a great feeling of satisfaction and contentment. I felt winning more than one Euro Tour event was definitely on the cards but you never really know until you do it.
Before I won my first event in 2006 I had three semi-final losses in one season, two of them were consecutive. So having the semi-final losses two of them with a scoreline of 9-8 I knew I was definitely knocking on the door to win an event or at least reach a final. Then it finally came, my first Euro tour win in Monfalcone Italy and it felt like I had conquered the world because I had come through a very tough draw to win it. The Annual Weert Open was next which has been hosted by the EPBF for 8 consecutive years and has grown into a prestigious event on the EPBF calendar. The Euro Tour Weert was next and a big factor in me winning this tournament was a phrase that Tiger Woods uses. He says to himself ....I've done it before.....I know what I have to do......I just have to do it! I kept this in mind during the whole tournament. I recreated the exact same scenario as when I won the Weert Open, it was at the same venue which was a great bonus.
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Many players complain that they can't bring their practice game to the tournament table. do you ever suffer from that?
Imran
Actually it is the other way round with me. My best game comes out in tournament. Although I am very committed and disciplined with my practice I can never play to my full potential. I think it's a pressure thing for me, I need to feel a bit nervous or a bit of pressure for me to perform well. A lot of other players also play better when they are under it. This is not necessarilly a good thing because my practice game doesn't really reflect my real game. However I am working on it. I wish I could be like Ralph Souquet who would play the same whether playing in a local handicap or the world championships.
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If you could give a bit of advice to other budding pool players to help them with their game what would it be?
Imran
A couple of obvious things like 'practice makes perfect', try to play the table and not the player. Easier said than done I know but the more you play the top guys the easier this will become. Never give up or get frustrated if you are not achieving your goals, the more you put into the game the more you will be rewarded. I have travelled the world, played all the big guns, entered the biggest tournaments, practiced relentlessly for hours on end... Paid my dues!! And it is paying off.
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What is your secret weapon?
Imran
Ah that would be telling! ...If i had a secret weapon it would be all the hard work and effort I have put into the game. It is all coming together ...I am seasoning if you like. This is my weapon.
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How do you prepare for a big tournament?
Imran
I practice everyday for two weeks before a big tournament and make sure any weaknesses are dealt with. I also compose myself mentally and have visions of myself winning the tournament. I try to eat and drink healthily during these two weeks and keep to regular sleeping patterns. I believe in 'work, rest and play' where I try to balance my lifestyle so it is not just pool orientated, too much pool can make your game go stale. We must go out and have a laugh from time to time it is important to have a good frame of mind.
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Do you examine the draw or ignore it?
Imran
Sometimes you cannot help but see the draw if flow charts or round robin formats are used. When it is straight knockout I don't look at the draw. I say to myself, "it doesn't matter who i play, if i play good i stand a very good chance of winning." I just focus on my game. Thinking about your opponent can bring negative thoughts into your mind and make you less confident. The mind is very powerful!
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If you would change a single rule on the Euro Tour what would it be and why?
Imran
I would definitely change the break! Our game has been manipulated drastically over the last few years, they have taken the 'break shot' away from our game. Tournament organisers have changed the break and made it so easy, now everyone breaks like 'King Kong' making at least 3 to 4 balls every time. 9 ball pool is supposed to be about the break there is supposed to be a lot of skill involved but now this has all been blown out the window! I know exactly why tournament organisers have changed the break, it is because it is quick and easy and there is no controversy over the rack. Fair play, I can totally understand but it is a darn shame, that our game has been changed so drastically that now we have to resort to playing 5 or 6 ball.
I would not tap in the balls and it would be rack your own with a conventional triangle. This is 'old school pool'! I would also have it alternate break, not three breaks at a time. If we had to tap in the balls for the time factor i would tap the rack 2 balls higher so that the corner ball is not dead, then at least we have some 'play' involved, some push outs too. 10 ball winner breaks on un-tapped equipment would be absolutely perfect.
However, in the ever changing game of nine ball I have called this 'The New School of Pool'.
