revisiting Wu's 2005 final 5 racks - how would todays pros have handled those racks?

C

CanadianGuy

Well-known member
such an impressive feat, no baby breaks, no indecisions, just got down and went to business

as those final five layouts were relatively simple for top pros, how do you think the guys today would have handled those final patterns?

would they run out as easily as Wu did?

personally I have it as likely not, far too much over analysis and even hesitation on simple shots towards the business end of tournaments today

I'm not convinced they would have even had the opportunity for those 5 patterns with the softer breaking styles today

this was a master class in closing out a match at the highest level and its a shame 18 years have passed and we have not seen more of Wu on such a grand stage

also forgot that he nailed the final shot with the mechanical bridge without hesitation , just unreal


 
Just watched it... thanks for posting the link.

The one thing that really jumped out to me was that I could easily imagine the hate people in here would have these days if Filler decided to take a seat and have a drink before closing out the last three balls.

It is a different time in deed.
 
The_JV said:
Just watched it... thanks for posting the link.

The one thing that really jumped out to me was that I could easily imagine the hate people in here would have these days if Filler decided to take a seat and have a drink before closing out the last three balls.

It is a different time in deed.
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filler already did that, in his first mosconi cup. hatch didn't want to shake his hand iirc.
 
Was Wu's 9 ball WC win first I'm assuming? Was his 8 ball WC win under Matchroom, or another promoter? I remember the pool magazines at the time had him on the cover with double WC holder.
 
skogstokig said:
filler already did that, in his first mosconi cup. hatch didn't want to shake his hand iirc.
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I dug it up to watch
I don't see Josh do anything other than fighting to overcome his excitement during the last rack. Never left the table and literally no "antics" he normally gets blamed for. Kinda proves my point...
 
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The_JV said:
I dug it up to watch
I don't see Josh do anything other than fighting to overcome his excitement during the last rack. Never left the table and literally no "antics" he normally gets blamed for. Kinda proves my point...
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wrong match. this is the one:

 
CanadianGuy said:
such an impressive feat, no baby breaks, no indecisions, just got down and went to business

as those final five layouts were relatively simple for top pros, how do you think the guys today would have handled those final patterns?

would they run out as easily as Wu did?

personally I have it as likely not, far too much over analysis and even hesitation on simple shots towards the business end of tournaments today

I'm not convinced they would have even had the opportunity for those 5 patterns with the softer breaking styles today

this was a master class in closing out a match at the highest level and its a shame 18 years have passed and we have not seen more of Wu on such a grand stage

also forgot that he nailed the final shot with the mechanical bridge without hesitation , just unreal


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22.20 was that not a foul shot! Commentator didn’t say anything, just wanted someone to clarify. The sound didn’t sound like it was clean?
 
Monti said:
22.20 was that not a foul shot! Commentator didn’t say anything, just wanted someone to clarify. The sound didn’t sound like it was clean?
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Wow. It certainly sounded like a double hit. The path and speed of the CB looked good though. Hard to say.
 
If you want to go straight to the 5-rack run, it starts with a foul by Kuo at 2:36:00.

As far as the breaking, a major factor was that the wing ball was dead with a tight rack and the 1 on the spot. The wing ball is not dead with the 9 on the spot. I don't know if there was some kind of power break requirement for this event. I think the resulting layouts were not significantly different from what we see today.

Since 9 ball is mostly a matter of connecting the dots, there is often little choice about the patterns. I think Wu's choices are not strange. There are a few times he might have gone a different way, but the choice often is influenced by equipment conditions and what the player is comfortable with. A few shots with choices:

Rack 2 (of the 5 final racks) -- Getting from the 4 to the 5 came close to the side. He could have gone across the table twice or used inside follow to stay farther away from the pocket. He may have felt good about his angle control and taken the simplest path.

Rack 3 -- Getting from the 5 to the 6. (Was anyone else confused by the orange 5? ;)) I think I would have gone between the 7 and the 9 to have less angle on the cut. His way was simpler. Player's choice.

Rack 4 -- I think he could have controlled the 4/7 carom better, but he's not Efren. That is a skill/experience thing rather than a shot choice.

I don't think any other shot was remarkable/strange but I might have missed one.
 
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iusedtoberich said:
Wow. It certainly sounded like a double hit. The path and speed of the CB looked good though. Hard to say.
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He was clearly using inside which really helps avoid the foul. Unfortunately, Kuo used a teeter-totter stroke which makes it hard to see whether he used follow. He seemed to line up for inside draw and then hit the ball a little high, which would explain the angle slightly ahead of the 90-degree rule.
 
I remember, watching this at the time. I think he was only 15 or 16 when he did that.played unreal. It was the only time you see him like that, the next time i saw him, he had lost a lot of weight. Looked completely different.
How many kids, have you seen, using a southwest cue. Yeah, it certainly was a different time.
 
Cue Alchemist said:
I remember, watching this at the time. I think he was only 15 or 16 when he did that.played unreal. It was the only time you see him like that, the next time i saw him, he had lost a lot of weight. Looked completely different.
How many kids, have you seen, using a southwest cue. Yeah, it certainly was a different time.
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yea he was the full package, at 16. just an insane sensation. he's still packing that thunderous break and cue power, and showed some of it at the spanish open. i hope we'll see more of him soon
 
The_JV said:
I dug it up to watch
I don't see Josh do anything other than fighting to overcome his excitement during the last rack. Never left the table and literally no "antics" he normally gets blamed for. Kinda proves my point...
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Looked like Hatch was fine with shaking hands
 
westcoast said:
Looked like Hatch was fine with shaking hands
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I had found the wrong video. The one I posted was of their second meeting at that cup. When they played in the third match up. Hatch made an effort to avoid Filler after he beat him. Refusing to shake his or acknowledge him at all
 
The_JV said:
I had found the wrong video. The one I posted was of their second meeting at that cup. When they played in the third match up. Hatch made an effort to avoid Filler after he beat him. Refusing to shake his or acknowledge him at all
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Hatch was known for having a temper- not too surprised
 
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