Aside from RKC's antics, I actually have mixed feelings about the run because of the question about the pockets. I know I'm just a nobody and it doesn't really matter what one random dude thinks about this. But....I just think there is a difference between a big pocket and a gaffed one. So is this a gaffed pocket or not?
Look I like Shaw and I like Schmidt, I even love the nostalgia associated with Mosconi, so I don't have a dog in the fight. I really just want to celebrate this achievement and look forward to others trying to top it. But the question will remain, until it's answered definitively, or until someone gets close enough to the table to take some measured pics of the pockets. Big or gaffed?
I know many of you don't care and that's fine but I bet most of you are at least a bit curious.
Even moreso than a pocket mouth measurement, a pocket facing angle is the most underrated and critical variable in determining how hard/easy a corner pocket will play.
If you don’t believe RKC, just consult Ernesto Dominguez, the most well respected and most experienced pool table mechanic in the business. Ernesto’s calling card has been his expertise in extending sub rails to reduce the sizes of pockets, sometimes drastically, but at the same time, altering the pocket facing angles to make those tiny pocket mouths play much more forgiving than the standard accepted 142° angle that Brunswick and Diamond currently use.
Based on altering the pocket facing angle, a skilled mechanic could conceivably make a 5 inch pocket play tougher than a 4 inch pocket.
It certainly appears to me that in this case, regarding the table being used for this contest and the alterations obviously made by the fitter, the players have been blessed with the best of both worlds in terms of making the pockets play easy – a nearly 5 mouth opening with an extremely forgiving pocket facing angle.
Unless and until they release the exact pocket specs and I’m proven to be wrong, I have no choice but to stand by my assumptions, based on what I know about pockets from having Ernesto working on our pool tables here for the past 25 years and based on the photos I’ve seen of this pocket.
I have no doubt as to this being an absolutely incredible world record feat by Jayson Shaw. I witnessed a lot of this marathon session in absolute astonishment. All I ask is the organizers to be honest about the pocket specs. They had to know these questions as to the table / pockets would be coming if a new world record was set.