Professional pool

Charles Hartfield · Jun 1, 2019

I’m relatively new to keeping up with professional pool. It seems to me that it’s unorganized. There seems to be countless tours and tournaments. Golf, for instance, has a professional tour with four majors for the top players with a few lower tours. Am I wrong about professional pool? If not, why is it so unorganized? Also, what are the major tournaments in pool? Thanks. Charles

Nine ... corner · Jun 1, 2019

I assume your avatar is a picture of your Gold Crown and you don't have a clue about what is going on in the pool world. Curious.

Charles Hartfield · Jun 1, 2019

Nine ... corner said:
I assume your avatar is a picture of your Gold Crown and you don't have a clue about what is going on in the pool world. Curious.

That’s basically true.

sjm · Jun 1, 2019

chart22 said:
I’m relatively new to keeping up with professional pool. It seems to me that it’s unorganized. There seems to be countless tours and tournaments. Golf, for instance, has a professional tour with four majors for the top players with a few lower tours. Am I wrong about professional pool? If not, why is it so unorganized? Also, what are the major tournaments in pool? Thanks. Charles

Actually, there are few tours and many of the top events in America are independent events. America's top two tours are regional. In my opinion, the best American tour is the Joss Tour, played chiefly in New England and run by Mike Zuglan, and the second best is the Mezz Tour played on the West Coast and run, I believe, by Oscar Dominguez. Contrastingly, In Europe, there is a well organized tour called the Eurotour, run by the European Pocket Billiard Federation.

The major events in pool, as I see it are:

World 9-ball Championships
US Open 9-ball Championships
China Open 9-ball Championship
All Japan 9-ball Championship
Derby City Classic 9-ball Championship
World Pool Masters
World Cup of Pool
Mosconi Cup

hang-the-9 · Jun 1, 2019

sjm said:
Actually, there are few tours and many of the top events in America are independent events. America's top two tours are regional. In my opinion, the best American tour is the Joss Tour, played chiefly in New England and run by Mike Zuglan, and the second best is the Mezz Tour played on the West Coast and run, I believe, by Oscar Dominguez. Contrastingly, In Europe, there is a well organized tour called the Eurotour, run by the European Pocket Billiard Federation.

The major events in pool, as I see it are:

World 9-ball Championships
US Open 9-ball Championships
China Open 9-ball Championship
All Japan 9-ball Championship
Derby City Classic 9-ball Championship
World Pool Masters
World Cup of Pool
Mosconi Cup

There is also the Predator tour in New York area, I think I would put that in the same boat as Joss and Mezz. There are also Mezz events in NJ/NY, I know I have played in a few in NJ that were labeled as "Mezz Tour".

pt109 · Jun 1, 2019

chart22 said:
I’m relatively new to keeping up with professional pool. It seems to me that it’s unorganized. There seems to be countless tours and tournaments. Golf, for instance, has a professional tour with four majors for the top players with a few lower tours. Am I wrong about professional pool? If not, why is it so unorganized? Also, what are the major tournaments in pool? Thanks. Charles

Organizing pool players is like herding cats.

sjm · Jun 1, 2019

hang-the-9 said:
There is also the Predator tour in New York area, I think I would put that in the same boat as Joss and Mezz. There are also Mezz events in NJ/NY, I know I have played in a few in NJ that were labeled as "Mezz Tour".

I am aware of the other tours but don't agree that anything in America touches the Joss Tour for both the number and quality of its annual events. It's my opinion that The Joss Tour is the best regional tour in American history.

Charles Hartfield · Jun 2, 2019

sjm said:
Actually, there are few tours and many of the top events in America are independent events. America's top two tours are regional. In my opinion, the best American tour is the Joss Tour, played chiefly in New England and run by Mike Zuglan, and the second best is the Mezz Tour played on the West Coast and run, I believe, by Oscar Dominguez. Contrastingly, In Europe, there is a well organized tour called the Eurotour, run by the European Pocket Billiard Federation.

The major events in pool, as I see it are:

World 9-ball Championships
US Open 9-ball Championships
China Open 9-ball Championship
All Japan 9-ball Championship
Derby City Classic 9-ball Championship
World Pool Masters
World Cup of Pool
Mosconi Cup

Thanks for the information and tournament list. It’s just what I was wanting.

Charles Hartfield · Jun 2, 2019

pt109 said:
Organizing pool players is like herding cats.

