Higher skill pocket billiards players - 9 ball or snooker players?

[JPB2]

While I respect the abilities of snooker players the fact still remains that this is an apples and oranges comparison. Could an elite snooker player win a 9 ball major? Yes if they took years of training to develop an adequate break, jump shot abilities and safety play. Ronnie once did a tv show where he went around America playing all the top American pool players. He lost every match if memory serves. Could filler or Shane win a snooker tournament? No…. Again they would have to devote years of training to even compete. In conclusion you win what you practice. To me the snooker and British 8 ball trolling of American pool suggests some sort of weird insecurity.

I think in that show, from what I remember that was posted here, Ronnie was going to play one pocket. But that didn’t happen. I think it ended up being 8 ball with Bob Jewett. Now Bob is an excellent player, but I’m not sure Ronnie wanted to play one pocket against some of the OP players. Maybe someone can search for that or Bob can comment. I did like seeing Ronnie play 3C and he seemed to like and respect the game.

 

[Bob Jewett]

I think in that show, from what I remember that was posted here, Ronnie was going to play one pocket. But that didn’t happen. I think it ended up being 8 ball with Bob Jewett. Now Bob is an excellent player, but I’m not sure Ronnie wanted to play one pocket against some of the OP players. Maybe someone can search for that or Bob can comment. I did like seeing Ronnie play 3C and he seemed to like and respect the game.

I was cast as a clueless league player who had no idea who Ronnie was. We played eight ball and part of the spot was I chose which hand he shot with.

Ronnie expressed some interest in one pocket and there were one pocket players there, but they went with the eight ball hustle.

I think he would make some great outs at one pocket, but to really compete he would need work on banking and safeties. Some one pocket safes are forbidden at English games. And then there are the frozen ball shots.

 

[garczar]

Didn't World Snooker #1 Judd Trump play in a WNT major a couple years ago and matched up with Jayson Shaw? If I recall correctly, Shaw skunked him. IMO, they are two different disciplines with slightly different skill sets required to play at a world class level. IMO, it's like asking who's better: The #1 Cricket batter or the #1 Baseball batter?

Yep, and who wins the lion's share of big buck Heyball events? Heyball specialists. Every game is different.

 

[mnorwood]

All the chirping about American pool also includes criticism of the pockets. Most Brit players don’t understand that elite American players aim for a portion of the pocket. They aren’t slop shot makers. This is the part of the game snooker players haven’t developed.

As I recall when Shane was emerging as a great player there was a bunch of trash talk about him versus snooker/brit 8 ball players. I remember Shane’s backers offering 50k for anyone in the world to play him on an American bar box at 8 ball. As far as I remember nobody bit on that offer.