jnwilliams said:

I would bet there is a lot of sarcasm dripping from that post.

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Oh, of course. Eklent is hard on himself. But he's also been very disappointed in his own performance. He has said it before.

The great news is, he has lost a lot of weight and gotten into excellent condition. He wants to be who he was, and he's trying to get there again. I don't know if he can, but I love the effort.

jtompilot said:

Another point for Efren is his 3 cushion ability that i doubt Shane can remotely come close to. Shane has come a long way on 1P and banks to make a strong case for GOAT but my opinion is Efren still has the edge.

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I was thinking similarly.
Besides Efren's ability in 3C , those skills spilled over into the rest of the disciplines and were a key part of his flare.
Probably more than half of Efren's YT highlights feature his multi-rail prowess.

The format for the Manilla event, as Bob noted, was the child of the mother of invention. It worked out well. Now MR appears primed to use this format for what I call “major-lite” events. Karl Boyes said it helps diversify the tour.

The format makes sense, especially in between two big majors, Florida and the US Open. The 128-player single-elimination field cuts two days off the length of a major, reduces the grind and is cheaper for the players and producers.

It also gets to big matches a lot faster for the fans. The second day will see top players duking it out in almost every match.

While single elimination seems harsh, 95% or more of the top players are likely to get through to the final 64, just as they would in a 256-player event. Just win one match.

In the Philippines Open last year, the only two big upsets in the first round saw Johann Chua and Duong Quoc Huang get knocked out.

Both were tired after playing in the Hanoi Open and Reyes Cup. Each lost to obscure Filipino players with 800 Fargos (low robustness),

mrshifty said:

If you want to say he had an easy road, that is your opinion. I disagree.

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There was nothing easy... Kaci played great the set prior as Kazakis won 11 racks in a row in his prior set.

8intheside said:

Is it unrealistic to say that Shane may be catching Efren for GOAT status?

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Yes, except Efren is revered for his mystical powers and knowledge. Shane won't ever be as revered in this country or the world. In the Philippines Efren is as big as Michael Jordan.

jbart65 said:

He played poorly at the Vice City event and has been wildly inconsistent since his injury. I was counting on his inconsistency in his loss to SVB. Eklent has found it hard to put together back to back great matches.

This is what Eklent wrote on FB last week:

Vice City Classic Open
Lost in the Last 32. Super happy with my result.
Made $1K. Can’t ask for more these days.
The problem is my Fargo is still way too high. It should be around 675.
Next stop Florida Open.
Hopefully I can grind my way to another glorious last 128 and collect another $1K
Thanks Predator Cues for paying me as an 831

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I would bet there is a lot of sarcasm dripping from that post.

garczar said:

He still gets nervous at crunch times. Still makes the odd error when least needed. He does have great mechanics.

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The mental side is a big part of it.

He also just doesn't have the innate level of talent as the elite players.

In the USA there is one elite player named SVB....there are dozens in the world.

1sttbone said:

I believe Shane has been working on his break a lot and has found something for him. He seldom scratched and his spreads were better. Hes even making the wing ball more often. this is no fluke. The nine on the spot is a Finess break and easier for someone with less power.

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too many players are holding back on the break and never get the stray balls as a result. the fact that svb and kaci gets them and got to the final day ought to inspire more players to amp up

jnwilliams said:

I watched all of Eklent's matches. The dude is a machine. He was playing great. Filler was playing great.

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He played poorly at the Vice City event and has been wildly inconsistent since his injury. I was counting on his inconsistency in his loss to SVB. Eklent has found it hard to put together back to back great matches.

This is what Eklent wrote on FB last week:

Vice City Classic Open
Lost in the Last 32. Super happy with my result.
Made $1K. Can’t ask for more these days.
The problem is my Fargo is still way too high. It should be around 675.
Next stop Florida Open.
Hopefully I can grind my way to another glorious last 128 and collect another $1K
Thanks Predator Cues for paying me as an 831

mrshifty said:

If you want to say he had an easy road, that is your opinion. I disagree.

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If that's what I wanted to say, I would have said that. I did not.

Shane had a tough path. I merely pointed out he was the clear favorite in all of his matches except the one vs Filler. I expected him to beat everyone else. Shane, in fact, also expected to win. He flat out said the winner of his match vs Filler would win the whole event.

Looking at past WNT major winners, all of them had to go through at least three or four top-flight players to win it all. Shane went through four (I don't count Ralf anymore).

In last year's US Open, Yapp beat Fedor Gorst, Ko Pin Yi, Josh Filler, Jefrey Roda and Arseni Sevastyanov. Arguably the the toughest road of all in the WNT era.

In last year's Florida Open, Yapp beat SVB, Mickey Krause, Max Lechner, Naoyuki Oi and Robert Gomez.

In the WPC in 2025, Biado beat Fedor Gorst, Bernie Regalario, Ko Ping Chung, Jeffrey Ignacio, Wiktor Zielinski and Chris Melling.

jbart65 said:

This is true of all the top players, as you know. Filler make 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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I watched all of Eklent's matches. The dude is a machine. He was playing great. Filler was playing great.

dtroup64 said:

From Claude.ai:

Van Boening's case for GOAT is getting stronger — he's not just a great 9-ball player who dabbles elsewhere; he's a legitimate multi-discipline threat at the highest level, which is exactly the trait that used to be Reyes's calling card alone. Many current pros and commentators now put SVB in the true GOAT conversation, not just "greatest American" or "greatest 9-ball player."

Where I'd still lean Reyes, if pressed: era and mythology matter in GOAT debates, and Reyes did it against a global, less-specialized field over a longer stretch, with a reputation for shots and escapes that still gets replayed as the standard of creativity in the sport. But it's genuinely closer than I made it sound, and reasonable people who follow the sport closely go either way now — especially with SVB still adding to his case in real time, like this week.

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Another point for Efren is his 3 cushion ability that i doubt Shane can remotely come close to. Shane has come a long way on 1P and banks to make a strong case for GOAT but my opinion is Efren still has the edge.

skip100 said:

come up with your own opinions.

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I have my own opinions. I wasn't sharing them.

jbart65 said:

This is true of all the top players, as you know. Filler make 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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I think his comment was related to Tyler, not Shane

skogstokig said:

heavyweight was unlimited in pride, so he didn't have to care. pride was fkn great

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Absolutely legendary!