Yeah if you check at large stats. Svb had the most 3 balls in the break
WNT Florida Open 2026, August 4-9, Orlando, Caribe Royale
- Thread starter Bob Jewett
- Start date
This is true of all the top players, as you know. Filler made a pair of really big mistakes vs Shane that cost him the match. Not the first time I have seen that from Filler.
Shane played consistently well in Florida after a rusty opener against Payne McBride that he won 9-7. And the field he beat was impressive.
I'd offer a few caveats, though.
-Souquet is way past his prime.
-Albin is no longer a top 20 player. He's been on a downward arc since fall 2024.
-FSR has lost half a gear in the past few years.
-Kaci has been inconsistent since his injury a few years ago. He has yet to rediscover his form (maybe he never will).
-Kazakis played superb in the semis but he's a grinder who's leveled off the past few years.
SVB should have beaten all of these players, and he did. Only Josh was the real challenge, and Josh had SVB down for the count.
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8intheside
Well-known member
It’s definitely close, and the fact that Shane is competitive, and winning in the best era of pool ever makes the argument lean in his favor IMO
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If you want to say he had an easy road, that is your opinion. I disagree.
Yeah it seems mental to me. He was doing fine against Kaci in the beginning of the set and then just broke down when Kaci started winning a few racks. Kaci crucified him for the mistakes.
leaning towards never will. he's probably lucky to still have two arms. that scar is freaky
8intheside
Well-known member
I disagree also
Related to my post above about who Shane beat in Florida, the most impressive thing is how well he still plays at 43.
We are in the midst of a changing of the guard. Most of the top players over the past five to 10 years have seen a clear dip in performance, even though many are still in their 30s.
SVB has maintained his level. Carlo, too. Yapp stepped into the top ranks two years ago and is likely to stay awhile. He's just 30. Filler and Gorst, in the mid to late 20s, are in their prime and are the best two players in the world. (I omit the Ko brothers due to focus on China).
We are in the midst of a changing of the guard. Most of the top players over the past five to 10 years have seen a clear dip in performance, even though many are still in their 30s.
SVB has maintained his level. Carlo, too. Yapp stepped into the top ranks two years ago and is likely to stay awhile. He's just 30. Filler and Gorst, in the mid to late 20s, are in their prime and are the best two players in the world. (I omit the Ko brothers due to focus on China).
Then Kaci erred and SVB crucified him. Every player makes a few mistakes. Shane made the fewest to win the tourney. Filler's misses on the 7, especially the second one, were shockers.
Since it was questioned in here before whether 43 is old for pool, I would say yes it is in today's game. SVB and Carlo Biado are among a small amount of players over 40 who are serious contenders to win a major a major or world championship.
On the women's side of things, it has also mostly been the new generation winning things as well. Jasmin Ouschan and Kelly Fisher are still doing well, but there's a changing of the guards where Chezka Centeno, Seo Seoa, now Margaret Fefilova, etc. are the face of women's pool.
come up with your own opinions.
I think his comment was related to Tyler, not Shane
I have my own opinions. I wasn't sharing them.
Another point for Efren is his 3 cushion ability that i doubt Shane can remotely come close to. Shane has come a long way on 1P and banks to make a strong case for GOAT but my opinion is Efren still has the edge.
jnwilliams
Active member
I watched all of Eklent's matches. The dude is a machine. He was playing great. Filler was playing great.
If that's what I wanted to say, I would have said that. I did not.
Shane had a tough path. I merely pointed out he was the clear favorite in all of his matches except the one vs Filler. I expected him to beat everyone else. Shane, in fact, also expected to win. He flat out said the winner of his match vs Filler would win the whole event.
Looking at past WNT major winners, all of them had to go through at least three or four top-flight players to win it all. Shane went through four (I don't count Ralf anymore).
In last year's US Open, Yapp beat Fedor Gorst, Ko Pin Yi, Josh Filler, Jefrey Roda and Arseni Sevastyanov. Arguably the the toughest road of all in the WNT era.
In last year's Florida Open, Yapp beat SVB, Mickey Krause, Max Lechner, Naoyuki Oi and Robert Gomez.
In the WPC in 2025, Biado beat Fedor Gorst, Bernie Regalario, Ko Ping Chung, Jeffrey Ignacio, Wiktor Zielinski and Chris Melling.
He played poorly at the Vice City event and has been wildly inconsistent since his injury. I was counting on his inconsistency in his loss to SVB. Eklent has found it hard to put together back to back great matches.
This is what Eklent wrote on FB last week:
Vice City Classic Open
Lost in the Last 32. Super happy with my result.
Made $1K. Can’t ask for more these days.
The problem is my Fargo is still way too high. It should be around 675.
Next stop Florida Open.
Hopefully I can grind my way to another glorious last 128 and collect another $1K
Thanks Predator Cues for paying me as an 831
too many players are holding back on the break and never get the stray balls as a result. the fact that svb and kaci gets them and got to the final day ought to inspire more players to amp up
The mental side is a big part of it.
He also just doesn't have the innate level of talent as the elite players.
In the USA there is one elite player named SVB....there are dozens in the world.
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jnwilliams
Active member
I would bet there is a lot of sarcasm dripping from that post.