who is # 5

lll

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drop the rock posted this thread on azb
i thought it might be interesting to discuss it here

The 5th Best One Pocket player in the world... - Today, 04:22 PM
Top 4

If I were to put them in order it would be tough and not very accurate because at their level its tough to say. Other than Alex being No. 1 I'm gonna keep that to myself.

This is my interpretation of their games at their current speed. MIH doesn't effect my opinion of Tony, Scott (because he wasn't there), Alex or Efren.

I'd also like to add that a handful of pros and shortstops have these guys on their list as well.

Alex---> The most well rounded one pocket alive. Moves the best (except for Efren maybe), can run out the most and from anywhere. If I had to pick one player to beat the One Pocket ghost in a headset, it would be Alex. High gear definitely tied with or over (current) Efren. Top tier shot making. Plays very simple when he can. Alex executes simple shots with near perfect precision. He can lock anyone up from almost anywhere.

Efren---> The most creativity, moves with the best but a little differently/more complicated (no one sees what he sees) Has a gear that...well is Efren. Efren will beat you to the first shot 9/10 if he is playing his top game. Doesn't have the shot making ability that he used to but its on par with the course. The most difficult player to trap by far. Kicks the best.

Tony--->BY FAR the most aggressive/offensive of the 4. He isn't Danny Smith aggressive, but he is aggressive. He moves well and aggressively, kind of like Scott, but throws a little more caution to the wind. If put in a situation where he has the option to shoot, he will probably shoot and make it. I'd put his shot making ability at the top with Alex, especially with difficult and advanced shots. Tony shoots the rail first kick the ball from your opponents pocket to your pocket better than anyone on the planet, (can't count how many times he made it on Richie and Josh) . Runs the balls with the other 3 no problem, Top gear (gambling) slightly under or tied with Alex. Tony will shoot and make the shots you aren't supposed to shoot sometimes. "If you don't miss, you can't sellout"

Scott--->Scott is always trying to accomplish multiple things at once. He can run balls as well or better than the other 3 at times. He is almost as creative as Efren. His can be aggressive, but not as aggressive as Tony. He knows the game as well as Efren and Alex. Scott doesn't quite have the shot making ability that the other 3 do, but has a dynamic game that makes him tough to fade.

One thing I will rank these guys on is the end game. With one ball left on the table I like in order:

Efren
Alex
Scott
Tony

As Scott once commented on Efren playing Gentiles "What are you gonna do, play safe with Efren all day?"

Enough about these 4 guys. Who is number 5? Who is the 5th best one pocket player in the world right now?

I personally like Dennis, he doesn't move great but doesn't move bad either. He also shoots so straight that it hurts.

I know Shane will make a few peoples lists as well. He'd really have to play Dennis a one pocket set. That'd be something.

I like Danny Smith's game too. Its pretty similar to Tony's except Danny Banks a little better but doesn't move as well


so


who do you thinkg is number 5/6/7/8/
 

LSJohn

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I'm not going to post an order, but alphabetically, top 11. Shake 'em up and spit 'em out... when you bet on one against the other you're gamblin', sometimes more, sometimes less. Pick the matchup you'd most like to lay 6 to 5 on and I'll bet you get action, but you may not like it. :D

Bergman

Bustamante

Chohan

Frost

Jones

Hall

Orcollo

Pagulayan

Reyes

Roberts

Smith



I wouldn't want to lay 7-5 against Brown, Gray, Morra, Compton.

I hear there's a guy out in the boonies who dabs 'em pretty good too... some name like Dumbart, or Broombach, or Brownback or sumthin'. :D
 

cincy_kid

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I'm not going to post an order, but alphabetically, top 11. Shake 'em up and spit 'em out... when you bet on one against the other you're gamblin', sometimes more, sometimes less. Pick the matchup you'd most like to lay 6 to 5 on and I'll bet you get action, but you may not like it. :D

Bergman

Bustamante

Chohan

Frost

Jones

Hall

Orcollo

Pagulayan

Reyes

Roberts

Smith



I wouldn't want to lay 7-5 against Brown, Gray, Morra, Compton.

I hear there's a guy out in the boonies who dabs 'em pretty good too... some name like Dumbart, or Broombach, or Brownback or sumthin'. :D

Thats a good list John and I agree that almost anyone in that list can beat another one in that list on a given day...but if I had to pick who #5 was on the list and had to decide on a top 5 overall mine would be:

Alex
Efren
Scott
SVB
Tony

(probably in that order too)

As far as the 7-5 odds you may want throw Deuel in there some place as well...
 
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Hennie Bogan

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If your top 4 is Efren, Alex, Scott, and Tony, then I think SVB has to be your 5th. I think, however, that SVB has to be in the top 4. He has fairly-recent back-to-back Derby City one pocket titles and a US Open One Pocket title.

Considering the track records I am aware of, I would take Tony out of the top 4 and put SVB in. Then you have Efren (a gazillion DCC titles, race to ten with SVB, back-to-back MIH One Pocket titles showing he's still got it, etc.), Alex (back-to-back DCC titles, matches with Scott, etc.), Scott (DCC title, matches with Efren, that really long match with Alex where he lost, but showed they were essentially even), and SVB (back-to-back DCC titles, US Open One Pocket).

I love Tony's game, but I don't think he has truly stepped out and really proven himself against the best, notwithstanding his recent win in New Orleans. One more like that and/or a long-set victory over one of the top 4 and I might change my tune.