That’s what I was thinking as well.

garczar · Jun 2, 2019

With Barry Hearn's Matchroom now running the Open we may see a US tour in the near future. A LOT of egos will have to be massaged but it is doable. The old Camel Pro Billiard Tour worked for quite a while. Matchroom is far more organized in everything they touch.

Snooker Theory · Jun 2, 2019

Nine ... corner said:
I assume your avatar is a picture of your Gold Crown and you don't have a clue about what is going on in the pool world. Curious.

It is always funny when someone wants to learn about pool/history/the game overall and then asks AZBilliards. Instead of helping the man learn, a few people such as your self just talk shit and say he doesn't have a clue, well "no shit" he doesn't have a clue, otherwise he wouldn't be asking.

garczar · Jun 2, 2019

Snooker Theory said:
It is always funny when someone wants to learn about pool/history/the game overall and then asks AZBilliards. Instead of helping the man learn, a few people such as your self just talk shit and say he doesn't have a clue, well "no shit" he doesn't have a clue, otherwise he wouldn't be asking.

I agree. Big difference in a blatant troll vs. just wanting info. The beauty of AZ's "Ignore" feature.

Bob Jewett · Jun 2, 2019

chart22 said:
I’m relatively new to keeping up with professional pool. It seems to me that it’s unorganized. There seems to be countless tours and tournaments. Golf, for instance, has a professional tour with four majors for the top players with a few lower tours. Am I wrong about professional pool? If not, why is it so unorganized? Also, what are the major tournaments in pool? Thanks. Charles

There is no governing body in the US interested in running events. In theory the BCA (Billiard Congress of America, and not the BCAPL which is a division of CSI) is the appropriate organization to promote competition in the US but the BCA gave up that sort of interest about the same time that they got rid of their amateur league (which became the BCAPL). So far as I know, the BCA doesn't even sanction events any more which would help with organizing the calendar.

logical · Jun 2, 2019

pt109 said:
Organizing pool players is like herding cats.

Exactly, they see the success in golf and other sports and avoid doing anything the way they did.

Not that it's in any way the .ain problem but just look at the backlash when someone suggests not wearing baggy shorts and a Tshirt in a tournament.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Charles Hartfield · Jun 3, 2019

There doesn’t seem to be a lot of money in the pro game. Do you guys think the lack of money has anything to do with it?

Pete · Jun 3, 2019

chart22 said:
There doesn’t seem to be a lot of money in the pro game. Do you guys think the lack of money has anything to do with it?

Do you know why MOST of the expensive equipment is owned by armature pool players and not pro pool players?

They Have Jobs.

So Truly Sad Too Me.

pt109 · Jun 3, 2019

chart22 said:
There doesn’t seem to be a lot of money in the pro game. Do you guys think the lack of money has anything to do with it?

It’s the old “chicken and the egg” dilemma....tough to do business with no association.
....when snooker got its big break in 1977, the WPBSA was ready to handle it.

Scott Lee · Jun 3, 2019

Not that long...The Camel Pro Tour lasted three seasons...until RJ Reynolds decided they weren't getting the bang for their buck that they expected, so they pulled the plug. Then Don Mackey, tour commissioner, sued RJ Reynolds for almost $900,000...and WON. He stole all the money, and lives on a golf course in FL.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

garczar said:
With Barry Hearn's Matchroom now running the Open we may see a US tour in the near future. A LOT of egos will have to be massaged but it is doable. The old Camel Pro Billiard Tour worked for quite a while. Matchroom is far more organized in everything they touch.

JessEm · Jun 3, 2019

garczar said:
With Barry Hearn's Matchroom now running the Open we may see a US tour in the near future. A LOT of egos will have to be massaged but it is doable. The old Camel Pro Billiard Tour worked for quite a while. Matchroom is far more organized in everything they touch.

This.

Organization is the key to the doors.

FranCrimi · Jun 3, 2019

chart22 said:
There doesn’t seem to be a lot of money in the pro game. Do you guys think the lack of money has anything to do with it?

Yes. Lack of money has everything to do with it. An organized tour costs money. There's really not enough money inside the industry to support a pro tour. Brunswick has taken a huge step back from sponsorship and others have followed. Thus far, pool has been unable to get the attention of a potential major outside sponsor like Nike, for example.

You can't ask players to travel on a tour where they can't make a living. We need a fresh new marketing strategy that can attract outside sponsorship.

Professional pool

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