I am 90 mins from there now, near Orlando, but was not able to go due to work schedule :-(

trokiki said:

After sending a video to @darkSIDEpool I received a private access to his website showing plenty of amazing stats, an analysis of each of the 10 strokes and a very detailed analysis of his own plus one completed by AI.

There are many things I was not aware of and many others that I knew but are confirmed.

I really recommend his work and canteen wait for the product to go live!

PS: I was at the Mosconi and also feels like Tyler is a good candidate for the app. I think has a great potential that doesn’t show as it could.

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Thanks for the kind words. I did message him on FB but he’s probably still reeling from that 9 ball

skogstokig said:

politics is over, it seems, but the best US players have been more or less boycotting the predator events since the first one. the tables were gaffy and the format wonky. the tables are fixed and the format i think has been proven at least determinative? if you like your game and practices the shootout (and triangle rack breaking) you've got just as good a chance as an opponent of equal skill.

the eurotour refs may be another source of annoyance

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I was not a fan of the format at first, but it is much better than Ultimate Pool, and after seeing in person how the audience gets exited over the shootout, I changed my mind. Even the pro players gathered around a shootout to watch it. When they get to a highish number without missing, everyone goes to look.

jay helfert said:

One thing is for certain. It's not the tables that have weakened U.S. pool! It's the mindset of the current crop of American players. For them good enough is okay. You want to be a champion at any sport, you must do the work and put in the time required. They must be highly motivated and dedicated to the sport, with a desire to continually improve their game, whatever that takes. I don't see that here today. I do see it when I'm in the Philippines where they live, eat and breathe pool every hour of every day.

I like to see players practice on tough tables. But doing that once a week ain't gonna cut it. The very best players are working at their games on a daily basis until they reach a sustained level of excellence. In the last twenty years we've had only one player willing to do that.

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Login to view embedded media I don't really care for UFC, but Khabib tells the truth here. If you want to be the best in the world, talent and hard work isn't enough. There are lots of people with talent who works hard. You have to give it everything you've got, do the things other people can't or won't do. You have to play the best as often as possible and figure out a way to beat them. All other things must come second. Every time you slack off in practise, there is a guy out there who doesn't, and it adds up. Somewhere a kid is breaking 10 ball racks over, and over and over...He has nothing else, all his mental and physical energy goes into this one pursuit. He'll be the best and the slacker will be a nobody.

Get a "roomba" style device. Around or under $100 and you won't have to manually do it. Just sit it on the table at the end of the night and let it do its thing.

TrxR said:

It does look like that. So maybe if you hit the ball in one side pocket hard enough it come out the other.

Didn’t Diamond add a diverter because of that? I've seen it happen on a valley before.

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Yes, they sure did. We do have that infamous pop-out video for good laughs though.

KenneyTran said:

I was thinking about asking some pool hall owner.

I’m also doing pool table removal/install and sale. Thank you for info.

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Are you asking for storage? A lot, but would just be math also hehe. Just remove the space needed for play, and you can stack a few on top of each other also.

hang-the-9 said:

Depends on the size of table and other space needs. A table needs 5 feet around each side for decent space to play on, so say 15x 20 feet for a 9 footer. The rest is math.

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I was thinking about asking some pool hall owner.

I’m also doing pool table removal/install and sale. Thank you for info.

Depends on the size of table and other space needs. A table needs 5 feet around each side for decent space to play on, so say 15x 20 feet for a 9 footer. The rest is math.

And my "next years" Team USA would be...

Fedor Gorst (Of course.)
Shane Van Boening (Of course.)
Skyler Woodward (Solid, but NOT as a Captain.)
Justin Bergman (Somebody talk to this guy. Please convince him.)
Oscar Dominguez (Loose, happy and solid. Tyler Styer fundamentally solid but his nerves are his own worst enemy. Sorry dude.)
Jesus Atencio (PLEASE Mr. Trump, make this Venezolano superstar a US Citizen tomorrow! We DESPERATELY need him. Possible 6th guy.)
Anthony Meglino (Good friend of mine but not for this reason. Solid, robotic, quiet. IF no Jesus, and a 6th can be brought onto a team.)

Note: I did not include juniors like Lukas but certainly not ruling any out. Adding ONE junior per team could be a future MR decision.

NON-PLAYING Captain: Someone who understands the importance of physical training as well as mental, multi-drill coaching, team management and merging personalities all into ONE. Someone who absolutely gives a shit about winning and not just "making it to the playoffs."

Practice routine (per person): On Rassons' with 3.9" pockets. (I believe that was the spec for this year's MC. Correct me if I'm wrong.)

Lag x 1000
Cut-break x 8000 Maybe another 1000 pp just for good measure.
Long straight follow x 2000
Long straight draw x 3000
Drills drills and more drills
Anything into the side pockets and from every imaginable angle x 3000
End pattern run-outs (7, 8, 9) x 1000
Jumping x 2000
Defense strategies and shots x 3000
Playing under shot-clock conditions

You will have one full year to accomplish this. It's a grind. And each person should play in as many WNT events as possible for the exposure.

I would also try to find out what the euro's are doing for prep. Then double it. Does this guarantee a 2026 USA victory in Orlando? Certainly not. But maybe it brings the margin or gap a little closer and from that, we can hopefully learn something, and further prepare. I'm no billiards guru by any stretch, but I do play very well and have also played a sport at the professional level. I do know the importance of training, both physically and mentally and the preparation grind it demands. And I also learned that while I was sleeping, my enemy was training.