I appreciate Mike Page taking the time to present the results of his research, as a rough gauge we can use to measure Super 7s. SL7 is the terminal skill rank in APA 8-ball.
In the past, if double jeopardy was offered, then adding the APA 9-ball skill rating helped clarify a player.
I can see if you have 2 players who are Super 7s, then the 23 handicap is no longer an effective team equalizer.
:Super 7s.
Not all APA league operators offer the Masters format. I wouldn't be surprised if some don't offer 8-ball/9-ball double jeopardy. So, if there isn't any other league option (BCA, TAP,NAPL, MAPL), other than APA 8-ball, what other outlet is there for Super 7s.
Reminder, Masters is APA's highest skilled league product, while APA 8-ball is their lowest. APA 8-ball was marketed towards beginner & intermediate. Every man starts off as SL4 on a handicap scale of SL2-7, with a 5 game spread. I read somewhere where 80% of the players are SL3/4/5. APA 9-ball has more accommodation for intermediate/higher skill players as the handicap scale measures from SL2-SL9.
Why dont you play masters ? I do and really enjoy playing head to head with some pretty strong players in our area. Of course I get whipped up on from time to time but i try to learn from my opponents. And I occasionally win a rack here and there and even a match once in a while. Also its a lot more gratifying winning a heads up match than a handicap match against those guys.
With all the complaints about apa's 23 limit...sandbagging ....llaying real low level players etc etc I dont understand why masters is not more popular than it is.
Sometimes I have wondered if people dont want to play it because they cant use the sandbagger excuse when they lose lol. I have also wondered a time or 2 if people are afraid to play better players without a handicap.