Yes, his play was superb, but I'm taking it a step further.
It's no secret that Ruslan is among the world's straightest shooters. He has shown it for a few years now. I have watched him in the 14.1 challenge at Derby City numerous times. He has often used his special pocketing skills to produce long runs in 14.1, but has tended to get in and out of trouble.at times in managing the racks, recovering with otherworldly pocketing.
He put in one hell of a week in American 14.1 Championship, but found a new level in the final, not in pocketing but in technical excellence.
In the final, he played the game of 14.1 the way the old masters did.
Pattern Play
His patterns were very elegant and he, resultingly, rarely had any tricky layouts to navigate in the end rack. His pattern play in the final was reminiscent of the great Jim Rempe.
In the final, Ruslan observed some of the most basic principles of straight pool pattern play: a) clear the rails earlier rather than later, b) clear balls beneath the rack and those in the kitchen earlier rather than later, and c) save the balls that are productive in the end rack.
Attack Angles
Ruslan nearly always left the perfect angle on the primary break shot. He passed on some inferior secondary break shots and proceeded to find shape onto something that had better prospects. He used the right stroke and speed selections on the break shots to accomplish two things: a) hitting the most productive part of the pack/cluster to spread the balls and b) ensuring that the cue ball angle off the pack/cluster was a productive one.
In this regard, it's worth comparing the play of Ruslan to that of another player who shined with glowing excellence in the American 14.1 Championship --- namely third place finisher Marco Teutshcer. Marco's often inferior attack angles in the semifinal caused him to have to navigate difficult positions. To his credit, he nearly always worked his way out of trouble, but he demonstrated how much harder you have to work when your attack angles aren't best.
Conclusion
It is easy for the untrained eye to marvel in the excellence of anyone who gets to 175 in two innings, but Ruslan's effort in the final was a shining example of technical excellence as much a display of superior pocketing. During the final, commentator Mika Immonen found himself saying "that was textbook" several times, and with good reason!