Counting the CSI US Opens as majors is hilarious. None of them are and, frankly, it has probably been a few years since anyone on this forum tried to suggest otherwise. Some of the CSI US Opens have had fields of less than 20 and very few of them have deep, international fields. I'd say one Euro-tour title is worth three CSI US Open titles. That gives Ralf Souquet the equivalent of 69 US Opens. Of course, that's nonsense, too. Shane has five US Opens, and all of them were against fields weaker and less internationally balanced than what we've seen in this decade of pro pool.
Yes, it's a matter of opinion, but Shane has never dominated across the world. Yes, he dominated on American soil against fields that were chiefly American, but his track record is much poorer when competing against large, internationally diverse fields worldwide. Filler's resume at age 29 already eclipses that of Shane at 43. Title count? Who cares. When discussing greatness, it is major title count that matters, because performance against elite fields is the only real measure. Filler's rate of winning major championships all over the globe is so much greater than that of Shane that the comparison borders on silly.
Is Shane's 5 US Opens 9ball, 1 World 9ball, 1 World 8ball any stronger than Filler's 1 US Open 9ball, 1 World 9ball, 3 China Open 9ball, 1 World Games 9ball gold medal, and 1 World 8ball? That's pretty close, but if you look at all the other majors, Filler has won everything in sight and Shane hasn't won anything close to that. Finally, as Shane has noted, Filler has worn him out in head-to-head play for the length of Josh' career.
Of course, you are allowed to size it up as you please. Thanks for sharing your views.
