SVB is the best player on earth

mosconiac said:
LOL "flavor of the month". Yeah, he's a (6-year) "flash in the pan". Keep practicing SVB & you might be somebody...someday...somewhere...

2007 Reno Open 9-Ball Championship
2007 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship
2007 Predator World Ten-ball Championship, Jacksonville, Florida
2007 Inside POOL Magazine Player of the Year
2007 Billiards Digest Player of the Year (male)
2007 Pool & Billiard Magazine Player of the Year (male)
2007 Pool & Billiard Magazine Fans' Top 20 Favorite Players, #11
2008 US Bar Table Championship - 10 Ball Division
2008 UPA Pro Players Championship
2009 Derby City Classic 9-Ball Division
2010 Players Championship
2010 Ultimate 10 Ball Championship
2011 Derby City Classic Master of the Table
2011 Steve Mizerak Championship
2011 US Open 10 Ball Championship
2011 Turning Stone Classic XVIII
2011 2011 Pool Ocho Open
2012 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship
2012 Derby City Master of the Table
2012 US Bar Table Championship - 10 Ball Division
2012 US Open One Pocket
2012 Players Championship
2013 US Open 8-Ball
2013 US Bar Table Championship - 9 Ball Division
2013 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship
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Not trying to be argumentative here, but there are probably 5 or 6 players worldwide (if not more) that you could post up a like resume' for.

The OP said "best player on Earth". I don't think there is enough evidence to make that claim for any one player in the world right now.

Maniac
 
I don't disagree that he might be the best on earth right now.
But I think sjm has a point.

I'm checking out the brackets, Shanes' first match is a bye.
His next 2 are against guys I'd never heard of.
I'm familiar with his next 3 opponents but none of them are in the same weight class
and they'd be extreme longshots to reach the final rounds of the Open.

It wasn't until the final 8 that he actually had to face a champion.
Basically he only had to beat 3 guys who were world-class and one of them is still young
and has yet to take down a major (if we define major as tournaments with 5-digit payouts for first).

But, all that being said, Shane plays at a level where even if Dennis and the gang showed up,
we coulda had the exact same result. He looked very comfortable and confident out there.
 
SVB has his nearest competitor (Orcullo) beat by almost $30,000 on the money board and over 200 points (BCA ranking)...so, yeah, he's the best. Where it counts. :wink:
 
Here's the problem with both sides of the argument...

Shane is the best player on earth on AMERICAN soil. No one can argue against that.

While he hasn't dominated on the world stage like he has here, he HAS dominated the players that have dominated the world stage while playing here.

So it is incorrect to say he is solely the best American player. He is the best player in the world when competing IN America. That is the most accurate way to put it.

Eight ball world champions:

2012 Chang Jun Lin (TPE)
Remarks
2011 Dennis Orcullo (PHI)
Remarks
2010 Karl Boyes (GBR)
Remarks
2008 Ralf Souquet (GER)
Remarks
2007 Ronnie Alcano (PHI)
Remarks
2005 Chia-Ching Wu (TPE)

Most of the above world eightball champions competed in the eightball events dominated by Shane that were played in the US.

World Nineball champions:


Year Men
2013 Thorsten Hohmann (GER)
2012 Darren Appleton (GBR)
2011 Yukio Akagariyama (JPN)
2010 Francisco Bustamante (PHI)
2009 ** Not Played **
2008 ** Not Played **
2007 Daryl Peach (GBR)
2006 Ronnie Alcano (PHI)

Everyone single one of these nineball world champions were in the nineball events that Shane dominated that were played on American soil


World TenBall Champions:

2011 Huidji See (NED)
2010
2009 Mika Immonen (FIN)
2008 Darren Appleton (GBR)

Only one of these world champions finished higher than Shane in the tenball events this year and one tied him.

So I think that it is safe to say that Shane is the best player in the world when playing on American soil which is a WHOLE lot different from saying he's just the best American player.

JMO...

Jaden
 
sjm said:
Adapted from another post of mine in a different thread .....

The US Open just completed did not have a world championship quality field.

The top four Fillipinos were not there (Orcullo, Biado, Pagulayan, Bustamante) and the fifth best Fillipino reached the final. Ko Pin Yi and Wu Jiaqing sat it out and so did JL Chang. About half of the top fifteen players in the world weren't there. Finally, three of the top four finishers from last year's US Open were absent.

