I've posted of my "honorary nephew" Matt here before. Son of my buddy David, who died in an industrial accident when Matt was 5. Matt, being a good amateur pool player, was instrumental in me getting back into the game after I retired.
Matt called last night, on cloud 9. By his performance at a regional pool tournament held in Portland he'd won an entry to the US Open...entry, air fare, room at the casino, the whole ball of wax. How big is this event? The pool world's elite of the elite fly into Vegas for this one. A gathering of the best.
How can I put it in in car terms? Say you were a top level club racer...winning quite often, kind of a big fish in your club pond...and suddenly got a call inviting you to be a driver for a factory team at Lemans. Yeah, I guess you could say the US Open is to pool like Lemans is to motorsports.
Oh yeah, Matt will very much be swimming in a shark tank...but he's there! His player I.D. will give him preferred seating and other bennies.
Here's a 12 minutes highlight "Great shots" video from last year...even if all you have done is spend some quarters in a bar table, this will give you a clue to the talent level there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aM6ixMQiAI
Go MATT! USA!