WORLD POOL (nineball) CHAMPIONSHIP (6-10 April2022), UK, Winner $60K
- Thread starter spartan
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So what's wrong with being a tournament player. Albin will make more money than just about any pool "gambler" this year. There are more tournaments with larger prize funds than ever before. If I were a top player I would be focusing on playing tournaments, and not waste my time trying to match up with someone. Overall, gambling is a losing proposition for all but a few unique players like Dennis and ...........
Well said Jay. I see a very exciting future for the pros.
Woodshaft
Do what works for YOU!
Nothing. Like I said, he's a specialist, and makes a fine living being one. But his OVERALL pool skillset isn't as good as most of the top players. Albin would NEVER play SVB straight up for cash, not in 2016, and not now. Albin's top gear game isn't as strong as SVB's, never was. Nor is it as strong as at least a dozen other top players. Albin just has the mental desire/strength to play at near 100% in tournaments more than most others. He did in today's final, for example. But, unfortunately for him, SVB also did, and SVB's 100% crushed him...
That said, with the rise in the number of big tourneys coming in the future thanks to Matchroom, Predator, and CSI, Albin should be set to cash in, and I hope he does. Again, a class act!
PS-- My point of this post is to show the folks that don't get it, that the best overall athletes in the world shouldn't be defined just by tournament wins. Trust me, there isn't a player in the world who didn't think that SVB is one of the greatest players of all time, even without a world championship title lol. SVB, Filler, Wu, Shaw, Chang, Orcollo, Biado, Gorst, Kaci--- they all know that their A-game is a notch better than the next level of players. The players know. Trust me, they know.
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It was still on DAZN.
I think it's easily argued that Albin is still the very best, not just because of what he's won, but because of who he has beat to get to the finish line. In the last six months alone:
October 2021
At the International 9-ball, Albin topped a star studded internationally diverse field by beating Filler in the round of 16, SVB in the semis and then Orcullo in the finals.
February 2022
At the Premier League Pool, in a sixteen-player invitational featuring as strong a field as I've ever seen, Albin beat SVB in the semis and then Filler in the final.
April 2021
Yes, SVB finally got him in the final at the WPC, but Albin still had a stellar performance that included a win over Filler in the quarterfinals before he ultimately settled for silver.
Yes, Shane finally beat Albin with a title hanging in the balance, but Albin has been the best player in the post-pandemic world, and one loss doesn't really change that. There is no player in the world that is showing the same level of sustained excellence as Albin.
As a post-script, if all disciplines are covered, I'd place Filler above Albin. Filler won the American 14.1, the Bigfoot 10-ball at the International, the Bigfoot 10-ball at Derby City, the silver at the Derby City nine-ball and the gold at the recent European 14.1 Championship.
In nine-ball, however, Albin is still setting the standard.
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He told me at the U.S. Open in September that he had just re-upped with Cuetec for five years. So, we at least get him for the next four and a half years. After that, it's anyone's guess. Really happy for the dude though. And, in a few days the whole country should be being introduced to him with a piece on 60 minutes.
BlueRaider
Registered
SVB's story absolutely makes a good human interest piece for the mainstream media. And it's powerful enough to go beyond the "hearing-impaired guy is a good pool player" narrative. Could segue into how differently pool is played/viewed in Europe and Asia compared to America to help illustrate the challenge of winning his World 9 Ball title.
I'd love to rant on to all the SVB haters that lived on the "no WC BS, which are mostly jealous Americans BTW", but, you know what I won't. After seeing the performance and the attitude in an interview or two after the fact it's obvious SVB couldn't give 2 sh!ts about that stuff. Live your life, have fun and enjoy it.
If the 5 year extension with Cuetec is all he's got left, so be it. The day he walks away will be comparable to MJ retiring from the Bulls, haven't watched a single pro bb game since. Efren will play as long as he can stand up, when SVB pulls the rip chord, very well may be the end, cut dry end of the story.
looking forward to the head up matches coming up, bar table challenge and Chang later in the year!
If the 5 year extension with Cuetec is all he's got left, so be it. The day he walks away will be comparable to MJ retiring from the Bulls, haven't watched a single pro bb game since. Efren will play as long as he can stand up, when SVB pulls the rip chord, very well may be the end, cut dry end of the story.
looking forward to the head up matches coming up, bar table challenge and Chang later in the year!
The 60 Minutes piece has been delayed until the Fall Season beginning in Sept. This is due to the current emphasis on the Ukraine war.
But they could do a Bitcoin commercial last night though...
I'd rather be known as the best tournament player rather than a gambler. I never hear much of Mike Sigel being a gambler but everyone is quick to say he's the best closer of all time. Didn't seem to bother him much.
but yes, Albin Ouschan is definitely a class act and solid pro. I just wish he, like many of these other guys and girls playing pro pool, would show some more emotion. It's sorta boring to me seeing them be robots.
I was just thinking about that 60 Minutes piece and came here to see if anyone had any news about it. What a great way to end the segment, with him winning the world championship.
They should just delay it until the end of October so they could also talk about him being a 6x US Open champion.
Gambling is merely pool's side show, and nobody is suggesting that it isn't entertaining.
Thankfully, just as you say, tournaments are offering a chance to make a pretty big income for the elite players. Elite players focusing on tournament play are thriving, and one such player is Shane, who over the last six months won bronze at the International 9-ball, bronze at the Premier League Pool and now gold at the WPC.
Wanna know who's the best? Put all the giants of the game in the same place at the same time --- the last man standing is the best. Right now, that man is Shane. Soon, it will likely be someone else.
I don't care who wins long races any more than I care who'd win if the Yankees and the Red Sox play a 36-inning game rather than the customary nine. I've never heard much mention of a player's gambling accomplishments during the many BCA Hall of Fame inductions I've attended, and that's as it should be. Gambling success is not the measure of greatness. That's why Jack Cooney, possibly the greatest pool gambler ever, isn't in the BCA hall of fame. And, no, it's not about the money either, because if it is, the super-rich guy who beat his friend out of five million dollars over a game of pool should also be in the BCA hall of fame.
Greatness is, and will always be, measured in titles, and Shane has just captured the greatest title of them all, and it means more than all the gambling matches he has ever won combined.
Just FTR, "Frisco Jack" Cooney is in the One Pocket Hall of Fame.
As to whether gambling or titles better measures success, IMO it used to be the former but now it's the latter. BITD there weren't enough tournaments to get a reliable sampling, and gambling among the top players like Hall, Lassiter, Bugs, Searcy, etc., was far more prevalent. But today it's different, and tournament success is a better measure of true talent against top competition than the ability to win a few high stakes races.
As pro pool continues to mature and there are more top shelf events with increasingly larger prize funds, gambling will fall off more and more. A little research will uncover pro golf was heavy with gambling and eventually evolved into the game it is today. You don't hear much about pro golfers "matching up", it's been all about tournaments for decades. I hope pro pool evolves into like minded success and I think Matchroom has this vision.
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Great post. Bob Dylan was right! The times, they are a changing.
PS The One pocket hall of fame is intended for the road and action players, and rightly celebrates their achievements, placing them in a proper light. It's not, however, THE hall of fame.