2026 JOY Heyball Grand Masters Finals

uk_9_ball_convert said:
I might be mistaken but I think the table and balls are broadly the size of American pool with pockets the size of a snooker table.

Not tried it, but it looks like the hardest form of pool.
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I think Joy has set standards for all tournaments. Duya standards differ slightly (I like that they squared off the jaws a little, much more interesting to watch than Chinese 8-ball. Refuse to call it "heyball" - it's supposed to mix Chinese and English together 黑 for black and ball. Sounds dumb af).
 
uk_9_ball_convert said:
I might be mistaken but I think the table and balls are broadly the size of American pool with pockets the size of a snooker table.

Not tried it, but it looks like the hardest form of pool.
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Playing Surface2540mm x 1260mm (100" x 50")This is the official inner dimension; slate thickness is typically 46mm-50mm.
Table Height800mm to 850mmMeasured from the floor to the top of the cushions.
Pocket Size85mm (approx. 3.35 inches)Leather & copper construction.
RailsS-level "Dragon Ridge" RubberBrand: J-Hong; designed for consistent, high-fidelity rebound.
ClothStrachan 6811 or Liber Win 8848High-quality worsted wool cloth for speed and durability.
Balls57.15mm diameter (2.25 inches)Weight ranges between 156g-170g; JOY includes Aramith balls.

Courtesy of Deepseek...
They appear marginally smaller than an American pool table, and this is noticeable.

Glad they're not using that daft sexist blue and pink ball set that they tried to market (badly) as some Yin Yang 阴阳 intangible Chinese culture... Shame they keep in the free ball for women, and under 18s, to save face for men who would for the most part likely lose anyway...
 
Flakeandrun said:

Playing Surface2540mm x 1260mm (100" x 50")This is the official inner dimension; slate thickness is typically 46mm-50mm.
Table Height800mm to 850mmMeasured from the floor to the top of the cushions.
Pocket Size85mm (approx. 3.35 inches)Leather & copper construction.
RailsS-level "Dragon Ridge" RubberBrand: J-Hong; designed for consistent, high-fidelity rebound.
ClothStrachan 6811 or Liber Win 8848High-quality worsted wool cloth for speed and durability.
Balls57.15mm diameter (2.25 inches)Weight ranges between 156g-170g; JOY includes Aramith balls.

Courtesy of Deepseek...
They appear marginally smaller than an American pool table, and this is noticeable.
Click to expand...
It seemed similar to an 8 foot American pool table.
 
skip100 said:
It seemed similar to an 8 foot American pool table.
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Perhaps, I only have experience playing on 9 or 10ft American tables. Played on lots of Chinese tables, and I prefer newer Duya spec tables (and playing 9ball, rather than 8ball). Rasson do American tables immaculately, but their Chinese tables are... meh. Joy tables are nice to be honest, but I don't have 3 hours to spare to finish a set.
 
skip100 said:
It seemed similar to an 8 foot American pool table.
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50” X 100” is the standard 9’ pool table size.

It’s not just the size of the pockets, it’s the fact that they are rounded - you can’t play off a pocket facing like an American table. Historically you just couldn’t play a ball down the long rail with any regularity. More recently the Chinese players have learned that if you pound the OB down the rail you can compress the pocket nose and force the ball in.

The top Heyball players are great at cross side banks to deal with balls near the side pockets.
 
IMO by far the biggest differences, other than the pockets, are
  • Snooker cloth instead of pool cloth
  • Height of the table - Joy tables are same height as snooker tables. Personally, it makes getting down on the shot much easier
  • Cushions - much more reactive than what you'd find on most American tables
I've played on these tables a fair bit and it always takes some time to get used to them. I played one of these events in China last year:

https://cheatingthepocket.substack.com/p/i-went-on-a-free-trip-to-play-pool
 
kingwang said:
IMO by far the biggest differences, other than the pockets, are
  • Snooker cloth instead of pool cloth
  • Height of the table - Joy tables are same height as snooker tables. Personally, it makes getting down on the shot much easier
  • Cushions - much more reactive than what you'd find on most American tables
I've played on these tables a fair bit and it always takes some time to get used to them. I played one of these events in China last year:

https://cheatingthepocket.substack.com/p/i-went-on-a-free-trip-to-play-pool
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That was a decent read. Wish I could get the time away from work to compete in more things.
 
