Why I Lost!!! by Anthony Teh

Before anyone jumps to the conclusion that I am giving 101 excuses on my recent tournament loss, this is not a case of being a sore loser. Nope, not at all. What this is, is an analysis on how a club player should approach a tournament game.

I am not going to dwell on practice schedules and styles. These are commonly found and vary according to the player’s strengths, weaknesses, needs and suitability. But an analysis about a tournament loss? It’s as rare as hitting Toto Jackpot (to overseas readers, Toto Jackpot is Malaysia’s very own sweepstakes).

Back to my “excuses”. For easy reference and reading, I’ll list all 5 excuses out with some notes. Here goes:

“The player should be well rested, with enough sleep the night before and fresh on tournament day.” I was able to do this for the first 2 rounds which I won. Unfortunately, like for many of us, we have day time jobs. I had to wake up early that morning to drive 350km to Penang for a meeting and drive back for the tournament. Though I try to ignore it, I was physically and mentally tired.
“The player should have his meal 3 hours before the match.” This is to allow your digestive system to work and provide you with optimum energy from your food. However, I did not had the opportunity to eat as I was driving from Penang and subsequently rushing to the tournament venue. Stomach wise, I was not at a level that I should be.
“The player should arrive at the tournament venue 1 hour before the start.” This is to allow you to get used to the environment and also to slow down your heart beat. You have to get comfortable and familiar with the environment – don’t you find that you are a bit uneasy whenever you are in a strange place? Slowing down the heart beat allows you to play calmly and at your preferred pace – that’s why some drugs (like beta blockers) to slow down heart beat are banned in most sports like the Olympics. Needless to say, I arrived just about 2 minutes before the match. As such, psychologically, I was uncomfortable and I was playing at a much faster pace than my usual game. Speed wise, I had transformed from Steve Davis to Ronnie O’Sullivan. Misses and mistakes came easily.
“When in trouble, go for a toilet break.” This allows you to calm your mind and prepare for the next frame. This also disrupts your opponent’s momentum. I didn’t do this and the result was that my match was the fastest to finish. The only positive thing about this was that the table charges that I had to pay was quite cheap.

So, those were my “excuses” for losing. I hope you can pick up a few pointers from the lesson that I had to pay and do well in your next tournament. But please forget everything when you are playing me, hehe.

Oh, I have one final excuse. My opponent was simply better than me.

Good luck to all of you, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

From “The Sore Loser”, Anthony Teh.