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The ones I could think of, off the top of my head, were these seventeen: Sigel Varner Hall Mizerak Orcullo Pagulayan Reyes Bustamante Daulton Gorst Filler Appleton Feijen Hohmann Van Boening Rempe Ortmann

For starters, I have interacted with pool's fan base on a regular basis since 1976, having attended several hundred events live over that period. Nonetheless, that is only a small part of the picture. The fans have not only spoken out on this subject but they have screamed out. Twenty-five...

It has been suggested by some who've played this way that it's inadvisable to make a ball on the break as the one pushing out is, on average, at a slight disadvantage. If so, the break would remain relevant. The premise of this thread is that the excitement level at the China Open was reduced...

Regardless of its source, the picture is a meaningful trip down memory lane. Pro players were always associated with cigarettes and alcohol. As we found out in the mid-1990s, sponsors of pro pool saw amateur pool players and pool fans in that same light. A major sponsorship was secured by the...

Seems to go with the territory. Johnny Archer, Kim Davenport, Jeremy Jones, Earl Strickland, Nick Varner and, yes, even Jean Balukas were very good golfers.

On May 7, a letter issued jointly by WPA and Matchroom offered “an agreement has been reached, ensuring that WNT events will be ratified by the WPA going forward.”

John is one of the greatest natural talents to ever pick up a cue. Often associated with his straight pool exploits alone, people tend to forget that he won big titles in all the disciplines: 1) at 9ball, he won the US Open, 2) at 10ball, he won the Super Billiards Expo event over an elite...

Yes, it has between tried. Pat Fleming staged a "mandatory push after the break" style event at the Derby about a decade ago (?2014?). Yes, it emphasizes strategy, but the racks took longer and if this style of 9ball were ever adopted, the races need to be shortened a lot. That said, I can't...

Yeah. Having neutral rackers has been a big step forward in our sport, but if the refs give bad racks, it defeats the purpose.

Sounds like you already know, with respect to the stroke, what the ingredients for success are. Stance, grip, bridge, pre-shot routine, staying down on the shot, following through along the line of aim, etc, etc etc. No book will tell you which of these areas are the ones in which you need...

If we're talking Shane and 8-ball, his best ever effort was at the 2013 US Open 8ball final, played on the big tables. Biado and Shane produced a match that is in the conversation for best match ever played. In alternate break format, each broke and ran nine of his first ten racks and the...

Great stuff, Bill. Thanks for sharing.

Wow, must have been ages ago. Andam was fairly well known by the mid-1990s. I believe his ranking on the Pro Billiards Tour in 1997 went as high as #2. He was a superb cueist. Like Luat and Lining, his reputation was below Parica, Reyes and Bustamante, but all six of them were stone cold...

Gar, if you and I ever gamble, I'm going to ask you to post.

Maciol and Szewczyk were both shaky in the second semifinal. Neither the offensive execution nor the tactical play was very impressive. We know of what Szewczyk is capable, and his "A" game will likely produce a win in the final, but the pool he played today might not be good enough against...

For me, one great shot or one great rack is very impressive, but great cueing must last for a full match, and the bigger the moment in which a player rises to the highest level of cueing, the more impressive the cueing. When I think of truly great cueing, I always come back to the final of the...

Absolutely. I've seen the great ones win under the most strained conditions, including when they were sick. Still, bad luck for Fedor that he was not physically right this week, and I wish him a speedy return to full health. Reaching the semis at the China Open is still impressive, but when...

Agreed here. Alternate break makes pool quite a bit less exciting for the fans. It is a perfect example of when the needs of the players are at odds with what makes pool more marketable. I know that alternate break, as several have demonstrated statistically on this forum, has little impact...

Well said. The pool offered by the WNT majors is the most entertaining in the game for the very reasons you have cited.

Inclined to agree. Only an automated method of surveillance will do here. Still, a method must be devised by which tournament officials are advised of break speed infractions, so they are in a position to take action as necessary.