Pure speculation!
Willie missed at 526.
Everybody can miss and any time.
If he didn't scratch here, there is no guarantee something else wouldn't have happened to stop it.
What stopped all his other attempts?
14.1 Stats -- John Schmidt's Run of 434 on Video, December 2018
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Pure speculation!
Willie missed at 526.
Everybody can miss and any time.
If he didn't scratch here, there is no guarantee something else wouldn't have happened to stop it.
What stopped all his other attempts?
Where and what are the sources for all this?
Mosconi's 526 had many witnesses who signed. All the rest is unconfirmed. No proof. Mosconi's 526 had enough witnesses to overcome any kind of allegation of exaggeration or legend.
Not any of this "so and so saw so in so run 900 in practice" as the story ALWAYS seems to go.
It's always the same story. It was in practice. They decided to keep going. It was seen by a friend, backer or whomever. Never more than 1 or 2 close people who cannot be relied on. They then put it out there and the story ran...
Also that site is crap. Ray Martin told me to my face back when he lived in Largo Florida not long before moving north his high run in 14.1 was 382 balls. Unless Ray broke his own high run record in his advanced years in his house, the site is wrong. So where does this 426 number come from?
I know people love legends and all that. It's exciting and entertaining. But it's BS. We're fortunate to live in an age with cheap access to video recording capability and sharing which puts an end to the nonsense. Unfortunately, we live in an age where 14.1 is no longer the main game. While there's some great talents today - they just don't, eat, sleep and breath 14.1 like Mosconi's generation did.
This is clearly evident when watching matches from that era vs today. Watch any recorded match from the past - and these players play at least 2-3x faster than today's players. Look at the Mosconi vs Caras on youtube as just one example. They don't sit there an analyze every shot for 5 minutes like the players today. They see the patterns, they know the shots - they get down there and start shooting balls in. They dealt with the same clusters and tricky racks, the same long shots and safety battles. They didn't sit there and slow play trying to figure it all out.
This is a result of experience. Of being familiar with the game. JS shoots 14.1 faster than just about any of his contemporaries. Speed is an indicator of competence.
JS is not the best pool player of this generation. If everyone played 14.1 today, I'm sure this record would have been long broken.
All that said, it is hard to make an apples to apples comparison. But one thing is for sure, Mosconi was the best of his time - and we know 526 was a real record, albeit on an 8 foot table. Not legends, not so and so saw so and so hearsay BS. JS is not the best of his time, and he put up 434 on a 9 foot table. He is probably the best 14.1 player of this day because he seems to be the most interested in it of his generation.
Some of the naysayers say that JS has done nothing but try to break it, while Mosconi just had that exhibition. Well, Mosconi lived in an era where 14.1 was all they played, so I think it is fair for JS to be able to take multiple shots at it.
There's not a whole lot of incentive for anyone these days to try and break the record. Takes a lot of time and effort. While most of today's pros are 14.1 illiterate (relative to Mosconi's days) and as a result torture us with grueling slow-play, I believe the talent level is high enough to break the record. There's just little reason or incentive to actually invest the time and effort. Now if someone puts up enough cash to whomever can break it, it'll happen. But the amount has to be enough for a player to take time out like JS did and risk it.
Figure, they will have to start shooting a lot of 14.1 to get acclimated. Then to get seasoned. Then really prep their mind and game for the longevity in concentration to pull it off. Not many players are willing to do that as it throws off their rotation game conditioning as they tour the various tournaments.
Are you sure he didnt get tired and quit?
Jason
You talking John or Willie?
I'm sure neither of them made it to 527.
There are several versions of Willie's story.
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For the 526 run? It was an exhibition match, game to 200 points. The opponent ran 3 and missed; Willie ran 200 and kept going.
The whole "exhibition vs practice" thing is kind of irrelevant.
People are saying John started with BIH and was able to place the break shot ball where he wanted. After that shot, everything else is the same. You still have to get through the rack and you never get BIH again during your attempt.
Willie was so "conditioned" to play before crowds and in high-stress world events, that playing some local during an exhibition was a piece of cake to him...like practice.
I still say that in order to make any successful run more "legitimate", it should be played on the same type and size of table with the same type of cloth.
People are saying John started with BIH and was able to place the break shot ball where he wanted. After that shot, everything else is the same. You still have to get through the rack and you never get BIH again during your attempt.
Willie was so "conditioned" to play before crowds and in high-stress world events, that playing some local during an exhibition was a piece of cake to him...like practice.
I still say that in order to make any successful run more "legitimate", it should be played on the same type and size of table with the same type of cloth.
Holy chit so many haters for a man that just ran 434 balls. Unreal.
GO JOHN!
GO JOHN!
Never, ever called the man a cheat. just reporting on facts that were previously presented on this forum about the known conditions( heated table, 5 inch pockets +??, etc.) and what I personally observe in the video- how the balls are being accepted by the pockets, how the balls are breaking out of the full 15 ball stack, etc. This is just my own observations, so no reason to go into accusations when I am not accusing JS of anything.
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