Mike Sigel's American Billiard League

JAM

JAM

I am the storm
Silver Member
The most fun I ever had with pool was playing on the leagues. Professional pool, of course, I've only been a mere railbird, and the pool politics from yesteryear and today always seem to muddy up my enjoyment.

Now comes Mike Sigel's American Billiard League (ABL), which is getting traction. His spiel includes the famous mantra, "Cash is King," and he's got $2.5 million to back it up. I heard through the grapevine that the money is real and there for the taking.

I am a bit confused on the name change from UBL to ABL. The ABL website shares a great article from Billiards Digest about a team named Kracker Jacks from Warren, OH who won $100,000 in 2019. Read more here on Billiards Digest: https://www.billiardsdigest.com/new_current_issue/jul_19/bb_index.php

ABL website: http://ablplayers.com

 
Am I understanding this right?

When he says "play a rack of 8 ball", The player is simply breaking and playing by himself? Playing an 8 ball ghost? Adding points until he misses and then moving to the next rack?
 
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David in FL said:
Am I understanding this right?

When he says "play a rack of 8 ball", The player is simply breaking and playing by himself? Playing an 8 ball ghost? Adding points until he misses and then moving to the next rack?
Click to expand...
I am not sure, but that can't be right, playing the ghost. I am following the Facebook page of ABL and hope to learn more.

For me, playing on leagues was never really about the money or the tin cup, though they were cool. What I enjoyed most was the camaraderie, getting out of the house and socializing with other pool peeps. Playing pool was clean fun for me.
 
David in FL said:
Am I understanding this right?

When he says "play a rack of 8 ball", The player is simply breaking and playing by himself? Playing an 8 ball ghost? Adding points until he misses and then moving to the next rack?
Click to expand...

Here are the rules. I didn’t go through in detail, looks like players get to pick up the cue ball multiple times per rack for BIH?

ablplayers.com

Rules & Regulations

ABL Handicap System Players Players must be at least 18 years old and must be a league member to play in the league Players in the United States and other countries must be legal residents of their respective countries. Regardless of a players /teams location,…
ablplayers.com ablplayers.com
 
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This is at least the third iteration of a Sigel-promoted ball-in-hand (now called a "placement") handicapping league. In 2013 it was the Global Pool Players Association (GPPA). Then, around 2018/2019, the United Billiard Leagues. Here's what I wrote at that time:

"I'm not a fan of any league or event that attempts to completely eliminate the gap between higher and lower skilled players. Partial handicaps are OK, as they allow the lesser skilled players to have a chance to win in any match, but leave it likely that the higher skilled players will have better records in the long run.​
​
The United Billiard Leagues claims to use "a system that allows all people to compete on an equal level regardless of previous experience." Such a system would produce matches that are just coin flips, not true competition. A novice and a pro competing on "an equal level" is not a sports competition. Now, some people may enjoy participating in such a league as some form of entertainment. And some will join to try to win what amounts to a lottery. Have fun, but it's not for me.​
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As for the big money paid after that first session -- they are priming the pump."​
 
David in FL said:
Am I understanding this right?

When he says "play a rack of 8 ball", The player is simply breaking and playing by himself? Playing an 8 ball ghost? Adding points until he misses and then moving to the next rack?
Click to expand...
It looks like the playing-by-yourself part is only for the playoffs, not for the regular weekly sessions. See the Rules & Regulations, linked in post #4 above.
 
AtLarge said:
This is at least the third iteration of a Sigel-promoted ball-in-hand (now called a "placement") handicapping league. In 2013 it was the Global Pool Players Association (GPPA). Then, around 2018/2019, the United Billiard Leagues. Here's what I wrote at that time:

"I'm not a fan of any league or event that attempts to completely eliminate the gap between higher and lower skilled players. Partial handicaps are OK, as they allow the lesser skilled players to have a chance to win in any match, but leave it likely that the higher skilled players will have better records in the long run.​
​
The United Billiard Leagues claims to use "a system that allows all people to compete on an equal level regardless of previous experience." Such a system would produce matches that are just coin flips, not true competition. A novice and a pro competing on "an equal level" is not a sports competition. Now, some people may enjoy participating in such a league as some form of entertainment. And some will join to try to win what amounts to a lottery. Have fun, but it's not for me.​
​
As for the big money paid after that first session -- they are priming the pump."​
Click to expand...
Thanks for the explanation. Playing the ghost odd, and I agree about the handicap. Some leagues do have hanky-panky going on with handicaps. When I played on a league, it was widespread knowledge that some players who were ranked a 2 or 3 should have been a 7, but they laid down so their team could perform well later on down the road.

