I was in the bleachers during that shot. Pretty crazy it hung up.
Yawn
I don't expect some great renaissance from Earl, but he showed he still has a solid stroke at the US Open- his break is terrible though.
I think he can break well in the format, and has done in some games I've seen. It's not like he can't do it. I think he got too in his own head at the US open. Jabbering on repeatedly about jump cues and the break. finding excuses for why Labutis was on top. Started smashing them up, trying to prove his non-existent point, and not accepting that Labutis outperformed him. Hell, Earl could have come back in the match, or even won it if it wasn't for the theatrics.
That could be said for many of his past matches.
Throw Reinhold in there, and Shane (the OTHER Shane). They were young but just weren't ready mentally or ability-wise for the MC. They had talent, but not European-beating talent. Some other players in other MC's were just thrown out there that were past their prime (Corey comes to mind) because there weren't to many better options. Maybe someday we will again be able to put five top-rated players in the tournament.
After the break shot, Earl is still a top 5 American player. It isn't an exaggeration to say Earl may have had the worst break in the entire US Open field
^^^^ Negative ^^^^
it almost seems like Earl knows he will eventually lose in tournaments with talented players, so he would rather have excuses than try to improve- like the break, jump cues, side pockets, players taking too long, the crowd distracting him, etc.