Old school players are not winning as much as they should, as we have recently seen. They maybe are too stuck in their 'old school' ways or cannot adapt to the changing conditions. Or maybe they don't want to adapt to the changing conditions, for example I know some top players who don't want to hit the break soft to try and get a shot on the one ball because they believe that pool should not be played like this! I am sure that most seasoned campaigners are furious about this.
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How tough is the level of play on the Euro Tour?
Imran
As I said before, some people say that it is the hardest tour in the world because of the simple playing conditions. I am starting to believe this because we have world champions and champions in the making, the cream of Europe battling it out on very easy conditions where no one has a distinct advantage. At the top level no one really misses in open play and are getting 3 to 4 balls down on the break, How tough is that? It really comes down to a bit of luck, who can get a shot on the lowest ball.
Maybe individually we don't have the best in the world like the Philippines or Taiwan but the playing conditions are so easy it becomes a bit of a lottery for any player in the whole world.
For example if you went to the Philippines for a tournament and you play Bustamante, he could blow you away with his break. Bustamante's break doesn't mean anything on the Euro Tour or Matchroom events, no disrespect to his break it is great! Maybe the best in the world.
Wu Chia Ching as well, his break didn't mean anything as we recently saw losing to Belgium in the World Cup of Pool.
However saying all this we now have a 'new school of pool'. Tapped tables, alternate breaks on big pockets usually but there is no point complaining we have to get on with it and find ways to win.
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What does winning a Euro Tour feel like?
Imran
It feels like you have come through a ' blood bath' of players. With the three breaks system a lot of matches go very close and it is very hard to pull away from someone who is making 3 to 4 balls and getting 'road maps'. You feel that you really deserved it because you are playing 'The Cream of Europe' with all the best players from every nation.
When I first started playing the game i made a list of goals that I wanted to achieve. The first was to win a Euro Tour, the next was to play in the Mosconi Cup and the third was to win the World Championships. I have to say that I have conquered two of my goals already in correct order and has given me a great feeling of achievement and satisfaction, however I am gunning hard for the third goal!
Winning two Events proves to myself that winning one was no fluke and that I can be a dominant force in Europe.
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Do you think you should be in the Mosconi Cup?
Imran
Yes I do feel that I should be in The Mosconi Cup. It was weird because when I played the Mosconi Cup last year I felt like I had been in the team every year. It was the biggest tournament of my life and I gladly performed well beating the American captain Johnny Archer 7-2 in my singles and beating Strickland/Morris in the doubles who were six times undefeated prior to this. We were definitely the better team and outplayed them throughout most of the tournament. I gelled into the team very well and players such as Ralph and Mika supported me with some positive advice, along with Johan Ruijsink, the team coach was great! Wow! What an adrenalin rush I experienced in this tournament, I mean I have played big tournaments with hundreds of thousands of dollars up for grabs i.e. IPT, but the Mosconi Cup was something else. The pressure and excitement is so intense that it could crack the best of us. You have to try and convert the pressure in to positive energy and use it to help you. That's exactly what I did and I went on to play well missing only one ball in open play in all of my matches. I communicated well with the crowd and used them to help me. They were absolutely fantastic in Holland and they really knew how to get behind the European squad, together with drums, horns, chanting till they had sore throats. What a great privilege it was to play in this event and it was like a dream come true and I hope I will get another chance to play on the biggest stage on the pool calendar.
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How much does a Pro 9 Ball player earn?
Imran
Yes, the gloom side of our sport. There is not much money in the game of nine ball so it is a pretty tough living. If you don't have a sponsor it is very hard to make a profit at tournaments because expenses are so high. If we raise the profile of our game and get it on live and terrestrial television we may have a chance for some big sponsors to get involved. The IPT nearly changed the whole outlook for the game and introduced some real money. We would have been rich by now if the IPT continued. Discontinuation of the IPT was a great blow to all pool players, who knows maybe something will happen in the future.
I think a big problem in our sport is that we don't have a union. We get pushed and shoved around sometimes because it is an individual sport and don't act as one complete entity.
So yes, it is a hard living just playing pool, try to have some other sources of income as well so you can take your mind off the money and concentrate on your game.
MAY THE ROLLS BE WITH YOU... THE MAHARAJA