"I played like a poor player, to be perfectly honest."
In other words, since he never got the chance to play, Shō is a poor player.
Other contestants seem to view the Hispanics as poor players, even when they are not.
I am a poor player, and yet I had won two games out of three.
In fact, I doubt anyone would believe that it was anything but the best compliment we poor players could offer.
"Do you think me so poor a player, then, to show all my counters before the game is over?"
In contrast, poor players have the same level of recall for both.
Even if you're just trying to be the nice guy, and calm the poor player down.
The poor player probably had never known what hit him.
"And then you think, 'Imagine how these poor players must feel.' "