PBS St Louis 2026 (Men’s World 8 Ball Championship, Mixed Doubles, Women’s Open, Bank Pool), 1-8 April, Half Million Prize Fund

Justin proved this tournament that he can play solid, be clutch, and win against the top players in world. I watched nearly every one of his streaming matched in singles and doubles and wanted him to crush it every time. But...he also makes more mistakes than the top players in the world that's why he lost in the last 32. At the top echelon of pool, all are capable of playing spectacular offense, but the average amount of mistakes is the overall difference between a world champion and one that isn't. Being a "best" after the break doesn't matter if your mental game causes you to miss shots that you should be making and at his age, he probably has passed his prime both mentally and physically.

He would definitely be a strong addition to the Mosconi team assuming he gets solid experience in this years WNT events against potential opponents. And regarding being "top in the world after the break" is a given since he may be like an 800 Fargo after this tournament because that is within the Top 100 pool players in the world. That is literally better than pretty much every other pool player in the world. If the context is saying he is in the elite top 10 or 20, I would probably argue against that as there are a significant amount of players from the top 100 Fargo that I would put ahead of him for cue ball positioning.
 
sjm said:
Actually, Justin is my friend. When I see him do something in rotation pool, I will be as happy as anyone, but he has yet to even attempt to do so.

No way he's top 100 in the world right now. Each ranked between 80 and 90 by Fargo, I would expect Mickey Krause, AJ Manas, and Szymon Kural to wipe the floor with him right now at 9ball.
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You had me until you said AJ Manas 😂😂

Manas has 0 titles, nothing close to a noteworthy resume. At least Kural came 2nd in the Qatar World 10Ball for $40K. And Krause has WNT titles under his belt. Throwing Manas into the mix with their names is a weird addition. But in a money match, I'd have to pick Bergman over Manas, just because his tactical play is a little lackluster. I know I know, never bet against a Filipino.
 
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Kris_b1104 said:
You had me until you said AJ Manas 😂😂

Manas has 0 titles, nothing close to a noteworthy resume. At least Kural came 2nd in the Qatar World 10Ball for $40K. And Krause has WNT titles under his belt. Throwing Manas into the mix with their names is a weird addition. But in a money match, I'd have to pick Bergman over Manas, just because his tactical play is a little lackluster. I know I know, never bet against a Filipino.
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Point well taken about Manas. Few credentials competitively, but he plays 9ball regularly and, despite his lack of tactical prowess, he runs the table at a very elite level. Finally, MVP at the Reyes Cup is no joke when you consider who his teammates were.

Though not well known, the twenty-year old Kural may be a superstar in the making. He was the World Junior 9ball champion a couple of years ago and seems to play everyone really tough. Great fundamentals, but he's still a work in progress. As you noted, he got to the final at the Qatar Open, which featured the only $100,000 first prize of 2025 in 10ball. At last year's US Open 9ball, Lechner led him 9-5 in the race to 11. Max scratched on a safety on the one ball in the next rack and never saw the table again, as Kural ran that rack and five more to close it out 11-9.

In my opinion, Krause vs Kural would be a coin toss.
 
Small sample size, but Bergman did beat AJ 5-3 in the PLP and he finished one spot higher. (Also beat Yapp 5-2 and Hoang 5-3.)

Watching the 9th rack in Yapp vs Zielinksi, I was shocked to find out 8-ball does not have a three-foul rule.

After this painful rack, Predator has to add some kind of rule. Both players committed a combined 11 fouls for sure, nine by Yapp. The single rack took 15 minutes.
 
jbart65 said:
Small sample size, but Bergman did beat AJ 5-3 in the PLP and he finished one spot higher. (Also beat Yapp 5-2 and Hoang 5-3.)

Watching the 9th rack in Yapp vs Zielinksi, I was shocked to find out 8-ball does not have a three-foul rule.

After this painful rack, Predator has to add some kind of rule. Both players committed a combined 11 fouls for sure, nine by Yapp. The single rack took 15 minutes.
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Actually, AJ vs Justin would make an interesting match with contrasting styles of play. I think I would enjoy watching it.

I'm watching Ouschan vs FSR, so I missed what sounds like a yawner of a rack.
 
