There are companies that put on large regional amateur tournaments on bar boxes. Sometimes they allow professionals to enter. Those are usually considered ProAms. It’s common for only a handful of professionals to drop in and try to snap it off.
I don’t know about racking issues being as prevalent before. There are a few aspects of the game that has evolved since the old days. Back then the Filipino players were the only ones who could kick with accuracy. Now every professional can kick 1, 2 or 3 rails to hit a specific side of the ball. Back then the cloth was super slow and professionals were trying to “find the break” at each event by moving the cue round until they get something going. Today Joe Tucker has broke down all the interactions for gaps in racks, SVB has taught people the merit of practicing the break in 8 hour sessions, magic racks make the balls bust up too predictably, fast cloth makes soft breaking easier, etc.
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