I may put too much stock in the DCC titles, but I really feel like that has been a good barometer over the years of who has played the best one pocket. If you look at the champions, there aren't really any flukes, certainly not when you look at multi-winners.
 

cincy_kid

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If your top 4 is Efren, Alex, Scott, and Tony, then I think SVB has to be your 5th. I think, however, that SVB has to be in the top 4. He has fairly-recent back-to-back Derby City one pocket titles and a US Open One Pocket title.

Considering the track records I am aware of, I would take Tony out of the top 4 and put SVB in. Then you have Efren (a gazillion DCC titles, race to ten with SVB, back-to-back MIH One Pocket titles showing he's still got it, etc.), Alex (back-to-back DCC titles, matches with Scott, etc.), Scott (DCC title, matches with Efren, that really long match with Alex where he lost, but showed they were essentially even), and SVB (back-to-back DCC titles, US Open One Pocket).

I love Tony's game, but I don't think he has truly stepped out and really proven himself against the best, notwithstanding his recent win in New Orleans. One more like that and/or a long-set victory over one of the top 4 and I might change my tune.

I may put too much stock in the DCC titles, but I really feel like that has been a good barometer over the years of who has played the best one pocket. If you look at the champions, there aren't really any flukes, certainly not when you look at multi-winners.

Pretty much my sentiments said more eloquently :)
 

Hennie Bogan

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I just read through the AZ post and Drop the Rock stated that Tony beat Shane recently for 5k. I am not sure what the race was or if Shane was up for it, but that definitely makes it more difficult to kick Tony out of the top 5. That said, I don't think there is any way to keep Shane out!

On a related note, I love where we are at with one pocket right now. We have great champions playing at an extremely high level and we have young guns coming up who are developing into champions. I do wish we still had Cliff, Shannon, and Varner at the top of their games as well. Each offered their own style of play that would have been fun to see compete with the current top players.

I also really appreciate the streaming of matches. Although I have my quarrels with the product the streamers put out at times (poor commentary, lack of commentary, not keeping up with the score, lack of professionalism in the production, not making videos available for later viewing, etc.), never before has championship level one pocket been so accessible. I try to support them all and encourage others to do the same. Without streamed matches, it would be even more difficult to have this kind of debate.
 

wincardona

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Who's the top five players in the world is a tough question to answer simply because of all the different conditions that are possible to play under. If you're talking about tournament play under dry conditions with 4-1/2" pockets Reyes would still be the most difficult player to beat, imo. However when the conditions get tougher to play under like higher humidity and smaller pockets then Pagulayan and Chohan now become the more logical choices. Then we must also consider whether it's a tournament format or a gambling session, big difference there as well.

The question was who's the #5 ranked player, well imo that would be tough to call. VanBoening, Smith, and Bergman would be all in line for the 5th. spot possibly along with Hall from Fl. I don't believe Orcullo fits into that slot because his understanding of the game is still not nearly as good as his pool knowledge which is really a mystery to me. At one time I believed Orcullo's game was amongst the best, I believe now that I was mistaken.

I believe that we should look at this topic the same way handicappers view any other sport and that would be on the players performance in past and recent events, then give an honest evaluation.

Dr. Bill
 
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cincy_kid

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Who's the top five players in the world is a tough question to answer simply because of all the different conditions that are possible to play under. If you're talking about tournament play under dry conditions with 4-1/2" pockets Reyes would still be the most difficult player to beat, imo. However when the conditions get tougher to play under like higher humidity and smaller pockets then Pagulayan and Chohan now become the more logical choices. Then we must also consider whether it's a tournament format or a gambling session, big difference there as well.

The question was who's the #5 ranked player, well imo that would be tough to call. VanBoening, Smith, and Bergman would be all in line for the 5th. spot possibly along with Hall from Fl. I don't believe Orcullo fits into that slot because his understanding of the game is still not nearly as good as his pool knowledge which is really a mystery to me. At one time I believed Orcullo's game was amongst the best, I believe now that I was mistaken.

I believe that we should look at this topic the same way handicappers view any other sport and that would be on the players performance in past and recent events, then give an honest evaluation.

Dr. Bill

Very true Dr. Bill! It's crazy how the results can vary based on that one factor. I guess you could also even break it down further on if they are playing on their own money or using a stakehorse :)

That being said, I think the OP was talking about tournament play and I think you have a pretty good assessment on all of the above. I have seen Dennis beat some good players playing one pocket but still not a top 5 contender imo.
 

Miller

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bustamante must feel like the most dissed man in the world......(especially if you are going to use tourney results as a benchmark....lol....)
:eek:

you can compile lists at any given finite time, but deuel is going to be on mine somewhere as well.....

my thoughts of handicapping of players has been well chronicalled here. imo, you break them down into tiers and throw a random dart.....
 

gulfportdoc

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Dang I thought pilots had to be good with numbers? You went from 4 to 6?:D
Oh no-- not in the South. It's different here. "Dinner" means lunch. "Supper" means dinner. "I'll see you at 2:00" means maybe by suppertime. "I'll see you later in the week" means maybe in the next couple of months. "I'll see you soon" means probably never. And "bless your heart" means I hate your guts...:lol

~Doc
 

lll

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Oh no-- not in the South. It's different here. "Dinner" means lunch. "Supper" means dinner. "I'll see you at 2:00" means maybe by suppertime. "I'll see you later in the week" means maybe in the next couple of months. "I'll see you soon" means probably never. And "bless your heart" means I hate your guts...:lol

~Doc

mini hi jack of my own thread....:eek:....:D
i saw this on azb as another group of sayings
that dont mean what they say
death words from women.jpg
 
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