Ko Pin-Yi. Best player on earth.

spartan

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Yes, I think he should be banned from competition because he got some lucky rolls against SVB. JK.

I actually kept track of every shot in the match when I watched on Youtube, although four of the games were not recorded.

While the announcers were complaining about Ko's luck, several of those "lucky" leaves were actually 2-way shots that were pretty well executed.

Ko did however get four lucky rolls by my count, and Shane got none.

But while Ko made six errors (four potting errors and two position errors), Shane missed five shots, missed position twice, and played three ineffective safeties (ten errors). He had plenty of opportunities to fade Ko's lucky rolls.

I believe Ko played better in the match, despite what SVB fans want to believe.

Shane is one of pool's very best and I think it's a waste of time to try to rank the top ten in the world in any order. He'll beat Ko in the future and Ko will beat him again as well.

LOL While all of us were yakking away about errors, rolls in the match, no one bothered to count them. Great job

The missing few racks from 6-6 to 8-6 is mentioned at http://www.azbilliards.com/news/stories/12237-ko-becomes-pools-hardcore-man/
Ko scratched once and SVB made few mistakes. So added to your total, it is clear that SVB made more errors than Ko and that is what SVB also said in post-match interview

To his credit Van Boening kept his composure and it served him well. Two break and runs sandwiched around a Ko scratch brought the American his first lead of the match and an 8-6 advantage.

Just as he did against Wu earlier, however, Ko used the deficit as his motivation to stage a fight back. At the same time Van Boening lost his momentum and several mistakes cost him plenty. Ko won two straight to tie the match at 8-8.

:D
 

snucar

World Snucar Champion
Silver Member
One thing about Ko (and Wu) is that his mental recovery time is virtually instant. Even if he completely butchers a shot, he is back in the game on his next turn at the table. Orcullo, shane, and many of the top Europeans tend to spiral downward for a few racks before they recover.

Honestly, for most skilled player in the world, I like Wu over Ko. He was doing a lot more technical stuff than Ko with position and defense and was just as strong pocketing balls and mentally. That semi match was one that you could truly say came down to the lag. Of course Ko has accomplished a lot more than Wu in recent years, but I think Wu is still recovering from his extended break from serious competition. Once he is 100%, watch out.

Intelligence on planet AZB!!!

Wu was indeed the (slightly) better player though out the tournament IMO too. I 've watched all the matches of both players. His shooting and positional play were simply amazing. The pressure he applied on his opponents was massive and his breaking was superb too, not in a SVB kind of way but more than good enough to break and run away.

The only thing these two probably don't have, as much as the pinoys at least, is the safety game. Perhaps because they're much more attacking players than anyone else in the world. Their pocketing and positional play at the moment is superior without any shadow of a doubt.

Agreed on your comment about the Europeans too. They're definitely NOT in their best and I firmly believe the Mosconi Cup presents the first real opportunity for Team USA to win in so many years of easy beating. Plus, it's on their soil and with that crappy table Matchroom is using, who knows! The current state of form of Appleton, Feijen, Van DerBerg, Boyes and several others is just shocking.
 

PoolBum

Ace in the side.
Silver Member
Was Mike Sigel ever the best player in the world? He won a shit-load of tournaments.

In the immortal words of John McEnroe, you cannot be serious!!

Yes, Mike Sigel was most definitely at times the best player in the world, and he is on the short list of greatest all-around players ever. Winning a shit-load of pro tournaments is probably the best way to tell that someone is one of the best players in the world.

Efren said Sigel is the toughest player he ever faced.
 

sjm

Older and Wiser
Silver Member
Ko Pin Yi is the best and nobody else is even in the conversation.

He has been the best for a while now.

Ko is now in position to do what no player ever has done and that is win the grand slam of pool, which, to this fan, means these five WPA sanctioned mega-events.

World 9-ball champion
World 10-ball champion
All Japan Championships
China (Shanghai) Open
US Open 9-ball

He's go the first three ( to be fair, Appleton and Immonen have three of the five as well) and Ko will have to work hard to get the last two, but enjoy it while you can pool fans --- Ko is one of the all time greats, gradually putting together a resume of major titles that will be truly historic.

I am not a Ko fan but I consider myself privileged to watch his play whenever the opportunity presents itself. I truly feel sorry for those more passionate about knocking his credentials than enjoying the excellence that he brings to the world of pool.
 

Dockter

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Ko Pin Yi is the best and nobody else is even in the conversation.

He has been the best for a while now.

Ko is now in position to do what no player ever has done and that is win the grand slam of pool, which, to this fan, means these five WPA sanctioned mega-events.

World 9-ball champion
World 10-ball champion
All Japan Championships
China (Shanghai) Open
US Open 9-ball

He's go the first three ( to be fair, Appleton and Immonen have three of the five as well) and Ko will have to work hard to get the last two, but enjoy it while you can pool fans --- Ko is one of the all time greats, gradually putting together a resume of major titles that will be truly historic.

I am not a Ko fan but I consider myself privileged to watch his play whenever the opportunity presents itself. I truly feel sorry for those more passionate about knocking his credentials than enjoying the excellence that he brings to the world of pool.

Couldn't agree more. Shane is the hometown hero here and I love watching him play. I want him to win the US Open again badly but if not him I would love to see Ko take it down. At 26 he is on one hell of a run.
 

PhilosopherKing

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
In the immortal words of John McEnroe, you cannot be serious!!

Yes, Mike Sigel was most definitely at times the best player in the world, and he is on the short list of greatest all-around players ever. Winning a shit-load of pro tournaments is probably the best way to tell that someone is one of the best players in the world.

Efren said Sigel is the toughest player he ever faced.

Efren said the same thing about Varner.

