I would be curious to know how sjm rates Filler's performance in the UK Open final. Might be the best I've ever seen from him in a big WNT or Predator event in the final stages of a tourney. His two matches on the final day were dominating.
I thought it was a great event.
I'd put it a little below his effort at the Las Vegas Open 10 ball, where he beat each of SVB, Biado, and Gorst to win the title. Josh can steamroll just about anybody at a moment's notice. At Las Vegas, he won the final eight racks in the final against Gorst. At the Derby City 9ball, he won the final nine racks of his match with Gorst and later beat SVB 9-0. Fedor hasn't beat Josh at 9ball or 10ball for a long, long time. The only guy who gave Josh a real test at the 2026 UK Open was Feijen, who played at an elite level in a 10-7 loss.
I'd also say that Josh was a bit more dominant than this at the 2025 European Open, in which he won the final 13-1 against Naoyuki Oi. The only other player I've seen in all my years around pool that so often steamrolled elite opponents like this was prime Strickland.
No doubt, Josh offered one of his best ever efforts in the final vs Szewczyk, a player that had been in dead stroke all week, but it is just one of many times that he has produced a master class performance in a final. He is the best closer since prime Mike Sigel of the 1980s. He tends not to get the credit for his defense, but he is on the short list of the best defensive players in the world. He is also one of the best kickers I have ever seen. He is a finished product with an all-around arsenal that is simply mind-blowing.
Only the haters will deny that Filler is already in the conversation for the best 9ball player of all time. Like all the great champions that came before him, he's very beatable, but he has a gear that sometimes makes him unbeatable. My guess is that he'll retire with the greatest resume of titles since that of Mosconi.
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