This really isn't accurate. Efren surprised even the best commentators with his choices and ingenuity until the day he retired from mainstream competition.
I thought that's basically what I said. Or at least what I meant.
I have seen a ton of Reyes matches the past few years. I started with the earliest ones I could find, and then worked from there, to see if I could detect any evolution in his game. I am not sure I can.
Most of the better vids on YouTube start in the late 1980s, with most the bulk coming in the 1990s. By 1989 Efren was already in 35 and he seemed fully formed as a player. Perhaps you remember differently.
I do remember through the 1990s the announcers were ceaselessly surprised by Reyes. They would often mention what they thought he would do, and were they certain about what he couldn't do. Then of course he did it. Diliberto was among those constantly flummoxed.
Duly humbled, announcers later on tended to be less sure of themselves (Well, it's Efren, and he's a a Magician, and so ...).
I could have sworn Diliberto finally began to suggest things Reyes might do that he himself (Dilberto) would never have spotted five or 10 years earlier. Not all the time, of course, but how could anyone watch Efren diligently and not starting thinking up outlandish shots!
A player's peak years can come at any time.
Yes, it can, but in all sports, the mid-20s to early 30s seems to be the norm. A few such as tennis it happens even earlier - Alcaraz is the latest example.
Both players are now fully mature, physically and mentally, when it comes to the game of pool. They are in the prime of their lives in virtually every way. Whether it translates on the table remains to be seen.
Yes, Fedor and Josh will both continue to win big titles, but whether they'll reach a higher level in their games is to be determined.
I think both players are clearly better now than they were two or three years ago. They did rise to higher levels.
Like you, I am not sure they can continue to reach higher planes. Yet one hallmark of growth is consistency. You mentioned FSR. When he fully matured as a player, his consistency skyrocketed.
Fedor and Filler are already extremely consistent. Whether they become even more so is what I will be watching.