I did wonder about the UBL and now the ABL. The leagues in USA today—APA, BCA, TAP, and VNEA, et cetera—have a strong following. It will be interesting to see if the ABL gains traction.

One thing for sure, Mike Sigel is a good salesman. He's articulate in front of and behind the camera. Being a member of the BCA Hall of Fame and champion gives him cred and support by pool's fourth estate. I wish him luck, but he's got a long road ahead of him.
 
And now add the ultimate pool league to the mix. I was playing a local tournament yesterday and a couple of guys were talking about it, they just started last week. So now local we have ACS ,TAP,APA,BCA/VNEA and Ultimate pool League all playing out of one location,but I have yet to hear of the ABL.
 
David in FL said:
Am I understanding this right?

When he says "play a rack of 8 ball", The player is simply breaking and playing by himself? Playing an 8 ball ghost? Adding points until he misses and then moving to the next rack?
Click to expand...
That was my understanding. I don't think there is any "moving to the next rack" for that player, rather it's
"moving to the next player" to shoot a rack. His example was a three person team, and they all shoot one rack against the ghost, and their scores are totaled then compared to the opponent team's total score.

From what Mike said, it appears to be a way to cut costs: the league doesn't have to set up a convention center in LV with 200 tables.
 
7stud said:
... From what Mike said, it appears to be a way to cut costs: the league doesn't have to set up a convention center in LV with 200 tables.
Click to expand...
Ummm... So only a bunch of idiots would play the (remote) finals on the front table in the room with the 4-inch pockets?

Oops, I just read some of the rules. The finals are on 7-foot tables. If you're now shouting at your screen that small tables will not work for pro players, there's this in the rules:

Professional Player
  1. A professional player is any player who competes, or has ever competed in a pro If a player does not know if they are a pro then the Americas’ Billiard Leagues board will make a decision after looking at the facts. No pro is allowed in the league.
  2. If the league finds out a player is a professional or has ever competed in a professional tournament and the player has not declared themself to the league a professional, the player will be barred from the league indefinitely.
  3. Be truthful on your application!
As for the table, I guess the room will want to make the table as conducive as possible to running racks for the final. New balls and new cloth and a week of practice for the home team. There must be other things that could be done....

I see that they have made up their own playing rules. Double hits on a close ball are permitted if you jack up for the shot. That's as far as I got in reading them.
 
It would have been a lot easier (and likely more remunerative) for him to partner with an existing league rather than try to create his own.
 
skip100 said:
It would have been a lot easier (and likely more remunerative) for him to partner with an existing league rather than try to create his own.
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What would he have brought to, say, CSI or APA? What would they get from the partnership?
 
kling&allen said:
Here are the rules. I didn’t go through in detail, looks like players get to pick up the cue ball multiple times per rack for BIH? ...
Click to expand...
Here's the final rule. I think it is not legally binding in some jurisdictions, but I'm not a lawyer. ;)
  • All league players will not take any legal action against America’s Billiard League for any reason after filling out the sign up sheet and or competing in the league.
 
Iwishiwasrich said:
And now add the ultimate pool league to the mix. I was playing a local tournament yesterday and a couple of guys were talking about it, they just started last week. So now local we have ACS ,TAP,APA,BCA/VNEA and Ultimate pool League all playing out of one location,but I have yet to hear of the ABL.
Click to expand...
Ultimate pool is garbage. Slop counts, don't have to call the 8 ball, any pocket is fine, ratings that flux more than any other league.
 
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