GideonF said:
50” X 100” is the standard 9’ pool table size.

It’s not just the size of the pockets, it’s the fact that they are rounded - you can’t play off a pocket facing like an American table. Historically you just couldn’t play a ball down the long rail with any regularity. More recently the Chinese players have learned that if you pound the OB down the rail you can compress the pocket nose and force the ball in.

The top Heyball players are great at cross side banks to deal with balls near the side pockets.
Click to expand...
It’s noticeably smaller than a 9 foot American pool table. At least that was true of the Joy table I played on. As kingwang noted, it is also higher off the ground.
 
white1 said:
Sorry for being a lifelong pool guy and asking this question, but…can you tell me about the tables they play hey ball on? Size, ball size what’s different than a traditional American table. Thx
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Table is 4 1/2 x 9 ft, snooker pockets (corners are 3.35"), snooker cloth, regular american pool balls.
 
Flakeandrun said:
... When he was in Shanghai, Josh basically ate pizza and pasta the whole time (so did the rest of the Germans for that matter lol)
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I'm reminded of a pool acquaintance who was invited with me to a Chinese restaurant by some Chinese people. It was in Las Vegas, but was pretty authentic. He decided he was going to eat nothing from the six or seven interesting dishes except pick out some beef from the scallion beef stir-fry. Not rice. Not chicken. Certainly not shrimp.

On the other hand, I remember when a fellow grad student led a bunch of us to a restaurant in SF. He thought it would be a good idea to order (among lots of tasty things), pig intestine. Interesting appearance, but it tasted exactly as you might imagine.
 
Lot of Brits seem to have went out in the last round with only Arfan Dad(17-15) and Jordan Shepperd(17-16) having close matches. Mick Hill drawing Gareth Potts guarantees one Brit in last 33. Kelly Fisher and Jack Whelan still to play their matches
 
uk_9_ball_convert said:
Lot of Brits seem to have went out in the last round with only Arfan Dad(17-15) and Jordan Shepperd(17-16) having close matches. Mick Hill drawing Gareth Potts guarantees one Brit in last 33. Kelly Fisher and Jack Whelan still to play their matches
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jordan was flying the last racks, very quick runouts. but opponent had a BNR on hill-hill.
 
skip100 said:
It’s noticeably smaller than a 9 foot American pool table. At least that was true of the Joy table I played on. As kingwang noted, it is also higher off the ground.
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You might have just played on an 8 ft table then. Just like with American tables, they come in smaller sizes for small establishments. Where did you play it? Around where I live, 90% of the Chinese tables I've seen are 8ft. It was a huge PITA to find a full size table to practice on.
 
kingwang said:
I played one of these events in China last year:
https://cheatingthepocket.substack.com/p/i-went-on-a-free-trip-to-play-pool
Click to expand...

nice writeup! this part in particular was interesting:

Upon arrival after a surprisingly smooth two days of travel, I quickly learned that in China, pool is a thing. The instant I grabbed my bags and headed out to the lobby of the tiny airport, a JOY Billiards PR crew pulled me off to the side for a photo shoot, an interview (amusingly half in English, half in Chinese), and a recording of me repeating a sound bite. Over the next two weeks, I would discover that pool halls outnumber gyms by 2 to 1. Taxi drivers would talk about pool and snooker and ask how the tournament was going. Teenagers would be arguing about the Heyball rankings and whether Chu Bingjie deserves that top spot. At the arena, there would be advertisements for coconut water and lemon sodas featuring pool celebrities.
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pretty amazing. i wonder if it like in vietnam got a bump in popularity during covid?

the heyball rankings however, are not available outside china / chinese social media (according to AI)
 
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