Joe Rogan Experience #2371 - Fedor Gorst

Joe Rogan, a lifelong pool enthusiast, hosts world No. 1 Fedor Gorst for a deep, technical conversation aimed squarely at pool fans. They cover how the modern game has transformed in just a few years, the brutal mental pressure of shot-clock tournament play, and the romance and dangers of high-stakes gambling. Gorst explains the science of cues, carbon fiber versus wood shafts, breaking formats, and his own pre-shot breathing and visualization routines. They trace pool's booming popularity in Vietnam and China, debate how to grow the game in America, and tease setting up a possible high-stakes match against rival Josh Filler. The talk also detours into fame, dealing with haters, and the Liver King saga.

• Gorst recounts sinking the nineball for $250,000 at the World Championships final against Kachi, calling it the highlight of his career.
  00:50:40
• Gorst reveals a Josh Filler high-stakes match nearly happened but stalled over money and conditions; backers wanted a half-million-dollar bet in Vegas.
  01:14:58
• Gorst admits his biggest mental demon is being scared to miss, and that he has lost big matches (European Open, Saudi) because he 'knew' he would miss.
  01:25:51
• Joe offers on-air to help set up and commentate a Gorst vs. Filler match in Austin with Matchroom involved.
  02:14:11
• Filler reportedly wanted to play on a tighter 4-inch-pocket table to neutralize Gorst's break advantage.
  02:03:14
• Gorst admits his lifelong primary motivation has always been money, growing up in a poorish family.
  02:09:32
• Gorst explains why Filler is now resented in the pool world after he broke a top-players boycott of a WPA event.
  02:04:49

• Vietnam is now likely the most pool-playing country in the world, with around 2,000 pool rooms in Hanoi alone.
  01:34:13
• Vietnam grew the game by building huge pool rooms attached to computer gaming clubs, and they don't drink in pool rooms.
  01:33:42
• Russian athletes, including pool players, were first banned internationally in 2018-19 over hockey doping, before any war-related bans.
  00:09:49
• The APA has about 270,000 mostly-bar members in the US, many of whom don't know who star Shane Van Boning is.
  01:38:23
• Chinese 8-ball (now 'Heyball') has exploded, with top tournaments paying up to $750,000 for first place.
  01:35:47
• At the World Championships, first place paid $250,000 and second paid $100,000, a $150,000 swing on a single nineball.
  00:50:40
• Studies show pure mental visualization can count almost as much as real practice; player Nick Vandenberg famously 'practiced' on his couch.
  01:28:30
• Shane Van Boning, born deaf, can switch his Bluetooth hearing aids off via his phone during matches, which players debate is an unfair edge.
  00:36:43
• Earl Strickland has worn gunsight glasses, pilot-style noise-canceling headphones, and wrist/elbow weights, and runs five miles a day in his 60s.
  00:39:18