Highest Concentration of 'Good' Players in the U.S.

[Jude Rosenstock]

Ya know, it would be kind to say you guys are comparing apples to oranges: watermellons to blueberries is more like it...

We gotta talk about fair comparisons. It means squat to say there are more good pool players in a state with 40 million people than there are in a state with 0.6 million people.

So what congressional district has the best pool players? I'm going with North Dakota District 1.

http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/congress.html#nd

The thread is about the "highest concentration" and I wouldn't put Cali on that list. No knock on Max Eberle and all the solid players I met in LA and THEY DO put up solid results in national amateur events however, not like those midwestern states. Not like Ohio. Not like Illinois. It seriously leaves an impression on you when round after round in Las Vegas, you're facing teams from the midwest. Texas is def there and you do see some Cali teams but not in the same numbers.

 

[gotgame]

Amen Jude I Agree Im From The Davenport Ia, Area And Year After Year We Always Come With A Winning Team In Rock Island, Moline, Davenport, U Have World Class Players That Always Top The Vegas Tournys

 

[Jude Rosenstock]

Amen Jude I Agree Im From The Davenport Ia, Area And Year After Year We Always Come With A Winning Team In Rock Island, Moline, Davenport, U Have World Class Players That Always Top The Vegas Tournys

Thanks but it's really a small number of us that are doing it. This year, we brought 50 New Yorkers and likely 80% of them will return next year. It's the same people so I wouldn't necessarily call that a regional representation.

 

[rackaddict]

I would say, up to the last five years or so, Dallas (DFW) had as many good players as anywhere. The SWEL master's league was loaded with shortstops and they had alot of success at the Vegas BCA most years. You never knew how many champions were going to show up each week at the local tournaments. It was not an easy town for a road player to make money in.

It's definately cooled off some. I agree , it seems like florida is the place now, but I don't know if the good players tend to concentrate in one area.

 

[poolchic]

Although Kentucky doesn't have a state tourney there are alot of good players here without naming them. As well as Ohio, Tenn, Missouri...So I guess that would be the midwest IMO.

I would say the Kentucky Derby Classic was one of the toughest to win.
As for the best players well i haven't played in all the states yet but as soon as i get back from the road trip i will tell ya.

 

[IRUNRAKS]

This is easy

The MID WEST MN,ND,SD,IL,WI,IA over all master level play all my money is one the MIDWEST, hands down

 

[TheHole]

don't forget about us Georgia boys and girls down here.....

 

[pooltchr]

There are several hot spots. The ones I'm most familiar with are in the south, but I would have to say Florida, Dallas, Atlanta and NC. There are a half a dozen top WPBA players living in Charlotte, including Allison, Kelly, Val, Kim and Tiffany. On the non-pro level, Raleigh probably beats out Charlotte though.
Steve

 

[crawfish]

How many states you gotta have?

This is easy

The MID WEST MN,ND,SD,IL,WI,IA over all master level play all my money is one the MIDWEST, hands down

Carolinas are the toughest to make the cheese. I could name players for the next thirty minutes. Johnny himself said you could win the US Open before winning the Thursday night tournament in Raleigh. Matching up is tough when you've got fifty break and runout players within a fifty mile radius. And... that's just in Raleigh. Throw in Charlotte, Greensboro, Wimington, and the State of South Carolina. I actually walked into a poolroom in Orlando and asked about playing some, and the guy said "Where are you from?" NC? "EVERYONE from Carolina can play, I'll take the seven and the break." Now I know it's an opening line. Funny thing is... he's right.

 

[bb81]

Given the track record of most of the people from this area (Oklahoma), I would have to say we have some pretty tough competitors from around here, and we've had a few that left here.

James Walden still lives here. Chip and Joey both live here. Donnie Brown lived in Tulsa, OK for sometime moved away, and then moved back. David Matlock lived in Bartlesville, OK for a while with his first wife. There are a couple of very strong players in Enid, but I won't mention names, because I've never seen them mentioned on here before. Ray Sudan (from San Jose, CA), lived in tulsa, about 20 years ago. Shane McMinn lives in Tulsa still and so does Jeff, as mentioned earlier. All I can really say is that, we don't have many road players come through OKC looking for action. Because most of them know how strong the players are around here. The last road player that came into town, who was from Flordia, left busted. I guess what I'm getting at here, is that we have no shortage of Champions coming from Oklahoma and all are more than willing to get in action. And as for the person that said Chip beat Danny Hill....Joey G. beat him in a race to 5 for 500 last year when we were up there together. And Danny didn't want to play anymore after that, even though he said Joey didn't scare him. Needless to say, we haven't seen him woofing since.

 

[mikepage]

The thread is about the "highest concentration" [...]

OK, well for chemical concentration I prefer mole fraction concentration units, i.e., number of good pool player molecules divided by the total number of molecules.

