3 Cushion or 2 Cushion?

hang-the-9

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
https://youtu.be/Pf8Y5WI9yH4?t=9m18s

In the video, the shot looks to have hit the corner exactly, meaning both rails were touched at the same time, or close enough that it looked like it's impossible to tell which rail was hit first, if indeed it was.

Looks like that counted as a good shot.

In 3C, if a ball hits the corner like that, is it assumed to have contacted one rail then the next or does the simultanious hitting of both rails count as 2 rails for a legal 3C?

Technically he did hit 3 cushions, just 2 at once, the 3 rails don't need to be clearly indipendent hits?
 
I dont know the exact rule wording, but the way I have seen it done is just that the 3 cushions and the other ball have to be hit before the final contact - no restriction on how or what order.
 
https://youtu.be/Pf8Y5WI9yH4?t=9m18s

In the video, the shot looks to have hit the corner exactly, meaning both rails were touched at the same time, or close enough that it looked like it's impossible to tell which rail was hit first, if indeed it was.

Looks like that counted as a good shot.

In 3C, if a ball hits the corner like that, is it assumed to have contacted one rail then the next or does the simultanious hitting of both rails count as 2 rails for a legal 3C?

Technically he did hit 3 cushions, just 2 at once, the 3 rails don't need to be clearly indipendent hits?
The timing on that shot is irrelevant. As you suspected, the contacts on different rails can be simultaneous.

A more complicated situation is when you are "reversing a corner" and you hit for example long rail, short rail with reverse english, long rail right in a corner playing nearly parallel to the long rail. (On a pool table, the pocket would be in the way.) Sometimes you may actually touch the cushions simultaneously and it is not clear that the cue ball has left the long cushion before returning to the long cushion due to the side spin. I think most players and refs would judge the shot by the action of the ball and not by trying to see distinct contacts.

(I was in the audience for the match in the video along with about 1500 other people. It was on live TV in Belgium.)
 
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