Is 14.1 gaining popularity?
- Thread starter longhair
- Start date
Maybe you can carry more players if you split the field into 2 nights of play, that's something we may have to do for our next season of league.
We have a lot of interest for the next season at Bayshore Billiards.
-Steve
14.1 @ Volcano's in Hurst
We had over 40 in our league this past season
at Volcano's in Hurst TX (Dallas-Ft Worth).
14.1, it's easy to play, very hard to play well.
Randy Morrow
VSPL Manager
We had over 40 in our league this past season
at Volcano's in Hurst TX (Dallas-Ft Worth).
14.1, it's easy to play, very hard to play well.
Randy Morrow
VSPL Manager
I think that Shane Van Boening's emergence as a potential force in 14.1 will help draw attention to the game. In NYC in August, Shane beat Archer, Immonen and Eberle, three established stars of 14.1, to reach the final against Darren Appleton.
I'd like to see Shane qualify for the single elimination stage of the Derby City 14.1 Challenge in January. Greg Sullivan nearly always puts the 14.1 challenge final on the stream table immediately after the nine ball final on the closing Saturday of the Derby, and if Shane is in it, I think a whole lot of people will watch.
Last year at the Derby, Orcullo iced his Master of the Table win with a victory in the 14.1 final. Hey, not a bad idea for Shane.
I'd like to see Shane qualify for the single elimination stage of the Derby City 14.1 Challenge in January. Greg Sullivan nearly always puts the 14.1 challenge final on the stream table immediately after the nine ball final on the closing Saturday of the Derby, and if Shane is in it, I think a whole lot of people will watch.
Last year at the Derby, Orcullo iced his Master of the Table win with a victory in the 14.1 final. Hey, not a bad idea for Shane.
Couple of guys in my room play only 14.1. I play everything. Maybe I am a jack of all games and a master of none. I do find that when I practice and play a several racks of 14.1 my concentration level goes way up because of the nature of straight pool and this ups my ability to concentrate on the usual games ie. 8 ball and 9 ball.
In the 14.1 league I play in Denver we only have 9 players. I'm relatively new to the area. This is my third session and it's the lowest it's ever been(usually 12-16 people). I'm not sure why this is the case, but there are a couple younger players in the league (20's) and that's a good sign. Traditionally, I know straight pool in Denver or the midwest has never been as popular as other areas of the country like the Northeast. But, apparently not too long ago straight pool was more popular in the Denver area and had a few 100 ball runners. I'm really not sure for the apparent decline in this area?
They say it is the hardest easy game in the world. :wink:
Stu: I think you are right. Everybody follows what Shane does. It would be great to get him to compete in the straight pool event at Derby. Him playing more 14.1 would help the game get more exposure. It took a 107 to qualify last year. Seems to be going up every year. Thorsten, Schmidt, Vandenberg and many other great straight pool players were on the outside looking in, when the qualifying stage had ended. I am not sure what Shane's high run is, but I suspect it is pretty good and if he put his mind into it and the time into it, he would qualify.
It has been increasing in popularity ever since Bob Jewett initiated the first Derby City Challenge in 2006. John Schmidt ran his 400 in a garage sometime around then, too and the word was spreading through the grape vine. In the meantime, Thorsten Hohmann was running lots of balls over in Europe at the European Pool Championships. Danny Barouty was developing a hell of a league in New York, with many great players learning the game. Charlie Williams and Dragon Promotions gave the sport a jolt when he started his World Tournaments. Although they may not have been world championships, they were the best straight pool we Americans had seen in a while. Pat Fleming started filming some of the Derby events and then started same of his own straight pool challenge events, flying in some of the best players in the world.
Locally, Red Shoes Billiards went from a 15-20 man handicapped league to two leagues, handicapped and a 36 man non-handicapped league. Illinois Billiards Club has continued to develop players and leagues. Leagues are sprouting up at Chris's Billiards on the North Side and I know they had one at the Pyramid a while back. I think the sport is growing somewhat, but I think it needs another jolt, perhaps something like SJM mentions, Van Boening throwing his hat in the ring. I know Mark Wilson loves 14.1. Perhaps he can whisper in Shane's ear.
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We have been involved in 14.1 leagues in the Minneapolis area for the past 11 years. The number of participants have varied with the season (summer at times is a hard sell). One thing I have noticed recently is you can usually find non-league 14.1 games being played most every day of the week (late morning and afternoon) at Shooters Billiards. I think it is becoming a popular niche game.
-Dennis
-Dennis
Sounds like a solid "yes" to my question. It's gratifying to see people adopt the game I love.
In the Chris's Billiards league we have several new and younger players, and even one (not young, but new to pool) who played 14.1 before any other game.
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In the Chris's Billiards league we have several new and younger players, and even one (not young, but new to pool) who played 14.1 before any other game.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I made a note to myself in Aug. 2013 that Shane's high run at that time was 224. Unfortunately, my note contains no more details than that, so it must be considered just hearsay from an unknown source.
I was not aware of that run, but I can confirm that in his practice at Steinway Billiards on Sunday, 8/18/2013, Shane Van Boening ran 211.
Well said, and I think you've hit the nail on the head, although it should be noted that the first few World 14.1 events were, in fact, sanctioned WPA World Championships.