Let's face it, this is a matter of opinion. Tough to say for sure. I attended the last two Las Vegas Opens, and felt the intensity was ramped up.
I've seen people run away from a game with Jose in his prime. That says a lot when there is a room full of champions and no one steps up getting offered weight.
Another promising player in that age range starting to show top form is Wu Kun Lin. Robbie Capito, to me, has the talent to be a superstar, but his game has largely stopped developing and his tactical weaknesses may limit him. Mickey Krause might have what it takes, but he looks like he has plateaud.
Agreed. Not saying Predator events aren't intense. They are. But they seem different compared to Matchroom. Last year's 10 ball WPA World Championship in Vietnam was the first Predator event I thought matched a Matchroom major in intensity and nerves.
Stats are great and probabilities are important too. But no, I do not think Filler is more vulnerable in a sets matchup. Probabilities can't prove it one way or another - and neither can my opinion. It's simply that.
Not questioning Filler. Not at all. He damn near won the Euro Open not playing anything close to his best. The season is still early, but no one in the world has played better so far in 2026, as you point out. It's always hard to see him losing any match. I can't say that about Gorst or Yapp.
Definitely not sounding any alarm. Yet I was puzzled by Filler's inconsistency in Sarajevo vs Van Berkel and Mario He given his great performance so far this year. It seemed like he either wasn't confident in his equipment or perhaps the Matchroom setup (especially the CPBA cloth). You saw it, too. He had a handful of shocking misses or position plays. Very odd.
Yes, he was. Kazakis is still a great player, though. I had him at 21.
Nice post. well said. Actually, I thought Josh played quite well vs Van Berkel. He raced out, with excellent play to a 7-2 lead and when he scratched on a jump shot in rack 10, he didn't return to the table until it was 7-6. Yes, he made one bad error down the stretch, but I thought this match was one of Josh' better efforts this past weekend. Van Berkel, who played Filler-esque pool in the match, was just sensational, and his fine play had a couple of forum members whining that the USA might never win another Mosconi Cup. Like Neuhausen, Van Berkel was a World Junior 9ball champion, so perhaps we shouldn't be too surprised.
I agree, and I really like your choice to call his play tidy, because that describes it. He's not flashy like a Filler or a Pagulayan, but he's super-efficient at the table, like a Ralf Souquet or a Nick Varner.
I"m sorry but fargo is not the be all end all. It's good and arguably necessary, and it could be better if it could be broken down based on the pressure level of the matches somehow and other factors.
And how exactly would you quantify something like "pressure level"? There is no mathematical equation to calculate that.
Exactly, you can't. That's why I said IF you could. You could do something like have levels of the competition for a given set of data, but there is ALWAYS going to be an unquantifiable subset of relevant data.
Nothing has happened. Raga is still a very good player. High 800-plus Fargo. He does not travel as much as other Pinoys, however.