Van Boening vs. Gorst 10-Ball Race to 120, Rematch June 2025 -- General Comments Thread

I'm sure that Shane's backers aren't making any of the excuses I've read in this thread. They are too smart for that. No, this is not about lack of motivation and desire. Fedor demolished him, but nobody believes that Fedor is 42 games on the wire better than Shane.

On the other hand, Fedor dominated all three days, winning all three races to 40 by more than 10 ahead. That's three long races, not one, and Fedor dominated all three. Shane is still a stone-cold killer, but Fedor plays at a higher level. That does not mean Shane cannot win in a long race vs Fedor, but it is an awfully tough assignment.

Shane's backers will be doing him a big favor if they ever back him again against Fedor playing even. My guess is they will be in no hurry to do so.
 
Shane never had the same consistent ball pocketing skills as the other elite players. It's actually quite impressive he's had such an amazing career in spite of this. It wasn't always just his break that kept him on, or near the top though, he was just an amazing front runner thatmo knew how to get across the finish line.

The game marches on, today's top players cue just a bit more consistently than SVB ever did.
There's more to Shane than just his break. I'd say that Shane has some of the best speed control I've seen in all my years around the game. He has top five speed control in the entire 9ball era.
 
There's more to Shane than just his break. I'd say that Shane has some of the best speed control I've seen in all my years around the game. He has top five speed control in the entire 9ball era.
I don’t care how good,your break is you still have to run out! Shane is one of the most complete players who ever picked up a cue.
 
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I'm sure that Shane's backers aren't making any of the excuses I've read in this thread. They are too smart for that. No, this is not about lack of motivation and desire. Fedor demolished him, but nobody believes that Fedor is 42 games on the wire better than Shane.

On the other hand, Fedor dominated all three days, winning all three races to 40 by more than 10 ahead. That's three long races, not one, and Fedor dominated all three. Shane is still a stone-cold killer, but Fedor plays at a higher level. That does not mean Shane cannot win in a long race vs Fedor, but it is an awfully tough assignment.

Shane's backers will be doing him a big favor if they ever back him again against Fedor playing even. My guess is they will be in no hurry to do so.
Good post. Fedor really left no doubt. Where we disagree is in regards to making excuses. When a top tier player loses by this margin, in my way of thinking there has to be extenuating factors.

As you said, nobody believes Fedor is 42 games better than SVB...the King of the long race. So, in light of this being a discussion board, and acknowledging the fact that most of us have no personal relationship with either player, do we simply chalk it up to SVB having a bad 3 days?

Rest assured I would never intentionally look to disparage a pro player, and as I stated, I had a small bet on SVB...no big deal.

Maybe it's just the nostalgia and trying to resist the changing of the guard after seeing SVB dominate for so long? Maybe it's that SVB is the last of a great run of dominating American- born players.

Has the torch officially been passed?

Whatever the case, I believe there is a subtle difference between making excuses and looking for reasons. My opinion only. I love watching Fedor play and am very proud he has decided to represent the U.S. internationally!
 
Shane's backers will be doing him a big favor if they ever back him again against Fedor playing even. My guess is they will be in no hurry to do so.

I think the backers are ready to get back in the box more quickly than Shane, but both are willing. It will require a few adjustments. Probably won’t be in Fedor’s home on his home table. I’m not sure what adjustments favor Shane over Fedor but maybe, triangle rack, Rasson table, looser pockets or South Dakota in January. Hard to say what changes to the game reduce Fedor’s edge or increase Shane’s edge.


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There's more to Shane than just his break. I'd say that Shane has some of the best speed control I've seen in all my years around the game. He has top five speed control in the entire 9ball era.
I don’t care how good,your break is you still have to run out! Shane is one of the most complete players who ever picked up a cue.
There's definitely more to his game than his break. I think Shane has one of the most powerful strokes of all time when you consider just the top players. What separated, or should I say -- separates, because it still stands out -- is his ability to make up for small positional mistakes. Nobody in today's game can move the cue ball from one side of the table to the other, while being close to straight in like SVB can.

This actually stood out more in his earlier years before he sort of changed his stroke. Prior to adding the extension, he used to be more of an elbow dropper. He would slam and spin the snot out of the ball. In later years, he went to a more pinned elbow approach. I actually think he lost a little smoothness to his stroke with the tighter approach. It's hard to argue with his results though.
 
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There's definitely more to his game than his break. I think Shane has one of the most powerful strokes of all time when you consider just the top players. What separated, or should I say -- seperates, because it still stands out -- is his ability to make up for small positional mistakes. Nobody in today's game can move the cue ball from one side of the table to the other, while being close to straight in like SVB can.

This actually stood out more in his earlier years before he sort of changed his stroke. Prior to adding the extension, he used to be more of an elbow dropper. He would slam and spin the snot out of the ball. In later years he went to a more pinned elbow approach. I actually think he lost a little smoothness to his stroke with the tighter approach. It's hard to argue with his results though.
Nice post. This is another Shane specialty.

He was always a respectable pattern player, but never a great pattern player. His speed control (which I have already noted is super-elite) and his stroke (which you have noted is super-elite) have often allowed him to recover when a pattern went a little wrong. I would suggest that only Earl Strickland was as skilled at recovering from minor positional errors.
 
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Nice post. This is another Shane specialty.

He was always a respectable pattern player, but never a great pattern player. His speed control (which I have already noted is super-elite) and his stroke (which you have noted is super-elite) have often allowed him to recover when a pattern went a little wrong. I would suggest that only Earl Strickland was as skilled at recovering from minor positional errors.
I'll raise you one Josh filler
 
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I think thats selling Fedor short.

Shane played terribly, but there were long stretches where it didnt matter at all what Shane did.

was there a significant difference between fedor's percentages between the two matches? i'm shooting from the hip but i seem to remember BNR around 40 in match #1, for both players. of course fedor broke better this time around
 
I'm sure @Fatboy or some of the other members who know him would have a much better read on things, but as I commented earlier, I saw a windows open interview on FB where SVB made the statement that he wasn't hungry anymore, and that he didn't NEED to play everybody and win all the cash.

Context is important, and I think the interview was about matching up with Filler in 1 pkt., but as soon as I saw that video, I told my buddy that Fedor was going to win...and I had already bet on SVB!

When he came out in short pants with his hat turned around backwards, I should have just went ahead and paid off😂😂

As Marvelous Marvin Haglar famously said "It's hard to get out of bed to do roadwork at 5 am when you're sleeping in silk sheets"
Fat dogs don’t hunt

Same concept idea

As for SVB/yes he’s comfortable but he loves to win. Idk his future plans are. When I do know I still can’t and would not make his biz public.


It’s a guess, and only a guess but I think he’s not going to go out like this. He’ll take another shot at a tough game. Who, what, when and where, nobody knows. I don’t think SVB knows right now. He will figure it out. He has to shake this one off and turn the page. Then he’ll match up.

Best
Fatboy 😃
 
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