WORLD POOL (nineball) CHAMPIONSHIP (6-10 April2022), UK, Winner $60K

BlueRaider

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he said on some interview, don't remember which but pool player podcast is a good bet, that he was looking forward to the upcoming tour that's shaping up. european open, etc
He also said in another interview that he was looking forward to fishing haha. I would imagine this win will keep him in steady competition for another 2-3 years at least. And honestly, with all the MR events coming up and his tendency to make deep runs, there’s no reason to quit anytime soon.
 

BlueRaider

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Unreal when you think about he beat everyone that beat him before in a final plus Chang.

That is a hell of a group to go through

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His path was incredibly tough but also cathartic I’m sure. Shane was sitting in his chair ready to go home early and then Mika missed that long cut. And now, 8 racks in a row in that match and victories over 4 consecutive 800+ Fargo Rate opponents later, he’s finally world champion.
 

jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
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My take on all the happenings at the WPC - First and foremost like all of you on here I'm thrilled to see Shane win! It's been a long time coming and a very long grind for him, and many people believed that his time had passed. My opinion is this just may be a new beginning for him, with more major titles yet to come.

Cleaning up an earlier comment of mine about the ball colors, the four and five balls both are different colors than what we're used to, but thanks to good camera work and the vivid colors of pink and purple, we can easily see which ball is which.

The table played good, but the corners were definitely more forgiving than a Diamond. So be it. The same for both players. I like the ref. He stayed out of the players way and let them play the match. Excellent commentary by JJ, Kelly and Karl. The English guy Mike did a good job of adding background info and was smart enough to let the experts analyze the play.

This was a made-for-TV tournament with only a small live audience. Where is Milton Keynes anyway? Notice that now that Matchroom has a grip on almost all the major tournaments they are almost all being played in Europe. Now the Americans have to fly over there to play as opposed to how it used to be when the Europeans were all flying here for the major events. Maybe it's a good thing for American pool, a wake up call of sorts.

Shane went from 6-5 down to 12-6 ahead without Albin coming to the table. But to achieve this run he had to make some excellent shots, control his break and run out several racks under pressure. Look again at Shane's kick off the end rail where he made the one ball and started his run. Watch how the cue ball swerves coming off the end rail. That is a very tough shot to gauge and even hit the one ball! Even in the final game where Albin had a couple of chances, Shane's good safety play won the advantage, and subsequently the match!

At 11-6, on a tricky five ball, Shane goes back and forth across the table and bumps the seven perfectly to land just right on the six. At that moment Shane knew the Pool God's were finally shining on him. You could see it in his face. The rest was a formality from there. Once again a big salute to our first American World Champion since Earl Strickland in 2002. (y)(y)
 
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sjm

Older and Wiser
Silver Member
Cannot wait for SJM recap/review!
I doubt I'll see this historic moment differently than others.

Shane has now conquered the highest mountain in pool. Yes, he's been a legendary performer at both the US Open and at Derby City and has won a lot of nice titles in his superb career, but this achievement was very different. He knew it and made no mistake in saying that it was the greatest day of his career.

I think it's fitting that he had to beat both Ko Pin Yi and Albin Ouschan, the two guys who had previously beaten him in the finals of this event before, along the way. He also beat long-time rival JL Chang. Surely, those wins make it even sweeter.

It has been universally acknowledged for years in pool circles that SVB is an all-time great, but there has been much debate about the extent to which the lack of a World 9-ball Championship devalued his resume. I've generally found myself agreeing with those who saw it as a glaring hole in his track record, one that might have possibly disqualified him from the G.O.A.T. conversation. Let it be noted that the debate is behind us. With a World 9-ball Championship on his resume, Shane IS in the conversation for greatest of all time and he should stand as an equal with the greatest ever American 9-ballers --- Sigel, Varner, Strickland and Lassiter.

It's a happy day for Shane and for every American pool fan.
 
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sammylane12

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Shane’s legacy just got a hell of a lot stronger today.

Now the question is…does this inspire a second wind for the latter stage of his prime as a pool player, or is this the start of the SVB farewell tour?

This is the one he badly wanted and needed. He’s got pretty much all the rest of them. Is there any fire left now?
That is a good point. After Earl won in 2002, he said that his career would not be complete without this title. Then he went 8 or 9 years before he won another tournament.
 

sjm

Older and Wiser
Silver Member
Where is Milton Keynes anyway?
It's in Buckinghamshire, a bit northwest of London, just over an hour away by car.

Milton Keynes is not famous for pool, but Bletchley Park is found in Milton Keynes and I have visited. Bletchley Park is where the work that led to the breaking of the German ENIGMA code took place. The effort, led by Alan Turing, is celebrated in a superb film of just a few years ago called "The Imitation Game".

In short, Milton Keynes is already on the map.
 

Hidy Ho

Missed 4 rail hanger!!!
Silver Member
...

The table played good, but the corners were definitely more forgiving than a Diamond. So be it. The same for both players. I like the ref.

Emily addressed this in Karl Boyes' Youtube channel. She said, due to shipping delays, the tables arrived later than expected and they didn't have time to fix/adjust the pockets. She thought the tables played too easy per MR expectation of creating a more dramatic pool. Going forward, she said MR expect to have 4" corner pockets for their events.

She mentioned something about using two different pool table manufacturers (Rasson and Diamond) and admitted that tables may play differently by manufacturers. I think she also mentioned something about table contracts being up this year. I wouldn't be surprised if she consolidated tables to a single manufacturer (perhaps, logistic issues here ...).

Karl also brought up an interesting point to having bonuses for highest B&R for the tournament and/or running out a match. Emily sort of deflected the idea stating that this would be considered once everything is standardized and the dust has settled.
 
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AtLarge

AzB Gold Member
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... The table played good, but the corners were definitely more forgiving than a Diamond. ...
It was a Diamond table with 4¼" corners (Predator table last year). But it did seem to accept more shots than I would have expected. And then they changed the cloth for (I think) the Last 16, so it kept accepting those balls.
 
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AtLarge

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
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... Shane went from 6-5 down to 12-6 ahead without Albin coming to the table. ...
Well, Albin did get to the table several times after it was 6-5, even made 2 balls on the break in Game 12 and a ball on a jump in the last game, but you're essentially right in that he never had a good open shot. He did play safe on a very difficult short cut to the side pocket in Game 13; it was a poor safety and Shane ran out.
 
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