As noted, I've watched Helfery live multiple times. She has solid fundamentals. Still, her pattern play is under-developed and it is why she doesn't get a little more out of what she can execute on offense. Ultimate Pool is on bar-boxes and there is more forgiveness for patterns misplayed as the recovery shots are more easily handled.
She plays well for her age but does not yet show any real feel for or skills for defense and kicking, and until she adds that, she won't beat strong players to the shot often enough to have a chance to win. I did notice, however, that she's adequate with the jump cue, so that's going to help her. Right now, she can only beat a strong player if chances keep landing in her lap through strong breaking, luck, or opponent errors.
As I've said before, the potential is there, and she'll likely be a good player somewhere down the road, but let's not be delusional about how far along she is.
This field is weak enough that Sofia is assured of a top five even with her "B" game. Her offensive execution woke up in the second half of the Helfery match, and she'll need to sustain that to have any chance to beat either of the top two. Her pattern play was respectable, but her tactical judgment was mediocre, and it has to be much better for her to contend for the title.
Still, her last few racks offered at least some hope, so maybe she finds her top speed shortly.
These are pretty solid predictions. That said, I've never heard of Amy Beauchamp, so I am shocked to learn she's a world champion. When did she win her world championship and in what discipline?
Finally, don't sleep on Briana Miller. She's still in on the loser side and is a solid player.
