joelpope said:
are you fucking kidding me? his last 4 tournaments: Florida Open Lost to SVB, finished 17th-32nd; Austrian Open beat Filler to win the tournament; UK Open quarterfinalist 5th - 8th; WPA World 8-Ball Semifinalist 3rd-4th
Pardon me but your ignorance is showing
Fair point. I guess when I watch him play - he always looks like he is going to lose because he is so sullen. So yes he should be seeded. Sorry to have got you riled to the point of profanity
Albin's recent performance cited by joelpope can't hide a dropoff in Ouschan's level of play.
Ouschan used to be one of my favorite players. Cerebral. Strategic. Cool under pressure. Could make all the shots, sometimes delivering the spectacular.
In 2021 and 2022, he was arguably the best player in the world.
He won the World Pool Championship in 2021 and lost in the WPC finals in 2022 to Shane Van Boening. He won the inaugural Premier League of pool in 2021, beating Josh Filler. He also won the first WNT European Open in 2022.
Since then?
His only major title in nearly four years was the Predator “World” 8-Ball Championship in 2025. Even that was a surprise. Ouschan has publicly made clear his dislike of 8-ball. He has said he never really practices the game except before a major tournament.
Albin still looks the part of a great player. He’s only 36 and is one of the fittest players on the tour. Yet his last deep run in a major 9-ball event was a quarterfinal appearance in the UK Open more than two years ago in 2024.
His last appearance in a big WNT final was in the September 2023 Hanoi Open, where he lost to Jayson Shaw.
What’s happened to him? There’s talk of personal problems in a long-term relationship, for one thing.
The fallout from the WPA-WNT dispute seemed to affect him, too. He was one of the Predator-sponsored players who said he would boycott WPA events until a player ban was lifted, then he reneged and apologized on Facebook.
Other telltale signs: He lost to WNT commentator Karl Boyes 10-4 in the 2024 Scottish Open. Even worse, he lost 9-2 to women’s star Seo Seoa in the 2025 WPC and was knocked out of the event. Had to be a huge blow to his confidence.
Whatever the case, Ouschan simply hasn’t been the same since his loss in the finals in the 2023 Hanoi Open. I hope he gets a second lease on his career, but who knows. He often seems melancholy and lacks his old fire.
Let’s use January 2024 as a baseline. Ouschan has appeared in one WNT quarterfinal since then.
In the same period, these are the appearance totals of other top players:
6 - Joshua Filler
5 - Fedor Gorst
4 - Aloysius Yapp
4 - Shane Van Boening
4 - Johann Chua
4 - Jayson Shaw
4 - Francisco Sanchez Ruiz
3 - Eklent Kaci
3 - Carlo Biado
3 - Moritz Neuhausen
3 - David Alcaide
3 - Wojciech Szewczyk
3 - Jefrey Roda
