Top Gear !
- Thread starter stolz2
- Start date
stolz2 said:
Definitely Earl Strickland. If you watch tapes of
Earl from the early 90's and even 80's he seems to
almost always be in stroke, it's awesome to see.
I also saw Kid Delicious in dead stroke about
5 years ago, he was thin at the time. My god, he
seemed absolutely unbeatable.
In snooker it's without a doubt Ronnie O'Sullivan.
I've never seen anything like him, in my opinion
he's the greatest cueist in the world bar none.
Earl is a really good pick. He is a guy I would not buy anywhere near the top of the Calcutta in Calgary with the field that will be there because of his head and the fact he is super inconsisent. When he is at his absolute best though and does not let his brain get in the way I dont think there is anyone on earth that can beat him.
O'Sullivan is simply the best natural talent with a cue, period. His 147 in under 5 minutes was ludicrous.
O'Sullivan is simply the best natural talent with a cue, period. His 147 in under 5 minutes was ludicrous.
Celtic said:
And if pool ever had a reality show those two (Strickland & O'Sullivan) would be my first two cast members, throw Keith in their for comic relief, a few more top players with varying degrees of personality, and we can even call the show "Top Gear".... players are eliminated on a weekly basis when they call each other out, run outta cash - you're out. I think it would work.
As much as I think Mike Siegel is/was the top 9-ball ever and the best straight pool player of the modern era I dont really think of him in a thread like this. The guy was virtually ALWAYS in top gear it seems and as such there is no hidden uber speed the guy had, he simply always shot awesome and it made his opponents terrified to miss. As phenomenal as he was, I think better then Efren when both were at their prime I dont see him as so completely dominating a player as Earl could be when he went off. Mike was always slow and methodical and controled, Earl once in a while simply went on auto pilot and stroked everything in with no thought like the game was simple as pie, Mike never really flowed like that or made the game look that basic. Earl in full stroke shooting his best would pound a tough ball in with perfect shape that Mike would never even attempt to shoot and instead play safe. I know he was great at safes but the guy who instead makes the ball and keeps the run alive instead of giving away the table to a tough kick gets my vote.
stolz2 said:
One of the best examples of a player hitting top gear is the 1992 US Open Final between Tommy Kennedy & Johnny Archer. Tommy hit top gear and beat Archer 9-1 in one of the greatest matches you'll ever see. I'm pretty sure that this match is still a top seller over at Accu-stats.
I'd also like to say that Lou Butera hits the zone unlike anyone I have ever seen. Nobody can beat Scotty Townsend when he gets in gear - nobody! Another guy that is unstoppable once he gets going is Dennis Hatch. His eyes can burn a hole through the cue ball and he just gets stronger with every ball he makes.
sjm said:
I agree about Mike Sigel, he's the best pool player
I've ever seen. The only reason I picked Earl earlier
is that when he's in dead punch there's an aura to
him, he's like a freight train running through racks.
With Sigel it's not apparent right away, he looks
like he does on any other day, only he's not missing!
Rafael Martinez's top gear is disgusting, its unlike anything i've ever seen on tape or in person. He does things and goes for shots that "aren't suppose to be shot" and makes them with ease. Quite phenomenal, he ran 5 of the most impossible racks on very tight pockets against me. Left me 5-0, cleared the set out. Players mentioned also good picks.
Ditto
When you have the overdrive gear all the time, it's not so apparent. No whining. No complaining. Maybe a LITTLE sharking.
To quote McGoorty about Willie Hoppe (and it applies to Sigel), "he would just walk out into the arena and stick the balls up the other guy's ass and not say a thing about it."
Yup. It's Mike Sigel. IMHO
Bobby said:
When you have the overdrive gear all the time, it's not so apparent. No whining. No complaining. Maybe a LITTLE sharking.
To quote McGoorty about Willie Hoppe (and it applies to Sigel), "he would just walk out into the arena and stick the balls up the other guy's ass and not say a thing about it."
Yup. It's Mike Sigel. IMHO
JumpnJme said:
Scotty and Jack both have a top gear that is unbelievable, but usaully chemically induced. Speaking of Jack he attempted to answer Tony Chohan's challenge but Tony wanted to play one pocket, or adjust from the way they played in Beumont. (T-Rex got the eight)
Huckster
I mentioned this on another thread, but it is appropriate for this one. At the DCC a few years ago I saw Ronnie Alcono aka "Little Efren" make another pro (who will remain nameless) his "rackboy" for ten or so games of nineball, and then the pro pulled up. The ten games was not consecutive but pretty close, something like a fivepack and then a four. After that, Alcono proceed to run racks of rotation.
