Is Mark Gregory or Trent from Toledo still in business?

Gorst played more defense in this tournament than I've seen him play, Biado also played his share but not so much as Gorst. Gorst is known for his shot making, excellent banker, seemed to me he passed on many opportunities to shoot to play safe, of course he was in the finals so who am I to second guess.

Bavafongoul said:

What you pay for a watch has little to do with anything other than do you like the look, not because it’s more accurate.
The price you pay for a cue has little to do with how good a pool player you are. It really comes down to what you want.

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Agreed there, though it's the watch features, materials, and movement grade that drive prices much higher than the basic models. My personal collection includes these guys:

benjaminwah said:

I’d really like to see a longer shot clock in the finals. This is a tournament to decide who is the best/world champion. I want to see the best players playing their best. There is no more matches after the finals so no super hurry to finish. I hated seeing two greats not be able to be as great as they could be because of that.

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Over the years, I have seen no evidence that having a longer shot clock increases the level of play. All a longer shot clock brings is slow play.

Two of the slowest players of the modern era are Ralf Souquet and Eklent Kaci. When they play off the shot clock, they take forever and play well. When they play on the shot clock, they play just as well. This week, Kledio Kaci, another notoriously slow player, played the best pool he has ever played and the thirty-second shot clock was in use.

The intuitive argument that if decisions at the pool table are made more slowly, those decisions will be better, does not hold up to scrutiny.

The players, as a group, have proven over and over that they can make accurate decisions quickly, but give them forever to shoot and that's exactly how long they will take.

Century: https://brunswick.pastperfectonline.com/library/D89F64AC-263A-4394-8130-968910254703

Century Supreme: https://brunswick.pastperfectonline.com/library/5E96B3CA-B4CE-4ABE-BCDE-265715027284

Centurion: https://brunswick.pastperfectonline.com/Library/B93BDC51-F286-4B1D-B608-425051440782

I have zero experience with CF shafts.

I predict it would play exactly how that shaft plays.

My Scruggs shafts and Stroud shafts play the same on a Chinese made cue, or Dufferin cues, as they do on any of my Joss cues. The hit might feel slightly different, but the shafts play identical.

jay helfert said:

He's happily married you idiot!

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Every once in a while, even married guys get some

garczar said:

call B'wick. these were a couple notches below G'Crowns. Decent table if set up right. The 8ft versions used to be in every room in Dallas. IIRC the Supreme had octagonal legs and a lil nicer finish but same basic table. Supreme: https://brunswick.pastperfectonline.com/library/5E96B3CA-B4CE-4ABE-BCDE-265715027284 Century:https://brunswick.pastperfectonline.com/library/D89F64AC-263A-4394-8130-968910254703 They're tougher than they look, took a lot of abuse in Dallas rooms and some are still around. Most have been replaced with Diamonds but some still exist.

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Brunswick tends to be very helpful directly. Probably part of the reason they are still around.

Their online historic materials are invaluable. Hats off to them again for creating and maintaining that.

skor said:

We don’t know if it’s by choice or by restriction.
I’m sure that he could travel to China for instance.
People have a life and family and a job and sometimes they can’t just leave it all and start touring. My guess is that he is picking his events that are more convenient for him.

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Ameer Ali is a part-time, though very talented player. He's not the first to concentrate on other pursuits while continuing to compete at pool where possible. If he has a kitchen appliance company as reported, he may feel that it is where his focus belongs.

In the 1960s, Mizerak did not feel that playing pool would pay all the bills and he pursued a degree in education, becoming a teacher in Perth Amboy, NJ, for many years. Irving Crane was a car salesman, even during his pool playing prime. Two-time US Open 14.1 Champion Tom Jennings was a college math professor.

Whatever Ameer Ali decides is OK by me, and I wish him the best.

pt109 said:

I know you’re having some fun with this….but if you’re going to anglicize his name, use Ted for Theodore. Fred is short for Frederick.

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"His name was.............I didn't know what his name was. So we just called him Fred"
Any Rodney Carrington fans?