Why do they start at 6? Very odd. Are they trying to make the bad players feel better? Also, only 4 rankings between beginners and the best players is very little for a handicap. I don't know of any league that only has 4 ratings, and none at all that start at a higher number. Imagine playing a pro as a D player and playing like a 6-10 race?
We only have 4 rankings for our weekly 9-ball handicapped tournament, which are all games on the wire spots, no ball spots. The max spot between the lowest and highest rank is a 2-5 race.
Our reasoning is to maintain the legitimacy of the tournament by not allowing a novice player to win a match by winning only one game, often on one shot, likely either a lucky shot or a 9-ball hanger in the pocket.
Yes, our tournaments are unquestionably weighted towards favoring the higher ranked players, and likely that’s because I as a tournament director and room owner are one of those higher ranked players.
My thoughts are that playing in our tournaments is a learning experience, to hopefully give the lower ranked players something to strive for and the motivation to pay their dues to improve, if they want it bad enough.
The bottom line is we really don’t encourage recreational level players to play in our tournament, but if they wish to pay their $20 and play with the max handicap they are given (which is most likely not enough to beat a highly skilled player) they are welcome to give it a shot.
For many of them, when matched up against a high ranked player, it’s likely the first time in their life they have ever played pool against a player capable of breaking and running out a rack, and/or playing a lock down safety shot, and it’s a real eye-opener that will hopefully bring them back!