The US Open 10-ball event at the Rio in July had a way, way, way, way, way, stronger field than the US Open 9-ball event just completed. Rodney Morris' win over that field is far more impressive than Shane's win this past weekend.

To be the best, you have to beat the best fields, and Shane is rarely winning when all the top internationals show up. One day he will, but until then, he is just one of the big three, along with Appleton and Orcullo.
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I don't think a handful of missing names means ANYTHING. The strong field you said showed up last year, he won that too. Also, of all of the people you said were missing... only one of them has won this tournament before. Shane's won it 3 times.
 
Jaden said:
Shane is the best player on earth on AMERICAN soil. No one can argue against that.
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While a lot may agree that he is one of the top when it comes to 10-ball, he only finished 7th in the Ultimate 10-ball this year, after Mika, Wang Can, Daz, Biado, Alex and Neils Feijen.

Was it Wang Can who eliminated him?
 
Last edited:
EVERYBODY knows that Keith McCready is the best player on earth. He beat David Matlock, didn't he? That should be all you need to know! :thumbup:

I AM JOKING! I AM JOKING!
 
Yep...

arps said:
While a lot may agree that he is one of the top when it comes to 10-ball, he only finished 7th in the Ultimate 10-ball this year, after Mika, Wang Can, Daz, Biado, Alex and Neils Feijen.

Was it Wang Can who eliminated him?
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Not every time in every tournament is even the best player going to dominate.

Also, Wang Can is one hell of an up and coming player. I know from personal experience having played him in his first foray into America.

Him and Donnie Mills were the people who beat me at the second chance at the Johnny Archer Classic last year. I took fifth and Wang and Donnie took 1st and 2nd.

So for Shane to lose a match here and there certainly doesn't mean he ISN'T the best player. Also that is just this year. Look at the rosters in the years that he DID win all the tenball tourney's most of these world champions were playing in those

Jaden
 
cleary said:
I don't think a handful of missing names means ANYTHING. The strong field you said showed up last year, he won that too. Also, of all of the people you said were missing... only one of them has won this tournament before. Shane's won it 3 times.
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Yes, his 2012 win was far more impressive, but this year, in 9/10 ball, Shane faced a field in which all the big guns showed up just twice, once at the WPC World 9-ball and again at the US Open 10-ball event. He failed to post a Top 10 in either event.

Half of the game's most elite weren't there at the US Open. You can call that a few missing names, but it means that this field was disappointingly weak, and yes, it means something.
 
The Asians,and basically the lone American don't travel well going either direction.World Championships also go to single elimination for the last half of the tournament.This is tough action when Shane doesn't have more time to spend acclimating and to deal with much stronger Asian fields than say ten years ago.

If there was more Straight Pool action Shane would treat it like he has done with one pocket,a little awkward at first until he learned all the standard moves.
 
Jaden said:
Not every time in every tournament is even the best player going to dominate.

Also, Wang Can is one hell of an up and coming player. I know from personal experience having played him in his first foray into America.

Him and Donnie Mills were the people who beat me at the second chance at the Johnny Archer Classic last year. I took fifth and Wang and Donnie took 1st and 2nd.

So for Shane to lose a match here and there certainly doesn't mean he ISN'T the best player. Also that is just this year. Look at the rosters in the years that he DID win all the tenball tourney's most of these world champions were playing in those

Jaden
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We cant deny that Shane was the best in both 2012 and 2013 US Open. It is true as well that Wang played excellent pool in Ultimate 10-ball. If I remember correctly, he beat Shane 10-2. Anyway, as an SVB fan, I hope he participates in both China & Japan open next year as well as the Doha games. Probably visit the Philippines too and play with the young up-n-comers like bubwit and itik.
 
Personally I dont believe any player on the planet is even a 50/50 with Shane playing a long set of 10 ball. All the players that have been named as the best in the world have gotten shot down for the cash and he has also done very well in tournaments against them. Even Alex and Dennis switched to playing him one pocket because they couldnt seem to get the cash playing him 10 ball. He also ran over Daz. He went to Mika Imonen's home room and played him when he was supposed to be the most dominant player in the world, and dispatched of him quite handily.
 
