WNT Florida Open 2026, August 4-9, Orlando, Caribe Royale

[SBC]

Is it unrealistic to say that Shane may be catching Efren for GOAT status?

Yes, except Efren is revered for his mystical powers and knowledge. Shane won't ever be as revered in this country or the world. In the Philippines Efren is as big as Michael Jordan.

 

[SBC]

If you want to say he had an easy road, that is your opinion. I disagree.

There was nothing easy... Kaci played great the set prior as Kazakis won 11 racks in a row in his prior set.

 

[sneakynito]

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.

I was thinking similarly.
Besides Efren's ability in 3C , those skills spilled over into the rest of the disciplines and were a key part of his flare.
Probably more than half of Efren's YT highlights feature his multi-rail prowess.

 

[jbart65]

I would bet there is a lot of sarcasm dripping from that post.

Oh, of course. Eklent is hard on himself. But he's also been very disappointed in his own performance. He has said it before.

The great news is, he has lost a lot of weight and gotten into excellent condition. He wants to be who he was, and he's trying to get there again. I don't know if he can, but I love the effort.

 

[loggerhead12]

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

Kaci's break in this tournament was magnificent. It's super powerful, but relatively short and very repeatable. Shane breaks big and gets results, but Kaci's is simple and maybe a better model for other players not named Shane.

 

[jbart65]

I was updating a spreadsheet I created to track all quarterfinalists to winners in all Matchroom majors in the WNT era (since 2022).

The last major 9-ball title for the players SVB defeated

*Josh Filler - 2026 UK Open, 2025 European Open

*Eklent Kaci - 2023 UK Open

*Albin Ouschan - 2022 European Open. He did win the 8-ball World Championship in 2025.

*Alex Kazakis - None. He did finish second in the 2025 World 10-ball Championship and the 2025 World 8-ball championship.

Again, not taking anything away from SVB. He was the most consistently top performer in the Florida Open. Excellent performance. He deserved to win, and it was a pleasure to watch.

Kazakis was great, too. He should not be underestimated. He is rock solid every time I see him play.