Who is the best 14:1 player active now?

Hard to tell, since even in countries like Germany or Austria, where 14.1. is played in leagues, the pro players tend to avoid the 14.1 matches and play the 9 and 10 ball instead. I think only Feijen plays 14.1 regularly.

Still there are several active players with 250+ high runs...Ortmann, Souquet, Nils, Lechner, Makkonen, Hybler, Ouschan, Eckert...

Between, I also have in my mind, that Corey Deuel is a fine 14.1 player.
 
I mentioned Hatch earlier. Anybody know what he's up to? Still play much? I looked up and found his high-run is 360 which is pretty sporty. I'd forgotten Earl had gone over 400. Wow.
 
garczar said:
I mentioned Hatch earlier. Anybody know what he's up to? Still play much? I looked up and found his high-run is 360 which is pretty sporty. I'd forgotten Earl had gone over 400. Wow.
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Did a quick search and found that D.Hatch is the owner of a used-car dealership in SouthBend,Ind. Still plays some but not a lot. Looks to be doin' pretty well.
 
garczar said:
Did a quick search and found that D.Hatch is the owner of a used-car dealership in SouthBend,Ind. Still plays some but not a lot. Looks to be doin' pretty well.
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I've seen him when I've went home to Michigan a few times. Seems to be happy.
Jason
 
NorthCarolinian said:
Not forgotten by Jay.... He loves him some Filipinos
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I like good pool and you can see a lot of that in the Philippines and over here as well. They do seem to dominate our "minor" pro tournaments over here for the last few years. Just take a look at the final four players in all our regional tournaments (big table, bar table, 9-Ball, Ten Ball, Eight Ball, One Pocket, 14.1) just in the last two or three years.

IMO, Dennis is the best of the bunch and has been for nearly ten years. Pretty much nobody plays him even in the Philippines and that is very telling.
 
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jay helfert said:
I like good pool and you can see a lot of that in the Philippines and over here as well. They do seem to dominate our "minor" pro tournaments over here for the last few years. Just take a look at the final four players in all our regional tournaments just in the last year alone.

IMO, Dennis is the best of the bunch and has been for nearly ten years. Pretty much nobody plays him even in the Philippines and that is very telling.
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Anton Raga just beat Dennis straight up 10-ball in Cebu for P132K
:eek: Won by 4 games or so. Dennis did beat Raga in Davao in a short race to 13. Went hill hill for P40k.
Raga's home court though. Quit after one set. :D Dennis wanted to triple the bet.

I think Biado wouldn't be an underdog against Dennis in 10-ball now.
That's a pick-em I think.
 
JoeyInCali said:
Anton Raga just beat Dennis straight up 10-ball in Cebu for P132K
:eek: Won by 4 games or so. Dennis did beat Raga in Davao in a short race to 13. Went hill hill for P40k.
Raga's home court though. Quit after one set. :D Dennis wanted to triple the bet.

I think Biado wouldn't be an underdog against Dennis in 10-ball now.
That's a pick-em I think.
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Yeah, I heard about that match (about two weeks ago). I've been in Raga's home room in Cebu many times. The tables are not the best, far from it. I actually sent Dennis some money to bet along with him and they would play for 500K (pesos). The match didn't happen though.

Carlo and Dennis are very close friends (Dennis mentored him) and it's doubtful they would match up, but I do agree that Carlo is equal as a tournament player. I still like Dennis with money on the line though.
 
High run is not and never has been the true measure of a 14.1 player. If it were, Babe Cranfield would be considered the greatest ever, as he, according to Irving Crane, probably ran 300+ more times than anyone in the game's history. Truth is, however, that Cranfield's competitive credentials don't merit him a mention in the all-time top ten. Should we include someone like Dennis Grabe, who ran over 340 balls in 2018? To me, the answer is no, because his competitive resume doesn't merit his inclusion.

Hohmann's competitive credentials are so far beyond those of anyone else playing today that I'd have to put him in a category by himself. He once averaged 50 BPI for an entire European Championships 14.1 event (2003, if memory serves).

After that, guys like Schmidt, Appleton, Vandenberg, Feijen and Orcullo are proven superstars in the discipline.

After that, it's a lot tougher to gauge, but to me, Eberle, Shaw, VanBoening, and Albin Ouschan complete the top ten. Every one of them has medaled against very strong fields.

No doubt, a case could be made for about a dozen more, but those are my top ten.
 
