I'll disagree a little with you, as I believe Mike was the crystal clear #2 in America for quite a while. As Jason Laus has often noted and which I myself saw first hand, Mike is the one American player that had a career winning record against Shane, including winning at least one race to 25 match. Mike won the Ultimate 10-ball, reached the last four of the US Open 9-ball twice, and was the dominant player on the Joss Tour for years. He also had a top ten in the WPA World 9-balll Championships. His competitive resume from 2010-2015 was, among American pros, second only to Shane's.