Not the Shaw I remember. He used to be a killer.
I'm seeing the same thing. This tough Rasson table is keeping them honest. It requires full 100% focus and concentration on all shots, easy or hard. It's a good test for the top players. Not a bad looking table either. Very few one inning games.
In the modern version of 9-Ball this is what I'm observing. Much more focus on safety play! These guys love to hide the cue ball and do it well. They are all great kickers too, often kicking to play safe. They want to force their opponent to shoot a difficult jump shot or kick into the air. That's how they win games.
One area where I see no improvement in their games is on bank shots. They will often play that famous side to side safety as opposed to shooting a bank shot. All the reliance on safety play has made bank shots less important and it shows.
Loving my man Moritz, by far the most focused player out there. Reminds me of Sigel in that respect. It was no secret why Sigel was winning more than anyone else. He missed far fewer shots, plain and simple. If Mike had a tough shot he would walk around the table bemoaning his fate, getting down and getting up a few times. He'd just smile at the tough shot facing him. Then finally he would fire that ball in and win the game. Drama man. Missing my man Mike when I think about it. I feel so fortunate to see guys like Sigel, Earl, Buddy, Davenport, Varner, CJ, Parica, Francisco, in their prime. They each had their own style and it was effective.
On a final note who would have ever guessed that Harry Vergara would be the last Filipino standing!
