Is SVB winning less tourneys since switching to cf?

I don't know if it ages but things change. We can all agree Shane has been dubbed the hardest working player in terms of practice and table time. It's very possible he needed a break from the grind.
So he goes and stands in the middle of a frozen lake in Arctic conditions to pull fish out of hole. Pool players are nuts for sure. ;)
 
I’m sure he was only playing with the R360 because it was the best they had, in my opinion cuetec was absolute garbage until the Cynergy line.
I have an R360 and think it is a very good cue. May be relatively cheap, but it doesn't mean it is a bad cue
 
food for thought; Shanes last and all US open wins was with wood. His last was over Chang and he played cf. Four of his open wins was with r360.. I hit his cue cf and it plays good. can't say say better than the r360 i own. I'm sure he believes the cf works for him. He's still in his prime and he'll be around for a long time. Remember the matches with shaw and Skyler where he was unstoppable both played with cf.
 
JJ just said on the Derby stream that the Shane said the cue he is using now is the best playing cue he has ever hit with. JJ said he hit some with it
and loved it.
 
No offense but WHO cares? Shaft choice is very subjective. What someone else uses should have ZERO effect on what one uses/buys. Just like the NEVER ending saga: WHAT's the best tip???? the best beer? best bourbon? yada-yada-yada.
You missed the point. Saying players are going to play with shaft offered money to play with even though they have a personal favorite shaft or cue brand.
 
JJ just said on the Derby stream that the Shane said the cue he is using now is the best playing cue he has ever hit with. JJ said he hit some with it
and loved it.
What's he supposed to say, "It's a piece of shit?" lol:rolleyes:
I'm getting the vibe a lot of you boys don't understand what it means to be sponsored, especially for big cash.
SVB would play pool with his fishing pole if the money was right, and so would you...
 
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Well- woulda shoulda coulda....

In my personal opinion Cuetec would never judge Shane if he WOULD say: hey, I like this or that shaft better. Same with Joshua on Predator s side. It doesn t fit him ( the cf) as the z3 fits him. He feels better with it- for what reason ever. That s it.

And the question, if shane would have won more with wooden shaft .....--- Well, this just puts a big smile on my face. If Shane WOULD have this feeling, you wouldn t see him playin with a carbon shaft. That s it.
The Top 20 just got extremly strong in the past 5 years- much stronger as before. That s the only reason, he hasn t finished that high.
Easy.
 
Well- woulda shoulda coulda....

In my personal opinion Cuetec would never judge Shane if he WOULD say: hey, I like this or that shaft better. Same with Joshua on Predator s side. It doesn t fit him ( the cf) as the z3 fits him. He feels better with it- for what reason ever. That s it.

And the question, if shane would have won more with wooden shaft .....--- Well, this just puts a big smile on my face. If Shane WOULD have this feeling, you wouldn t see him playin with a carbon shaft. That s it.
The Top 20 just got extremly strong in the past 5 years- much stronger as before. That s the only reason, he hasn t finished that high.
Easy.
Filler can shoot with whatever Predator shaft he wants because Predator has DOZENS of top pro sponsors to represent their 4 ld shafts line-up.
Cuetec had ONE top pro sponsor- SVB. They scrambled to stay afloat during the cf boom and introduced the Cynergy shaft.
There is no way in hell this shaft would've taken off like it did without SVB switching to it. He HAD to, or lose his sponsorship with Cuetec (they would've been able to grab another top player to replace him, trust me money talks).
SVB made the correct- albiet somewhat forced- business decision and switched to the Cynergy.
Whether or not he plays better with it is the question. (He shot lights out with his Schon/Joss combo before the R360 too btw)
You are correct about the increased number of top players in the past 5 years or so. Maybe these young guns are just too good for him in tourneys.
 
Predator tried to get Josh Filler (the world's best shooter imo) to use a cf Revo for a few years and he said "no", even after the 11.8mm came out.
The world's 2nd straightest shooter, Jayson Shaw, Mr. 714, will never use cf.
Both of these gentlemen have out-performed SVB in overall big kid's tourney play in the past few years since SVB switched to cf.
Thoughts?
personal preference. A pro who has skills far beyond us has nothing to do with what I play with. Pro’s don’t use cavity back golf clubs but my 16 handy cap ass is lol
 
Filler can shoot with whatever Predator shaft he wants because Predator has DOZENS of top pro sponsors to represent their 4 ld shafts line-up.
Cuetec had ONE top pro sponsor- SVB. They scrambled to stay afloat during the cf boom and introduced the Cynergy shaft.
There is no way in hell this shaft would've taken off like it did without SVB switching to it. He HAD to, or lose his sponsorship with Cuetec (they would've been able to grab another top player to replace him, trust me money talks).
SVB made the correct- albiet somewhat forced- business decision and switched to the Cynergy.
Whether or not he plays better with it is the question. (He shot lights out with his Schon/Joss combo before the R360 too btw)
You are correct about the increased number of top players in the past 5 years or so. Maybe these young guns are just too good for him in tourneys.
Who are you to be talking like you know Shane's financials or sponsorships? He HAD to switch or lose his sponsorship? Yeah ok troll. Fedor looks like he hates his Cynergy too huh
 
Filler can shoot with whatever Predator shaft he wants because Predator has DOZENS of top pro sponsors to represent their 4 ld shafts line-up.
Cuetec had ONE top pro sponsor- SVB. They scrambled to stay afloat during the cf boom and introduced the Cynergy shaft.
There is no way in hell this shaft would've taken off like it did without SVB switching to it. He HAD to, or lose his sponsorship with Cuetec (they would've been able to grab another top player to replace him, trust me money talks).
SVB made the correct- albiet somewhat forced- business decision and switched to the Cynergy.
Whether or not he plays better with it is the question. (He shot lights out with his Schon/Joss combo before the R360 too btw)
You are correct about the increased number of top players in the past 5 years or so. Maybe these young guns are just too good for him in tourneys.
Ok- I think we both cannot talk for Shane, do we?