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jay helfert said:
Yeah, I heard about that match (about two weeks ago). I've been in Raga's home room in Cebu many times. The tables are not the best, far from it. I actually sent Dennis some money to bet along with him and they would play for 500K (pesos). The match didn't happen though.

Carlo and Dennis are very close friends (Dennis mentored him) and it's doubtful they would match up, but I do agree that Carlo is equal as a tournament player. I still like Dennis with money on the line though.
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Raga's people are what is termed there as "maro'" . Quit while ahead cheapskates . Raga did not want a second set, yet he kept on practicing .
Saw the video of Dennis telling them he wanted a second set and raise it to P500K. Don't know why he was talking in Tagalog when he was in Cebuano country. :D But, when he asked for his phone, he started talking in Mindanao version of Cebuano/Visaya.
Somenone posted Raga beat Dennis in Quezon City a few times too but no verification . This Raga must be really under the radar if he's playing the primera guys even. I know he beat Alex in Gen San. I'd love to see him play Dennis at One Side.
 
sjm said:
High run is not and never has been the true measure of a 14.1 player. If it were, Babe Cranfield would be considered the greatest ever, as he, according to Irving Crane, probably ran 300+ more times than anyone in the game's history. Truth is, however, that Cranfield's competitive credentials don't merit him a mention in the all-time top ten. Should we include someone like Dennis Grabe, who ran over 340 balls in 2018? To me, the answer is no, because his competitive resume doesn't merit his inclusion.

Hohmann's competitive credentials are so far beyond those of anyone else playing today that I'd have to put him in a category by himself. He once averaged 50 BPI for an entire European Championships 14.1 event (2003, if memory serves).

After that, guys like Schmidt, Appleton, Vandenberg, Feijen and Orcullo are proven superstars in the discipline.

After that, it's a lot tougher to gauge, but to me, Eberle, Shaw, VanBoening, and Albin Ouschan complete the top ten. Every one of them has medaled against very strong fields.

No doubt, a case could be made for about a dozen more, but those are my top ten.
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You wouldn't put Immonen considerably higher than Eberle?
 
JoeyInCali said:
Raga's people are what is termed there as "maro'" . Quit while ahead cheapskates . Raga did not want a second set, yet he kept on practicing .
Saw the video of Dennis telling them he wanted a second set and raise it to P500K. Don't know why he was talking in Tagalog when he was in Cebuano country. :D But, when he asked for his phone, he started talking in Mindanao version of Cebuano/Visaya.
Somenone posted Raga beat Dennis in Quezon City a few times too but no verification . This Raga must be really under the radar if he's playing the primera guys even. I know he beat Alex in Gen San. I'd love to see him play Dennis at One Side.
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Raga is a Tier One player on his home court and in a few money games in Davao and Quezon City. He has not fared as well in tournaments played outside of Cebu. Kind of like many current and past champions here, who have been near unbeatable at home, but not so strong in other places. I've seen a lot of Filipino champions who are late developers, for example Carlo and Roland Garcia. Raga can't be much older than 21, so give him time to develop further and we may see him over here sneaking up on the unsuspecting. The only American player capable of beating him now is you-know-who!

I just watched video of that match. Dennis was actually spotting Raga by playing alternate break. That way Dennis was unable to string racks, one of his great strengths.
 
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JoeyInCali said:
Raga's people are what is termed there as "maro'" . Quit while ahead cheapskates.
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I have heard that about the PI guys for 20 years. A lot of pro players say they are nits. If they win the first set, you ain't gonna get a chance to get it back. :rolleyes:

I have never been there, but seen a lot of videos. Based on the poverty I understand how it would be tough.

Ken
 
Ken_4fun said:
I have heard that about the PI guys for 20 years. A lot of pro players say they are nits. If they win the first set, you ain't gonna get a chance to get it back. :rolleyes:

I have never been there, but seen a lot of videos. Based on the poverty I understand how it would be tough.

Ken
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Not common there really.
Most backers are gambling addicts. They love action.
Problems arise when there are multiple backers for one player.

One set nits are more common at Hard Times, I think.
Lose one set and ask to adjust already.
Seen some robberies there too where the winner did not want to adjust.
Absolutely boggled my mind.
One nit there quit on one player after three sets.
The loser played another player and lost 2 grand while the nit only won some $400.
 
AtLarge said:
You wouldn't put Immonen considerably higher than Eberle?
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Ah, yes, that was an oversight. Mika should have made my top 10, although he'd be just a very slight favorite over Max in a race to 150. Max is number eleven.
 
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