Largest audience for a billiard event?

[couldnthinkof01]

Will Ferrell shoots pool in small-town Idaho bar

“I was making some drinks and I turned around while he was playing pool and it was actually Will Ferrell," Perks Place owner Dannette Uriarte said.

www.ktvb.com

We could pack them in if this guy would work on his bridge.

 

[FastManners]

How about this for a wonderful sporting moment. Marco Fu who is a Hong Kong snooker legend, making a 147 in the deciding frame in the semi finals of the Hong Kong Masters. The roar of the crowd is amazing. Apparently 5,000 people were in the crowd, which has to be a record.

 

[gerryf]

And in four hours, the two Youtube videos of Marco Fu's 147 have more than 50,000 views.

 

[kling&allen]

And in four hours, the two Youtube videos of Marco Fu's 147 have more than 50,000 views.

The final should be great as well (Ronnie vs. the hometown hero)

 

[gerryf]

and the audience seems to be the younger demographic - at least in the better seats you can see on the videos.

 

[telinoz]

How about this for a wonderful sporting moment. Marco Fu who is a Hong Kong snooker legend, making a 147 in the deciding frame in the semi finals of the Hong Kong Masters. The roar of the crowd is amazing. Apparently 5,000 people were in the crowd, which has to be a record.

It was awesome!!

 

[telinoz]

The final should be great as well (Ronnie vs. the hometown hero)

Yep all 9000 seats sold out.

Dream final.

 

[Baby Huey]

I believe the largest number of players in a single event was the Miller Lite Tournament at the old MGM Grand 1984. There were about 6,000 men and 4,000 women all playing at the same time in their respective divisions.

 

[justnum]

Do online streaming count as events? The cyberworld competes differently than the "real world."

Matchroom Pool Josh and Pia is their highest viewed video with only 1 month on platform 5.6 mil views.

Unless the older speculators understand the new analytics of livestreaming then its likely their models are broken.

The emergence of pool on a global stage enhanced with cybercommunities is something that can scare older investors.

( I hear some countries are shutting down the internet when people get motivated. )

 

[sjm]

Hong Kong follows a somewhat different path than the rest of China.

So true, even when it comes to international participation right now. Two players from Hong Kong have made a big statement this year. At the World Pool Masters, Lo Ho Sum was the runner-up to Filler, while at the Michigan Open, Robbie Capito was the runner-up to Yapp.

 

[sjm]

I believe the largest number of players in a single event was the Miller Lite Tournament at the old MGM Grand 1984. There were about 6,000 men and 4,000 women all playing at the same time in their respective divisions.

Doesn't sound right. The BCA 8-ball Nationals at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas used to draw 10,000-15,000 players year after year back in the 1990s and 2000s. That said, it is likely that the Miller Lite event you mention set the participation record at the time. If you were there, I'd love to hear about it.

 

[Bob Jewett]

Doesn't sound right. The BCA 8-ball Nationals at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas used to draw 10,000-15,000 players year after year back in the 1990s and 2000s. ...

That may have been total entries. I think the highest count on actual bodies for BCA/BCAPL was around 7-8000.

But if we are talking about audiences for pro events, pro events at big league events don't get many spectators in my experience. I remember watching the 2008 pro 10-ball at the Riv. Tony Drago won it and there were maybe 300 in the audience. Thousands of pool players in the building and 300 watching one of the most entertaining players ever. Of course there are distractions in Vegas.

 

[sjm]

That may have been total entries. I think the highest count on actual bodies for BCA/BCAPL was around 7-8000.

Ah, you're right. Most players played in both singles and teams, so they would have been counted twice. My bad.

 

[sjm]

That may have been total entries. I think the highest count on actual bodies for BCA/BCAPL was around 7-8000.

But if we are talking about audiences for pro events, pro events at big league events don't get many spectators in my experience. I remember watching the 2008 pro 10-ball at the Riv. Tony Drago won it and there were maybe 300 in the audience. Thousands of pool players in the building and 300 watching one of the most entertaining players ever. Of course there are distractions in Vegas.

Yes, I recall a match between Tony Drago and a fellow named, if memory serves, Fu Jianbo at the Riviera. Twenty-two minutes and Tony won 9-6! Yes, Shaw once beat Immonen in twenty-one minutes at Turning Stone, but the score was 9-1. Drago is the fastest player I've ever seen, a little faster than Luc Salvas, and a lot faster than Lou Butera.

 

[arnaldo]

Yes, I recall a match between Tony Drago and a fellow named, if memory serves, Fu Jianbo at the Riviera. Twenty-two minutes and Tony won 9-6! Yes, Shaw once beat Immonen in twenty-one minutes at Turning Stone, but the score was 9-1. Drago is the fastest player I've ever seen, a little faster than Luc Salvas, and a lot faster than Lou Butera.

Stu, Your mention of Lou Butera -- whom I saw playing Straight Pool on many dazzling, and rather thrilling occasions -- prompts to suggest that the judgment of fastest surely should be differentiated as Fastest at rotation games, and Fastest at Straight Pool. Big difference for proper and respectful metrics.

Newer (and long time) AZBers will enjoy this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Butera -- As you'll read, (and Stu will already know) Lou B. was tagged as "Machine Gun Lou" because of the rapid-fire sound of 150 balls being pocketed within 21 minutes to win a major Straight Pool (14.1) championship. He literally ran around the circumference of the table. He once said " I can't NOT shoot fast." Just the unique way his pool mind was wired and connected to his subconscious fund of all permanently ingrained (and instant photographic (idetic) recall of all the patterns he'd ever seen or played).

Arnaldo
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

[AtLarge]

... Shaw once beat Immonen in twenty-one minutes at Turning Stone, but the score was 9-1. ...

The elapsed time for that match (Turning Stone XXIII semifinal in Jan. 2015) has often been understated. Counting the lag and racking, it was about 23 minutes. And it might have to be disqualified from official record consideration () because Immonen conceded the last game after scratching on the break.

 

[sjm]

The elapsed time for that match (Turning Stone XXIII semifinal in Jan. 2015) has often been understated. Counting the lag and racking, it was about 23 minutes. And it might have to be disqualified from official record consideration LOL, because Immonen conceded the last game after scratching on the break.

I wasn't there for that match and didn't see it on stream, so my account was second hand. Thanks for the correction.

 

[AtLarge]

I wasn't there for that match and didn't see it on stream, so my account was second hand. Thanks for the correction.

Stu, you responded so quickly I hadn't yet edited that double smiley I mistakenly posted.

 

[JAM]

Score is 3-1 at the morning interval. Ronnie in the lead.

According to all news articles, USA should be able to watch on Matchroom.live, but it seems that USA is not able to the time of this writing to find a source to watch it. https://wst.tv/how-to-watch-the-hong-kong-masters/

There are pirated links on YouTube and Facebook and, of course, where there's a will, there's a way.

Very disappointing to see the World Snooker Tour not include USA in their viewership. I have emailed them and posted on their Facebook page. No response at the time of this writing.

 

[RandyinHawaii]

Score is 3-1 at the morning interval. Ronnie in the lead.

According to all news articles, USA should be able to watch on Matchroom.live, but it seems that USA is not able to the time of this writing to find a source to watch it. https://wst.tv/how-to-watch-the-hong-kong-masters/

There are pirated links on YouTube and Facebook and, of course, where there's a will, there's a way.

Very disappointing to see the World Snooker Tour not include USA in their viewership. I have emailed them and posted on their Facebook page. No response at the time of this writing.

Thanks for doing that! I was so looking forward to watching.