Do you think that Fedor Gorst is as strong or stronger then Josh Filler?

A

animatedvmaker

Banned
I keep reading people say that Josh Filler is the strongest player in the world.

But what about Fedor Gorst, who is the reigning World 9 Ball Champion?

His game seems to have advanced to an amazingly high level.

Was watching the finals match of a recent Euro Tour tournament that he recently won, and was really impressed with how strong he played.

Anyways, back to my original question.

Do you think that Fedor Gorst is as strong, or stronger then Josh Filler, playing 9 ball or 10 ball?

Do you think that a long race to 100, between these 2 players, would be a close match?

I have also been watching Josh Filler on Roy's Basement, and his game is really impressive. Off topic, but his One Pocket game really impressed me too.

He also beat James Aranas in a long race to 100, playing 10 Ball, winner breaks, and the final score was something like 72 Aranas to 100 Filler, in the end, and that was really impressive too, because Aranas is another amazing talent, who I have so much respect for.

I understand that when talking about Gambling vs Tournament play are 2 very different things, so the pressure of a high stakes match might also be something to consider, but if you take away that factor, then who do you think is the stronger of the 2 players?

Thanks for any thoughts, or opinions about this.
 
Filler has the edge in my opinion. Fedor isn't far behind though. So much young talent coming out of Europe with Filler, Fedor and Kaci. Multiple major titles between those 3 in their young careers already. China open, U.S open 9-ball, World 9-ball championships just to name a few off the top of my head.
 
WTD14 said:
Filler has the edge in my opinion. Fedor isn't far behind though. So much young talent coming out of Europe with Filler, Fedor and Kaci. Multiple major titles between those 3 in their young careers already. China open, U.S open 9-ball, World 9-ball championships just to name a few off the top of my head.
Click to expand...

I really like Ruslan Chinakhov too, and I am really surprised that he had not won any big titles yet. Correct me if I am wrong? His game always really impressed me. Just such a solid player.
 
animatedvmaker said:
I really like Ruslan Chinakhov too, and I am really surprised that he had not won any big titles yet. Correct me if I am wrong? His game always really impressed me. Just such a solid player.
Click to expand...

Too many variables like is it really the player's call? One thing seems obvious, they can make more in a week of action than an entire season of first place finishes - which would ensure they never get action.
 
animatedvmaker said:
I really like Ruslan Chinakhov too, and I am really surprised that he had not won any big titles yet. Correct me if I am wrong? His game always really impressed me. Just such a solid player.
Click to expand...

Ruslan is a stud as well. I'm sure he'll snap off a big event in the not too distant future.
 
animatedvmaker said:
I really like Ruslan Chinakhov too, and I am really surprised that he had not won any big titles yet. Correct me if I am wrong?
Click to expand...
Ruslan won a junior world championship 11 years ago. And in 2017 he became a European 9-ball champion. This title is pretty big.
 
animatedvmaker said:
I keep reading people say that Josh Filler is the strongest player in the world.

But what about Fedor Gorst, who is the reigning World 9 Ball Champion?

His game seems to have advanced to an amazingly high level.

Was watching the finals match of a recent Euro Tour tournament that he recently won, and was really impressed with how strong he played.

Anyways, back to my original question.

Do you think that Fedor Gorst is as strong, or stronger then Josh Filler, playing 9 ball or 10 ball?

Do you think that a long race to 100, between these 2 players, would be a close match?
Click to expand...

No, Gorst is not at Filler's level. In fact, I'd rate him as somewhere between 11th and 15th best in the world. My top ten right now are, in no praticullar order, JL Chang, Filler, SVB, Shaw, Orcullo, Big Ko, Little Ko, Zheng, Raga and Wu Jiaqing. JL Chang, Josh Filler and Shane are at a higher level than the other seven of these.

Gorst, as you suggest, is a stone cold killer, and can and has beaten anyone and everyone. For example , he beat Filler double hill in the final of the 2019 European 9-ball Championship and he beat JL Chang in the final of the 2019 WPA World 9-ball. Beating the elite in big spots is a very big deal, which is why we must count Gorst as one of the biggest stars of our game. He also cam e second and third in the last two Bigfoot 10-ball events in which he played (2018 and 2019) in a field of killers.

Fedor was, in my opinion, incorrectly left off the 2019 Europe Mosconi team.

