This will be a test for filler. He’s been winning everything but that loss to skylar wasn’t just any loss. He hit some really bad shots under the pressure. Normally he looks like nothing bothers him . Like he’s running racks in basement with no consequences if he misses. The last match of the Mosconi he looked for the first time shook. Now you have to see how he comes back from it the next time he’s under the gun in a big final. My bet is at his age he will shake it off like it was nothing.
Efren is a couple of speeds off his prime, and simply cannot beat the tier 1 players in the Phillipines any more. And is prolly getting spotted small by the tier 2 players now in 9 ball/10 ball, too.
NOBODY in the Phillipines is spotting Dennis anything yet, and if they tried, they'd get their nuts shot in. And Filler handled him easily. I don't believe Dennis got torched in a set and then said "flip it", and Filler decided to pass easy money up for dinner plans. I am betting Pia would have told him to get his arsch in the box cuz, "Frau needs a new pair of Schuhe..." Also, it is WELL known that Dennis likes to have the best of it, by at least a small margin, in virtually every matchup he plays, and is quick to call it quits when he is in a bad game. The only reason he got in the box with Shane again is prolly because he found one last backer willing to take a shot. He'll prolly never get another shot at Shane again, because he got torched pretty bad the last time, and he is too prideful to take a spot from Shane.
I am watching Aranas run a 7 pack in a Sullyvision match against Cheng at the moment, and I still wouldn't like his chances against Josh Filler in any long set. Aranas and a few other Filipinos have good fundamentals, and good percentage play, but Josh simply hits the vast majority of shots at the best make speed, and has by far the best current ability to simply forget a bad outcome, and bring it on the next tough shot.
He hits the ball so perfect, he can accurately predict 12+ feet of cue ball travel and be within a few inches of the expected outcome. This gives him a massive advantage when he's faced with a tough shot that he is forced to shoot situationally, with an extremely narrow position zone. A lot of his peers will shoot the shot, come up a foot short or long, and be forced into a jump or kick to recover. Josh, to a higher degree, gets there, and runs another rack or two behind that successful shot.
And it's not an isolated case. I watched him beat a few top players in the Big Truck room at DCC this year, and if anything, he's gotten BETTER.
If he decides to go to the Phillipines, I will bet $500.00 on every match he plays, and I don't care WHO he plays.