Bonus Ball Player's in the Masters
- Thread starter Johnnyt
- Start date
Kinda like Buste getting beat by Do Hoang Quan
Bonus Ball Players
Hopefully they will suprise everyone...
Their skills may be sharper and focus may be brighter because of the extra skills needed to play this new game well....
Suggest people talk to them when there and find out for themselves how good this game is...
Nick Varner is still here in Winnipeg giving demonstrations on the game and being the great ambassador and gentlemen he is....
No one he is the "Kentucky Gentleman"
What a wonderful man
Hopefully they will suprise everyone...
Their skills may be sharper and focus may be brighter because of the extra skills needed to play this new game well....
Suggest people talk to them when there and find out for themselves how good this game is...
Nick Varner is still here in Winnipeg giving demonstrations on the game and being the great ambassador and gentlemen he is....
No one he is the "Kentucky Gentleman"
What a wonderful man
Maybe they are still confused about the rules...
$30,000 plus was the pay-out according to Larry Chiborak of World Wide Sport of Billiards.
Each player was paid $2000 for expenses. Ie Flights, hotel rooms, meals, transportation.
Positioning money was also on the line.
1st $6500 2nd $3000 3rd $2500 4th $2000 5th $1250 6th $ 750 $7th $500 8th $500
There was no entry fee for the event. Eight players were invited.
To me, this was a very decent pay-out and from what I heard in Vegas, a lot of professional players are hoping to be playing this game in the future.
Talking with Barry Bremner in Las Vegas last week, Bustamante learned the game in two hours, prior to the event. (Apparently, he arrived two days later than the rest of the players) He went on to win the event and apparently, was the best player of the event, statistically wise.
I'm not sure why anyone thinks this game is complicated to learn. Barry had me playing the game effortlessly in about four games. (We played 7 games) We didn't use a scoreboard and used a penny to keep score. Barry even said, the scoreboard is optional, more fun and exciting but not needed for two players to get together and play a fun game. It was much more difficult to hold the table than other games but I liked the interaction between us. Trying to play position for your own pocket really was the difference that I liked about this game. Certainly a lot tougher than picking any pocket to continue playing! Every game saw us have three or more visits each. I even beat him three games and will probably take him down the next time we play! I really liked the no scratch and lose concept of the game. You needed to make your points to win and I liked that a lot. He also said that they have made a decision to have the WPBL players to now pocket the Bonus Ball into their own pockets. This apparently was voted on by the players themselves, to make the game even more challenging.
They have also made some other changes designed to improve the game for television and the audience. They are also looking at now giving points for each ball. Purple=1 point Orange=2 points and the Bonus Ball=3 points. This of course will call for a change of total points to win a game. Barry believed they would now play to 21 points, instead of nine. Apparently, this is almost the same as playing to nine points, just a higher score.
I can see why Archer is raving about this game. It's simply a very real and solid pool game. Banking and caroming is paramount and that was evident with Nick Varner's strong showing. His One Pocket and Bank Pool skills made the three-pocket concept, to his liking. From the videos that they have posted on playbonusball.com, it looks like they really put on a professional show.
The computer scoreboard looked great, the over-head camera shot on the big screen and the whole one table concept showcasing eight, well know professionals, was a change from the tour format. He also told me that they were looking to hold the next event right after the summer, (possibly September) with the addition of four more players. He didn't say who was going to join the mix but he did mention Darren Appleton was at the top of their list because he did help them launch the game at The US Nine Ball Open last year.
My final thoughts are simply this, it's a real good game that everyone needs to give it some time to grow. Although Barry is no professional pool player, he certainly loves our game and has definitely done a lot in his short time in the industry. I also know Larry personally and he's as big of a billiard fan as any that I have met. With his friends, Jimmy Wych and Mike Massey, plus the professional players backing the game, it certainly looks like we have a new pool game in our midst. Welcome to the pool industry. Nothing wrong with that!
Each player was paid $2000 for expenses. Ie Flights, hotel rooms, meals, transportation.
Positioning money was also on the line.
1st $6500 2nd $3000 3rd $2500 4th $2000 5th $1250 6th $ 750 $7th $500 8th $500
There was no entry fee for the event. Eight players were invited.
To me, this was a very decent pay-out and from what I heard in Vegas, a lot of professional players are hoping to be playing this game in the future.
