sjm said:

Actually, 18 year Felix Vogel won a 10ball major this year.

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Dang, I forgot about Vogel. I like Januarta’s upside a bit better, but Vogel belongs in the conversation. He could use a growth spurt!

Wool and nylon. Old days slow cloth had more Wool. Newer faster cloth has more nylon. (I Think ). The Wool blends are easiest to get the ball up quickly. Probably due to more friction.

jnwilliams said:

I was only there for the first three days when many matches were going on and thought it was pretty great. There was almost always a seat within 10’ of the main tables. I’m sure the quarters semi and final got crowded tho

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Was great meeting you at the Florida Open. Hope to see you again somewhere on the tournament trail.

Important to take note of the completely unrecognizable AJ Manas at the Florida Open. In this case, unrecognizable is a good thing.

We all understood that Manas came in as one of the most instinctive runners of the table we have seen in a long time. Like a Jayson Shaw or a Chezka Centeno, he seems to see the patterns almost instantaneously. Unfortunately, until this week, we saw very little tactical development in his game. Somehow, without giving it much thought, his pattern play is not far below legendary pattern players like Souquet and Appleton.

... and yet everything changed this week. He has clearly addressed some of his tactical limitations and showed some very impressive tactical conceptualization, especially against Lechner and Shaw at the Florida Open. Yes, he was completely unrecognizable, in a good way!

If Manas continues to commit himself to mastering the complementary skills needed to beat elite opponents to the shot, especially defense, he will be a force in pool with a good chance to become a top ten player in the world one day.

Let's go....

jax_joe said:

Thanks for posting. Glad I didn't drive down for that. Zero fun as a spectator trying to fade that nonsense. They went cheap without bleachers.

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I was only there for the first three days when many matches were going on and thought it was pretty great. There was almost always a seat within 10’ of the main tables. I’m sure the quarters semi and final got crowded tho

jbart65 said:

That brings up to the final group - the youngest generation of players recent turned pro.

AJ Manas and Albert Januarta are the big names in this group. I'd also throw in Bernie Regalario.

I would be shocked if Manas and Januarta failed to win a major over the next few years. Both of them seem to have that something extra, but it's still too early to tell. We won't know for a while if either is a generational talent.

No one else around 20 years or younger has emerged beyond those three.

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Actually, 18 year Felix Vogel won a 10ball major this year.