plus that's on fedor, billy et al for not participating.. thorsten travelled and raked in points. that said, it's hardly the optimal outcome considering his age and yippy stroke
U.S. OPEN 2026, Frisco, Texas, August 25-30
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plus that's on fedor, billy et al for not participating.. thorsten travelled and raked in points. that said, it's hardly the optimal outcome considering his age and yippy stroke
Sorry but I'd prefer a veteran player like Thorsten over a couple of these young guys. I think he would hold up better under pressure.
Some thoughts from yesterday:
*I wasn't crazy about packing three rounds into Friday. Event ran late and the fans and players were tired. I get it. MR wants just one match on Sunday since ESPN2 is carrying it. Still a bit much to me.
*Billy Thorpe played great all week. He got a bad roll when he scratched on the break after pulling even with Capito, 7-7. Later he went for a pair of banks that he missed when he should have played safe. Capito teased him into the first one.
*Fedor Gorst looked like ... Fedor Gorst for the first time in over a year. Maybe it was getting matched up with SVB so early. Capito has given him a lot of trouble the last few years. I think Fedor is due for a win.
*Tyler Styer has stepped up his game this year, but he still has trouble finishing. He should have beaten Thorpe to get through via winner's qualification. Great comeback vs Manas, only to cave in to his arch-nemesis, Jayson Shaw, after going up 8-4. I just can't "expect" from him.
*The Filler-Januarta match was a really tense affair and even closer than the 10-7 score. Josh knew he had to play great or the young gun would send him home. Filler got three or four big rolls to give him midmatch momentum. Albert just had some back luck.
*FSR has been skating on thin ice the whole U.S. swing, but he finally looked like his old self in his win over Kazakis. His buddy Alcaide has just been his usual savvy and rock-solid self. He's beatiing foes with tactics.
*Pecelj is still on fire and still coming behind for wins. Amazing his breakthrough. Seemed to come out of nowhere. Now his friend and travel partner Sanjin has stepped up.
*I wasn't crazy about packing three rounds into Friday. Event ran late and the fans and players were tired. I get it. MR wants just one match on Sunday since ESPN2 is carrying it. Still a bit much to me.
*Billy Thorpe played great all week. He got a bad roll when he scratched on the break after pulling even with Capito, 7-7. Later he went for a pair of banks that he missed when he should have played safe. Capito teased him into the first one.
*Fedor Gorst looked like ... Fedor Gorst for the first time in over a year. Maybe it was getting matched up with SVB so early. Capito has given him a lot of trouble the last few years. I think Fedor is due for a win.
*Tyler Styer has stepped up his game this year, but he still has trouble finishing. He should have beaten Thorpe to get through via winner's qualification. Great comeback vs Manas, only to cave in to his arch-nemesis, Jayson Shaw, after going up 8-4. I just can't "expect" from him.
*The Filler-Januarta match was a really tense affair and even closer than the 10-7 score. Josh knew he had to play great or the young gun would send him home. Filler got three or four big rolls to give him midmatch momentum. Albert just had some back luck.
*FSR has been skating on thin ice the whole U.S. swing, but he finally looked like his old self in his win over Kazakis. His buddy Alcaide has just been his usual savvy and rock-solid self. He's beatiing foes with tactics.
*Pecelj is still on fire and still coming behind for wins. Amazing his breakthrough. Seemed to come out of nowhere. Now his friend and travel partner Sanjin has stepped up.
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He didn't this week. Seven U.S. players made it through to the knockout stage. Thorsten did not.
Last thought for now: The Polish contingent is overrated. Wojo is the best Polish player. He got to the final 64. So did Konrad J, the only Pole along with Wielinski who was on the entire U.S swing.
All the other Poles got knocked out early. Just not as sharp as the players who have playing in the U.S. They need to get out more, not just stay in their European cocoons.
I also don't see any more youngsters coming along save for Kural.
Also: What happened to Wiktor? He looked so promising a few years ago, but now he often gets knocked out by more mediocre players. A shame. He has so much talent.
All the other Poles got knocked out early. Just not as sharp as the players who have playing in the U.S. They need to get out more, not just stay in their European cocoons.
I also don't see any more youngsters coming along save for Kural.
Also: What happened to Wiktor? He looked so promising a few years ago, but now he often gets knocked out by more mediocre players. A shame. He has so much talent.
capito is really difficult to like. slow, whiney, sour. but he's a very good player.
For those who couldn’t witness it live, Billy Thorpe showed a game much higher level than I’ve ever seen him in the past. his patterns and ball striking just was better than previous. He looked like he belonged in the elite rather than just surviving and being a good American player. Plus, he still electrified the crowd with some of his spectacular fireball banks when it was the right shot to shoot.
Unfortunately, against Capito…although he did show some of what I was talking about above, it was getting late, it was a grind, and he did end up reverting back to some of what we unfortunately see from Billy‘s game at times . A little loose here, a little too quick there. But hopefully his game is going in the right direction because it really was some of the best pool I’ve seen out of him, and he deserved to have made it into the final eight had he got through Capito.
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I can’t wait until Stu‘s wrap up, and I’ve only been here for a day and a half, but the venue set up itself for these past two days has been amazing. Obviously, a lot of people know I go to a lot of events,… And this one was a lot easier to watch any match you wanted to, and it seems like all the tables are enjoyable and playing well. At least I haven’t heard anybody saying that the outer tables were playing poorly or anything like that. And there were so many exciting matches yesterday. One of the greatest single days of pool I’ve ever attended.
The downside…? The food. The concessions hot dog and nachos is about the only thing moving. I guess I was expecting that since it was in Dallas that there’d be 100 things to do for food within a small walking distance, but there really isn’t. Fortunately for me, my hotel is easily within walking distance, and it has a restaurant with good food, but with the near 95°F heat, you gotta be used to the heat to go outside and walk a quarter to half a mile. Fortunately I’m from Florida. And I noticed not too many people made that walk.
The downside…? The food. The concessions hot dog and nachos is about the only thing moving. I guess I was expecting that since it was in Dallas that there’d be 100 things to do for food within a small walking distance, but there really isn’t. Fortunately for me, my hotel is easily within walking distance, and it has a restaurant with good food, but with the near 95°F heat, you gotta be used to the heat to go outside and walk a quarter to half a mile. Fortunately I’m from Florida. And I noticed not too many people made that walk.
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In the pigs can fly territory, I am almost positive I saw Bergman use an honest-to-god … jump stick. Starting to wonder if he’s really gotten the competitive bug again!
He played well yesterday. Drubbed Krause after falling behind 2-0. Nice comeback vs Morra, until Morra fluked the 9 up 9-7.
He played well yesterday. Drubbed Krause after falling behind 2-0. Nice comeback vs Morra, until Morra fluked the 9 up 9-7.
billy said in interview that he felt more loose and free not being a full-time pro anymore, or something to that effect. he just started a excavation and demolition company with his cousin, and will presumably focus on that more than pool.
forgot if it was half kazakh or kyrgyz, but one of those is what i've heard
Dashed all those dreams to $hit.
That's cause we're old.
Agreed. The food is the only disappointing part of the experience. Next time 2-3 food trucks right outside the front door will fix this.
Hope to see you there.
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