Depends on metric used to measure “best player”. Based on major titles won and based on WPA ranking , he is #1 https://wpapool.com/ranking/ NOW
Based on Fargorate, it is Wu. Fargorate is longer term metric and I think it is better indicator of future performance. Major sports like tennis, golf use majors/ Grand Slam won to determine top player so on that basis, Filler is top NOW. He has earned it.
He is front runner to be Player of the Year. But because the gap between the elite top players is so close, it is still up in the air who will be Player of the Year cos there are still a few majors remaining.
The key word is NOW.
What we can say for certain is Filler will be one of best players by end of year but we cannot say for certain that he will be Player of the Year yet.
Wu now is complete player compared to Wu of decade ago. I see his break is much better, more controlled resulting in less scratches (maybe only in US Open). And that is scary for other players cos until recently I see that as his slight weakness.
Sure safety aspect does not come up often- maybe less than 50%? I mean if opponent breaks well open table shot on low number , there is no safety aspect. But against that you have to weigh that the gap of top shotmaking of Filler vs other elites is very small %. Let us not forget that probably 95% to 99% of the shots that Filler can make , the other elites also can make also except maybe it is slower, not so instinctive. Just that Filler shotmaking is more exciting, cool and nicer to watch.
I mean how can you beat the top players just on shotmaking ALL the time ?
I think for the upcoming World 10 ball in July, the player to beat is not just Filler. The players to beat are Wu, SVB, Filler, Shaw Chang Jung Lin and a few others.
Based on Fargorate, it is Wu. Fargorate is longer term metric and I think it is better indicator of future performance. Major sports like tennis, golf use majors/ Grand Slam won to determine top player so on that basis, Filler is top NOW. He has earned it.
He is front runner to be Player of the Year. But because the gap between the elite top players is so close, it is still up in the air who will be Player of the Year cos there are still a few majors remaining.
The key word is NOW.
What we can say for certain is Filler will be one of best players by end of year but we cannot say for certain that he will be Player of the Year yet.
Wu’s safety game was really suspect a decade ago. He was adrenalin pumping shotmaker but bit short in safety department ( Still good safety game but not at elite level). Yang used to manhandle and school him ( this was after Wu won W9B and W8B) in safety game and Wu was not successful in regional tournaments which were mostly won by Yang, Efren , Chang Jung Lin.
Wu now is complete player compared to Wu of decade ago. I see his break is much better, more controlled resulting in less scratches (maybe only in US Open). And that is scary for other players cos until recently I see that as his slight weakness.
Sure safety aspect does not come up often- maybe less than 50%? I mean if opponent breaks well open table shot on low number , there is no safety aspect. But against that you have to weigh that the gap of top shotmaking of Filler vs other elites is very small %. Let us not forget that probably 95% to 99% of the shots that Filler can make , the other elites also can make also except maybe it is slower, not so instinctive. Just that Filler shotmaking is more exciting, cool and nicer to watch.
I mean how can you beat the top players just on shotmaking ALL the time ?I think for the upcoming World 10 ball in July, the player to beat is not just Filler. The players to beat are Wu, SVB, Filler, Shaw Chang Jung Lin and a few others.
