It would be awesome if we had a round robin with Shane, Wu, Filler, Chang, Ko, Ko, and Zheng. Each play a race to 21 against everyone. Prize fund distributed in order of total games won. Dreaming
Josh Filler says to SVB, "There's a new King!"
- Thread starter SBC
- Start date
Filler has had, maybe, one of the greatest years in history. He is definitely king, right now. However, as was posted earlier, this game has a way of humbling people...and as Rodney Morris said yesterday, RIGHT NOW, there are young kids running racks and never missing balls.
I am excited to see how this dude's career evolves
I am excited to see how this dude's career evolves
It would be awesome if we had a round robin with Shane, Wu, Filler, Chang, Ko, Ko, and Zheng. Each play a race to 21 against everyone. Prize fund distributed in order of total games won. Dreaming
Sounds like a recipe for dumping.
Just hold a 10k entry winner take all tournament. Race to 13.
10 ball long race, I'm betting on Shane. 9 Ball, I'm not betting.
If someone dumped, they'd just be lessening their own pay I suppose....
Lets say Shane wins 93 games, Filler wins 88, Chang wins 76, etc. Pay $25 per game won. No pay for sets won, only games matter.
The other thing I was thinking, was make it like the accustats make it happen format from a prize fund standpoint. Sell streaming and sponsorship to this round robin. The players don't put up any cash themselves. They distribute the prize fund according to total games won at a rate of X dollars per game.
To dissuade dumping a few games so your opponent gets paid (lets say you are on the hill, so you can't win any more cash anyway), there could be a set dollar amount that gets distributed over all games played. So by letting your opponent catch up, you are making each game you yourself won worth less.
Anyway, its just mental fun, as we all know this would never happen
While their page still has many of the other matches posted, it seems that for some reason they have made the last couple of matches that had Zheng in them (semi-final and finals) private for some reason.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31b1Q0yApak (Zheng vs Raga semi-finals match)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0beGFs3e3YJbcqP8QyFZRw/videos
I agree that Zheng highly resembles Filler in both style and talent but he doesn't appear to me to be quite at the same level yet simply because like just about every other player his age ever he is still a bit careless at times and also hasn't fully learned yet how to play the patterns and percentages properly. That said, he is already one of the very best and there is some chance that within a year or two he could be every bit of Josh's equal or perhaps even sitting alone at the top of the heap.
Found several of his matches from the 2019 All Japan Championship 10 Ball from a few days ago posted on another channel for anyone interested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3REDQev5VQ (semi-final verses Anton Raga)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3SU3ckc6tk (finals verses Dang Jin Hu)
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Filler is the new Vincent Lauria. Bags of ability, talks smack, shit eatin grin, punchable face, almost always seen with his girl nearby... this is fantastic TV
And if I could piggyback off this comment—I’ll add that, in my opinion, International WPA sanctioned events have never been more deep with talent and difficult to overcome as they are this past 2 years. this past matchroom US Open might have been the greatest average Fargo rated field in one tournament we have ever seen.
For Filler to do what he did this past 2 years, in this current pool environment is truly king of the hill.
Much respect.
pokerplayer
Registered
Race to 100 or 125 Shane can just un leash that big 10 ball break he has. Obviously he has the best break that doesnt mean he is the best player
Filler, ? King?, C’mon, he’s a little girl. So he won, the sun shines on a dogs ass every
once in a while, “ain’t no thing but a chicken wing, on a string, but it ain’t no king.....
and so on.....
Filler might be having a good Mosconi Cup or a good run for a few weeks or a season,
I’ve had good weeks, we all have, but he’s no threat, unless he wants to play your baby sister,
the guy’s flakier than a snow storm.
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Things change,people lose ability, body goes south. It happens. Filler has been having
a great couple of years, Shaw before him. We choose to play a game where the best of
the best can lose at anytime. And it amazes me when it happens some choose nostalgia
over truth. SVB is great, been that way for 10 years, no man can keep that up. Filler is just
one name in a laundry list of young talent that will make pool something special in the next
decade. Efren is great, Sigel is great, Varner, Archer...the list of past heros of pool are many
and will keep growing. The new list is also growing, don't spend time defending
father time, it catches all. In all sports people grow to become better than the last
generation. Enjoy watching it instead of defending past players. We are not to take
away anything from current players, but give some credit to a 22 year old that has
been playing some great pool.
a great couple of years, Shaw before him. We choose to play a game where the best of
the best can lose at anytime. And it amazes me when it happens some choose nostalgia
over truth. SVB is great, been that way for 10 years, no man can keep that up. Filler is just
one name in a laundry list of young talent that will make pool something special in the next
decade. Efren is great, Sigel is great, Varner, Archer...the list of past heros of pool are many
and will keep growing. The new list is also growing, don't spend time defending
father time, it catches all. In all sports people grow to become better than the last
generation. Enjoy watching it instead of defending past players. We are not to take
away anything from current players, but give some credit to a 22 year old that has
been playing some great pool.
In our heart of hearts, we all miss peak Earl
A superb post right here. As you note, Filler's historic year is one for the ages, and there's no reason to believe either he or any other player can ever back up a year like this with another just like it in the following year. The only two years that are comparable ever enjoyed by a men's pro player belonged to Varner in ?1990? and Immonen in ?2009? and both were over 35 when they accomplished it, and neither future BCA Hall of Famer ever had another year anywhere near as good.
As you note, the game will humble Filler at same point, as it has often humbled virtually every superstar the game has ever known.
Like you, I'm excited to see what the future brings, but what we've seen so far exceeds what anyone could have imagined possible from a player this young. None of the greats were mass-producing major titles at Filler's age, so there is no precedent here to reference.
All that said, why do so many in this thread live in denial over Filler's unprecedented excellence? It's definitely personal, for his play is beyond reproach. Some, rather comically, suggest that he's got this hole and that hole in his game, but the truth is that he's already one of the top few offensive players in the game and also an elite defensive player.
Shane might win or lose a long race with Filler. Who knows? Nobody has more experience in these endurance contests than Shane. Rack your own10-ball is Shane's specialty, and it seems Shane won't bet high in any other game. I'm sure Filler would take Shane on in any rotation game of Shane's choosing with any rules Shane wants.
As we saw, Orcullo was no match for Shane, but Orcullo has not been one of the elite in 2019, sitting at 23rd on the 209 AZB money list. When Shane played JL Chang, in the eyes of some the world's best action player, in Houston this May, Chang beat him 50-44, and Shaw, who is about sixth best in the world in my eyes right now, lost just 100-91 in rack your own ten ball this summer. One thing's for sure --- Filler, who beat Chang in an action 10-ball race to seventeen at Derby City, is a much tougher assignment than Shaw!
Were they to play a long race and Filler were to beat Shane, I'd place very little importance in it. It's Filler winning far more than Shane in the biggest spots in the toughest events, and that means a thousand times more. At 22, Filler is a US Open Champion, a China Open Champion, a World 9-ball Champion, and a Mosconi Cup MVP. Three of those four dreams have eluded Shane, and one must wonder whether he'll ever realize them.
Sit back and enjoy the show. We'll see what's next for Filler. Maybe nothing, maybe everything.
Shane is already a legend, and nothing that comes in the future can change that, but I feel sad for those who fail to get excited about the emergence of a new legend in our game.
Pangit
Banned
Some old guys still need to make a living playing pool. Even if they aren't nearly as good as they once were.
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