jay helfert said:

Scott kept mentioning his age, like it was surprising he still played so well. One mention would have been enough. The fact is a mature Shane is playing better than ever!

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nmh2008 said:

The 2/9 combo was one of the worst shot decisions I've ever seen. This is the shot a 400 fargo takes when he's playing the 650 fargo guy in a Tuesday night $10 entry fee handicap tournament at your local pool room

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Mensabum said:

How I ever played with a 58" cue is baffling now that I've grown accustomed to 60"- plus an inch or so. Fits my height and arm motion far better.

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nmh2008 said:

I agree Albin isn't in the same class he was a couple years ago, but I don't think it'd have been a shocker if he'd have beat Shane. He won a world championship, albeit in a different discipline, less than a year ago

FSR is still in the elite mix of guys behind Filler & Yapp for me. He's not the guy he was in 2022/2023 but that was also one of the best runs we've ever seen.

Nobody has ever played 9 ball better than Filler, IMO.

Kaci is a polarizing figure, but when he's mentally there he's absolutely still a top player. He'll never be the most consistent player, but even post-accident he went hill-hill with Gorst when Gorst was playing better than anyone in the world. That was just 2 yrs ago

Kazakis is a similar level to Albin for me, Shane should beat him but he doesn't have to.

When the guy you meet in the championship of a major tournament is probably the 2nd worst player you played in single elimination, you had a real tough draw. Yapp's US Open run still the most impressive for me, but lots of credit to Shane

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Mensabum said:

I find it's a lot easier to control speed this way.

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sjm said:

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.

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sjm said:

Now that he is paying more attention to defense and general tactical conceptualization, AJ has set the stage to join the top tier one day. It will be fun to watch his continued development.

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jbart65 said:

This is true of all the top players, as you know. Filler made a pair of really big mistakes vs Shane that cost him the match. Not the first time I have seen that from Filler.

Shane played consistently well in Florida after a rusty opener against Payne McBride that he won 9-7. And the field he beat was impressive.

I'd offer a few caveats, though.

-Souquet is way past his prime.
-Albin is no longer a top 20 player. He's been on a downward arc since fall 2024.
-FSR has lost half a gear in the past few years.
-Kaci has been inconsistent since his injury a few years ago. He has yet to rediscover his form (maybe he never will).
-Kazakis played superb in the semis but he's a grinder who's leveled off the past few years.

SVB should have beaten all of these players, and he did. Only Josh was the real challenge, and Josh had SVB down for the count.

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