Recent content by sjm

Sad news indeed. Paul has always been a shining representative of the old guard here on the forum with a wealth of knowledge and information. I had the opportunity to meet him just once and thought highly of him. Hoping for the best.

Vogel's first title is a great day for pool. Well done! Still, his form against the 800+ crowd really hasn't been terribly strong until this event. We all know that Felix will be a very special player, but he is not there yet. The eye test for me puts him at about Fargo 805. Felix plays...

Sad to hear. The International offered many years of very entertaining, high-level pool.

Thanks for the insights. I saw Bugs play bank pool, but never one pocket.

Yes, Grady was among the best of the 1980's for sure.

Thanks for that. It's very believable. More likely that was in the 1970s rather than the 1980s. Allen was already betting really high by the mid-1970s and probably did not find his highest one pocket gear until about 1980. Sad to say that I never saw Steve Cook play live.

Yup, if the ten must be spotted during the course of play, it should always go on the spot (or behind any ball already occupying the spot).

The 1990s in one pocket belonged to Efren. The 1980s are a bit more complicated. The first names that come to mind are Nick Varner and Allen Hopkins. Allen, in particular, used to bet real high back then. I'm thinking that Jersey Red, Ronnie Allen and Eddie Kelly were all past their primes by...

Looks like a very tasty final sixteen. A lot of these players can win the title. Ouschan vs Vogel looks like an intriguing matchup in the round of sixteen.

Yes, but this is the third installment of the new edition of the Predator Pro Billiard Series, and the first two (Las Vegas, St Louis) drew more elite fields than this event. Prize money here is very strong in all three events (men's 10ball, women's 10ball, mixed doubles 10ball).

Poor attendance of the top American players during Predator's US Pro Billiard Series, which lasted just two seasons (2022-23, if memory serves), ensured that the US Pro Billiard Series folded. As WPA doesn't count Fedor as American, there are no Americans in the men's field here. Let's hope...

That's right. The globalization of the game, especially in the past ten years, has raised the bar a couple of levels. Great players are popping up in every corner of the world.

You're right on the money here, Diesel Pete.

Nice post. I think the primary takeaway is that Fargo is not the best method of comparing players across generations. In the end, it is all about who won the toughest titles on the pool calendar.

Pretty much how I feel. Those that dominated against their contemporaries in any era deserve as much recognition as the greats of today. The observation that today's greats stand on the shoulders of the greats of yesteryear is a good one.