Despite winning tournaments, I don't think Mike Sigel was ever the best player in the world.

David Robinson won the NBA MVP in 92-93. Was David Robinson ever the best basketball player in the world?

Mika Immonen is a "Player of the Decade". Was he ever really the best player in the world?

My point is I don't think tournaments and awards are the test for determining who the best is. I'm not even interested in who's the best. I just want to know who the better of two players is.
 

ps611846

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
In the immortal words of John McEnroe, you cannot be serious!!

Yes, Mike Sigel was most definitely at times the best player in the world, and he is on the short list of greatest all-around players ever. Winning a shit-load of pro tournaments is probably the best way to tell that someone is one of the best players in the world.

Efren said Sigel is the toughest player he ever faced.

Yes, very well said.
 

parvus1202

Suspected hacked account
Silver Member
Anybody who wins a world championship is the best player, for now. I read that so many times when a player won a world championship. Immonen, Homann, Pagu, Busta, SVB, Ko, Yang, Orcullo, Feijen etc. But only one player has sustain it the longest, Reyes. Ko is the best for now, let's see how far he can go.
 

snucar

World Snucar Champion
Silver Member
Anybody who wins a world championship is the best player, for now. I read that so many times when a player won a world championship. Immonen, Homann, Pagu, Busta, SVB, Ko, Yang, Orcullo, Feijen etc.

Come again?
 
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PoolBum

Ace in the side.
Silver Member
David Robinson won the NBA MVP in 92-93. Was David Robinson ever the best basketball player in the world?

"MVP" stands for Most Valuable Player, not best player. If David Robinson had competed in a ton of professional basketball tournaments over many years that involved playing one-on-one with the best other NBA players and he won a shit-load of those tournaments, then of course he could reasonably be considered the best player in the world.

Mika Immonen is a "Player of the Decade". Was he ever really the best player in the world?

I have no doubt that Mika was at one time the best player in the world.

My point is I don't think tournaments and awards are the test for determining who the best is. I'm not even interested in who's the best. I just want to know who the better of two players is.

Awards, no. Tournaments, yes. What better way is there to tell who the best is besides competition results against other players?
 

PhilosopherKing

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Anybody who wins a world championship is the best player, for now. I read that so many times when a player won a world championship. Immonen, Homann, Pagu, Busta, SVB, Ko, Yang, Orcullo, Feijen etc. But only one player has sustain it the longest, Reyes. Ko is the best for now, let's see how far he can go.

Let's say two different players each win a tournament of the exact same format against the exact same field. For the sake of argument, we'll say the wins are ten days apart. One tournament has the word "World" in its name. The other doesn't. Is the player who won the "World" tournament the better player because of the name of the event?
 

PhilosopherKing

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
"MVP" stands for Most Valuable Player, not best player. If David Robinson had competed in a ton of professional basketball tournaments over many years that involved playing one-on-one with the best other NBA players and he won a shit-load of those tournaments, then of course he could reasonably be considered the best player in the world.



I have no doubt that Mika was at one time the best player in the world.



Awards, no. Tournaments, yes. What better way is there to tell who the best is besides competition results against other players?

Let's forget about "best" and focus on "better."
 

gxman

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
SVB vs Ko, 10-ball long race. Someone needs to make it happen after the U.S open.
 

PhilosopherKing

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
"MVP" stands for Most Valuable Player, not best player. If David Robinson had competed in a ton of professional basketball tournaments over many years that involved playing one-on-one with the best other NBA players and he won a shit-load of those tournaments, then of course he could reasonably be considered the best player in the world.



I have no doubt that Mika was at one time the best player in the world.



Awards, no. Tournaments, yes. What better way is there to tell who the best is besides competition results against other players?
If player A plays and wins 3 tournaments that player B doesn't compete in, does that make player A the best player and, therefore, a better player than player B?
 

Celtic

AZB's own 8-ball jihadist
Silver Member
I have no doubt that Mika was at one time the best player in the world.

I initially thought that too when I read that post as Mika had that two year stretch where he won tons of huge events.

Then I thought of the time line and who was actually out there at that time.

I do not think there is ever a time I would have bet on Mika over anyone else in the world in a long tournament match or a challenge match. There was always someone out there I think at that time would have to be considered better.

Mika definately snapped off a lot of major events, but was he the best player in the world when he did it? Ehh... I would not have bet on it.
 

shinobi

kanadajindayo
Silver Member
Ko Pin-Yi is certainly kicking some major butt at rotation games.

SVB has played at a high level in many games (8-ball, 9-ball, 10-ball, Banks, One Pocket, even pretty well at 14.1).

Sigel was great at all games...as was Varner and as others have mentioned, Alex P. It goes without saying Efren can play anything well.

Does anyone know how Ko Pin-Yi plays all games?
 

Masayoshi

Fusenshou no Masa
Silver Member
Ko Pin-Yi is certainly kicking some major butt at rotation games.

SVB has played at a high level in many games (8-ball, 9-ball, 10-ball, Banks, One Pocket, even pretty well at 14.1).

Sigel was great at all games...as was Varner and as others have mentioned, Alex P. It goes without saying Efren can play anything well.

Does anyone know how Ko Pin-Yi plays all games?
I doubt Ko has ever played one pocket, but he plays decent enough 8 ball and I wouldn't be surprised if he was a great 14.1 player as that game is much more popular in Taiwan than anywhere else, except maybe Europe.
 

cuetechasaurus

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
lol

Since when Fight Night is a major tournament? Beating Frost must be one of his greatest achievements hahahaha

Alex doesn't play as often anymore but when he commits he's top 5 in the world for best all-around player. He also won the World Championship in 2004 and he went on to win the US Open in 2005.
 
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