European Open 2024, Aug. 6-11, Fulda, Germany
- Thread starter Bob Jewett
- Start date
All upsets on final day in semis and final. A sub Fargo 800 Mickey Krause won this major over other 3 x800 semifinalists (Chua,SVB, Sky). This is the 2nd time that a sub Fargo 800 outside Top 50 has won a major after Robbie Capito win at UK Open this year. But this was no “disaster” like recent UK Open which had no 800 player in last 4 
Overall, Krause was the deserving winner being the best performer throughout the event. He had toughest draw of the lot having to defeat 5 x800 Top 50 in knock out stage (a feat I think only achieved in a major event by Filler and Ko Ping Chung) all rated above him.
Yes like the other semifinals, he did botch number of shots, made some brain fart errors but he pulled it out to cross finish line when it mattered. The difference in final was the young upstart Krause was in better mental state, in supreme confidence unfazed nothing to lose mode while the more older experienced Chua was paralyzed by the huge pressure and expectation to win being the favorite. Boyes likened Chua to Roberto Gomez in WPC 2007 when Gomez was in top form before final but surprisingly meltdown in final
Overall, Krause was the deserving winner being the best performer throughout the event. He had toughest draw of the lot having to defeat 5 x800 Top 50 in knock out stage (a feat I think only achieved in a major event by Filler and Ko Ping Chung) all rated above him.
Yes like the other semifinals, he did botch number of shots, made some brain fart errors but he pulled it out to cross finish line when it mattered. The difference in final was the young upstart Krause was in better mental state, in supreme confidence unfazed nothing to lose mode while the more older experienced Chua was paralyzed by the huge pressure and expectation to win being the favorite. Boyes likened Chua to Roberto Gomez in WPC 2007 when Gomez was in top form before final but surprisingly meltdown in final
Amazing thing was, Chua still won eight games despite one of the worst performances I have seen from him. He's one of my favorite players and I watch him a lot.
I've seen him be off his game before, but not really fall apart mentally. He took a few crazy shots after the break when he had no shot on the top remaining ball, electing not to do a difficult push. Instead he gave up ball in hand, twice I think. As the pressure mounted, he made more poor decisions.
All upsets on final day in semis and final. A sub Fargo 800 Mickey Krause won this major over other 3 x800 semifinalists (Chua,SVB, Sky). This is the 2nd time that a sub Fargo 800 outside Top 50 has won a major after Robbie Capito win at UK Open this year. But this was no “disaster” like recent UK Open which had no 800 player in last 4
Overall, Krause was the deserving winner being the best performer throughout the event.
Krause has really improved a lot in the past two years. There are two reasons for it.
First, his main sparring partner is Niels Feijin. Niels is the best teacher among all current pros. There's even a video or two of their sparring sessions on the web. That's how I first became aware of Mickey. You could see all the potential.
Second, Krause has spent a ton of time in the U.S. in the past three years, and he practically was a U.S. citizen this year. Skyler talked about seeing him everywhere. Played in a ton of ranked or smaller tourneys. And he played all disciplines: 9-ball, 10-ball, 1-pocket, bank pool.
The U.S. might not be producing as many world-class pros, but evidently it's still the place to go because of all the niche pool disciplines that are played at the highest level in the world. You don't see that quite as much anywhere else since the culture of pool isn't as deep.
One of the keys to Krause's march from the quarters to the finals was his banking ability. He hit a handful of critical bank shots at key junctures to either extend his lead or regain momentum. He stayed aggressive.
Not to be overlooked is his physical ability. Krause looks to be 6-4 or 6-5. I only saw him use a bridge once over the weekend. I don't even recall him using an extension. His long reach means he can reach almost any shot.
Krause, though lean, is also quite strong. His break is very powerful and he can power up for any kind of shot. He's also got a fair amount of finesse to his game. too.
Weaknesses? Defense and decision making. Sometimes he is too aggressive and takes low-percentage shots. He doesn't always control the table as well as he should.
As bad as Chua played, for example, he should not have won eight games vs. Krause. And Woodward should never have been able to get back in the game.
Krause can also be a nervous Nellie at times. He mental game needs to get a lot stronger.
If I had to bet, we'll be seeing more of Krause at the highest level than we will Caputo. But I still see big growing pains ahead for him
yea i agree with all of this. good fundamentals, but not as good at long shots as the best players. position play sometimes iffy. mental game a bit to and fro in the two main tv matches. but overall incredibly impressive for a first time MR finalist and a well played final for such a young player.
of the four semifinalist i had him last, going purely by past big stage experience..
funny how JJ called it like half a year ago and i thought that was really a shot in the dark. he knows his stuff.
I love listening to JJ and picking up on things I hear him say that I didn't realize before. <---I guess this is a good lesson in life- no matter where you are at in your journey, there is always more to learn or a different approach that will give you more insight. I feel I'm a pretty accomplished pool player, but still learning of course. Now when I apply that to some other areas in my life, I realize just how naive I really am! It will make you humble pretty quickly.