… but he's no Josh Filler!
 
Last edited:
sjm said:
No, Gorst is not at Filler's level. In fact, I'd rate him as somewhere between 11th and 15th best in the world. My top ten right now are, in no praticullar order, JL Chang, Filler, SVB, Shaw, Orcullo, Big Ko, Little Ko, Zheng, Raga and Wu Jiaqing. JL Chang, Josh Filler and Shane are at a higher level than the other seven of these.

Gorst, as you suggest, is a stone cold killer, and can and has beaten anyone and everyone. For example , he beat Filler double hill in the final of the 2019 European 9-ball Championship and he beat JL Chang in the final of the 2019 WPA World 9-ball. Beating the elite in big spots is a very big deal, which is why we must count Gorst as one of the biggest stars of our game. He also cam e second and third in the last two Bigfoot 10-ball events in which he played (2018 and 2019) in a field of killers.

Fedor was, in my opinion, incorrectly left off the 2019 Europe Mosconi team.

… but he's no Josh Filler!
Click to expand...

I really like your posts. In your opinion, do you think there are any players who would have a decent chance at beating Filler, in a long race, playing 9 or 10 ball?

Bergman said that he wants to play Filler a long race , but playing 8 ball, so I guess that he would not play Filler even 9 or 10 ball either .

I guess after how bad Filler beat Aranas recently, there will not be too many players stepping up to play him that same game / match up.
 
animatedvmaker said:
I really like your posts. In your opinion, do you think there are any players who would have a decent chance at beating Filler, in a long race, playing 9 or 10 ball?

Bergman said that he wants to play Filler a long race , but playing 8 ball, so I guess that he would not play Filler even 9 or 10 ball either .

I guess after how bad Filler beat Aranas recently, there will not be too many players stepping up to play him that same game / match up.
Click to expand...

Yes, both JL Chang and Shane would have a very realistic chance at beating Filler in a long 10 ball race if they play their typical games, but I think they are the only two. JL Chang is, to me, Filler's equal. Without rack your own and pattern racking, Shane would be an underdog to either, but with it he's right there with them.

I think Filler is the best at nine ball right now, and would have to be favored in a long nine ball race over anyone.

I think Wu, if he played his "A" game, would also have a good chance in either game, as might an "in-form" Jayson Shaw, but the sustained excellence required to beat a player of Filler's caliber in a long match is something very few can summon, and that's taking into account that Filler is relatively inexperienced in long races.

At 22, Filler has won three of the four majors as I count them (he has won the China Open, the US Open 9-ball, the World 9-ball, but not the All-Japan Championships), has been Mosconi Cup MVP, and even won the high run prize at the Derby City 14.1 Challenge with a 285 on 4 1/2 " pockets, giving him a better resume than all but a few dozen that have ever played the game.

We don't know what the future will bring for Filler. Perhaps he'll be in the conversation for greatest ever, or maybe he'll be unable to sustain the mind-blowing excellence he's shown us so far. Either way, I think pool fans will enjoy watching how his story plays out. He is a "once in a generation player" in my assessment. The only other 22 year old players that wowed me similarly were future BCA Hall of Famers Earl Strickland and Alex Pagulayan.

PS Bergman, I reckon, can't beat the big three in a long 9/10 ball other than on a bar table.
 
sjm said:
Yes, both JL Chang and Shane would have a very realistic chance at beating Filler in a long 10 ball race if they play their typical games, but I think they are the only two. JL Chang is, to me, Filler's equal. Without rack your own and pattern racking, Shane would be an underdog to either, but with it he's right there with them.

I think Filler is the best at nine ball right now, and would have to be favored in a long nine ball race over anyone.

I think Wu, if he played his "A" game, would also have a good chance in either game, as might an "in-form" Jayson Shaw, but the sustained excellence required to beat a player of Filler's caliber in a long match is something very few can summon, and that's taking into account that Filler is relatively inexperienced in long races.

At 22, Filler has won three of the four majors as I count them (he has won the China Open, the US Open 9-ball, the World 9-ball, but not the All-Japan Championships), has been Mosconi Cup MVP, and even won the high run prize at the Derby City 14.1 Challenge with a 285 on 4 1/2 " pockets, giving him a better resume than all but a few dozen that have ever played the game.

