Is the money in U.S. tournaments so bad,that many Champions or top Players from other countries don't see the benefit of playing here? I see so many Great Players that we hardly see at U.S. Tournaments,if it wasn't for Video on the 'Net,we wouldn't know they exist! I love to see Jeff DeLuna and Jeff Ignacio play,Wu,Ko,and so many others,that we are being cheated out of seeing so many talented Players!
Why don't more Champions travel to the U.S.?
- Thread starter LeftyIke
- Start date
Traveling
I know it's very hard for some players just to come here. Pool is not popular here like it was 10,20, even 30 years ago or longer. They come here and pool rooms are dead no action for them. On top of all that it's hard playing in another country, you don't speak the language, food is different, tables play different, etc. Also it's expensive. The players in Philippines play each other everyday for a couple hundred a set. We play each other maybe once every ten years if that lol
I know it's very hard for some players just to come here. Pool is not popular here like it was 10,20, even 30 years ago or longer. They come here and pool rooms are dead no action for them. On top of all that it's hard playing in another country, you don't speak the language, food is different, tables play different, etc. Also it's expensive. The players in Philippines play each other everyday for a couple hundred a set. We play each other maybe once every ten years if that lol
Wu was in the USA a couple times in 2006 -- first for a couple IPT qualifiers (he failed to qualify) then for the IPT World Open 8-Ball Championship in Reno (he qualified in Japan, I think).
Thanks!
I don't think theres anything to add, you summed up the problem with pool in general.
Thanks for speaking up.
I don't think theres anything to add, you summed up the problem with pool in general.
Thanks for speaking up.
Billiards Wunderkid Leading the Way
This kid makes 1 billion in Korean currency, which equates to about $850,000 in U.S. currency. Why come to the United States!
Billiards is a sport commonly enjoyed by Korean men of all ages. Most neighborhoods in Korea have at least one billiards hall in the area and nowadays, more and more women are playing the game as well.
Among the many games played on the billiards table, three-cushion is deemed as a highlight. There are three balls on the table: one for each player and a neutral red ball. To score, a player has to cue his or her ball to hit two other balls, as well as three walls, or cushions, of the table.
Kim Haeng-jik, 24, became the world’s second best three-cushion player this month at the UMB World Three-cushion championship.
At the finals held on Sunday in Bordeaux, France, he narrowly lost to Daniel Sanchez of Spain 37 to 40. This was his first entry to a world championship. He received 6,000 euros ($6,344) in prize money.
He is the youngest finalist since 2003, when the game started to open to only 40 or so of the world’s top billiard players. Before him, Choi Sung-won was the only Korean to have reached the final round, in 2012 and 2014.
This year’s UMB World Three-cushion Championship had 48 contestants, including the world’s top 17 players. In his semi-final, Kim beat Turkey’s Semih Saygıner 40 to 18, but he couldn’t overcome Sanchez, a three-cushion legend and a three-time champion as of this year.
Kim fell back to as low as 25 to 36 during the game and although he came close with a score of 34 to 36, the win eventually went to Sanchez after 19 innings.
Billiards players are said to reach their peak in their 30s, after gaining experience during their younger years. However, Kim’s growth was always somewhat faster. Having first grabbed the cue at age three in his father’s pool hall, he won a national competition for adults at age 14.
In 2007, when he entered high school, Kim won the Junior World championship held in Spain. He then won the same championship consecutively from 2010 to 2013, becoming the first to become champion for four times. His younger brother Kim Tae-kwan was last year’s champion, becoming the first brothers from the same family to win the championship.
Kim is right-handed, but he plays pool with his left hand as he was taught by his left-handed father. “Like boxing, left-handers have an advantage in pool, as a majority of players defend with a right hand — this can be an opportunity for left-handed players,” said Na Geun-ju, an official at the Korea Billiards Federation.
Kim joined the Horster-Eck, Germany’s highest-ranked team, in 2011. In 2013, he came back to Korea to join the army and after his dismissal, Kim won the Asian Billiards Championship in 2015, and became the youngest player to rank No. 1 in Korean billiards history.
Last year, Kim signed a three-year sponsorship deal with wireless provider LG U+. Kim himself makes over one billion won in yearly revenue in prize money. “My ultimate goal is to enhance Korea’s national prestige by becoming a globally-renowned billiards player,” he said.
In France, Korea’s Kim Haeng-jik fell just short of a world championship
Korea JoongAng Daily - Nov 26,2016
Source: Billiards Wunderkid Leading the Way [Retrieved 26 November 2016]
This kid makes 1 billion in Korean currency, which equates to about $850,000 in U.S. currency. Why come to the United States!
Billiards is a sport commonly enjoyed by Korean men of all ages. Most neighborhoods in Korea have at least one billiards hall in the area and nowadays, more and more women are playing the game as well.
Among the many games played on the billiards table, three-cushion is deemed as a highlight. There are three balls on the table: one for each player and a neutral red ball. To score, a player has to cue his or her ball to hit two other balls, as well as three walls, or cushions, of the table.