Back to your "main question". In my opinion I don t think, that he is or was better with wood. I would go a bit further and say:
Shane is still world class- and he still improves. But the elite top players nowadays are just better now. And for me that s the reason, he wasn t able to catch bigger events in the last time.

He has had enough time to get 100 % comfy with the Carbon Shaft- in the first 2-3 months he (or any other player, too) you will have some shots, who would be played *concsiously*- but that s imo not the case anymore after that long time.
He s still that good, and also better as he was before-- the other big fishes are just better at the moment.
just my 2 cts.

have a smooth stroke (with wood or cf :-p )
 
Who are you to be talking like you know Shane's financials or sponsorships? He HAD to switch or lose his sponsorship? Yeah ok troll. Fedor looks like he hates his Cynergy too huh
Settle down lol.
I never said Shane hates his Cynergy. And as far as his sponsorship, when the Cynergy prototype came out, Shane was the only big name Cuetec had. You don't build a more expensive race car and not put your best driver in it. He had to use the shaft. That's business.
And as far as Fedor goes, he switched from Predator (revo) to Cuetec (cynergy) when Cuetec offered him the cash. He shoots great with it obviously.
Fedor's also a lot less experienced with a wood shaft when playing at a pro level. He used wood as a junior player obviously, but Shane played with a wood shaft for over 30 years.
The transition to cf for young pros is much easier. And most of the youngest future pros are now being taught exclusively with a cf shaft.
These are my educated and experienced facts and observations. If you disagree, well I couldn't care less lol. But I am no troll...
 
Ok- I think we both cannot talk for Shane, do we?

Back to your "main question". In my opinion I don t think, that he is or was better with wood. I would go a bit further and say:
Shane is still world class- and he still improves. But the elite top players nowadays are just better now. And for me that s the reason, he wasn t able to catch bigger events in the last time.

He has had enough time to get 100 % comfy with the Carbon Shaft- in the first 2-3 months he (or any other player, too) you will have some shots, who would be played *concsiously*- but that s imo not the case anymore after that long time.
He s still that good, and also better as he was before-- the other big fishes are just better at the moment.
just my 2 cts.

have a smooth stroke (with wood or cf :p )
Your answer is the one I most agree with. The billiard talent pool is much deeper now. It's just harder for Shane to win big tourneys.
 
...
You are correct about the increased number of top players in the past 5 years or so. Maybe these young guns are just too good for him in tourneys.
I believe Shane's results in tournaments (not reaching finals or even semi-finals anymore) is just a result of the increased number of players who can reach that stage. In top tournaments, there can easily be 20 or 25 guys who can win it. I do not believe they are too good for him, it's more like Strickland has said before: "they are not better, there is just too many of them", so the chance you keep beating them on the road to the finals decreases quickly.
 
I believe Shane's results in tournaments (not reaching finals or even semi-finals anymore) is just a result of the increased number of players who can reach that stage. In top tournaments, there can easily be 20 or 25 guys who can win it. I do not believe they are too good for him, it's more like Strickland has said before: "they are not better, there is just too many of them", so the chance you keep beating them on the road to the finals decreases quickly.
I disagree. The same top 10 to 20 players' names keep appearing in better places in most tournament brackets that SVB plays in. And many pros have been playing better in tournaments for quite some time, the past few years. Shane needs a big tourney win or two imo. Josh Roberts is playing great right now btw.
Most of the other top 30 or so fargo guys are still placing/winning big tourneys. I love SVB, but it'd be nice to see him rise up and nab a few more top 3's in the "big kids tourneys" for a year or two again. C'mon Shane!
 
I disagree. The same top 10 to 20 players' names keep appearing in better places in most tournament brackets that SVB plays in. And many pros have been playing better in tournaments for quite some time, the past few years. Shane needs a big tourney win or two imo. Josh Roberts is playing great right now btw.
Most of the other top 30 or so fargo guys are still placing/winning big tourneys. I love SVB, but it'd be nice to see him rise up and nab a few more top 3's in the "big kids tourneys" for a year or two again. C'mon Shane!
Yeah well, maybe you got a point. Maybe it is a momentum thing, which can swing in the course of a match but maybe also in the course of a career? I don't know, I just know that I have had the same feeling about the career that Niels Feijen had. He was at the pinnacle of pool for a long time too, but I just keep feeling ever since he came back from that elbow injury, he just was not reaching that level anymore. Sure, the first big thing he played when he came back was the WPM and he won that, but it went down hill right after that. I'm seeing similarities between him and Shane, as far as the current state of their pool game.
 
Yeah well, maybe you got a point. Maybe it is a momentum thing, which can swing in the course of a match but maybe also in the course of a career? I don't know, I just know that I have had the same feeling about the career that Niels Feijen had. He was at the pinnacle of pool for a long time too, but I just keep feeling ever since he came back from that elbow injury, he just was not reaching that level anymore. Sure, the first big thing he played when he came back was the WPM and he won that, but it went down hill right after that. I'm seeing similarities between him and Shane, as far as the current state of their pool game.
As I said before, Shane himself stated that he's not really interested in playing tournaments where the format doesn't suit him. Simply put, he doesn't like formats where his biggest strength, his break and the ability to string some racks together, is mitigated.

As for Niels, due to Covid he just focused on other things for now and cut his travels short. He still practices and plays a lot, but rather local, close to his home and family. I'm sure once there are no more potential issues with international travel, he will be spotted at all the major tournaments again.
 
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