Best One Pocket player?
- Thread starter AkGuy
- Start date
Dennis IS a very good One Pocket player, but frankly, I think Dennis likes to play against players whose fundamentals are not world class, so he can basically shoot them out of stroke. His creativity is nowhere NEAR Efren's, and likely not all that close to Pagulayan. But he shoots a bit straighter than Pagulayan right now. Not sure if Pagulayan's eyesight is going.
I'm STILL not sure Dennis can beat Pagulayan, tho, because Pagulayan's creativity in the stack area is phenomenal.
And, Efren? Psssshhhhh. A 40 year old Efren might give either of them a ball and like it. If he is in superman mode 2 balls might not make a difference. Efren just saw stuff so QUICKLY, that even commentators weren't seeing. And that his opponent's never saw coming. I thin one year at Derby, he went through both Parica and Pagulayan, giving up 8 balls total in six straight games won against what might have been argued to be the #2, and maybe #10 One Pocket players in the world. At least Pagulayan looked like he was making a good fight of it, and was just playing a wizard.
Parica? I don't think he's cashed deep in a top tier One Pocket tournament since that year.
Bustamante is no slouch. Im not 100%
sure what prime is in that game.
sure what prime is in that game.
Ditto. Alex is the state of the art right now, even though his pocketing has slipped just a bit over the past few years.
I believe Alex has the best speed control of any player in the world today. His creativity is something special, though not quite Efren level. Alex is also superb at bank shots, a former winner of the Derby City bank pool event. Efren had a few more flavors when it came to creating threats out of the pack, played slightly better one pocket defense than Alex and was very hard to beat in the end game of a close rack, in which he skillfully leveraged his great billiard knowledge. My guess is that Efren at his best could give Alex at his best 8-7 and still be a sight favorite.
When I think of Efren, I think of a guy who knew how to suffocate an opponent and was better at defending a winning position than any player I've ever seen. The only area in which I'd have given a slight edge to Alex is in shooting bank shots, and that's not nearly enough to overcome all of Efren's advantages.
Of course, Dennis might win if he and Alex matched up, but it's awfully tough action.
Efren at his best would put Dennis in a coma
it doesn't matter how straight you shoot ,if you never have a shot. dennis wouldn't know how to put Efren in a trap , so he only gets a shot when Efren misses something he figures to make .
it doesn't matter how straight you shoot ,if you never have a shot. dennis wouldn't know how to put Efren in a trap , so he only gets a shot when Efren misses something he figures to make .
Your right!
I think that Busty can play with anybody now. He has really added the moves to his game over that past 3-4 years and no one is going to shoot any straighter.
Alex, Dennis, Tony, Busty, take your pick!
I think that Busty can play with anybody now. He has really added the moves to his game over that past 3-4 years and no one is going to shoot any straighter.
Alex, Dennis, Tony, Busty, take your pick!
Bustamente is a wonder to me. I see him half-jumping and tensing up more as he gets older, but he still mostly makes the ball. That being said, his shotmaking is not what it once was, and that fact is reflected in his shot choices. He is fully aware that what is "high percentage" for him, has changed in the past 10 years or so. Anybody who thinks Bustamente shoots super straight these days, probably did not watch him play a lot in the late 80's, early 90's.
Even Shane shoots nowhere near as confidently as an early 90's Bustamente did. You'd go an entire match without seeing even a glimmer of doubt in his eyes, stroke, etc. You will see a player lacking confidence adjust which part of the pocket they shoot at to give themselves a margin of error.
Early 90's Bustamente did not do that. He simply hit the ball into which ever part of the pocket was required for position, and the speed of stroke simply did not matter.
Oh, and not being contradictory, but just clarifying: Bustamente gets spotted by people under Orcollo's speed in the PHI these days, if I am not mistaken, so he can't necessarily "play with anybody"... But you're right.. he still plays GOOD at his age. I think he might play better than Parica did at that age, for sure.
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There is a way to settle this. Alex vs Dennis...its that simple.
One or both of them seems not to want to play.
There is a question about Alex's eyes that only he can answer.
This would be the 1 pkt match of the 21st century !
Hope it comes off.
One or both of them seems not to want to play.
There is a question about Alex's eyes that only he can answer.
This would be the 1 pkt match of the 21st century !
Hope it comes off.
I think Shane is a little underrated at 1-pocket. I watched him play a bit a few years ago during the Chohan/Orcullo matchup and he was playing well and wasn't afraid to match up. He's a two-time US Open 1-pocket champion and two-time Derby City 1p champion. Yet never mentioned as a top player.
When he focuses on it more (If he ever does) I think he'll be the best in the world and among best of all time.
Well...,
Busty rotation game is way off, no doubt, but thats what makes One Pocket such a great game, you dont have to shoot and thats why I think Busty could play anybody One Pocket. I think his moving, banking and cue ball control would keep him in the match.
Busty rotation game is way off, no doubt, but thats what makes One Pocket such a great game, you dont have to shoot and thats why I think Busty could play anybody One Pocket. I think his moving, banking and cue ball control would keep him in the match.
One Pocket played against a top tier player absolutely requires world class shotmaking.. Dennis shot his way out of a trap multiple times against Chohan, by banking a ball with no safety, or cutting in a tough, superthin cut shot, with no safety.
Just sayin.
Those events do require one to play at a very high level to win, but one needs to remember the format is short race one.
I don't thing svb wants to get into a set much longer for any real dough with the elite gang.
Saw him play at DCC. If he devoted more time to 1p he would be up with the rest of 'em. Moves pretty good and of course pockets ball super good.
'If' doesn't get the cheese all that often.
I understand that. I'm just saying that there's nothing stopping him from being a top 1p player other than himself. Anyone with his cue skills could adapt to any pool game. The Filipinos don't play it at home, they learned it after coming here. No reason SVB couldn't do it.