We don't know what the future will bring for Filler. Perhaps he'll be in the conversation for greatest ever, or maybe he'll be unable to sustain the mind-blowing excellence he's shown us so far. Either way, I think pool fans will enjoy watching how his story plays out. He is a "once in a generation player" in my assessment. The only other 22 year old players that wowed me similarly were future BCA Hall of Famers Earl Strickland and Alex Pagulayan.

PS Bergman, I reckon, can't beat the big three in a long 9/10 ball other than on a bar table.
Click to expand...

Wow, a 285 ball run at 14.1 is amazing.

This is going way off topic, but speaking of Bergman, I remember not that long ago, that he made an open offer to play anyone on the planet even 9 ball, on the big table, in a long race, for big money, if the magic rack were used, and the 1 ball placed on the spot.

I remember that Shane said that he would not play that game, but would if the 9 ball were placed on the spot.

Anyways, I would love to see a Bergman vs Filler match.

Would also really love to see a Filler vs Fedor Gorst match, even if the odds would be heavily against Gorst to have any chance of winning, in a long race.
 
Both are very strong, it depends on whomever gets the rolls on break and game layouts for a given match.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
animatedvmaker said:
Anyways, I would love to see a Bergman vs Filler match.

Would also really love to see a Filler vs Fedor Gorst match, even if the odds would be heavily against Gorst to have any chance of winning, in a long race.
Click to expand...

Is Bergman a better player than Aranas? To me, they play about the same. James was whitewashed by Filler, and likely won't be barking at him anytime soon. Not clear why Justin would.

Gorst is stronger in big spots than Bergman, and has taken down some big scalps in big moments. His chance against Filler would be much greater than that of Bergman.

As a side bettor, I'd make the following lines if Filler played nine ball matches in a race to 100 format on a nine footer.

Filler -19 over Bergman
Filler -13 over Gorst

As you can guess, I'd rather watch Gorst vs Filler than Bergman vs Filler.

… just one man's opinion, and others will see this differently.
 
As it is right now, in my opinion, Filler is much better. I like Gorst’s game a lot. I actually think he has better fundamentals than Filler. I would like to see Gorst play at a faster pace like Filler. I believe this would help him improve even more.
 
Justin is the man. This kid can play. Some of these players have great breaks. Justins break is also good but that is what keeps these guys in the game. The Break . The tighter the table the more the advantage is for Justin. Just my opinion. Played some when Justin was younger in Granite City Ill. Doug Patricks poolhall back in around 2007. Justin was pretty young back then and I told him one night in back of the poolhall, Young man, if you ever quit those darn cigerettes you could be a champion. He sure proved me wrong. As far as I know he is still smoking. Haven't seen him in a few years so maybe he did quit. But I don't care who he plays. Super tight pocket and nobody has to like playing Justin. Coming from someone that just know. And I will be putting my money where my mouth is as usual when Justin plays someone.
 
In a long race playing rotation Filler runs out more. At his current level Filler could even give Shane problems. My two cents
 
genomachino said:
Justin is the man. This kid can play. Some of these players have great breaks. Justins break is also good but that is what keeps these guys in the game. The Break . The tighter the table the more the advantage is for Justin. Just my opinion....
Click to expand...

Excellent post and exactly right. It is only his break that holds Justin back from winning some of the biggest titles.

I've contended before on this forum that Bergman has the best after-the-break skills at nine ball of all the American players, SVB included. Of course, it's pretty close. Even though Justin is the better pattern player, his runout skills are a bit below Shane's but his defense and kicking are way better than those of Shane.

You're also right about the tighter table helping Justin's cause, because super-tight pockets place a greater premium on pattern play, defense and kicking, so that plays right in to Justin's hand.

Other than Shane, Justin and Skyler are probably the only two Americans I'd rate in the world's top 25 players. I'd rate both in the low 20's.
 
Last edited:
Vahmurka said:
Ruslan won a junior world championship 11 years ago. And in 2017 he became a European 9-ball champion. This title is pretty big.
Click to expand...

If there is a video of Ruslan winning the Junior world 9 ball championships, then I would love to see that finals match.

Would love to see where his game was at, at that age. He is such an amazing player. So much mental confidence, and it seems that there is nothing he can't do on the pool table.

He is one of my top most favorite players.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top