Qatar World Cup 10-Ball 2026

[8intheside]

Counting the CSI US Opens as majors is hilarious. None of them are and, frankly, it has probably been a few years since anyone on this forum tried to suggest otherwise. Some of the CSI US Opens have had fields of less than 20 and very few of them have deep, international fields. I'd say one Euro-tour title is worth three CSI US Open titles. That gives Ralf Souquet the equivalent of 69 US Opens. Of course, that's nonsense, too. Shane has five US Opens, and all of them were against fields weaker and less internationally balanced than what we've seen in this decade of pro pool.

Yes, it's a matter of opinion, but Shane has never dominated across the world. Yes, he dominated on American soil against fields that were chiefly American, but his track record is much poorer when competing against large, internationally diverse fields worldwide. Filler's resume at age 29 already eclipses that of Shane at 43. Title count? Who cares. When discussing greatness, it is major title count that matters, because performance against elite fields is the only real measure. Filler's rate of winning major championships all over the globe is so much greater than that of Shane that the comparison borders on silly.

Is Shane's 5 US Opens 9ball, 1 World 9ball, 1 World 8ball any stronger than Filler's 1 US Open 9ball, 1 World 9ball, 3 China Open 9ball, 1 World Games 9ball gold medal, and 1 World 8ball? That's pretty close, but if you look at all the other majors, Filler has won everything in sight and Shane hasn't won anything close to that. Finally, as Shane has noted, Filler has worn him out in head-to-head play for the length of Josh' career.

Of course, you are allowed to size it up as you please. Thanks for sharing your views.

So if size of the field and level of competition matter, how can mosconi and Greenleaf be in your top 5?

Counting the CSI US Opens as majors is hilarious. None of them are and, frankly, it has probably been a few years since anyone on this forum tried to suggest otherwise. Some of the CSI US Opens have had fields of less than 20 and very few of them have deep, international fields. I'd say one Euro-tour title is worth three CSI US Open titles. That gives Ralf Souquet the equivalent of 69 US Opens. Of course, that's nonsense, too. Shane has five US Opens, and all of them were against fields weaker and less internationally balanced than what we've seen in this decade of pro pool.

Yes, it's a matter of opinion, but Shane has never dominated across the world. Yes, he dominated on American soil against fields that were chiefly American, but his track record is much poorer when competing against large, internationally diverse fields worldwide. Filler's resume at age 29 already eclipses that of Shane at 43. Title count? Who cares. When discussing greatness, it is major title count that matters, because performance against elite fields is the only real measure. Filler's rate of winning major championships all over the globe is so much greater than that of Shane that the comparison borders on silly.

Is Shane's 5 US Opens 9ball, 1 World 9ball, 1 World 8ball any stronger than Filler's 1 US Open 9ball, 1 World 9ball, 3 China Open 9ball, 1 World Games 9ball gold medal, and 1 World 8ball? That's pretty close, but if you look at all the other majors, Filler has won everything in sight and Shane hasn't won anything close to that. Finally, as Shane has noted, Filler has worn him out in head-to-head play for the length of Josh' career.

Of course, you are allowed to size it up as you please. Thanks for sharing your views.

You dismiss Shane’s CSI US open wins, but hold Willie mosconi”s championship in high regard even though the field at times only had 8 players? Ralph Greenleaf won most of his titles by winning head to head challenge matches! I think I’d take Shane’s us open with fields with at least 100 players holds more merit than Ralph’s titles

 

[sjm]

So if size of the field and level of competition matter, how can mosconi and Greenleaf be in your top 5?

My reasoning for the inclusion of foundational players, the ones who shaped and advanced the game in its formative years, is found in post 136.

You dismiss Shane’s CSI US open wins, but hold Willie mosconi”s championship in high regard even though the field at times only had 8 players? Ralph Greenleaf won most of his titles by winning head to head challenge matches! I think I’d take Shane’s us open with fields with at least 100 players holds more merit than Ralph’s titles

Despite small fields, Willie always played against some of the all-time greats in winning his countless world titles. The best known of them were Jimmy Caras, Irving Crane and Luther Lassiter, three of the top five straight pool players of that era and all first-ballot BCA Hall of Famers. How great was Crane? He ran 309 on a 10 foot table, about 200 more than any of today's players managed the one year that the Derby City 14.1 event was contested on a 10 footer. Smallish fields? Yes, but the top guys in the game were always there when Mosconi was mass-producing world titles. Greenleaf died over 75 years ago, so I'm not too familiar with who he beat. I know his track record only.

Comparing these world championships to the CSI US Opens which countless current and future hall of famers have never played in even once, for the simple reason that they were mostly low prestige, low prize money events that generated little interest among both American pros and fans, is hilarious.

When nearly all of the game's greats are present at an event, that's what makes it a real test of who the greatest players are, even if the field is small. Every one of the fields in the world championship events won by Mosconi had this, and almost no CSI US Opens did.

Even by American tournament standards, the CSI US Opens are not among the more important tournaments. By comparison, every Euro-tour event has a field of 256 and typically draws at least 20 players carrying a Fargo of 800+. Souquet has won 23 of them in his roughly 40-year career., Filler has more than 10 in his roughly ten-year career.

I'm starting to wonder whether you are one of the proprietors of the CSI US Opens, as you seem to place more stock in them than anyone that has ever posted on this forum.

Finally, I'm quick to concede the difficulty of comparing players from the golden age of straight pool to those of the 9ball era, which is now 50 years old. A case can be made that they need two separate lists. SVB makes my top five if we look at the 9ball era only.