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This is a misconception. Actually, the 4" pockets reward great defensive and tactical skills as much as straight shooting. As we have seen on the WNT, the 4" pockets have translated to far more defensive play than in the past.

I was not referring to speed of play, but to cue ball speed.

Ko Ping Chung may be the game's most underappreciated superstar. When he won his first World 10ball, he beat Filler in the final. When he won the US Open 9ball, he beat Gorst in the final. He just beat Biado, the reigning World 9ball champion, and enters Sunday as the favorite to win his...

Win by two in the fifth set, rather than a shootout, would be OK with me.

All the credit to Alex Kazakis for some seriously straight shooting in the semifinal shootout, but his weakest suit in the five sets played was speed control, and that weakness was not tested in the shootout. Unfortunately for Shane, the tiebreaker was not a speed control contest. Oh, and one...

OK, I'll say it. A shootout isn't fair. In theory, it gives each player an equal chance, but it isn't fair because it tests just one of the many skills that define playing winning pool. Assume Player A and Player B are equals but Player A pockets the balls a little better while Player B is...

I don't mind the novelty that is this format, even with the shootout, which I personally cannot stand. As there are probably twenty significant 9ball events for every significant 10ball event, why not have something like this in 10ball that's off the beaten path? Still, should a WPA sanctioned...

Well said. As you say, fluidity and grace are part of the package and those were not necessarily traits of the Miz. Still, Irving Crane said of Steve “he had the perfect blend of power and finesse at the table” and that is high praise coming from a man who was hard to impress.

Not buying that he had the best or even smoothest stroke (that would be Mizerak), but there's no question that Eddie was a champion of the highest order. If not for Lassiter and Worst, he might have been considered the best all-around player of the 1960s, perhaps a small notch above Jersey Red...

Yes, that match was played on a Diamond. As you know, Derby City is a Diamond Billiards produced event and the main purpose of the event is to showcase and promote Diamond tables. Agreed that the two going in the side was possible, but very unlikely, as the commentators correctly noted. It...

Sure, it was probably a 5% chance to unintentionally make the two in the side, but for it to have happened at a time when a tournament title was riding on the outcome was an unbelievably cruel twist of fate and it still rates as the worst roll that I have ever seen because of it.

At the BCA Open circa 2001, Allen Hopkins led Efren Reyes 10-1 in a race to eleven when the wheels fell off and Allen just couldn't close in what would ultimately be an 11-10 victory for Reyes.

For me, this is the worst roll I've ever seen. At double hill in the Derby City 9ball final in 2014, John Morra appeared to have played a beautiful, incredibly clutch, kick and stick that would win him the match but something freaky happened when the object ball went into the side pocket and...

Nice post, and rest assured that no offense is taken. You have debated with civility, clarity, and in a tone of mutual respect. Your opinion matters a lot to me. There's no need for us to see eye to eye here as we come from different points of view and different experiences. I think I'm much...

For me, 4 1/4" would be perfect. I am always amused when people on this forum look to change 9ball because it is too easy. I think it has become too difficult and, as you suggest, 9ball has lost some of its free-flowing identity. I have, in the past, referred to what has happened as the...

Agreed. The super-pockets are, for my taste, too tight, and as you suggest, they are discouraging players from taking on some of the shots we'd enjoy seeing.

Not a bad idea, but I think the tough break rules (nine on the spot with a narrow break box) of the WNT have made things tough enough. At least in WNT, even in Stage 1, referees rack the balls, not the players. There is no pattern racking when referees rack. My opinion is that "rack your own"...

Skyler Woodward, who has a DCC Master of the Table to his name, is also probably John's equal in all-around credentials but agreed that no American on the horizon looks capable of a major in multiple disciplines. It would be nice to see one emerge.

Perhaps not!

Yeah, old age seems to have set in. It is just seven. I failed to restrict my choices to Americans. Hence, the contention that John is on the short list of the best-ever American all-around players is valid.