AJ is clearly a teacher's pet pick.
Of course, only the most delusional will suggest that he's joined the ranks of the elite. As was true a year ago, he's a threat to beat anyonem but so are 100 other players. Here's an excerpt from a post I made in February, at a time when we were considering where Manas' game was and whether he'd enjoy the meteoric rise predicted by Emily in the aftermath of last year's Reyes Cup.
I won't say that, to validate his pedigree, AJ has to win a Matchroom major this year, but I want to see him reach the final four at one of the Matchroom majors before I jump on the bandwagon. Last I checked, he was about the twentieth best player from the Philippines based on Fargo.
AJ's potential is obvious. His game has a nice flow to it and his instant pattern recognition brings to mind a Filler, Shaw, or Centeno. His game, however, is still very raw and underdeveloped. He can beat anyone for sure, but I could say that of at least 100 players.
Based on Fargo, AJ is the #69 male player in the world and Savannah is the #66 female player in the world, so it is an interesting comparison.
The Savannah comparison was relevant to the discussion in February. Now that the 2026 Matchroom majors, save the upcoming Philippines Open, we can reflect on AJ's results.
European Open did not play
UK Open did not play
Florida Open 5th
Arizona Open 5th
US Open 9ball 17th
He did not reach the final day at a Matchroom major this year. His Fargo was, I believe, 799 to begin the year, and now it is 806, so there was a little progress. As noted, he was the #69 player based on Fargo in February and now is #62. He is, based on Fargo, the 18th best Filipino player in the world, whereas he used to be 20th. To view AJ as one of the game's most elite is delusional at this point. Way too often, we confuse potential for performance here on the forum. There is no metric by which anybody would consider AJ to even be in the discussion for most improved player this year.
AJ has exactly one credential for selection this year, and that's having been Reyes Cup MVP a year ago. That why I am OK with the AJ selection, even though his 2026 has been nothing special.