People complain of luck in nineball, but when it is played at the level I saw Alcono play it, there is no luck involved. He made multiple balls on the break everytime, continued to get shape on the one off the break (not an accident) and he ran the balls like a champ. It was great to watch.
kollegedave
People complain of luck in nineball, but when it is played at the level I saw Alcono play it, there is no luck involved. He made multiple balls on the break everytime, continued to get shape on the one off the break (not an accident) and he ran the balls like a champ. It was great to watch.
kollegedave
huckster said:
Through the cue ball...?
Blackjack,
Happened to be doing some reading on Dennis as he is one the players I really like to watch for his dominating power play. When he is in top gear that is. But lets face it... Dennis at 80% is too much for most. Your statement leads me to this question. From being around him in his career do you feel he focuses on the cue ball last as opposed to the object ball? Is this a rare thing or do more players, than conventional teachers would lead us to believe, do this as a norm? A local short stop speed player says he does this. I have also heard mentioned of a few other pros who do this. Strickland comes to mind.
Thanks David for your time and insight.
Gary
Blackjack said:
Blackjack,
Happened to be doing some reading on Dennis as he is one the players I really like to watch for his dominating power play. When he is in top gear that is. But lets face it... Dennis at 80% is too much for most. Your statement leads me to this question. From being around him in his career do you feel he focuses on the cue ball last as opposed to the object ball? Is this a rare thing or do more players, than conventional teachers would lead us to believe, do this as a norm? A local short stop speed player says he does this. I have also heard mentioned of a few other pros who do this. Strickland comes to mind.
Thanks David for your time and insight.
Gary
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OldHasBeen
Tom Ferry
(IMO) _ Buddy's Gear Was "The Best"!
Buddy's Gear (in the '70's) wasn't really a Gear. It was a 9-Ball fact of life!
The best you could hope for was to break even and only if you didn't miss.
As I have said before - Larry & Mike went to play Buddy - After 9 hours of play, I called the poolroom and talked to Larry. He said, Well Tom - They have been playing for 9 hours now and Mike hasn’t - Missed a ball, made a bad roll-out decision and his break is working better that I have ever seen it work!
I said GREAT - How do they stand?
Larry said - "WE'RE THREE GAMES STUCK"!
TY & GL
Ps. This was the same period of time that Eddie Taylor & Jersey Red declared to me - Buddy is playing 9-Ball better that anyone else has ever played the game. Just think about that - coming from them!
Buddy's Gear (in the '70's) wasn't really a Gear. It was a 9-Ball fact of life!
The best you could hope for was to break even and only if you didn't miss.
As I have said before - Larry & Mike went to play Buddy - After 9 hours of play, I called the poolroom and talked to Larry. He said, Well Tom - They have been playing for 9 hours now and Mike hasn’t - Missed a ball, made a bad roll-out decision and his break is working better that I have ever seen it work!
I said GREAT - How do they stand?
Larry said - "WE'RE THREE GAMES STUCK"!
TY & GL
Ps. This was the same period of time that Eddie Taylor & Jersey Red declared to me - Buddy is playing 9-Ball better that anyone else has ever played the game. Just think about that - coming from them!
Willie Mosconi - long periods of perfect position play and deadly shooting.
Luther Lassiter - in his autobiography he doubts anyone could beat him when his is in the zone.
Steve Mizerak - Capable of dominating even the best players in the 70's.
Mike Sigel - obvious. It doesn't matter if he was close to top gear all the time - the gear was still there.
Earl Strickland - FIREPOWER!! I'm not a big fan, but you have to respect the skills
Efren Reyes - obvious (though he was ducking me at DCC - some lame excuse about playing me as soon as he got knocked out ).
Johnny Archer - Capable of dominating anyone in the 90's.
George Breedlove - A winner of the DCC 9-ball and one-pocket told me he thought George's top speed in 9-ball was unbeatable - monster break and unparalleled aggression.
Unfortunately for most of these players 9-ball is a stupid game; they could lose even in their top gear if a good opponent got some rolls.
Luther Lassiter - in his autobiography he doubts anyone could beat him when his is in the zone.
Steve Mizerak - Capable of dominating even the best players in the 70's.
Mike Sigel - obvious. It doesn't matter if he was close to top gear all the time - the gear was still there.
Earl Strickland - FIREPOWER!! I'm not a big fan, but you have to respect the skills
Efren Reyes - obvious (though he was ducking me at DCC - some lame excuse about playing me as soon as he got knocked out
).Johnny Archer - Capable of dominating anyone in the 90's.
George Breedlove - A winner of the DCC 9-ball and one-pocket told me he thought George's top speed in 9-ball was unbeatable - monster break and unparalleled aggression.
Unfortunately for most of these players 9-ball is a stupid game; they could lose even in their top gear if a good opponent got some rolls.
I believe Efren hit a top gear in the last tape of The Color of Money match against Earl. I can't imagine anyone having a top gear higher than his. He ran like 25 racks without missing a single ball, running 3 and 4 packs the whole time, playing safe, then running more.