Corey Deuel is the new U.S. National Snooker Champion.

I don't know much about professional snooker except what I've read on here and I've watched Ronnie O'Sullivan a few times. I've always heard that no American pool player could ever reach the top in one of the snooker countries, primarily Great Britian. I will say, however, that if ANY player would have a chance or could possibly become an elite player, it would be Corey. He is amazing with his ability to learn all aspects of a game and break them down into segments where he can give himself the best chance to win or gain the most advantage over his opponent. He will literally practice certain things for hundreds of hours to find repeatable patterns or situations.

Congrats homey!

YEzzzzz

I hope Lee fixes him up good. When Corey is motivated, he can take huge strides.
 
Yes, he did, not exactly that a top level pool player could compete if they had coaching and the right training but pretty much that pool players are as good of cueists and deserve the same amount of respect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dWeaeXfwcY

What pro sportsman say publicly and what they say privately are often two entirely different things. Note he said he never practiced pool, yet was still reasonably competitive.

'Interesting'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sGjYgDXEWo
 
You guys talk about Corey as if he is still just a young man. Like he's still in his early 20's. He has to be in his mid 30's now. He's actually probably pretty close to the same age as Ronnie O'Sullivan, who is getting close to the end of his career. It's a bit comical to listen to people who think that Corey could actually work on his snooker game for a bit and compete with guys that have been playing it for their entire lives. It is actually disrespectful to those that have put in the thousands of hours of practice on the 12 footers and have proven their ability to play under the pressure of playing in front of millions of viewers.

Now, could Corey have been a great snooker player had he grown up playing that game? Of course he could have.

woulda....coulda....shoulda.

I dont see more than one one person barely implying that.
 
Last edited:
Just my opinion but I find that the two games really are very different, like playing both
but I tend to play way more pool. Play snooker for a change of pace, and even though I'm
not that good I can appreciate how different it is from pool. We only have a 10' table so I can only imagine how much more difficult it would be on a 12' table.
 
Delusion?
Absolutely no chance?

Corey Deuel Captures National Snooker Championship Title

How did he manage to win then?

Steve H.

What do you mean? He won a national snooker championship on the basis he had no one to play. To suggest anything else - or make assumptions on what he could achieve if he played it more often - is simply ridiculous.
 
What do you mean? He won a national snooker championship on the basis he had no one to play. To suggest anything else - or make assumptions on what he could achieve if he played it more often - is simply ridiculous.

Exactly - He won a NATIONAL snooker championship, to devalue his win based on your opinion of the competition is simply ridiculous.

Steve H.
 
Not so sure about that

Sorry John, been there, done that. Rempe and Mizerak at the peak of their careers gave it a real good shot, including having 6x12 Rileys installed in their homes. Jimmy went the farthest, getting to the final 32 a couple of times. After a couple of years he gave up. He told me we have NO CHANCE against these guys over there, who have played all their life.


Jay.. In the early 80's I was into motorcross.

The Europeans dominated the sport. It was rare for an American rider to make it into the top 10. A rider by the name of Brad Lackey won the world championship in 1982.

In the years to follow the American riders came to dominate a sport that they were once also-rans.

I think the same can be true in Snooker. Maybe not domination but surely compete with the top players over there.

Never under estimate the resolve of people who get that fire in them and want to achieve.

Congrats to Corey.

A man of great ability.

Don
 
Last edited:
Good afternoon AZers, interesting post just as I popped in for a rare peak! :)

Another way at looking at it is this maybe, how many "failed" Snooker players have done well at Pool, I only say failed because they wouldn't have made the switch if they were succeeding as the money is much better in Snooker.

Peach.....World 9 Ball Champ?
Melling....Several Big Titles now?
Mark Grey....Previous European Number 1
Etc. etc.

But before anyone cries snob, the problem here is simple, most people are comparing pocket billiard pool games such as 9 ball to snooker and the game just isn't difficult enough to showcase the pool players wider range of skills. The snooker player is always going to have the advantage at potting as he plays with smaller pockets on a bigger table, that's a no brainer.

Pool players could have made the grade if they had started at an early age but Snooker is a young mans game and even yesterday's world champions admit that they would have struggled in today's era as the game is at a much higher level today due to increased competition and more aggressive players.

I played Snooker quite a lot for a year after a decade out of the game and the potting advantage that gave me on a smaller table allowed me to compete at the top level of pool (over relatively short races). Pool players have amazing skills, a much greater array than snooker players have (I will never forget Steve Davis not understanding that spin couple be applied to the object ball for example). The problem is you can't win at Snooker unless you have the long game, and that I'm afraid is something you simply can not learn at a later age, there's a reason why Snooker is a young mans game and pool is less so and this is it.

