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Earl, based on 2014 results, is the fourth best player on the Joss Northeast Tour, a tour that is dominated by Dechaine and Shaw. On that rare occasion that neither wins, it is usually Sossei that wins the title. Earl is winless on the 2014 Joss tour. Shaw, Dechaine, and Sossei all had top 10 finishes in the 2013 US Open, while Earl did not. When Earl played a challenge match against Dechaine earlier this year, Mike beat him 25-11.

So, obviously, Earl is one of the favorites while Dechaine, Shaw, and Sossei are dark horses.

Thanks for a good laugh.

Dechaine and Shaw are great players. They definitely have a chance to win. However, no need to put down Earl. Earl could definitely catch a gear and do some damage (though I don't think he will win either). I doubt Earl cares that much about winning on the Joss tour (not that he intentionally loses or anything- but perhaps he isn't entirely focused like he may be at the Open). Its not exactly going to make him rich and he has accomplished so much anyway. So, I don't think one can judge his current talent level on those results alone. The talent is still there.
 
Was the final spot filled? Anybody know?

Trying to read the (handwritten) brackets in the other thread, I thought I counted three byes. Of course I could be wrong....

Hopefully a proper set of brackets will be available as the tournament gets underway
 
Trying to read the (handwritten) brackets in the other thread, I thought I counted three byes. Of course I could be wrong....

Hopefully a proper set of brackets will be available as the tournament gets underway

No pool doesn't believe in online brackets for everyone to see - that is too much work.
 
Dechaine and Shaw are great players. They definitely have a chance to win. However, no need to put down Earl. Earl could definitely catch a gear and do some damage (though I don't think he will win either). I doubt Earl cares that much about winning on the Joss tour (not that he intentionally loses or anything- but perhaps he isn't entirely focused like he may be at the Open). Its not exactly going to make him rich and he has accomplished so much anyway. So, I don't think one can judge his current talent level on those results alone. The talent is still there.

Yes, his inability to win on the toughest regional tour in America tells you everything you need to know about the state of his game. When Dechaine and Shaw show up to an event, Earl doesn't win.

I'm not knocking him, but if Earl's considered one of the favorites, don't leave out guys like Dechaine and Shaw.

Earl not focused? Seriously, his incredible focus whenever he competes is probably the thing I admire most about him. He always wants it more than anyone else, but he doesn't have the game anymore to win when the top dogs are present.

By suggesting he only gives it his everything in events like the Open, you have insulted him, and I think you are very wrong.
 
NOTE: OK, so included the old dogs Efren, Buste, Earl, Parica but you never write those old dogs off. IMHO any of the old dogs have better chance of winning than Shane winning 3rd consecutive title

That's the gambler's fallacy. It's hard to win three in a row for sure, but Shane has already won the first two in a row, and his winning them doesn't make it less likely for him to win this year.
 
Yes, his inability to win on the toughest regional tour in America tells you everything you need to know about the state of his game. When Dechaine and Shaw show up to an event, Earl doesn't win.

I'm not knocking him, but if Earl's considered one of the favorites, don't leave out guys like Dechaine and Shaw.

Earl not focused? Seriously, his incredible focus whenever he competes is probably the thing I admire most about him. He always wants it more than anyone else, but he doesn't have the game anymore to win when the top dogs are present.

By suggesting he only gives it his everything in events like the Open, you have insulted him, and I think you are very wrong.

What I meant was that he has won when the top dogs are present even fairly recently. Certainly not as often as he did in his prime, but it shows he can still do it.

Yes, I know he attempts to focus, but perhaps unconsciously his focus wanes when he knows that the tournament is rather insignificant when compared with all that he has already accomplished.

When I watch him play now it seems like all of the tools are still there. It is just that he loses his focus (mainly his temper) at inopportune moments and this costs him. His talent seems to have diminished, but not by very much as compared to his prime. It is his ability to remain focused- mainly not losing his temper- that has worsened. When he holds it together, he can and does still win tournaments.

Also, there is no shame in losing to Shaw or Dechaine. It is not like these guys are "shortstops". They are capable of beating anybody in the world at any time. Shaw made a great comeback in his race vs Shane to 100. Everybody thought he was out of it, but he stormed back.
 
What I meant was that he has won when the top dogs are present even fairly recently. Certainly not as often as he did in his prime, but it shows he can still do it.

Yes, I know he attempts to focus, but perhaps unconsciously his focus wanes when he knows that the tournament is rather insignificant when compared with all that he has already accomplished.

When I watch him play now it seems like all of the tools are still there. It is just that he loses his focus (mainly his temper) at inopportune moments and this costs him. His talent seems to have diminished, but not by very much as compared to his prime. It is his ability to remain focused- mainly not losing his temper- that has worsened. When he holds it together, he can and does still win tournaments.

Also, there is no shame in losing to Shaw or Dechaine. It is not like these guys are "shortstops". They are capable of beating anybody in the world at any time. Shaw made a great comeback in his race vs Shane to 100. Everybody thought he was out of it, but he stormed back.

Sorry if I misinterpreted you, but ...

Unfortunately, Earl's 2014 resume does not have a win over a solid field of any kind, so you are mistaken in your assertion that he still wins events. The last significant event Earl won, to my recollection, was Turning Stone just over a year ago, and that was a great win, in which he outdueled Sossei impressively in the final.

That said, I agree that Earl still has a high gear and has a chance to beat any player, including guys that play even better than Mike D and Jayson S. Wins over such players, however, have been scarce and near nonexistent this year.

