Is there anyone known to have a harder break than he did? Is there a record for the fastest recorded break speed?
Did Jon Kucharo have the most powerful break ever?
- Thread starter cuetechasaurus
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I would put Danny Medina and David Howard in the same league as John. But no one broke any harder than Kucharo, that's for sure. One more guy I forgot who is right there and actually may be number one all time, George Breedlove! If you stood close by when he broke it would hurt your ears. 
And.....yet......if you take a lesson alot of instructors will tell you that there's no need to break like a gorilla. That a solid, controlled break will most likely serve you better.
I remember when I was down at Nick Varner's and broke a rack of 9-Ball. I didnt make anything. Nick told me to slow it down a little, try and get a little more control. Use about 3/4 the power on the next break. So I went with that 3/4 speed and wala, made two balls and had a shot.
r/DCP
I remember when I was down at Nick Varner's and broke a rack of 9-Ball. I didnt make anything. Nick told me to slow it down a little, try and get a little more control. Use about 3/4 the power on the next break. So I went with that 3/4 speed and wala, made two balls and had a shot.
r/DCP
The difference is players who were named could break at speeds above 30 MPH and still have solid and controlled breaks.
When I try and get above 20 MPH all hell breaks loose.
Also back then there were no magic racks. Opponent racks for you overall conditions weren’t as good. A lot of times you had to swing for the fence to up your ball making percentages.
What about Boom Boom? Where would he rank in comparison to those guys?I would put Danny Medina and David Howard in the same league as John. But no one broke any harder than Kucharo, that's for sure. One more guy I forgot who is right there and actually may be number one all time, George Breedlove! If you stood close by when he broke it would hurt your ears.
Kucharo had a very big break. I recall that when the PBT (circa 1996) had a poll in which only its playing members voted, Kucharo beat out Archer by one vote for having the best break.
I'd say several over the years had at least as big a break as Kucharo, including Wade Crane, David Howard, Mike Dechaine and Jeff DeLuna. My nominee for biggest break ever would be Jeff DeLuna.
On the radar gun, the world record back then was just 33 MPH, but in the current era, both DeLuna and Dechaine have hit 38 MPH.
I'd say several over the years had at least as big a break as Kucharo, including Wade Crane, David Howard, Mike Dechaine and Jeff DeLuna. My nominee for biggest break ever would be Jeff DeLuna.
On the radar gun, the world record back then was just 33 MPH, but in the current era, both DeLuna and Dechaine have hit 38 MPH.
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I would put Wade Crane up there as well, but he didn't always try to break his hardest. He was more like Earl in that he figured out the best way to break on the tables they were using. He could crush them if he wanted to though. Jeff DeLuna has the biggest break currently, but not quite the impact of Kucharo or Breedlove. He would be more in the Medina, Howard class. One last thing. Speed alone does not tell the whole story. It's how and where you hit the head ball.
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Earl had the most effective break at 9-Ball for a long time. Not the hardest, just the best. That's what enabled him to run so many racks.
He studied the break more than anyone else in his era. I often saw him "warm up" for a match just by hitting break shot after break shot. When
he had the break down, he was ready to go and you were dead.
Agreed. Looks like we interpreted the thread title differently. I took the word "powerful" literally, and DeLuna has the most powerful break that I've ever seen. If the question is to be interpreted as who has the most effective break ever, I think I'd have to go with SVB, but all the guys you mention are very much in the conversation.
A lot of the discussions about breaking regard the environment the pros operate in (9' Diamonds, new balls & cloth, templates, etc.). Many of us, however, match up on on a valley bar box, or even a Diamond, with no template, pool hall balls that aren't perfect and are nearly impossible to rack with no gaps, etc. In that environment is all the power you can effectively control still the best strategy? I'm still taking the approach that as long as I'm hitting them square and controlling the cueball reasonably well, all the power I can muster is better.
How did you or anyone else leave out Charlie Bryant and Larry Nevel?I would put Danny Medina and David Howard in the same league as John. But no one broke any harder than Kucharo, that's for sure. One more guy I forgot who is right there and actually may be number one all time, George Breedlove! If you stood close by when he broke it would hurt your ears.
A related anecdote. As all of you who have been to Super Billiards Expo know, there was always a booth with a radar gun.in which people could hit three nine ball breaks to try to win a prize. The booth was open for a few days. Pros and amateurs were both permitted to try. Most years, after what must have been a couple of thousand break attempts, the winning break was in the 30 to 31 range (sad to say, I couldn't do more than 23 mph). Nobody exceeded 32 mph in the first ten years of the expo.
A few years ago (2017, I think), once the booth had closed down, Mike Dechaine was in action against several onlookers. His proposition bet was that, given ten tries, he could hit a break that exceeded 35 on the radar gun. Several bet against him. He made hundreds doing this. The first time, he did it on his fourth try, but on the second bet, he needed nine attempts to accomplish the feat. In each case, the break was about 36 mph. I knew better than to bet against him, for I knew he'd once done 38 mph. Other than Jeff DeLuna, I doubt any player in history would have been willing to make the proposition bet that Dechaine did. It was very entertaining to watch.
A few years ago (2017, I think), once the booth had closed down, Mike Dechaine was in action against several onlookers. His proposition bet was that, given ten tries, he could hit a break that exceeded 35 on the radar gun. Several bet against him. He made hundreds doing this. The first time, he did it on his fourth try, but on the second bet, he needed nine attempts to accomplish the feat. In each case, the break was about 36 mph. I knew better than to bet against him, for I knew he'd once done 38 mph. Other than Jeff DeLuna, I doubt any player in history would have been willing to make the proposition bet that Dechaine did. It was very entertaining to watch.
Not necessarily. I watched a tournament in Beaverton, Oregon on 7 foot tables. All the best players from the northwest were crushing the racks and nothing was going in for any of them. Then Don Whirtaman played, breaking at 3/4 speeds and the angles changed just enough that balls were falling all over the place.
I never really watched Larry Nevel enough to comment, but i agree with you on Hillbilly's break. In the top three the last twenty years for sure.How did you or anyone else leave out Charlie Bryant and Larry Nevel?