Recent content by sjm

He hides it well. It is close to two years since Fedor beat Filler in a rotation games match. Perhaps you mean Fedor is the best at one pocket or bank pool. If so, that might be true. In rotation pool, however, Josh has been wearing him out.

Let's hope things simmer down and the event can be played in Jeddah, but one must assume that other options are already being evaluated.

Last year's event, with so many matches played before empty stands in a city having a population of about 4,000,000 people, was embarrassing enough. This year, Matchroom faces an even bigger issue, with an event being played in the most dangerous part of the world in a city that has almost no...

Very well analyzed. Capito, for sure, has the "raw materials" to be a superstar, but neither the touch nor the tactical insights that today's game demands. His fundamentals are among the best in the game, but as we both seem to feel, they just aren't enough if he wants to be counted among the...

Just how I see it. Wiktor is the greater talent, but Maciol is much stronger mentally. Maciol also has the better break at both 9ball and 10ball. Wiktor, who can get very negative at the table, may have the weakest mental game of any elite player in the world. Yes, Yapp belongs above KPC for...

Excellent list, but I rate Maciol above Zielinski among the Polish players. Ko Ping Chung is just plain awesome, and I'm glad to see you rate him so high. Big Ko has a sightly better break and just a bit more power in his stroke but, to use your terminology, Ko Ping Chung is the tidier player...

The front cover of the March 2026 issue of Billiards Digest says Keith McCready is Alive and Kickin'. Believe it. A great article appears that not only relates Keith's great story but takes note of how Jennie (JAM in these AZB parts) influenced his life for the better and has kept him...

In Shane's words, Josh has "worn him out" in competition over the years, going as far as calling Filler an "alien.". In their two most recent meetings, Josh beat Shane 9-0 at the Derby City 9ball and he also beat him convincingly in 10ball in the quarterfinals of the Las Vegas Open 10ball...

Yes, these matches were quite similar. Fedor was brilliant in the first set of the Las Vegas Open final, actually nailing two different bank shots in the double hill rack, one of them off a jump shot. With his back against the wall, however, Josh won eight racks in a row to close out the match...

One thing that has helped Filler become a great all-around player is not very well known, and that's his long-time willingness to mix it up in the action room with the superstars in the various disciplines. He didn't mind getting into a game in which he would be the underdog if he felt it would...

Yup, other than Jayson Shaw and Jeanette Lee (and, needless to say, Ernesto Dominguez), few pro pool players I have ever seen brought their kids to events in which they competed.

I was there at the Las Vegas Open. The tables played very tough.

Yes, I was in the camp that complained about the format once used in the Predator US Pro Billiard Series, which had far too many shootots. What we saw in 2023 was a bit ridiculous. In contrast, the format used in the World Predator Pro Billiard Series, that requires that the deciding set reach...

He's a great chef with a passion for pool, too. That's a great story in my books.

Yes, very well said. One must look at the entire picture in the assessment of excellence. It's about all-around excellence. not just 9ball and 10ball titles, and we must recognize that the 9ball majors and 10ball majors are about equal in number and produce fields of similar quality.. As you...