Changing of the guard in pro pool

As I said in another thread, a changing of the guard is under way in pro pool. But it seems like we are also in an interregnum.

How so? Some great young players are bursting onto the scene, but it’s mostly established players winning the WNT titles and making deep runs.

Take the last three years (Jan 2024 to Aug 2026). The WNT has hosted 15 majors if you include the Philippines Open. The other events are the UK, European, Florida, US and Hanoi Opens, plus the WPC.

Here are the title winners, the number of titles won and current age in parenthesis

3 - Aloysius Yapp (30)
2 - Josh Filler (28)
2 - Fedor Gorst (26)
Carlo Biado (42)
Shane Van Boening (43)
David Alcaide (47)
Johann Chua (34)
Mickey Krause (25)
Robbie Capito (25)
Pijus Labutis (28)
Moritz Neuhausen (22)

The only under-25 player on this list is Neuhausen, though Gorst, Capito and Krause were under 25 when they won.

Still, the winners list is dominated by players 25 and over, including three who won titles in their 40s.

Looking at the participants in the semifinals and quarters, the same pattern is evident. Mostly players 25 and older.

The only young guys (under 25) to make deep runs in 2025-2026 are Neuhausen, Jonas Souto, Kledio Kaci, Albert Januarta and Bernie Regalario. Throw in Arseni Sevastyanov and AJ Manas if you include the inaugural Philippines Open.

Experience is still winning out, and making deep runs.

My Interview with Bill Curran Optical

If you are really serious about wanting to improve your vision and your pool game at the same time, then take time to do it right. By that I’m referring to visiting your optometrist and if you don’t have one, it’s time to find one you like.

Then have your optometrist create a prescription and it does not need to be progressive lens unless that’s what the
optometrist decides you need for vision improvement. I wore reading glasses and distance glasses (driving, watching movies, etc) for years. I tried progressive lens for pool. GTF out of here.

I never had previously tried progressive lens so steadily positioning my head without movement for a clear image was a major pain in the ass since Ihad never worn a progressive lens before. I told my optometrist this was a failure to use for pool playing and he said he’d could create a new prescription to blend of my reading and distance prescriptions.

I’ve previously posted how and what he did to come up with a billiard prescription using a portable vision station in a conference room with a long conference table. He placed objects placed at varying distances of 3’, 5’, 7’ 9’ and 12’.
I If I had known he was going to do this I’d have brought my set of Centennials to use.

Anyway, he proceeds to have me wear a portable head harness that lets him substitute different lens strengths until I told him that the clarity was what I was looking for at these distances. I could see clearly at 3’ or 12’ but further away and my vision clarity proportionately diminished. Afterwards, I went to LensCrafter and looked at a lot of different
frames I could wear since my new billiards prescription can be used for any eyewear frame.

Personally, I think those billiard glasses are not only goofy looking but if I ever had any vision issues down the road , or better yet, after I got my glasses, it’s simple to make an appointment to see my optometrist that will check the prescription and double check that it might need strengthening or weakening. Over time, your vision needs will change. It is simple for your eye doctor to tweak the prescription to fit your needs. I see my eye doctor once a year but just to check my normal vision. A dozen years ago I had cataract surgery which was why my vision was worsening and after undergoing surgery, my vision was restored to 20/20 which doesn’t always happen but vision improvement always occurs after cataract surgery. The only caveat I’d add is there is a small risk of surgery failures which is why cataract surgery is performed in two surgeries, not one. You never risk both eyes to concurrently undergoing the same surgery.

Okay, I’ve posted about this very topic many times over the years. So do as you will but not seeing your own optometrist to do this just seems acting lazily and hurriedly. Go see a local, professional eye doctor, get a blended prescription for clarity, go select a eyewear frame that resembles normal, stylish eyewear. Heck, you can’t go wrong choosing Ray Ban Aviator frames but the variety of frame choices is enormous or you can choose the goofy look.

WNT Florida Open 2026, August 4-9, Orlando, Caribe Royale

I was updating a spreadsheet I created to track all quarterfinalists to winners in all Matchroom majors in the WNT era (since 2022).

The last major 9-ball title for the players SVB defeated

*Josh Filler - 2026 UK Open, 2025 European Open

*Eklent Kaci - 2023 UK Open

*Albin Ouschan - 2022 European Open. He did win the 8-ball World Championship in 2025.

*Alex Kazakis - None. He did finish second in the 2025 World 10-ball Championship and the 2025 World 8-ball championship.

Again, not taking anything away from SVB. He was the most consistently top performer in the Florida Open. Excellent performance. He deserved to win, and it was a pleasure to watch.

Kazakis was great, too. He should not be underestimated. He is rock solid every time I see him play.

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