I can only write about the events I'm aware of and I've never heard of the Duerne City Classic. I tend to remember all the winners at pool's most prestigious events but expecting me to know every last detail of Josh Filler's resume is asking a lot. If this was a prestigious title of which I failed to take note, I apologize.
Stu, I only mentioned it for the personal reasons I explained in the second paragraph - that I was able to acquire the tournament used Gabriel’s 10-foot table from that event. The Deurne City Classic sounds like Belgium’s version of Derby City or SBE, and I’m not sure if it’s survived as an annual event or not.
Regarding Ronnie, maybe there more quality players now.
I don't disagree with you, I'm just pushing back on this idea that Filler is some kind of generational dominant figure with a top-5 resume already at age 24. He may end up there but he's not there yet. Spieth also looked like he was going to blow up the record books but it hasn't happened.
Yeah, Ronnie, Higgins, Hendry, and Davis have all commented that the level of the game is much higher now than it was 30 years ago.
Compare all 5 of those guys you mention above and how many titles each of them had achieved by age 24? I’m not even sure if Willie had won the first of his numerous straight pool world titles by that age.
Like I said above, I agree Filler is on a torrid pace that would put him into the "all timers" category if it continues. But he is simply not in the top 5 careers yet as has been argued here.
Stats for 2022 World Pool Masters: https://forums.azbilliards.com/threads/break-stats-2022-world-pool-masters-9-ball-may-2022.543042/
As SJM and myself have stated, there’s a strong case for him being considered the best pool player in the world right now. No one has said anything about his being among the top 5 all time just yet.
sjm wrote:
Well, I guess I was wrong in my assumption without re-reading SJM’s texts. I agree with you that clearly it is too early in his career for those kind of all time great comparisons, but he is certainly off to a strong start.
Yeah, between Filler and Shaw, they make every shot look easy regardless of the pocket size. They're so confident they look like they're only half trying on most shots. If ever you plan on beating one of those two guys, you need to play damn near perfect AND get a couple rolls.
