Changing of the guard in pro pool

I don't watch/follow enough pro pool to have a clue here. If its a decent free stream i'll watch it. No pro pool interests me enough to buy streams. IMO players will get younger and younger IF there is enough $$$ to make it worth their time. I'll just follow AZ'r jbart, that cat is ALL in on pro pool. Wish i had that much energy/enthusiasm for it.
 
iusedtoberich said:
I think Archer has fallen off steeper than any of his top piers. It seems Strickland, Busty, and Efren, could still bring it super strong when they were Archer's age. He's like a shortstop now. IDK how that happened.
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Johnny hasn't competed regularly for almost 20 years. It may take a few tourneys to get his seasoning back.
 
FordSVTCobra said:
A lot has been mentioned about Shane's performance and win at the age of 43. Keep in mind that Buddy won the US Open at 53 (1991) and Mike Lebron was the oldest at 54 (1988). Clearly a much deeper field today than in those days, but I think Shane is looking to get his sixth and I'll certainly be rooting for him.
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Buddy won the U.S. Open in 1998!
 
FordSVTCobra said:
A lot has been mentioned about Shane's performance and win at the age of 43. Keep in mind that Buddy won the US Open at 53 (1991) and Mike Lebron was the oldest at 54 (1988). Clearly a much deeper field today than in those days, but I think Shane is looking to get his sixth and I'll certainly be rooting for him.
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Buddy was Born in 1945; if he won 1991, He was '46'!

"Buddy" Hall (May 29, 1945 – May 22, 2025) was an American professional pool player. International Pool Tour described Hall as a "living pool legend".
 
jay helfert said:
Buddy won the U.S. Open in 1998!
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mr3cushion said:
Buddy was Born in 1945; if he won 1991, He was '46'!

"Buddy" Hall (May 29, 1945 – May 22, 2025) was an American professional pool player. International Pool Tour described Hall as a "living pool legend".
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You're both correct and thanks for pointing out my mistake. He was 53 when he won his second in 1998 (not 1991).
 
iusedtoberich said:
I think Archer has fallen off steeper than any of his top piers. It seems Strickland, Busty, and Efren, could still bring it super strong when they were Archer's age. He's like a shortstop now. IDK how that happened.
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I was watching him shoot a stroke shot on social media recently and he definitely doesn't get down over the shot like he used to. It's expected given his age I guess. Having watching the FL Open this week, the prime guys in their 20-30s look so solid fundamentally when they get down.
 
jbart65 said:
That brings up to the final group - the youngest generation of players recent turned pro.

AJ Manas and Albert Januarta are the big names in this group. I'd also throw in Bernie Regalario.

I would be shocked if Manas and Januarta failed to win a major over the next few years. Both of them seem to have that something extra, but it's still too early to tell. We won't know for a while if either is a generational talent.

No one else around 20 years or younger has emerged beyond those three.
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Actually, 18 year Felix Vogel won a 10ball major this year.
 
axejunkie said:
I was watching him shoot a stroke shot on social media recently and he definitely doesn't get down over the shot like he used to. It's expected given his age I guess. Having watching the FL Open this week, the prime guys in their 20-30s look so solid fundamentally when they get down.
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Acher's a has-been getting invites off former glory.
 
jbart65 said:
I expect Filler and Gorst to remain among the top five players, if not top two, for the foreseeable future. Yapp should be right up there, but he has admittedly looked shakier this year.

Beyond that, who is the next great player to step up and win multiple majors? Good question.

Moritz Neuhausen, 22, is my choice. He has all the tools and the mental makeup, too. I just don't know if he has the something special that a Filler or Gorst or an SVB has. That extra gear.

Kledio Kaci, 20, is another choice, but I haven't seen that extra gear in him, either.

Jonas Souto, 24, has come a long way in the past two years. But I would take Moritz and Kledio over him.
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The 22-year old Szymon Kural (Fargo 799) belongs in the conversation. He is a former World Junior 9ball champion and got to the final of a major at the 2025 Qatar 10-ball.
 
sjm said:
The 22-year old Szymon Kural (Fargo 799) belongs in the conversation. He is a former World Junior 9ball champion and got to the final of a major at the 2025 Qatar 10-ball.
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He doesn’t go to as many events as Manas, Januarta, Fogel … might be a Polish contingent thing. They hunger to be big stars. I am not sure about Kural.

Another youngster I like is Yannick Pongers, but he’s like an untamed filly.
 
jbart65 said:
Yup. Staying power is key. Albin had a great six-year run, from 2016 to 2022. Longer than most of today's players, but it's surprising how quickly he has fallen off.

I was thinking to myself, who are the legitimately great players still playing who have had great runs of 20 years or more. Not many. SVB is in a class by himself. Perhaps Biado.

Filler hasn't put in 20 years, but he's already there. Gorst could get there, too.

Fans and commentators keep talking about all the great talent around the world. But who is really a superstar? None have emerged since Filler and Gorst.
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Yapp has fallen off recently, but he definitely emerged as a top player in the past few years
 
Jaden said:
Johnny hasn't competed regularly for almost 20 years. It may take a few tourneys to get his seasoning back.
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He has been playing on a consistent basis in numerous tournaments in the past year or 2 and sadly he seems to just have worse and worse results. He seems to be better suited to bar table events like the Ultimate 8 ball tournaments- he struggles on 9 footers now
 
SA96 said:
Gorst is done as an elite player.

There is no way Gorst can ever beat Filler in a medium/long race.
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That’s a bold take. I’m sure you will get plenty of action if Filler ever agrees to play a long 10b match against Fedor. Based on your post, I’ll expect you to offer a significant game spot.
 
SA96 said:
Gorst is done as an elite player.

There is no way Gorst can ever beat Filler in a medium/long race.
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Even in a long race, Fedor might win over Josh, for he is still super-elite. Even though Josh won the final of the Las Vegas Open 10ball over Fedor in February, Gorst has a better chance playing 10ball than 9ball. I wouldn't read much into Fedor's relatively slow start in rotation games this year. He has one of the most well-rounded games we have ever seen.
 
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