"...day 555 of the PLP"
2025 Premier League Pool player list
- Thread starter Badpenguin
- Start date
"...day 555 of the PLP"
I didn't miss them this year because I have seen them so much. But like you, I want the top players in the event.
As I mentioned, MR went by rankings in 2024 for the top 12 or 14 invitations. Assuming they revert to that approach again, you would figure Gorst and Filler will be in future events assuming the WNT-WPA dispute is settled.
Gorst, as you know, could not play in the PLP this year because of back issues he is addressing. He would have been in the PLP if not for his injury.
Filler, I would guess, may not have been able to play because of WPA sanctioning issues that have still not been officially resolved. It's possible he could have played but was simply not invited. Frazer has not addressed it and I've seen no useful speculation on the matter.
Yes, well said. The future is full of promise. Let's hope we'll get to see the best possible fields again soon, as we once did at the Matchroom Invitationals.
Chua the first to clinch a spot in the semis with a comeback win vs Shaw. Won 5-4 after being down 4-1.
Capito faltering a bit and FSR is coming on strong, but it looks like both have made the semis based on what I think is the first tiebreaker (rounds won vs lost).
FSR has looked like the best and steadiest player the last two days. Won five in a row before a funny loss to Shaw and he's won nine of his last 11. He's also beaten Chua both matches, with another head to head in a few hours.
Yapp with inside position for the final spot in the semis, if I am correct. He has 16 points, with two games to go. Foes are FSR and Neuhausen.
Moritz and Shaw both on 15 points, with two games left. Shaw up against it now. Has to win his final two and hope Yapp lose a game.
Jayson does have a head to head with Neuhausen, and Moritz has a head to head with Yapp.
Capito faltering a bit and FSR is coming on strong, but it looks like both have made the semis based on what I think is the first tiebreaker (rounds won vs lost).
FSR has looked like the best and steadiest player the last two days. Won five in a row before a funny loss to Shaw and he's won nine of his last 11. He's also beaten Chua both matches, with another head to head in a few hours.
Yapp with inside position for the final spot in the semis, if I am correct. He has 16 points, with two games to go. Foes are FSR and Neuhausen.
Moritz and Shaw both on 15 points, with two games left. Shaw up against it now. Has to win his final two and hope Yapp lose a game.
Jayson does have a head to head with Neuhausen, and Moritz has a head to head with Yapp.
I don't like the last day of the PLP. Too many matches, too late. I'd also prefer a race to 9 or 11 for the final, but that can't be done under the current sked.
I don't like the switch in break format, either. All eight days it's alternate break in races to 5, then it switches to winner breaks in the semis and finals in races to 7. Races to 7 are too short for winner's break. MR used exclusively alternate break the past three years.
Big snafu.
I don't like the switch in break format, either. All eight days it's alternate break in races to 5, then it switches to winner breaks in the semis and finals in races to 7. Races to 7 are too short for winner's break. MR used exclusively alternate break the past three years.
Big snafu.
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FSR smacked down Chua 7-2 in the semis. Chua jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Pocketed the one on his next break, but scratched. Then Sanchez won seven in a row.
FSR looked fairly fresh and loose. Chua looked tired, and he tightened up as he fell behind. Sort of reminded me of how he fell apart in the finals of the Euro Open last year vs Mickey Krause.
FSR made several beautiful safeties from difficult spots when the match was still being contested early on. Great stuff. Chua was unable to match his safety play. One poor return safety by Chua was pivotal in his loss.
Chua was the best player all week, but he was done in at the end by his aggressiveness during the semis. He missed a very makeable long shot on a 2 by hitting it too hard. And he blew a ball in hand opportunity by snookering himself on the 2 after pocketing the 1.
Chua is the most exciting player in the game, but FSR showed more maturity in his game in winning. Chua needs to get better at safeties - he's very good but not among the very top players. And he needs to tone down his aggressiveness at times and, well, play safe.
Chua could have avoided FSR in the first semi had he just beaten FSR or Capito in one of his final two matches before the semis. But he took his foot off the gas. It cost him.
He lost all three matches to FSR before the semifinal matchup.
FSR looked fairly fresh and loose. Chua looked tired, and he tightened up as he fell behind. Sort of reminded me of how he fell apart in the finals of the Euro Open last year vs Mickey Krause.
FSR made several beautiful safeties from difficult spots when the match was still being contested early on. Great stuff. Chua was unable to match his safety play. One poor return safety by Chua was pivotal in his loss.
Chua was the best player all week, but he was done in at the end by his aggressiveness during the semis. He missed a very makeable long shot on a 2 by hitting it too hard. And he blew a ball in hand opportunity by snookering himself on the 2 after pocketing the 1.
Chua is the most exciting player in the game, but FSR showed more maturity in his game in winning. Chua needs to get better at safeties - he's very good but not among the very top players. And he needs to tone down his aggressiveness at times and, well, play safe.
