A lot has been mentioned about Shane's performance and win at the age of 43. Keep in mind that Buddy won the US Open at 53 (1998) and Mike Lebron was the oldest at 54 (1988). Clearly a much deeper field today than in those days, but I think Shane is looking to get his sixth and I'll certainly be rooting for him.

jbart65 said:

One other category I failed to mention. Top players in their 30s or older who have maintained a high level of play, evening winner majors and making deep runs now and then. They include:

*Johann Chua. He has dropped off the international scene since the 2025 Philippines Open. He faced unfounded accusations last year that he cheated using substances on the ball. He also opened his own pool hall and new business in the past year.
*Carlo Biado
*Wojciech Szewczyk
*Alex Kazakis
*Neils Feijin
*Naoyuki Oi
*David Alcaide
*Petri Makkonen

Click to expand...

it's spelled Niels Feijen

naoyuki to me is in the same category as mario and wiktor. will likely never win despite a high enough talent level.

Bob Jewett said:

It's not felt, technically.

Click to expand...

Now I understand, it was a grammar correction.

SA96 said:

SVB is the GOAT.

If Efren played in today's era with 4 inch pockets, he would be exposed massively.

Click to expand...

If he grew up in today's era, he would be accustomed to 4 inch pockets

Gorst is done as an elite player.

There is no way Gorst can ever beat Filler in a medium/long race.

SVB is the GOAT.

If Efren played in today's era with 4 inch pockets, he would be exposed massively.

HawaiianEye said:

It is hard for me to play with anyone who doesn't play well.

It gets old slaughtering baby seals and I lose interest.

I like playing people who shoot run-out pool.

Click to expand...

I just use it as practice time. Hitting points, accidental safeties on myself, if not shooting a rotation game; choose the hardest pattern and take the hardest possible path from ball to ball. When playing somebody far worse, I really do play the table to stay interested. Gambling for more than a beer gets interesting but I don't gamble with friends or family for more.

Playing bangers is a fine time to practice missing too. When I made very tough shots I was quiet as a mouse. When I "missed shots" I tossed out the kind of theatrics I had learned from people trying to persuade themselves and others that they were better than they were playing at the moment.

Hu

loggerhead12 said:

It is how it has always been. Somebody will play really well for a few months or a couple of years like FSR or Albin (or Jason Dufner in golf), but it takes some real staying power to put together high-quality play for decades. That's GOAT territory.

Can Filler or Gorst be dominant for decades? Maybe. Both have already waxed and waned. Jack always said Tiger had the ability to win the most majors, but he still had to deliver. In the end, Tiger did not.

Click to expand...

Yup. Staying power is key. Albin had a great six-year run, from 2016 to 2022. Longer than most of today's players, but it's surprising how quickly he has fallen off.

I was thinking to myself, who are the legitimately great players still playing who have had great runs of 20 years or more. Not many. SVB is in a class by himself. Perhaps Biado.

Filler hasn't put in 20 years, but he's already there. Gorst could get there, too.

Fans and commentators keep talking about all the great talent around the world. But who is really a superstar? None have emerged since Filler and Gorst.

Tennesseejoe said:

Just read a newspaper...it will drive him crazy.

Click to expand...

Aren't those stacked right next to the phone books?

gregcantrall said:

"But But, I have had 6 weeks of lessons and still can't play the "
"Yes Dear but your lessons were on the Piano."

Click to expand...

I was having a surgery back in 2007, major whittling on my back. I asked the doctor if I could play the piano after the surgery. "Sure, a little healing time and you will be able to play it just fine."

"Good, I never could play the piano before!"

That joke was so old the doctor hadn't heard it!

Side tracking the sidetrack, some of the oldest writing then known to exist was found. It was a list of jokes. I knew about three-fourths of them, maybe more!

HU

Bob Jewett said:

The tournament is actually in California, but barely. Tucson is an hour longer drive than from San Diego.

Click to expand...

That's going to suck for tax purposes.

jay helfert said:

Isn't Tucson closer?

Sorry about that. You are correct, on the California border. Visit nearby Lake Havasu City/Laughlin if you can. You'll like it. Gary Benson and I did a tournament in a Laughlin casino eons ago. Highway 8 from San Diego across California is a good four lane highway all the way to Yuma, and never much traffic.

Click to expand...

Yeah that's nowhere near bullhead/laughlin

CocoboloCowboy said:

Well report if Magic Pill works.

Click to expand...

A friend of mine was a veterinary student. There was one guy in the class, rich, arrogant, a bit loud mouthed, and none too bright. He was struggling while my friend was breezing along with a 4.0 while not seeming to try. The rich guy asked him how. My friend said, "you see it is like this, I take this capsule. Helps you think, helps you remember things, makes learning easy!"

Naturally the rich guy was interested. Naturally the pills were expensive. Ten each and you took one a day. My friend told all the other classmates and a person or persons unknown carefully prepared the pills.

About three days after starting taking the pills the smart kid went to my friend. "You know, I do feel sharper but these capsules taste like sheep shit!"

My friend didn't bat an eye, "See there, you are getting smarter already!"

Hu