Who is the best player of the last 40 years not to win a major event?

[skogstokig]

mario he is up there. still has time of course, but i have a feeling he won't.

naoyuki oi is another one. don't think he will.

 

[skogstokig]

basically i started it with some names many newer players never heard of that could beat many or most of the tournament winners. and some even after the tournament would challenge him for the prize money. how about that..

i don't want to be rude but mike eufemia had no possible chance to win a tournament the last 40 years as he died in 1978

 

[garczar]

mario he is up there. still has time of course, but i have a feeling he won't.

naoyuki oi is another one. don't think he will.

Too much talent these days. Both these cats are fine players but compared to the elite they're semi-shortstops.

 

[SBC]

Dechaine ever win much?
He had a ton of potential.

Per Wiki
2025 Smokey Mountain 9-Ball Shootout
2025 Maine 9-Ball Open
2024 Maine 9-Ball Open
2018 Super Billiards Expo Players Championship
2017 Gotham City Pro 9-Ball Classic
2012 Turning Stone Classic
2011 Ultimate 10-Ball Championship
2009 World Summit of Pool

 

[skogstokig]

Too much talent these days. Both these cats are fine players but compared to the elite they're semi-shortstops.

also a history of dogging it in semis/finals, so there are probably mental humps in both cases

 

[garczar]

also a history of dogging it in semis/finals, so there are probably mental humps in both cases

yep, some fade those scars better than others for sure.

 

[Bob Jewett]

What was the field like?

This info is probably also available in the Goldmine (NBN issues) on AZB, but I happen to have a complete run of Pool and Billiard Magazine...

For those who are wondering about some of the missing names, this was at the time that some players were having issues with the Pro Tour, and shortly after this, CJ started his pro organization. One of the first of CJ's events was the tournament where Earl Strickland ran the 11 racks for the million dollar bonus.

 

[garczar]

This info is probably also available in the Goldmine (NBN issues) on AZB, but I happen to have a complete run of Pool and Billiard Magazine...

View attachment 865050

For those who are wondering about some of the missing names, this was at the time that some players were having issues with the Pro Tour, and shortly after this, CJ started his pro organization. One of the first of CJ's events was the tournament where Earl Strickland ran the 11 racks for the million dollar bonus.

It was at CJ's PCA's FIRST event in Dallas. Earl winning that $$ so early really skewed CJ's funding for the tour. IIRC they only had one more event, the Hollywood Park event won by Hopkins over Matlock in the final.

 

[u12armresl]

in the past when there were not lots of tournaments and players were gamblers , there were so many very top players that never even entered one or tried to win.

most, few even knew their names because we did not have the internet.

just a couple// bernie swartz,, norm hitchcock,, joey spaeth, weldon rogers, richie ambrose ,mike euphemia, jimmy marino,
cuban joey, etc. all could beat anyone on a given day

Not sure why Junior's name is there, he played so few tournaments, just stuck around for the actoin.

 

[Island Drive]

Maybe not the best of this group but George Breedlove is a guy a i thought was going to win everything. First time i saw him play here in Tulsa i thought how can anybody fade this action? He won a few events on tour and did really well in action matches but i had him picked to be an Open type player. Harriman had the chops but he was/is nuttier than squirrel-shit. I know people who tried taking him on the road and they said they needed therapy after just a couple weeks. Reynolds would have to run extra shifts to make all the tin-foil for his hats.

Flamethrower.... Reno 80's First love.

 

[garczar]

Flamethrower.... Reno

He came to the Billiard Palace in Tulsa when J. McDermott had it. Round the clock action. This guy scorched everyone he played.