Watched a few of his matches, he's playing allot better.... enjoyed his aggressive in control style.
Billy Thorpe
- Thread starter Island Drive
- Start date
I saw at least two of his matches on the YouTube table and yeah, he seems to have stepped it up. Looks to be a completely different 9 ball players from the one he was years ago.
Yeah, his stroke is painful to watch. If he had proper fundamentals from the start he'd probably be a much better player. He probably could fix it, but that might require something like two years off to completely rebuild his fundamentals and relearn the game with his new, "proper" form. I'm guessing most on the fringes of the pro circuit don't have the financial luxury of doing something like that.
Fundamentals. You should have started in 1960. You learned to play by trial and error.
I started after that, learned by trial and error, and wasted literal decades of my life working 10X as hard for half the results.
The fundamentally sound players of today would trounce the top players of the 80s given a time machine. Earl, Sigel, Hall could hang, but pretty much all the others would get steamrolled by even the 50th best player today.
Thorpe is exactly what most top players of then would look like if magically transported to today's game. A talented player, fighting an uphill battle against poor mechanics, and ultimately just an also-ran.
And Thorpe's form isn't even as bad Keith McReady's!
Didn't 65-year-old Earl just beat a top world player a couple day's ago?
in fairness- he did mention that Earl could hang.
I do think a lot players back then had relatively poor fundamentals- but they were also playing under different conditions in terms of cloth speed and pocket size. You adapt to the conditions you have to play in- so it isn't really fair to say these guys couldn't play today as the conditions of the era were very different. Might not be so easy for the current players to play under the conditions from decades ago either.
None of the "bunters" today would be able to play as well on the tables of long ago.
They don't have the "stroke" to pound the cue ball around the table, over and over.
They play better shape which minimizes the "pounding" requirement. All while playing on 4" pockets. As much as I hate to say it. Today's breed are a gear higher. Think Buddy Hall with better fundamentals. Along with the group mentioned I would add Nick Varner, Rempe, Hall. Guys like Hopkins with funny mechanics would get torched.
They get around the table with bunts.
No way in hell would you go multiple rails by bunting on old school tables.
And the rack breaks easier on fast tables with bouncy rails.
I have played a lot of good players at Hawaiian Brian's and none of them play as well on the slow tables.
They complain about how much harder they have to stroke to get the balls around the table.
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Keith McCready's "form" is not "bad," but your spelling sure is.
Ever since the first Vietnam Open, I’ve noticed a strong bond between Fedor Gorst and Billy Thorpe. Billy just has a way of making the people around him have a good time, and I think that kind of spirit is an underrated ingredient in building a great team.
Yes, making Team USA for the Mosconi Cup ultimately comes down to the WNT rankings. But I think there’s also something to be said for the intangible qualities a player brings to a team, the ability to connect with teammates, keep spirits up, and help create that feeling of we’re in this together.
Remember Mike Dechaine when he was on Team USA? I like Mike D. He’s a tremendous player, and there’s no questioning his ability at the table. But, if we’re being honest, there seemed to be a divide at times. The other team members made an effort to bond with him, but Mike tended to be more of a loner. And that’s not necessarily a criticism. Some people are just wired that way.
But the Mosconi Cup isn’t just about putting five great players in jerseys. It’s about putting together a team. And sometimes the ingredients that make a team successful go beyond how well someone plays.
Billy has that spirit. He brings energy. He brings laughter. He connects with people. And he seems to genuinely enjoy being part of the group. Those things matter, too
Yes, making Team USA for the Mosconi Cup ultimately comes down to the WNT rankings. But I think there’s also something to be said for the intangible qualities a player brings to a team, the ability to connect with teammates, keep spirits up, and help create that feeling of we’re in this together.
Remember Mike Dechaine when he was on Team USA? I like Mike D. He’s a tremendous player, and there’s no questioning his ability at the table. But, if we’re being honest, there seemed to be a divide at times. The other team members made an effort to bond with him, but Mike tended to be more of a loner. And that’s not necessarily a criticism. Some people are just wired that way.
But the Mosconi Cup isn’t just about putting five great players in jerseys. It’s about putting together a team. And sometimes the ingredients that make a team successful go beyond how well someone plays.
Billy has that spirit. He brings energy. He brings laughter. He connects with people. And he seems to genuinely enjoy being part of the group. Those things matter, too
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On this point, see the post Oscar made after with two day race to 60 match. He talks about how slow the table was playing and how it hurt him physically. I’m not saying top players of today couldn’t adapt, but let’s not pretend it would be effortless.
The stroke fundamentals that we see in top pros today seem to have mostly originated in European youth pool schools . They reflect an answer to faster cloth and cushions, tighter pockets, and changes to cues themselves.
Until the 1980s straight pool still dominated the U.S. pool tournament scene. GC pockets were always close to 5 full inches with shallow slate pocket shelves- Brunswick understood that their business was meant for millions not just the top .1% of pool skill.
Most U.S. pool players who started in the 60s and 70s and still play today all struggle with pool stroke fundamentals that inhibit their ability to play to a higher degree on modern tighter pockets- not everyone- but most of us- but I own a GC3 with standard pockets and still love every minute on that table. I like not having to be perfect —- it is supposed to be FUN - I made a very very successful living away from the pool table.
Fargo wasn't around with Keith was hitting 'em, but he scored over 800 on Accu-Stats. I have his records somewhere, but I don't feel like digging 'em out.
Here's one I found in Accu-Stats where Keith scored 900-somethning. 1,000 is a perfect score on Accu-Stats. The only two players to have ever gotten a perfect 1,000 was Wade Crane and Jose Parica.
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