Pool needs to find a game that showcases the amazing array of shots that top players such as Corey or Efren possess, if only it could do that and make it appealing to the public then maybe we'd have something...
 
Exactly - He won a NATIONAL snooker championship, to devalue his win based on your opinion of the competition is simply ridiculous.

Steve H.

It's not about taking anything away from Corey's accomplishment, the guy is just adding some realism to the discussion. Unless you've been involved in snooker at a decent level, it's hard to imagine what Corey will be up against at the IBSF World's.

I watched the stream, and the quality of play was similar to a high level B Grade match in Australia, a country which has had a strong but very small snooker following for a long time. Neil Robertson is the first Aussie to make a break on the pro tour. In countries that really support snooker (various European countries, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, etc) the level of play is extremely high.

Like one of the posters above said, I also have friends that have made multiple 147's in casual matches, but couldn't come close to making it on the pro tour. In particular, I have a close friend that I've spent hundreds of hours playing with, and he is a world class English billiards player (Danik Lucas, a google will give you some videos, etc, highest break of 964, regularly makes breaks of 300+). Playing snooker, he has made more century breaks on me than I can remember, the highest being 145. I asked him why he doesn't give pro snooker a shot, and he just said that those guys are on a different league to him. And this is someone who spent a good portion of their life on a 12 foot table.

Also something to consider is the fact that Corey is a professional cue sports player. His job is playing pool. He practices everyday for hours. The guys he played against in the US open have day jobs. Most of them might have a game a couple of times a week. I heard someone say that Isaac is a database technician during the day. Playing in that final would have been like a bit of fun compared to some of the pressure he has been under in various international pool events.

It's not trying to devalue Corey's win, it's just putting things into perspective. Again, I love all cue sports, and America would be a welcome addition to the game of professional snooker. Corey may bring it some attention, and maybe that will start the ball rolling for some junior development, promotion, etc, but Corey won't be the American that breaks through the pro barrier. I'd love to be wrong. Seeing Corey appear in pro events would be marvelous.
 
Exactly Right !!! ...

JAM;4187558I have no doubt in my mind that Corey will do well in snooker. [B said:
If Corey wants to, he will[/B]. That's Corey Deuel! :cool:

Exactly my observations of Corey over these many years.
 
Well done for Corey winning the thing...congratulations!! I am very happy for him...:thumbup:

My thoughts about him/any pool player competing at high level snooker:

It ist just IMPOSSIBLE to do well in professional snooker for someone who didn't grow up with the game...

I know that Corey is maybe one of the biggest natural talents ever and he is such a quick learner and sooo good in adapting to new games and learning the strategy etc.
But to be honest even if he's going to focus on snooker for the next...say...3 years...he will still be LIGHTYEARS away from the pros...it's just impossible to overhaul the time those players spent in their childhood years (beginning 6/7 years old or even younger).

Anyway there is one thing you can accomplish: being succesful in snooker in a country where it isnt played on that level...that's what corey managed to do and hats off to him for that...I could also manage to win the german championship of snooker without knowing the game...and there are plenty of pool players doing well in snooker in their countries...but certainly NOT in the UK or China...

Believe me, I know what I am talking about...I ran centuries every day when I was playing competitive snooker but one time I went to England I was destroyed by amateurs...and I mean...DESTROYED...and you can't even image how big the gap to the pros is....
 
My own personal experience, as an "also-ran" ...

Jay.. In the early 80's I was into motorcross.
The Europeans dominated the sport. It was rare for an American rider to make it into the top 10. A rider by the name of Brad Lackey won the world championship in 1982.
In the years to follow the American riders came to dominate a sport that they were once also-rans.
I think the same can be true in Snooker. Maybe not domination but surely compete with the top players over there.

Never under estimate the resolve of people who get that fire in them and want to achieve.

Congrats to Corey.

A man of great ability.
Don

I was fortunate to be born with natural ability for "The Shooting Sports" (Handguns, Rifles, Shotguns).
That skill carried over into my Tour of Duty (1960-1968), Shooting on the San Mateo Country Sheriff's Team (PPC) in the mid-70's,
and achieving Grand Master Status in USPSA / IPSC at age 58 (most GM's earn it in their 20's-30's).
I remained in the Top 20 (World) until my eysight began to fail at age 62, but I still compete regularly on a somewhat lesser level in my 70's.

It is possible albeit improbable to achieve greatness later in life.

Corey is not too old to do well in Snooker ... IF ... he really wants it.
 
And ...

quite an achievement for someone who barely plays snooker, congrats Corey!

And ... He played with a "Pool Cue", not a Snooker Cue.

I did the same for quite a while, then had Tom Coker
build a 11mm Ash Snooker Shaft for my Pool Cue.
 
Back
Top