9ball mike said:
Personally I dont believe any player on the planet is even a 50/50 with Shane playing a long set of 10 ball.
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What do marathons have to do with anything? I love TAR matches and buy them often but they are a novelty. You can play poorly for long stretches in a TAR match and still win, but winning the toughest tournaments is about sustained excellence in performance.

In a short race, every error is magnified and late match pressure is a near certainty. That's why we watch the Mosconi Cup. Any mistake may be the one that costs the match, so the pressure on the players is grueling. Only a few are able to cope with it and find their best games. A year ago, Johnny Archer certainly did. Maybe this year will be Shane's turn to be dominant. I'd love to see that.

Unfortunately, winning tournaments is much harder than winning one long race. To knock off champion after champion is what it takes. Only a few have it, and Shane is one of them, but when it comes to knocking off champion after champion in events where all the giants of the sport are present, Shane has not performed at the level of Dennis or Darren.

Shane will be remembered as one of the greats, but he is not a cut above his worthiest rivals today. Then again, he might turn out to be, for his game and his pedigree are still growing.
 
Once again, just look at the money board...when you take into account that there's more money available abroad, Shane STILL leads the field by a mile. What numbers are you all looking at that says Shane ISN"T the best in the World?
 
When will a "World" championship be played in America?


TheMarsMan said:
Shane hasn't figured out a system for traveling to other countries and dealing with:

Time difference
Language difference
Food difference
Culture difference
Hearing difficulties

I have traveled all over the world and it can be daunting when you don't speak the language and can't get a good meal. I have mentioned to him he should get a guide from here on AZ when he goes to other countries to help out with some of the differences. I am sure there are some good people who post here that could help him out greatly.

It seems to me European players are much more adept at traveling to other countries and fitting in pretty well. As Shane gets more used to this type of travel I think his results will improve. It is amazing to me when I see him play in the U.S. and elsewhere how much of a difference there is in his game. It doesn't seem to me the level of play is that much higher elsewhere, he just needs to be able to play his game in other countries to start winning more.

The bottom line is everyone plays better when they are comfortable, the trick is finding comfort all over the world.
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Rotational games.

arps said:
While a lot may agree that he is one of the top when it comes to 10-ball, he only finished 7th in the Ultimate 10-ball this year, after Mika, Wang Can, Daz, Biado, Alex and Neils Feijen.

Was it Wang Can who eliminated him?
Click to expand...

There are many ways to look at this. Didn't Mika, Can, Appleton and Feijen all play in the U.S. Open 9 Ball Championship?

I wonder if all six of your mentions would gamble with him at 10 Ball? That being said, I don't believe being able to beat someone gambling means that you are the best. It is just another dimension or way of gauging someone's ability to play pool while their money or someone else's money is on the line. I think tournaments are the best way to determine who is the best.

If Shane isn't the best rotation player, then who is?

Personally, I think Shane is young enough, talented enough and determined enough to eclipse Strickland's MAGNICIFICENT U.S. Open 9 Ball record.

JoeyA
 
West Point 1987 said:
Once again, just look at the money board...when you take into account that there's more money available abroad, Shane STILL leads the field by a mile. What numbers are you all looking at that says Shane ISN"T the best in the World?
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You're looking at numbers that are not that relevant. Shane's total includes about $20,000 in TAR match money. A TAR match amounts to a paid exhibition in which the winner gets more money, not a tourney. If paid exhibitions counted, Jeanette Lee would be #1 on the money list. Also, I have interpreted this thread as pertaining to rotation pool, and a lot of Shane's earnings are in other disciplines.

In the end, pool is like golf in that it's at the majors that you earn your stripes because that's the only time that all the elite gather. Tiger won his share this year, but failed under the pressure of the majors, and most feel his year, in which he won lots of minor events was a disappointment.

In 2013, Shane won only one of the majors and it was the one where many of the most elite boycotted. He'll have a chance to make another statement at the upcoming Mosconi Cup, and that's going to be fun to watch.
 
JMuck said:
The Asians,and basically the lone American don't travel well going either direction.World Championships also go to single elimination for the last half of the tournament.This is tough action when Shane doesn't have more time to spend acclimating and to deal with much stronger Asian fields than say ten years ago.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it sure would be nice to have a WPA World Championship in either 9-ball or 10-ball right here in the United States. Doesn't look like it going to happen anytime soon. Americans rarely bother showing up to the world championship events, so it would be a strange move on the part of the WPA to move in this direction.
 
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