Europe's five greatest players that came before Filler, namely Souquet, Feijen, Ortmann, Hohmann and Appleton, legends all of them, went about their development very differently. I wonder if some of the top young Europeans, so many of whom are phenomenal cueists, will begin to adopt Filler's approach to reaching the highest possible level of achievement at pool.
I don't think Dennis would have been able to beat T. Cho when he first started playing One Pocket.
Europe's five greatest players that came before Filler, namely Souquet, Feijen, Ortmann, Hohmann and Appleton, legends all of them, went about their development very differently. I wonder if some of the top young Europeans, so many of whom are phenomenal cueists, will begin to adopt Filler's approach to reaching the highest possible level of achievement at pool.
I might exclude Appleton-The first thing he did Post BCA when he got her was give Ignacio 'Jesse' Chavez the 8 in a good size gambling match (he lost), playing on his own $ and continued to do so until he finally got disgusted losing to Bartram giving him a spot in Vegas at Sharpshooters? Whatever it was before Griffs.
Feijen also gambled quite extensively throughout the mid west when he first came over, years before he was considered an elite player though.
I'm not hating on Filler...I love watching him play any game...He's fearless.
With that said : I watched several action matches on that table...Those pockets may be 4.5 but they play like buckets. 4.5 inch pockets are like a valley bar table to a world class player.
To say Filler was dialed in on that table...would be the understatement of the century. He's been playing on that table for probably 6 weeks-10 hours a day.
Tony should of never played him on that table. High level one pocket should always be played on an extremely tight table. Filler's ball pocketing and decisions on when to shoot and what to shoot would of been totally different on a brutally tight table.
The notion that Alex or Dennis would struggle to beat Filler is laughable. These 2 would barbecue Filler in every aspect of the game of one pocket. Another aspect is the patience that Alex and Dennis would employ. These 2 would gladly take the game up the table and wait as long as possible to go on the offense if needed. Filler's knowledge of the game isn't challenged if he's shooting at his pocket 90% of the time.
With all that said...hats of to Jonathan Filler. He's a pleasure to watch. I wasn't a fan after his initial Mosconi appearance....but this kid has a way of growing on you.
Thanks again to Roy's Basement and Big Truck Ray Hanson for giving us pool junkies fresh content through this pandemic.
Billy's camp been running after Efren for a rematch, but I think Efren's backers are ducking since his game has clearly decline some.
Several of the Europeans gambled from time to time, most notably Shaw and Appleton -- lalso Nick Ekonomopoulos. I've just contended that, in most cases, the road to excellence for the biggest stars of Europe came chiefly in competition.
Never knew that about Niels Feijen. Thanks for sharing.
Watched Neils beat Santos in a 7 ahead 9 ball match.
Actually had 2 matches going on at the same time.
I took Steve Mccannish(sp) over Larry Nevel, and Neils over Santos.
Nevel broke and ran out the set on Steve, and Santos broke and ran 6, took a long time for the match to end. I was in with S Daulton and somebody else on the Neils match.
Thought I was gonna lose both sets without my player ever picking up a cue. Luckily I had a few hundred more on Neils and actually made $$$
In about 2009 or 2010 Johnny Archer was still in stroke and I recall he and Shane were trying to match up. Those two were head and shoulders the best two in the USA. Archer being alone at the top for the prior 10 years, until TAR 1 when Shane burst on the scene by tortured Corey.
They couldn't agree to a match. I can't recall if it was a pocket size issue, or maybe a GC vs Diamond issue.
I recall saying on the forums at the time it would be a shame for the match NOT to happen, as this would be the last opportunity to see who is the best USA player, since Archer's career was beginning to wind down at that point (and did in fact end up that way if you look at his 2010 to 2020 performances). So we never got to see that battle.
Now, 10 years later, there is a similar situation going on with Shane and Filler. Its not best player in USA this time, but rather title of best player in the world. Shane maybe won't ever come back from the Corona, and might instead go fishing the rest of his life. Who knows. I certainly hope we can see a Shane vs Filler action match, or several. 10 ball between these two would be great, and is both of their main games. But, I think if they matched up in bank pool and one pocket, these two players would put on such a great show, it would be every bit as good as Filler vs Tony was. It might be the biggest draw. It would be the level of the Shane vs Efren matches, IMO. Everyone in the whole world will want to watch. Its not USA vs Europe, but rather, who is the best player in the world match.
I really hope we fans will be able to sweat multiple Shane vs Filler action matches in multiple disciplines! Win for everyone.
I think Archer beat Shane in their TAR match up- I think it was in 10 ball races to 25 and he won 2 sets to 1
If you want to see Real One Pocket it should be 3-7/8 pockets.., you will probably see the End Game of a One Pocket Game. Otherwise, Straight Pool should be the gameto watch.
In my Honest Opinión.
One pocket on a 6x12 . Rack 10 , first to 5 .
We just witnessed some of the best one pocket, and you two want to set back a few decades.
I've been playing one hole for 20 years in Philly, a one hole town. Tripple shimmed GC's were the standard for one hole. They measure about 4 1/2" or so.
A pro cut diamond is tougher! Same mouth, but the shelf is way deeper.
Saying one hole players like to play on 4" or less pockets and prefer it may be a niche thing, not everywhere. C players that can't run 8 and out are the ones who like 4" pockets, IMO.
Everything changes with large pockets, like taking balls out of your opponents pocket.
All over Southern California Ernesto has worked his super tight magic. I've seen all kinds of 8 and out on those sub 4 inch pockets. In the East they play more straight pool.
One Pocket has become very popular.