Chua could have avoided FSR in the first semi had he just beaten FSR or Capito in one of his final two matches before the semis. But he took his foot off the gas. It cost him.
He lost all three matches to FSR before the semifinal matchup.
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No, he wasn't. Shane wasn't tops in the round robin last year, either, but he was best in the event because he won the only two matches that really matter for those that survive Stage 3.
All that matters in this event is getting to the semifinals. Only then is the pressure amped up.
It is why the event is such a crapshoot and also why it's also such a drag. How one plays in the semis and in the finals is all that matters, and nobody knows who will rise to the occasion when the title is up for grabs. On this occasion, it was Neuhausen, and his 7-0 win in the final leaves little doubt about who was best.
As in every multi-stage pool tournament, how well you play on the way to the final stage makes little difference, as long as you get there. In pool, your performance is measured by how you play in the final stage of an event.
With Filler and Gorst sidelined, this was a missed opportunity for the super-talented Chua, but his game dropped a little when he could least afford it and that's not the formula for victory. Whether he can beat Filler, Gorst, SVB and FSR in the biggest spots will likely determine whether he'll win a Matchroom major in 2025. Wishing him well.
Some stats on the Table 1 matches for the last 3 days are now available here: https://forums.azbilliards.com/thre...e-pool-9-ball-march-2025.574435/#post-8096362
I don't agree. Chua was the best player the first seven days of the event. Not by much, and Capito could make the same claim.
All I would concede is that Chua was far from the best on the last day.
The 17-0 Patriots were the best team all season in 2007. The upset loss in the SB didn't mean the Giants were the better team that season. No sane football fan would argue that.
Be that as it may, the record books say Neuhausen won, and he earned it.
This event should probably go to 8 players total. 1 round robin round only. Then a final 4 single elimination.
Or, get rid of the single elimination stage and just crown the winner at the end of the round robin stage.
Or, get rid of the single elimination stage and just crown the winner at the end of the round robin stage.
This is true. Mortiz rose to the occasion. He stayed cool and calm - very impressive for a 21 year old -- and handled the pressure well.
Jeremy Jones noted that Neuhausen could never let up because he did not qualify easily for either cut. He had to fight to the end, whereas Chua and Capito clearly took their foot off the gas once they knew they were thru. Big mistake.
Moritz came down 3-1 vs Yapp and then beat Shaw to make the semis. He fell behind 5-2 before coming back vs Capito. Robbie had a few bad misses to help Neuhausen out.
I have much doubt that Neuhausen would have won if alternate break was used in the semis and finals like it was in previous years. Using winner break was a disaster in my view in the short races to 7. FRS kept control of the table in beating Chua badly, then Moritz did the same. Wasn't much fun to watch.
Credit to Moritz, though. Several days ago, after seeing a lot of him, I posted that I didn't think he was ready to win an event like this. He wasn't. But he grew a lot in this tournament. As the pressure mounted, he held firm and played with great composure.
I look foward to seeing how this translates in future events. He has all the tools, and the mental toughness, to be one of the best players in the world.
I agree. I have watched almost every match he has played the past two years. He is only now understanding the WNT, the rhythm of the tour and just how tough it is (Same goes for me!)
He can't get away with some of the stuff he does against the world's very best, not on a regular basis. He has a few clear holes in his game that Filler and Gorst do not. Chua has to address them.
I said a few days ago that I thought either FSR or Shaw (if he qualified) would win out because they knew how to pace themselves and were playing free and loose. Chua and Capito were just showing their flaws too much for me to think either would win it all.
Moritz, for his part, did not really play free and loose. But he was steady the whole event. Tortoise to Chua's hare.
If Chua wants to be counted as one of the most elite, he'll have to learn to beat the best when the stakes are highest. In Matchroom events, that means when four are left.
Who cares who played best on the way to the semifinals? The PLP is not and never has been about that. Tournament champions must step up their games when the stakes are highest and must show they can beat the very best in the toughest spots. Chua came up short and I'm sure winning the round robin title is no consolation to him, even though it seems to be of some consolation to you. Chua is a fine player for sure, but to use a horse racing metaphor, he faded in the stretch at the PLP. Like you, I really enjoy watching him play, and agree 100% with your observation that he'll need to step things up defensively and tactically to reach his peak.
PS I'm a NY Giants fan of about 50 years, and the underdog NY Giants made that undefeated New England team forgettable. Of course, FSR, 9 Fargo points above Chua, can hardly be called an underdog winner in the semis. Neuhausen's demolition of FSR in the finals was a surprise, but Moritz is surely on a trajectory to be one of the stars in our sport, as he showed when he knocked on the door with silver at the International 9ball in November.
The premise of this event (league style) is great, but the current format needs a major reworking. The idea of grinding through 6 days of "regular season" and then a couple quick races to seven (playoffs) is way too unbalanced, especially when switching to winner break, which is just idiotic.
It would make far more sense to have the round robin and do one cut with the top 4 making the "playoffs", with longer races.
Totally agree.