by Paul Gerni
ACHTUNG!!! HERR VICKERY IST SEHR, SEHR GUT!
In 1991 and 1992, a select group of American pool playing stars traveled to Europe to play in the Brunswick Munich Masters 9-Ball Championships which was held at the famous Deutsches Technologisches Museum in Munich, Germany. There were 21 of us in all, 12 players in the men's division, six in the women's division, and, of course, tournament officials. Relatively unknown among Europeans at the time was Howard Vickery, an American player. This virtual unknown would soon get himself involved in one more-than- entertaining 9-Ball marathon match, making sure the fans would never again ask the identity of the bearded man.
The format of this event required that the player win three of five sets of 9-Ball games; each set being a race to five. I guess the organizers believed it would be a shorter format and a better equalizer to help the European players counteract the dominance of the American players at the time. Well this format was not quicker by any means, as we soon found ourselves in quite a few full-length battles. For example, in my morning match, I was down 2-0 in sets and losing the third 4-1 before I fought to get back into the match and eventually win three sets to two. That match took five hours and must have frustrated the tournament directors! However, there was more to come.
After my match, I sat down with Kim Davenport's wife, Aida, to watch his match. I noticed that he was in nearly the same situation with Takeshi Okamura that I had just experienced in my match. What made it interesting was the fact that Kim is a fast player and Okamura is a slow player, even slower when he knows that his opponent is used to playing quickly. Finally, Kim eventually pulled out his match, and we all breathed another sigh of relief.
We were not to get out of there so quickly though, because we stayed to watch one last match-- the end Howard Vickery's match on the table just beyond Kim's now empty match table. It would not be over as quickly as we guessed since Howard does not play as swiftly as Kim. Even more, he was in a hole out of which he had to pull himself. Three matches in a row like this signified that American 9-Ball players would no longer cakewalk through European tournaments as in earlier days when we were sure to finish in the top 8 or 10 spots.
Anyhow, we changed our dinner plans and sat back to watch and analyze (we can't help it) Howard's match. Soon some other American players including Ernesto Dominguez, Johnny Archer and Mike Lebron joined us. As they sat behind me, they gave their running commentary on how each shot should be played, as well as what should have been more technically correct shot selection. Little did we know, nor could Howard have ever guessed, that this was to be another 5-set, 5-hour match! Howard would have to survive not only the deficit in which he had found himself in his match, but also the watchful eyes of his friendly critics among our group of players. Well, Howard did indeed battle back to tie the score only to find himself in a seesaw match. After five very long sets, he pulled out the match.
Even more impressive after five hours was that Howard kept the same demeanor at the table. He kept a cool, rational mind and played each shot and safety to its full purpose. His safety executions were very accurate thus earning him some huge respect from "our experts in the stands" who also were quite impressed with his near-perfect position play. Howard's safeties were very sharp and might be the reason he was able to battle back to take the match to its full length. Howard did not show any expression that would belie his emotion; he kept a very level disposition, and played each shot to its best advantage. All in all, he was very impressive to our group of champions.
Howard Vickery was surely impressive that day in Munich, Germany. While he had the same calm attitude preceding and following his match, he did manage to let the familiar Vickery smile slip out after it was all over. It is no accident that Howard Vickery is widely respected for his championship-caliber play. That match in Munich encapsulated Howard's game, and earned him even more respect among not only his American peers, but also from players around the world...They know him now!
Paul Gerni is 21 time Trick & Fancy Shot Champion