Talking with Barry Bremner in Las Vegas last week, Bustamante learned the game in two hours, prior to the event. (Apparently, he arrived two days later than the rest of the players) He went on to win the event and apparently, was the best player of the event, statistically wise.
I'm not sure why anyone thinks this game is complicated to learn. Barry had me playing the game effortlessly in about four games. (We played 7 games) We didn't use a scoreboard and used a penny to keep score. Barry even said, the scoreboard is optional, more fun and exciting but not needed for two players to get together and play a fun game. It was much more difficult to hold the table than other games but I liked the interaction between us. Trying to play position for your own pocket really was the difference that I liked about this game. Certainly a lot tougher than picking any pocket to continue playing! Every game saw us have three or more visits each. I even beat him three games and will probably take him down the next time we play! I really liked the no scratch and lose concept of the game. You needed to make your points to win and I liked that a lot. He also said that they have made a decision to have the WPBL players to now pocket the Bonus Ball into their own pockets. This apparently was voted on by the players themselves, to make the game even more challenging.
They have also made some other changes designed to improve the game for television and the audience. They are also looking at now giving points for each ball. Purple=1 point Orange=2 points and the Bonus Ball=3 points. This of course will call for a change of total points to win a game. Barry believed they would now play to 21 points, instead of nine. Apparently, this is almost the same as playing to nine points, just a higher score.
I can see why Archer is raving about this game. It's simply a very real and solid pool game. Banking and caroming is paramount and that was evident with Nick Varner's strong showing. His One Pocket and Bank Pool skills made the three-pocket concept, to his liking. From the videos that they have posted on playbonusball.com, it looks like they really put on a professional show.
The computer scoreboard looked great, the over-head camera shot on the big screen and the whole one table concept showcasing eight, well know professionals, was a change from the tour format. He also told me that they were looking to hold the next event right after the summer, (possibly September) with the addition of four more players. He didn't say who was going to join the mix but he did mention Darren Appleton was at the top of their list because he did help them launch the game at The US Nine Ball Open last year.
My final thoughts are simply this, it's a real good game that everyone needs to give it some time to grow. Although Barry is no professional pool player, he certainly loves our game and has definitely done a lot in his short time in the industry. I also know Larry personally and he's as big of a billiard fan as any that I have met. With his friends, Jimmy Wych and Mike Massey, plus the professional players backing the game, it certainly looks like we have a new pool game in our midst. Welcome to the pool industry. Nothing wrong with that!
The rules have been altered for Bonus Ball so they have taken down the old rules and the new ones are being posted at playbonusball.com by the 23rd of June. Also Johnny Archer told me he was in Winnipeg and has produced a "How to play Bonus Ball" video to be found on the website about the same time.
Apparently, Johnny and the other WPBL players have help WWSB fine tune some rules to make the game less confusing for novice players and made "Advance" Bonus Ball even tougher than they found the game at the WPBL event. What WWSB found was difficult for top amateurs, the game had some flaws that needed to be corrected for the pro players. Apparently, the game plays pretty well the same, it's just more difficult for the WPBL players. This is what Johnny loves about the game, the best player will always end up near the top of a tournament. That's the way it should be.
Hats off to Chiborak for continually trying to improve the game. It's really a very exciting concept. Apparently, they think they have it streamed lined now. I'm excited to see the next WPBL "Super Series of Billiards" highlight package and the changes. By the way, the highlights can also be found at playbonusball.com
Apparently, Johnny and the other WPBL players have help WWSB fine tune some rules to make the game less confusing for novice players and made "Advance" Bonus Ball even tougher than they found the game at the WPBL event. What WWSB found was difficult for top amateurs, the game had some flaws that needed to be corrected for the pro players. Apparently, the game plays pretty well the same, it's just more difficult for the WPBL players. This is what Johnny loves about the game, the best player will always end up near the top of a tournament. That's the way it should be.
Hats off to Chiborak for continually trying to improve the game. It's really a very exciting concept. Apparently, they think they have it streamed lined now. I'm excited to see the next WPBL "Super Series of Billiards" highlight package and the changes. By the way, the highlights can also be found at playbonusball.com
I've actually heard nothing but good things about this game since they changed the rules. My sources are *very* reputable as well, so maybe the game isn't the joke that most people assume.
I do have one HUGE qualm with it though. The name. If they want anyone to take this game seriously, the name NEEDS to be changed.