Yes, Josh was an early bloomer for sure. By the age of seventeen, if memory serves here, he had a high run in straight pool of 293.
It's amazing, he hasn't changed a bit.
So what happened to Maslov, who won this match over Filler?
Good question Jay. I looked him up on Fargo and he was a 525 (if that was him). So much talent. Did he quit playing? I'm curious. It honestly looked like he had a little more composure than Filler at that young age. Both played very, very well.
This goes back to Tin Man's TALENT discussion.
There are levels to this. We could see then what kind of player he was going to be. I believe Justin Bergman, Skylar Woodward, probably SVB were the same at a young age.
I'd like to comment on the commentators saying for Filler to slow down, and it was hurting his game in general.
I disagree. Someone like Filler is simply smarter at pool then the rest of us. He sees the whole table instantly, and knows instantly what he's going to do. Earl and Ronnie O'Sullivan are the exact same way.
Why would anyone want to slow down any of those 3? It will just aggravate them. I think if you have a kid that plays super fast, let him/her keep that pace. They are hungry to get to the table and make the balls. They are thinking different than the rest of us.
IMO