Ex-professional turned commentator Karl Boyes has reaffirmed the reasoning behind his ‘retirement’ from pool nine years ago, and wants a shot at the $1million World Pool Championship in Saudi Arabia.
Boyes has attracted attention since his Scottish Open comeback last week, where he defeated both Albin Ouschan and Jonas Souto Comino, before his campaign was ended following defeats to Jayson Shaw and Aloysius Yapp.
“Albin hasn’t spoken to me since,” Boyes laughed, having compiled four breaks and runs in beating the two-time world champion in an eye-catching victory.
The former US Open Pool Championship runner-up received a wildcard for the UK Open, opening his campaign by beating world number 28 Konrad Juszczyszyn. An emphatic loss to Indonesia’s Alvin Anggito followed, but Boyes kept his hopes alive on the one-loss side.
Boyes hinted that the million-dollar World Championship has lured him into a return, whilst also wanting to compete at the World Cup of Pool alongside Jayson Shaw, but the pundit was realistic on his chances.
“I’d love to play in the World Cup,” said Boyes on the Off the Rail show. “I’ve always loved that tournament with the one-table setup and you’re playing with somebody, so there’s that team environment. But obviously I’m not a World Nineball Tour pro, so it’s difficult with the way the tour’s going.
“You’re not going to beat these players. Even if I was a pro and playing in every event and then trying to do comms, you’re just going to be wrecked. You just can’t do it.
“Everyone knows that when I decided to quit, it was a shambles. I’ve played a bit in Scotland and I’ve played a bit here, and I’m getting messages like ‘oh, you can still play’. I didn’t quit playing because I couldn’t still play – I quit because it was a shambles.
“When you see these tournaments like the World Championship, it would be nice just to have one go wouldn’t it, but it is what is it.”
Boyes initially ‘retired’ when the World Pool Championship was held in Qatar without much promotion, although Matchroom and the World Nineball Tour have since acquired the tournament and taken it to new heights.
In addition, Boyes offered an insight into the early round struggles of defending champion Eklent Kaci, who received a stroke of fortune when coming through a deciding rack affair against Spanish qualifier Jose Alberto Delgado.
Boyes competed at the Scottish Open, where Kaci was beaten in the quarter-finals by eventual champion Duong Quoc Hoang, and revealed that the four-inch pockets in Telford add an extra dimension following a tournament on bigger pockets.
“I don’t know what Kaci’s been up to but he’s came back from the injury, put a bit of weight on,” Boyes said. “Is he really on it? Is he in the right headspace? I don’t know just yet.
“If you look at someone like Jayson Shaw, I know he’s been playing loads of pool. He’s been attempting that crazy straight pool run where he’s been playing for about 20 hours a day, so he’s been hitting so many balls. He’s coming here confident and that’s the difference.
“I’ve obviously played matches on these tables and my cue ball is pretty loose because I don’t play. I’m trying to wing it, you’re not going to wing it, your cue ball has got to be on point. Everything has to be on point, and if you’re not in the right headspace, you’re going to miss balls.
“What I will say is, having played on these Diamond tables for the first time in a long time, they are pretty brutal for nineball pool. There’s certain shots that you can’t exactly force down the rail so position has to be a lot better.
“If you make a few mistakes, which I think is what Kaci’s done, it kind of just snowballs from there. He’s missed the nine and got lucky with the scratch from the break. He’s survived a little scare and I’m sure he’ll kick on.”
