They may have eclipsed his skill but Earl is over 60 years old. You can only be compared to players of your era and any current player will do well to grade out as high as Earl.
Mr. Strickland Goes to Philippines
- Thread starter spartan
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tomatoshooter
Well-known member
They learned from what he achieved, but the game has advanced. For his era, no doubt Earl was one of the most fearsome competitors of any sport.
L.S. Dennis
Well-known member
I remember seeing Earl play during the late 80's and 90's and none of todays players have left an impression on me as he did in those years.
There's not a player then or now who could string racks together like Earl did back then. If Earl were 25 or 30 today and playing like he did none of today's players as good as they are would want to see their names next to Earl's on the Flo chart!
Some truth here, but today's players play with an even greater technical excellence than Earl did at his best. A good example would be the SVB of 2014-16. Nonetheless, Earl was the first to string racks on a regular basis and, more than any player of our times, beat the worthiest champions to a pulp when he hit his highest gear. At his very best, he was the most dominant player ever seen at 9ball.
In truth, today's players are so good at stringing racks that the breaking rules had to be changed to slow them down. Earl had the luxury of one on the spot, break from anywhere in the kitchen and winner breaks, and he played on looser equipment. Give that to today's crop and more than a few of them will string racks like Earl.
That said, it's not really fair to compare across generations. Earl certainly set the table for guys like Archer and SVB, who were to similarly sit opponents down for long stretches.
First matchup Battle of Legends Earl v Buste (7-9 July). A Seniors matchup
View attachment 707241
Day 1 Live
Terrible screen resolution and even worse commentators.
if anyone wants to see a very good view of earls grip/stroke, i played with him a few weeks ago and filmed him, got some good video from behind of his technique. He doesnt form a loop around the cue with his thumb and pointer, he cups the cue in his hand, and he actually twists his wrist when he delivers the cue. You can see his cue twisting by looking at the logo on it visible in the video. He also elevates the cue a lot of the time. Literally everything Allison taught us NOT TO DO in our lesson earlier that day. Cant question earl though, thats for sure.
Wait a minute.....!!!
So Earl is now playing with a carbon shaft....after years of criticizing them???
Rusty in Montana
Well-known member
Earl crossed over to the other side ! J Flowers must of made him a offer he couldn't refuse ha ha
skiergd011013
Well-known member
i asked him if he liked it and he said it feels good
Sponsorship checks > being broke and playing with your favorite cue
Rusty in Montana
Well-known member
I've got a graphite shaft on one of my cues that it just doesn't feel quite right for some odd reason , I know what it is Pechauer hasn't put me on the payroll yet ha ha .
If you haven't noticed in my profile picture Earl is holding his Mike Gulyassy pool cue which I liked the looks of and even how it sounded when he hit the cue ball I know how funny that sounds .
If you haven't noticed in my profile picture Earl is holding his Mike Gulyassy pool cue which I liked the looks of and even how it sounded when he hit the cue ball I know how funny that sounds .
Ive
does anybody know the final score of the Earl-Bustamante match?
I've been playing with a carbon fiber shaft for about the past 3 years and the one shot that I still can’t get the hang of with it is back cuts- seems like you have to cut the ball more dramatically with carbon fiber. It just feels stiff on shots like that. Otherwise I like it overall.
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I hope Earl maintained his composure. I didn’t have the time to watch much of the match
That's nice and all for one time, Earl did it quite a lot.