The perfect break off shot

[ferret]

Pretty much this is the perfect break off shot, just wanted to post it here to see what people thought.

I have been studying the break off shot for 18 months or so and have loads of data on it and my analysis of the break off shot has even helped Ding Junhui, there is a lot more to the break off shot than you may think!!

Best break of the tournament, executed perfectly, left the cue ball pretty much dead center of the safe zone and left no pot on ball 11 which is the ball that always kicks from the pack over to the left that your opponent always goes for, Murphy only had one option after this and that lead to him leaving a long ball on which in this instance was not potted but I bet if you gave Stuart Bingham that shot again he would pot it. Players don't concentrate on the break off shot so much which is a shame as there is so much you can learn by studying it properly.

Posted by Kevin Smithers on Wednesday, 6 May 2015

[jono*]

Do you play this shot with just right/left hand side or a bit of bottom with side though?

[andy carson]

would say it almost was, would prefer white tied up on the bottom cushion myself....

[travisbickle]

Bit close to the blue for my liking ��

[robertmac]

I agree that a proper breakoff shot is very important.
I have seen some players leave a single red which is
pottable in the side pocket which is very poor to allow
your opponent a chance to start a break. In fact leaving
any shot on is not the best way to breakoff at all.

[billabong]

I remember seeing a breakoff shot where the bottom right red is the ball hit.

This red then headed for the bottom cushion, parallel to the long axis of the table, then virtually went back into the triangle.

At the same time, the only other red that moved ( much ) , was the bottom left red.

This headed towards the side cushion, parallel to the short axis of the table, then back towards the triangle, only to stop halfway between cushion and triangle.

Can't remember what match though, so maybe I imagined it ?

[ferret]

Do you play this shot with just right/left hand side or a bit of bottom with side though?

I would of said up 1 right 3 going by Nic Barrow's Training Ball but Nic thinks it may have even been right 4

would say it almost was, would prefer white tied up on the bottom cushion myself....

I know where you are coming from but this is the old school way!!!

It is hard to explain without showing you the statistics but basically the spot where Stuart left the cue ball is pretty much dead centre to the what I have dubbed the safe spot, this is where spare ball 11 which is the far left ball second row up separates from the pack when struck from the break off hits the side cousin and heads back towards the pack and from where the cue ball had ended up the percentage of the spare being potted is so low that it is a shot to nothing so a containing safety is needed by the opponent, in this case Shaun does not play back to bulk and in doing so leaves a pot on to the green pocket.

If it was not such a tense match I am sure Stuart would of potted that long red and made a healthy break all from getting a good break off shot.

[DeanH]

I remember seeing a breakoff shot where the bottom right red is the ball hit.

This red then headed for the bottom cushion, parallel to the long axis of the table, then virtually went back into the triangle.

At the same time, the only other red that moved ( much ) , was the bottom left red.

This headed towards the side cushion, parallel to the short axis of the table, then back towards the triangle, only to stop halfway between cushion and triangle.

Can't remember what match though, so maybe I imagined it ?

I was only chatting with a friend last week about the instance where the triangle of reds was near perfect after the break, like you describe but both reds return to the triangle. I think it could have been a Pot Black match? Anyone?

[Catch 22]

I was only chatting with a friend last week about the instance where the triangle of reds was near perfect after the break, like you describe but both reds return to the triangle. I think it could have been a Pot Black match? Anyone?

I was told about this break off shot last week also . My mate said he thought it was John Virgo that played the shot

[inevermissblue]

I am hoping to post a video when I get time of a break off shot where you can pot the red and still end up behind a baulk colour for the start of a break! My highest break from the break off is currently 48!
Second red down, with enough pace and lots of side to return back relatively safe if the red doesn't go in! I have done this 2/3 frames once before. Its great when it comes off!!!

[The Statman]

I think it depends on the table and whether reds tie up the black, not only what reds open up as potential long pots.

This World Championship, particularly the semis and final, there were an awful lot of frames with very similar openings, regardless of who broke off. Two reds landed just below the black, making it available to one pocket but not to the other, with neither of the reds available.

There was one year in the late 1990s (?) where almost every frame saw one red nestle onto the side of the black and another land on the baulk cushion. Again, this happened almost invariably, whoever broke.

So I'm not convinced that there is such a thing as a 'perfect break off'.

[ferret]

Totally agree, if it was colder in The Crucible that break off would of had a totally different outcome but for that moment in time it was spot on.

It is hard explaining it in full detail without you seeing the other research I have done on break off shots which I will make available soon and then you will all be enlightened

[jrc750]

I very much doubt it is possible to get the exact same break off shot more than 2 out of 10 attempts (serious maths to work that out lol)

[ferret]

My statistics for other traditional shots are based on pictograms being overplayed and you would be surprised hot little variance there is in the lay of the balls but the 3 main things I have recorded are ball struck, spare 11 position and resting place of the cue ball.

Ding Junhui found the statistics very useful and this was in the season he won 6 titles, not given him any stats since and where ids he now lol not saying that the stats help you to win but they do give you a better prospective especially of a opponents game, lets say Ding Junhui was playing Neil Robertson and Ding asked me for statistics on the last 100 break off shots where Neil was the contender and had the next shot, I could tell him where to or where not to leave the cue ball and give him a statistic as to how many shots were potted / missed from each position or how many balls gone for were missed from a position. This instantly gives a advantage over your opponent.

[AndrewB]

I was only chatting with a friend last week about the instance where the triangle of reds was near perfect after the break, like you describe but both reds return to the triangle. I think it could have been a Pot Black match? Anyone?

I remember seeing (IIRC) Doug Mountjoy doing that in a clip from the 70s or 80s, so could have been Pot Black.