Player Profile James Murphy!

I had the chance on League night to seat down and talk with Murphy. Everyone knows Murphy but really don't know anything about him. He started running a 9 Ball Tournament on Friday nights at Dealer's Choice.
His Tournament has been very successful with an average of 14 players per week and the bar adding money.
I meet Murphy in 2005 when we played on the same team that took Neveda State Runner up only losing 1st place by 1 game.
Where did you grow up and start playing pool?  I grew up in Virginia Beach, When I was around 14, I would mess around at the local  Rec. Center. I started playing at  Q-Masters Billiards. when I got older and took some lessons from the house pro Dave Bollman, and then I was hooked.

What is your Favorite game to play?  I would say 9 Ball is my favorite.
Who would you say is your favorite Pro player? Tony Robles, and Steve Moore. I used to practice with Tommy Kennedy who was the youngest player to ever win the US Open.
What is your playing cue? I currently play with a Nitti Custom Cue which I have up for sale.

Nitti Custom Cue

Nitti Custom Cue

Nitti Custom Cue

Nitti Custom Cue

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                                                                                                              

I just purchased a Joss West that I look forward to playing with.

Joss West

Joss West

Joss West

What type of Break cue do you use ? I have a Steve Lomax Break-Jump cue.

I notice you have a case with your name on it. Yes I do , it is a custom case I had made by John Barton.

What advise do you have for the newer players ? I would have to say concentrate on your fundamentals and get lessons from a  much better player than yourself. It doesn't matter how good you get, you need to always work on your fundamentals.
Tell us a story of something that you remember from your past ?  I remember when I was much younger I went to North Carolina with a friend. My friend was playing a money match with one of the guys from the pool hall. I was pitching quarters into a jar and won $300 and my friend won about $800. We decided to leave before we got into trouble. As we were leaving the bar tender called us over and gave us each a baseball cap. Not only that but the guy my friend beat out of $800 invited us to his house to hang out.

I want to Thank Murphy for giving me the time to do an interview with him. If you happen to see Murphy around go say hi, I'm sure he would like to hear from you.

Efren Reyes

Everyone in the pool world knows the name Efren Reyes. I was reading an article from Untold Stories: Billiards History,about Efren not playing in the Derby City Classic this year. He is even thinking of retiring from pool. What a loss this would be to all of us in the pool world. Efren stated to the Manila Bulletin that his back was bothering him and he won't be playing in the Derby City Classic.
I don't know about you guys but the Billiard world without Efren would be the biggest loss in years. He still wins his share of Tournaments all over the world.

Busy working on my game!

I have been playing a lot of pool lately and decided to join several leagues during the week, and play in some kind of tournament on the weekend. You can go to the Vegas billiard buzz for more info as to whats coming up if your looking for a league or tournament. I would like to play in the TV4U Putters tournament coming up on January 21st but I need a partner. I already have a partner for the Vegas billiard buzz's first tournament of the year coming up Jan, 29th. Both tournament are scotch doubles.
I have been going to Michael Reddicks Blog and using some of his practice routines. These routines are simple  and I feel they have helped me. Mike has a great Blog with a lot of information, check it out. Anyway I'll  let you know how I did in both Tournaments.