Badpenguin said:
No, not really. None of this is even close to reality. Also, the correct trope is that he is one of the US players after the break, not players in the world. There is zero evidence in his record to support either claim.
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the eye test says he is (still) better than tyler, billy, and possibly skyler after the break. SVB no, that was never true imo.

i think scott frost is hyped on justin because of his recent 1p matches, and i'm similarly biased. the pro tournament scene is different though. he's testing the waters, and considering his long absense, the equipment, the crowd, i would definitely say he did OK this week
 
skogstokig said:
the eye test says he is (still) better than tyler, billy, and possibly skyler after the break. SVB no, that was never true imo.
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I disagree. At his best, circa 2015, Justin was better than SVB at after-the-break skills. Yes, SVB ran the table a bit more consistently, but was way behind Justin in defense, kicking, the use of two-way shots, and general tactical conceptualization.
 
sjm said:
I disagree. At his best, circa 2015, Justin was better than SVB at after-the-break skills. Yes, SVB ran the table a bit more consistently, but was way behind Justin in defense, kicking, the use of two-way shots, and general tactical conceptualization.
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I strongly disagree. SVB's 2015 performance was pretty sweet. It includes a notable 8-0 semi-final win over Liu Haitao at the Masters, which he went on to win. And also won the DCC 10-Ball challenge. Bergman didn't do anything even close to that. Bergman did beat SVB at the 2015 US Open with a score of 11-7 though, but it didn't amount to anything, he placed 9th overall. Shane beat him at the 2015 CPBA National Open Finals in the Ultimate Pool League, which is Justin's bread and butter. Bergman made about $114K in 2015 in prize money, but no noteworthy finishes in tournaments with strong/elite fields, unless you count barbox tournaments, which I don't.

My point is, Bergman has never been ahead of SVB, before or after the break.
 
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Kris_b1104 said:
I strongly disagree. SVB's 2015 performance was pretty sweet. It includes a notable 8-0 semi-final win over Liu Haitao at the Masters, which he went on to win. And also won the DCC 10-Ball challenge. Bergman didn't do anything even close to that. Bergman did beat SVB at the 2015 US Open with a score of 11-7 though, but it didn't amount to anything.
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Obviously, Bergman wasn't the player that SVB was, not even close. SVB had the best break in the world, likely the best 9ball break of all time. Justin had a well-below-average break, and it held him back a lot.

You obviously did not notice that the discussion was about "after the break" skills, and I still maintain that Justin was the better of the two in this area and I explained why. In fact, Nick Varner may be the only American player in history that played better safeties than Justin.

If you think that this subject is not even worthy of discussion. you obviously didn't pay much attention to Bergman in his prime.
 
sjm said:
Obviously, Bergman wasn't the player that SVB was, not even close. SVB had the best break in the world, likely the best 9ball break of all time. Justin had a well-below-average break, and it held him back a lot.

You obviously did not notice that the discussion was about "after the break" skills, and I still maintain that Justin was the better of the two in this area and I explained why. In fact, Nick Varner may be the only American player in history that played better safeties than Justin.

If you think that this subject is not even worthy of discussion. you obviously didn't pay much attention to Bergman in his prime.
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No you're right, I do think it is a subject that is worthy of discussion. Bergman is one of my favorite US players of all time. I just don't think his accolades even remotely resembles SVB's to have him above Shane after the break. I have paid attention to Bergman in his prime, I even went to a MC in Vegas just to see him play. I have him above every other American player after the break, but not Shane. I came with facts to defend my claim, you don't have to try to downplay my knowledge or recollection of their resume. I am simply asking, what has Justin done to make you believe he was above SVB after the break during that time period?
 
skogstokig said:
yea i figured that as well. but i think FSR, if he hits a gear, stands a better chance against yapp. right now yapp is THE man to beat, he's incredible invincible.
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Fixed that for you :ROFLMAO:

You're right though, FSR does have an outer-worldly gear, but Yapp is no slouch. My money is on the Yapper (shoutout Mike Sigel).
 
i don't remember what poster on here that said that yapp was overrated. it was one of those guys that holds accustats as the premier tournament promoter. either way, yapp has now won multiple MR events, PBS events, the international 9b a bunch of times, and is very close to winning a world championship for almost 100k..
 
Kris_b1104 said:
No you're right, I do think it is a subject that is worthy of discussion. Bergman is one of my favorite US players of all time. I just don't think his accolades even remotely resembles SVB's to have him above Shane after the break. I have paid attention to Bergman in his prime, I even went to a MC in Vegas just to see him play. I have him above every other American player after the break, but not Shane.
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OK, it's a matter of opinion for sure, and I respect yours. I, similarly, just can't put Justin above Varner as a defensive player, but there's no denying that Bergman's safety play practically offers a clinic in how to play 9ball defense and it would do every young American good to study his play.
 
sjm said:
OK, it's a matter of opinion for sure, and I respect yours. I, similarly, just can't put Justin above Varner as a defensive player, but there's no denying that Bergman's safety play practically offers a clinic in how to play 9ball defense and it would do every young American good to study his play.
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I can respect that opinion. Even I learn a thing or two watching Justin's safety game.
 
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