WNT, WPA and 2026

Here there is a bar-pool culture and a pool-hall culture without a clean overlap between them. There is not only table-size difference. But the pool hall is playing on, e.g., simonis and good balls, while the bars more likely have heavy cueballs and slower cloth. Significantly, the strong players in the pool halls don't tend to be people who "graduated" from the bar scene; they are more often players who grew up in the pool hall. The better bar-pool players (say 550 speed) may not even be able to name the 650s in their area. Even though the most serious players here are "9-foot" players, these areas don't tend to produce as many good players.

is that per "capita", meaning that the overall number of players are included in that assessment?

WNT, WPA and 2026

Does pool in the US need to change in any way to make the US more competitive? How can that change happen?
It, imo, is hard to ignore that
18-year-old phenom from Sweden (Walter Laikre, 753) has 1670 games in FargoRate against opponents 750 or higher
18-year-old phenom from Minnesota (Hank Leinen, 707) has 248 games in FargoRate against opponents 750 or higher

a 7-to-1 ratio

WNT, WPA and 2026

This is recorded games in Fargo, but it's difficult to get Fargo-rated games on 9ft tables unless one is a pro. Most leagues and most amateur tournaments--that is, most Fargo-rated games--are on 7ft. I, for example, have the majority of my play on my home 9ft table. Any time I go out to play and have a choice, I choose a 9ft table. I've done many sets for money on 9' tables. However, 100% of my Fargo-rated games are on 7ft because I am not a pro, and so all league and tournament play is on 7s.
Yes, agreed.

WNT, WPA and 2026

Tyler Styer had 2000 games in FargoRate before his first game on a 9-foot table. It was at the Super Billiards expo in 2024 when his 9-foot games (5,000 then) reached his 7-foot games (5,000 also).

You referred to Hayden Ernst as "a 9-foot player." In his record, though, the 9-foot games are from national-level junior tournaments like BEF, etc. The league games in his record and the vast majority of tournament games in the system are on 7-foot tables.

This is recorded games in Fargo, but it's difficult to get Fargo-rated games on 9ft tables unless one is a pro. Most leagues and most amateur tournaments--that is, most Fargo-rated games--are on 7ft. I, for example, have the majority of my play on my home 9ft table. Any time I go out to play and have a choice, I choose a 9ft table. I've done many sets for money on 9' tables. However, 100% of my Fargo-rated games are on 7ft because I am not a pro, and so all league and tournament play is on 7s.

Van Boening Hunts New Title As Arizona Open Delivers Day One Drama

Fresh from his Florida Open triumph, Shane Van Boening made a flying start to his Arizona Open Pool Championship campaign with a devastating whitewash victory, while several of the sport’s biggest names suffered early exits on a dramatic opening day in Yuma. The inaugural Arizona Open Pool Championship takes place at Quechan Casino Resort from 13–16 August, bringing four days of world-class nine-ball action as a 128-player field competes in a straight knockout format as part of the World Nineball Tour’s US Swing this August. FULL BRACKET WATCH ALL THE ACTION ON WNT TV Continuing the momentum from his coronation […]

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