I'd be very happy for Earl if he made a nice showing at the Open, but I'd be surprised if he's able to string wins over the truly elite, and this is one tough field in which some of the truly elite won't even cash.
 
Wow, the limited field size is a winner for us fans:

Here are six first round matches:

Feijen vs Eberle
Pagulayan vs Woodward
Pinegar vs Oscar Dominguez
Dechaine vs Drago
Mills vs Dang
Schmidt vs Klatt

Hubba, hubba. Six elite players will find themselves on the "B" side after the first round.
 
The elites/ marquee/pedigree players dominate the major tourneys. When was the last time a WPA major (W9B, W8B,W10B, All Japan, China Open, US Open) was won by relative unknown? One would have to go back as far back as almost 10 years ago when Daryl Peach and Wu won their world titles.
I do not think this US Open will be any different
It is a no brainer, you can more or less narrow it down to following potential winners , give or take some names

FRONTRUNNERS/ 1st FAVORITES
1. Shane Van Boening - USA
2. Earl Strickland - USA
3. Efren Reyes - Philippines
4. Johnny Archer - USA
5. Francisco Bustamante - Philipines
6. Mika Immonen - Finland
7. Darren Appleton - England
8. Jose Parica - Philippines
9. Dennis Orcullo - Philippines
11. Rodney Morris – USA
14. Niels Feijen – Netherlands
15. Thorsten Hohmann - Germany
30. Corey Deuel - USA
36. Ralf Souquet - Germany
60. Nick Van Den Berg - Netherlands
107. Alex Pagulayan - Canada

NOTE: OK, so included the old dogs Efren, Buste, Earl, Parica but you never write those old dogs off. IMHO any of the old dogs have better chance of winning than Shane winning 3rd consecutive title

DARK HORSES/ 2nd FAVORITES
37. Warren Kiamco - Philippines
17. Nikos Economopoulos - Greece
29. Justin Bergman - USA
32. Justin Hall - USA
33. Oscar Dominguez - USA
34. Jeremey Sossei - USA
73. Mike Dechaine – USA
81. Jayson Shaw – Scotland
105. Jason Klatt – Canada
109. John Morra - Canada
28. John Schmidt - USA
58. Karl Boyes - England
68. Albin Ouschan – Austria
113. Stapanov Kontantin – Russia


I suppose with most things 80:20 rule applies here. 20% of players have chance of winning while the other 80% have almost no chance or are "dead money"
:)
You have it all figured out .
 
Wow, the limited field size is a winner for us fans:

Here are six first round matches:

Feijen vs Eberle
Pagulayan vs Woodward
Pinegar vs Oscar Dominguez
Dechaine vs Drago
Mills vs Dang
Schmidt vs Klatt

Hubba, hubba. Six elite players will find themselves on the "B" side after the first round.

Are you sure about Alex being in the 2nd match of today? Johnnyt
 
Alex plays Woodward in the first round, that's all sjm is saying.
He might play this morning or evening or possibly tomorrow (not sure when round 1 will finish).

gr. Dave
 
Alex plays Woodward in the first round, that's all sjm is saying.
He might play this morning or evening or possibly tomorrow (not sure when round 1 will finish).

He is stating the 1st day TV table matches. Johnnyt

Actually these are the TV table matches today per Oldzilla.

10:30am - Max Eberle vs. Niels Feijen

12:30pm - Francisco Bustamante vs. Nikos Milaj

2:30pm - Oscar Dominguez vs. Johnathan Pinegar

Dinner Break

6:30pm - Stevie Moore vs. Nick van den Berg

8:30pm - Jason Klatt vs. John Schmidt

10:30pm - Brandon Shuff vs. Kenichi Uchigaki
 
D Olson near the bottom of the bracket might surprise some people, if he is the one that I think he is.
 
Thanks for a good laugh.

You are welcome. Laughter is best medicine

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Was the final spot filled? Anybody know?

Actually it was 2 spots unfilled. The count was 127
But someone on Facebook pointed out that 41. Nikos Malaj - Greece and 118. Nikolaos Malaj - Greece are same person
Which means 2 spots unfilled and 1 guy forfeit so total 3 empty slots giving byes to Mika , Shane and Alfonso

:grin-square:
 
I'm bummed out that Sky has to play Alex first round. I mean, I'm not saying that Sky cannot beat Alex, but that is a very tough draw for the first round. This is Sky's first Open.

That said, though, whoever gets knocked to the B side of the charts, it keeps you playing more frequently and in stroke on the tournament equipment, so that can help sometimes.

Hennessee and Oscar will be an interesting match to watch on the TV table. :smile:

One thing I always advised to Keith before a big match, not that he always listens, is to practice the lag on the table before the match begins. Winning the lag and the first break gives you a wee bit of a jump ahead, which can sometimes work to your advantage. ;)

Max and Niels. Max just got back from Philippines, getting in stroke for the tournament. Niels, of course, seems to stay in stroke, but this match could be a hard-fought battle.
 
so far most matches pretty close.
Only thrashing is Ralf over Scott Smith and Futrell over his opponent both 11-2

Who are those 2 commentators on TV table? Listening to them makes me sleepy... Where are the more energetic comm like Shuman, Billy

I see many matches slowing ..2 hours unlikely to be enough for race to 11 win by 2 maximum 13. unless they bring in shot clock which they have option to do
 
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