I just watched this young lady (only 17) play for the first time this week in the Philippine Open. She won easily over a very strong field, soundly defeating Kelly Fisher 9-3 in the finals.
Okay here you go - She is already the best women player of all time! Bar none! The best I ever saw. Yes, better than Balukas or Allison. Will she go on to have a long career like Allison and win as many championships? Only time will tell. She is the Tiger Woods of women's pool, a notch above the competition. Just as Allison revolutionized the game 15 years ago, Ms. Chen will do likewise. There are already many very good women players, but none with her skills. They will have to elevate their games to keep pace with her.
In the past, when I watched the top women play against men, I always felt like I was watching a very good woman player compete. Watching Si Meng play there is no sense of a woman playing well, only of watching an excellent player at the table. She has transcended sex and all its implications with her remarkable abilities. No longer do I find myself saying this is a woman who plays like a man (Jasmin for instance). With Si Meng I see only a great pool player playing the game at a very high level. Once again she is a notch above the rest. Her game is more like a top male player, and I mean TOP male player, ala Ralf, Mika or Shane. Yes, she's that good.
This is one woman who is not an underdog against anyone! She has all the tools - great cue ball control, pin point shot making, a smooth powerful stroke and the intensity and focus to win at all times (P.S. She doesn't miss either!). How she would fare against the top men I do not know. There is a psychological factor here that remains to be seen. Based on ability alone, I would place her well within the top 50 pool players on the planet right now. I couldn't say that about any other women before.
Her knowledge of the game is well advanced for a player her age, and I suspect she has been at it for more than ten years already. I see a fluidity in her stroke that only comes after hitting millions of balls. I have learned that none other then Wu Cha Ching has spent time tutoring her in China and it shows. She plays more like a 27 year old who has been competing a long time. I did see one or two spots where she may have overlooked a shot on a safety option, but that's about the only hole I saw in her game. These little nuances she will pick up quickly I'm sure. She shared in an interview that she was inspired watching Allison play when she was 4 or 5. I have a feeling, like other great Chinese athletes, she became dedicated to pool at a very young age. I suspect this is her full time job and has been for a long time.
By the way, the Chinese women (both from the mainland and Chinese Taipai) are quickly becoming the dominant force in women's pool. So many good players coming out of these two regions. I KNEW it was only a matter of time before there was a woman who had all the skills of any man. Well, there is one now and her name is Si Meng Chen. She is the first women who I can confidently say has the skills to win a major open tournament, like the U.S. Open or the World Championships. With this young lady, all the old stereotypes are reversed. Most of the men players will be the underdogs playing against her! Only the very best men will have a chance when they face this terrific young pool player.
