Qatar World Cup 10-Ball 2026

Filler lives inside Woj's head. At least it was competitive, but he simply melts down time and again against Joshua.

Manas has shown grit in this tournament for the first time I think I've ever seen. Some heartbreaking losses of one's own making might have something to do with that.
 
jbart65 said:
Filler lives inside Woj's head. At least it was competitive, but he simply melts down time and again against Joshua.

Manas has shown grit in this tournament for the first time I think I've ever seen. Some heartbreaking losses of one's own making might have something to do with that.
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As we know, Filler, very much like prime Mike Sigel, tends to find his "A" game in the finals at the majors, but I think Manas has a very real shot here. If AJ's first major came at Filler's expense, I suspect it would mean even more to him than otherwise.

Best of luck to both of them.
 
jbart65 said:
Filler lives inside Woj's head. At least it was competitive, but he simply melts down time and again against Joshua.

Manas has shown grit in this tournament for the first time I think I've ever seen. Some heartbreaking losses of one's own making might have something to do with that.
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Yeah, a bit reminiscent of how Rodney Morris was the guy Tony Robles just couldn't beat some 25 years ago. Tony told me back then that he ever beat Rodney, he'd probably win a major title. His words proved prophetic as he finally beat him at the (was it 2003 or 2004?) BCA Open and went on to win his first major championship that same week.

This may sound strange, but I think Woj, a champion of the highest order, may have gained a little confidence today in his admittedly fruitless pursuit of Filler at the majors. His play was exceptional up to 7-6 and he fought to the end. I wouldn't be surprised if he takes down Josh in a big spot one of these days.
 
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sjm said:
... His play was exceptional up to 7-6 and he fought to the end. ...
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Through those 13 games, Szewczyk had already missed 6 times, 3 of which led directly to Filler running out. He also knocked the 1-ball off the table on a jump shot, and Filler directly ran out. Filler had not missed at all to that point, but had broken dry 5 times in a row, a couple of which led directly to wins for Szewczyk.

I think Filler may need to break better against Manas, rather than having something like the 30% success rate (3 of 10) he just had.
 
Filler has struggled with his 10-ball break and, it seems to me, his WNT 9-ball break. Strange chink in his armor. I seem to recall him breaking more accurately a few years ago.

And yes, here he is. I've got to wonder just how many more titles he would win if he broke like Gorst.
 
jbart65 said:
Filler has struggled with his 10-ball break and, it seems to me, his WNT 9-ball break. Strange chink in his armor. I seem to recall him breaking more accurately a few years ago.

And yes, here he is. I've got to wonder just how many more titles he would win if he broke like Gorst.
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maybe in 9-ball, but his 10-ball break has never been top echelon.

the break could possibly be the only thing in favor of manas here. he's outgunned in most other areas. but would be cool if he won, and took home the biggest first prize in 2026 (tied with USO)
 
Its amazing how even without successful breaking in this match, every other aspect of Filler's game is business as usual. He basically fully exploiting Manas's weaker safety game. At this level, a safety has gotta be kick or tough jump and almost all of Manas's safeties gives Filler a window to play a better one back.
 
this match is running away. hard to see it turn around when filler plays like this. i was rooting for the kid. but 40k is a helluva loot for a 19 year old filipino.
 
GideonF said:
I’m getting to the point that I can’t even argue that Filler isn’t the best player in the world.
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I think a brutal aspect for opponents that Filler does unknowingly is his own expectations for his game and positioning. If you watch his mannerisms, it seems like he's shaking his head after every other shot because his shape is like a few inches off. At this frequency, he probably appears to be off his game to the opponent, Manas in this regard, but he literally runs out every time there is an opening. Now you are thinking that Fillers bad game beats you 13-6.
 
The Final: Another match with superb play by Filler, both offensively and defensively (except for one lousy safety in Game 15, from which Manas ran out). Filler defeated Manas 13-6.

Successful breaks -- 5 of 9 for Filler, 5 of 10 for Manas​
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Breaker won game -- 6 of 9, 3 of 10​
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B&Rs on all breaks -- 2 of 9, 0 of 10​
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B&Rs on successful breaks -- 2 of 5, 0 of 5​
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Misses on open shots -- ZERO (one miss by Filler on a long jump shot), 6​
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Fouls -- 0, 2​
 
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A semi-interesting thing I noticed - in one four-rack stretch, there were 3 "take 'n runs" off the opponent's dry break. 2 by Manas, and one by Filler.
 
Architect said:
I think a brutal aspect for opponents that Filler does unknowingly is his own expectations for his game and positioning. If you watch his mannerisms, it seems like he's shaking his head after every other shot because his shape is like a few inches off. At this frequency, he probably appears to be off his game to the opponent, Manas in this regard, but he literally runs out every time there is an opening. Now you are thinking that Fillers bad game beats you 13-6.
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Filler's speed control (even for elite pool player standards) impresses me a lot
 
Someone who doesn’t get much media (on here) is Moura, not mentioned once on this topic. He had a deep run , often does well in tournaments and the guy plays with is left hand after getting to top level with his right
 
jay helfert said:
Once again, Filler shows up when there's serious money to be won.
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Rather than trying to improve on this, Jay, I'll just add to it. He's like Efren in this regard, for Efren's game always went up a notch in the late stages at the big money majors. He's also like Sigel, cited by both Efren and Earl as "the toughest opponent I ever faced". Mike, seemingly, almost never played poorly in a final.

Filler has now won four majors this year, one in each calendar quarter, and what he has done in the finals is just mindblowing:

First Quarter
Las Vegas Open 10ball: Beat Gorst two sets to one after winning each of the final eight racks played, $45,000 won.

Second Quarter
UK Open: Won the final 13-1 over Szewczyk, $40,000 won.

Third Quarter
Bali 10ball: Won the final over Mi Le, two sets to none, and eight racks to three, $42,000 won.

Fourth Quarter
Qatar 10ball: Won the final over Manas 13-6, $100,000 won.

On top of these four major titles, he won bronze at both the World 10ball and the WNT European Open and won his third straight Derby City 9ball. Josh has made a joke of the player of the year race and now leads the AZB money list by about $150,000 over his closest pursuer. Wow!

I guess Team USA at the Mosconi will need Josh to play a little below these efforts to have a chance.
 
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