Little Ko's Historic Semi Final vs Yapp - An Observation

Kickin' Chicken

Kickin' Chicken

Kick Shot Aficionado
Gold Member
Silver Member
In this most amazing match Little Ko made every ball, that's his 99 to Yapp's 0, winning the semi final 11-0. I think Yapp came to the table just 3 times, might have been 4 if you count the lag. Two of those times he couldn't see the ball to hit.

What I saw Ko do in the next to last rack shooting the 8b might not seem like such a big deal to some but it sure did to me. It was confirmation of what dead stroke looks like for an elite world class player.

The 8b was maybe 3 inches up from the side pocket and just slightly away from the cushion. The cue ball was approx center pocket but out onto the playing area approx 5 inches making this a very steep and super thin cut shot and awkward to reach especially for the small framed Ko. So, of course, he stretches out, very long bridge, he razor cuts the 8 straight up the rail with such precision that it goes the entire way up the rail keeping the exact same gap, never brushing the cushion. The nearly table level camera view that captured this shot was brilliant. And oh yeah, he gets perfect on the 9. A real thing of beauty.

Here it is (will take you right to the shot):

 
Last edited:
Kickin' Chicken said:
In this most amazing match Little Ko made every ball, that's his 99 to Yapp's 0, winning the semi final 11-0. I think Yapp came to the table just 3 times, might have been 4 if you count the lag. Two of those times he couldn't see the ball to hit.

What I saw Ko do in the next to last rack shooting the 8b might not seem like such a big deal to some but it sure did to me. It was confirmation of what dead stroke looks like for an elite world class player.

The 8b was maybe 3 inches up from the side pocket and just slightly away from the cushion. The cue ball was approx center pocket but out onto the playing area approx 5 inches making this a very steep and super thin cut shot and awkward to reach especially for the small framed Ko. So, of course, he stretches out, very long bridge, he razor cuts the 8 straight up the rail with such precision that it goes the entire way up the rail keeping the exact same gap, never brushing the cushion. The nearly table level camera view that captured this shot was brilliant. And oh yeah, he gets perfect on the 9. A real thing of beauty.

Here it is (will take you right to the shot):

Click to expand...

Yes, that was my favorite shot of the match too, especially given the camera angle. Looked like Ko had the perfect amount of gearing outside English to both get shape and hold the 8ball on its line.
 
Kickin' Chicken said:
In this most amazing match Little Ko made every ball, that's his 99 to Yapp's 0, winning the semi final 11-0. I think Yapp came to the table just 3 times, might have been 4 if you count the lag. Two of those times he couldn't see the ball to hit.

What I saw Ko do in the next to last rack shooting the 8b might not seem like such a big deal to some but it sure did to me. It was confirmation of what dead stroke looks like for an elite world class player.

The 8b was maybe 3 inches up from the side pocket and just slightly away from the cushion. The cue ball was approx center pocket but out onto the playing area approx 5 inches making this a very steep and super thin cut shot and awkward to reach especially for the small framed Ko. So, of course, he stretches out, very long bridge, he razor cuts the 8 straight up the rail with such precision that it goes the entire way up the rail keeping the exact same gap, never brushing the cushion. The nearly table level camera view that captured this shot was brilliant. And oh yeah, he gets perfect on the 9. A real thing of beauty.

Here it is (will take you right to the shot):

Click to expand...
That’s a shot Little Ko will remember for a long time…a pure hit under heat.
 
Kickin' Chicken said:
... I think Yapp came to the table just 3 times, might have been 4 if you count the lag. ...
Click to expand...
Yapp went to the table 7 times in 5 games (all except Ko's 6 B&Rs). His 7 shots were 5 kicks, 1 safety, and 1 miss. He left Ko a shot on 5 of those 7, and Ko pocketed all 5 of them.

[Yapp also went to the table for the lag and for a push evaluation (returned to Ko).]
 
i like the jump combo in the final rack

cannot judge if he accurately predicted how the balls would fall after the shot although I suspect he had a damn good idea

the shot preceding that was also very nice, deft touch with accuracy

too many to count really in that run, master class
 
Yes, I was equally impressed with this shot on the eight ball, a candidate for the "cleanest ball ever struck" even for those of us who've watched pool for decades.

I also concur that this shot exemplifies what "dead stroke" looks like in the hands of a top pro who is in the zone.
 
Last edited:
AtLarge said:
2019. Filler missed two shots -- a cross-side 2/4 bank combo in Game 7 and a 9/10 combo in Game 13.
Click to expand...
Remember it well.

Yes, that 9-10 combo, which Josh jawed, probably ended his chances. He had to hit it firm because they were playing "ten ball last" and he had to make tricky shape on the nine after the combo.
 
Last edited:
sjm said:
Remember it well.

Yes, that 9-10 combo, which Josh jawed, probably ended his chances. He had to hit it firm because they were playing "ten ball last" and he had to make tricky shape on the nine after the combo.
Click to expand...
Exactly. Here's the video. (time is 1:24:51 if the link doesn't work right) He played pretty much perfect position for the combo but then misjudged the throw. He got perfect on the 9 but it was for Ko.

www.youtube.com

WORLD 10-BALL FINAL | Joshua Filler vs Ko Ping-Chung | 2019 Predator World 10 Ball Championship

2019 Predator World 10 Ball ChampionshipJuly 22-26Rio All-Suite Hotel & CasinoLas Vegas, NevadaKo Ping-Chung vs Joshua Filler (FINAL Match)The 2019 Predator ...
www.youtube.com www.youtube.com
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top