In the words of Fast Eddie. The balls roll funny sometimes.
This.
So much goes into winning a big field tournament. Usually the champ got lucky along the way somewhere and got away with a subpar match. SVB won the world 9b last year with a crazy comeback on Mika. If Mika has one more solid break, SVB loses in a rout. Happens all the time. What if that jump your opponent bobbled late in a match fell? What if your perfectly played CB doesn't get kicked into the side hill-hill?
Earl said that the top players now aren't all that much better than top players in the past, there's just more of them. The more top guys there are, the more you need luck to break your way over the course of a tournament,, simple as that.
FSR played great over the last year, but he certainly got his share of luck. Even at the World 9b, his bracket was a joke compared to say what Chang faced last week in Las Vegas. Chang probably played a higher level of pool in his run till he lost to the eventual champ Zielinski, than FSR did at the World 9b, but one guy has a major to show for his effort and the other guy has a 4th place check and a result nobody will remember in a month. Who you play, their form when you play them, the luck of how balls roll in your match, all play a role in your final result. And then limiting which wins count as majors, further skews perception of performance.
Filler is playing some great pool, as evidenced by his series of titles from last year. Unfair to say he's slumping. He just hasn't gotten rolls like FSR last year, or Albin Ouschan lifetime really. Wouldn't surprise me if he won the upcoming world 10b. Problem is, it wouldn't surprise me if like 15 other guys win either. It will come down to who gets lucky breaks as much as who brings their best form.