But if you mean the denominator is square meters, then NYC would beat North Dakota for concentration of people who grew up on a farm as well...

If that makes NYC a mecca for farming, then... well... you get the idea.

 

[MrLucky]

Well the state that several world and American champs

call home is Georgia specifically in and around Atlanta ! Johnny Archer, Helena and Monica ! Cliff Joiner, Moore and 5 of the top US amatuers all play just out of one pool room in Atlanta!! as an old TV personality once said ..."I pity the fool!!"... LOL!

 

[suprnva]

I'd have to say the south east is bar far the best. Between North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia you've got a ton of great players. Larry Nevel, Earl Strickland, Gabe Owen, and Shannon Daulton all live in or around Greenville, SC. Johnny Archer, Cliff Joyner, and Stevie Moore all live in Atlanta, GA. Jeff Abernathey and Tony Watson are both in North Carolina. That's just the top players that I can think of. There are a lot of good-to-top players as well. And soon, to bring the average way down, I'll be living in South Carolina. LOL!

 

[dimes33]

I'd have to say the south east is bar far the best. Between North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia you've got a ton of great players. Larry Nevel, Earl Strickland, Gabe Owen, and Shannon Daulton all live in or around Greenville, SC. Johnny Archer, Cliff Joyner, and Stevie Moore all live in Atlanta, GA. Jeff Abernathey and Tony Watson are both in North Carolina. That's just the top players that I can think of. There are a lot of good-to-top players as well. And soon, to bring the average way down, I'll be living in South Carolina. LOL!

thats about 1/2 of the great players from those 3 states but yea ive heard the boys from sc say that they will play a 6 man team against another 6 man team from any state!

 

[DeadPoked]

North Carolina has got a few nods in this thread and I have to say they do take pool serious up in these parts. I moved here from Texas about 3 months ago and was surprised at the amount of competition just Fayetteville.

I haven't had a chance to visit some of other larger cities because with my job I work on the weekends but I hear there are some real strong shooters all over this state.

 

[Champ9ball]

The ISPA (Iowa State Pool Players Association) State tourney ain't no joke for a hard tournament.

 

[suprnva]

That may not be the way to ask it either. Larry Nevel's won the Wisconsin State Tournament every year he's entered almost, so to win it you've gotta get past him. I'd say that makes it a hard tournament to win. But that doesn't mean Wisconsin has a high concentration of great players, it just means theres one really amazing player! (Not that there aren't good players there, that's not my point at all.)

There was just one amazing player in Larry when he was in Wisconsin. We have a couple good players, but nobody even close to Larry. Jeff Carter lives in Wisconsin but he doesn't, or can't, play anywhere near how he used to. Pool is actually a joke in Wisconsin. The only tourneys people show up for a really badly handicaped ones and gambling isn't even worth talking about.

Now if anyone wants to make up a team of drinkers and come to Wisconsin we'll bet pretty high. Hell, I can make up a team of 5 girls that can drink more then most men out there. LOL!!!

 

[8ballEinstein]

If we are talking about "high concentration" to mean strictly geographically, I think Los Angeles would be hard to beat. Within a 30 mile radius that includes Hardtimes, House of Billiards, Hollywood Billiards and several others, there are more good players than any place I can think of. Of course there are about 10 million people living in that area.

 

[vagabond]

OK, well for chemical concentration I prefer mole fraction concentration units

If that makes NYC a mecca for farming, then... well... you get the idea.

u cracked me up.
My list:

1.florida
2.texas
3.california
4.ohio
5.georgia &north carolina
6.arizona

 

[Str8Ball9]

Carolinas are the toughest to make the cheese. I could name players for the next thirty minutes. Johnny himself said you could win the US Open before winning the Thursday night tournament in Raleigh. Matching up is tough when you've got fifty break and runout players within a fifty mile radius. And... that's just in Raleigh. Throw in Charlotte, Greensboro, Wimington, and the State of South Carolina. I actually walked into a poolroom in Orlando and asked about playing some, and the guy said "Where are you from?" NC? "EVERYONE from Carolina can play, I'll take the seven and the break." Now I know it's an opening line. Funny thing is... he's right.

I'd have to say the south east is bar far the best. Between North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia you've got a ton of great players. Larry Nevel, Earl Strickland, Gabe Owen, and Shannon Daulton all live in or around Greenville, SC. Johnny Archer, Cliff Joyner, and Stevie Moore all live in Atlanta, GA. Jeff Abernathey and Tony Watson are both in North Carolina. That's just the top players that I can think of. There are a lot of good-to-top players as well. And soon, to bring the average way down, I'll be living in South Carolina. LOL!

Carolinas.

Used to live in Wilmington, NC. Seems like everyone was born with a cue in their hand. Even the UNC Wilmington student pool hall is set up for serious play. Just to add a couple lady pros to the Carolinas list: THE Allison Fisher and Ewa "Striking Viking" Lawrence.