Kim Haeng-jik, 24, became the world’s second best three-cushion player this month at the UMB World Three-cushion championship.
At the finals held on Sunday in Bordeaux, France, he narrowly lost to Daniel Sanchez of Spain 37 to 40. This was his first entry to a world championship. He received 6,000 euros ($6,344) in prize money.
He is the youngest finalist since 2003, when the game started to open to only 40 or so of the world’s top billiard players. Before him, Choi Sung-won was the only Korean to have reached the final round, in 2012 and 2014.
This year’s UMB World Three-cushion Championship had 48 contestants, including the world’s top 17 players. In his semi-final, Kim beat Turkey’s Semih Saygıner 40 to 18, but he couldn’t overcome Sanchez, a three-cushion legend and a three-time champion as of this year.
Kim fell back to as low as 25 to 36 during the game and although he came close with a score of 34 to 36, the win eventually went to Sanchez after 19 innings.
Billiards players are said to reach their peak in their 30s, after gaining experience during their younger years. However, Kim’s growth was always somewhat faster. Having first grabbed the cue at age three in his father’s pool hall, he won a national competition for adults at age 14.
In 2007, when he entered high school, Kim won the Junior World championship held in Spain. He then won the same championship consecutively from 2010 to 2013, becoming the first to become champion for four times. His younger brother Kim Tae-kwan was last year’s champion, becoming the first brothers from the same family to win the championship.
Kim is right-handed, but he plays pool with his left hand as he was taught by his left-handed father. “Like boxing, left-handers have an advantage in pool, as a majority of players defend with a right hand — this can be an opportunity for left-handed players,” said Na Geun-ju, an official at the Korea Billiards Federation.
Kim joined the Horster-Eck, Germany’s highest-ranked team, in 2011. In 2013, he came back to Korea to join the army and after his dismissal, Kim won the Asian Billiards Championship in 2015, and became the youngest player to rank No. 1 in Korean billiards history.
Last year, Kim signed a three-year sponsorship deal with wireless provider LG U+. Kim himself makes over one billion won in yearly revenue in prize money. “My ultimate goal is to enhance Korea’s national prestige by becoming a globally-renowned billiards player,” he said.
In France, Korea’s Kim Haeng-jik fell just short of a world championship
Korea JoongAng Daily - Nov 26,2016
Source: Billiards Wunderkid Leading the Way [Retrieved 26 November 2016]
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I was in S. Korea for two years, the WON was worth about 85 cents to the U.S. Dollar when i was there, but anyways i seen more Billiards rooms then Gas stations over there, the Billiards table out numbered the pocket tables by 8 to 2 in the 40+ places me and my wife went to in a 35 mile radius.
Its too financially tough n burden to go there without backer/sponsor due to air flight , day to day expenses and accomodation.
Think about it , say a big competition like the open pays 40 grand and u got 200 of the world BEST PLAYERS coming in , it boils down to luck and whoever's in top form and breaks better on the day itself.
Your chances are 5% at most.
On top of that u have already wasted at least 2 grand in air ticket and hotel so you on a 2 grand deficit already.
Whats next you try to get action and when you are a pro , you going to have to give some serious big spot like 5 on the wire to 15 and if u dont play well , you're screwed and i doubt a decent short stop will gamble big like a couple grand a set against a player like Jeffrey deluna.
So whats left u may have to gamble against each other ( pros )which usually means 50-50 chances so they're better staying back home when they can gamble with a backer against each other without blowing cash.
Often the filipinos playing n gambling in the states have alr establish themselves or have a strong backer like Efren ( altho he dont really need a backer ), bustamante , warren kiamco , dennis orcollo or biado.
So in the long run , it doesnt make any financial sense to go to such an expensive country.
Pool aint like the past where efren and busty can go hustle in the states and win at least a couple or 10 grand at least PER DAY !!
and when i mean hustle , it means his opponents usually have zero or 10 percent chance at winning at most.
Hope this makes sense
The simple answer is one of two things - money or visa issues. It's not cheap to travel halfway around the world to play in one tournament, and for many foreign players getting a visa to come to the USA can be difficult. Even a top player like Jeff Deluna has had problems getting a visa to come here.
One reason is obviously the payouts. By the time you pay airfare, a weeks worth of food and lodging, and for transportation, these guys almost have to have a top 8 finish just to even up.
Also, in a country such as the Philippines, many people are still born into poverty or in the country side where documentation like birth certificates are not that big of a deal. Many Filippinos can't produce the documents need to obtain a passport needed for international travel. The Philippines, at least in the 90's was full of world class players that lack the resources to ever leave the country.
Dave
Also, in a country such as the Philippines, many people are still born into poverty or in the country side where documentation like birth certificates are not that big of a deal. Many Filippinos can't produce the documents need to obtain a passport needed for international travel. The Philippines, at least in the 90's was full of world class players that lack the resources to ever leave the country.
Dave
Simply because - real men play Snooker.
More balls!
Bigger tables!
Classier chicks!
More money!
Small balls and tiny sticks!!! Yeah, we get it!
