Old World champions

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hwest

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It's very confusing when you're watching some matches featuring old world champions. For example Mike Sigel was credited as a 10-time world champion on IPT, but in Wikipedia they say he only won 5 world championships. It's often said that Nick Varner has won a world championship in 8-ball, 9-ball, straight pool, bank pool and one pocket. Is he considered a world champion of one pocket and bank pool if he has won the banks/one pocket divisions in the Derby City Classics? Has there been a legimite world championship in 8-ball or has he just won a major(the biggest 8-ball tournament of the year at that time).
It would be nice if some knowledgeable old timer like Jay Helfert could clear this up a bit. Does anybody have a complete list of past world champions? I would be also interested to know that which year Sigel, Varner and Rempe have won titles and in which disciplines? And one last question: Has Buddy Hall or Steve Mizerak won World titles?
Thanks for all the help!!
 
There is no 1 line answer to your question. There were many tournaments back then that were sanctioned by different organizations (that came and went) that claimed to be the governing body. Sometimes in those years the BCA did not hold world championships and someone else decided to hold a tournament and call it the worlds, all kinds of stories. Steve Mizerak won the world straight pool title 7 times. I believe Buddy did win the world 9 ball title, but the point is mute, nobody on planet earth could beat Buddy at 9 ball in the 70's and early 80's.
 
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hwest said:
It's very confusing when you're watching some matches featuring old world champions. For example Mike Sigel was credited as a 10-time world champion on IPT, but in Wikipedia they say he only won 5 world championships. It's often said that Nick Varner has won a world championship in 8-ball, 9-ball, straight pool, bank pool and one pocket. Is he considered a world champion of one pocket and bank pool if he has won the banks/one pocket divisions in the Derby City Classics? Has there been a legimite world championship in 8-ball or has he just won a major(the biggest 8-ball tournament of the year at that time).
It would be nice if some knowledgeable old timer like Jay Helfert could clear this up a bit. Does anybody have a complete list of past world champions? I would be also interested to know that which year Sigel, Varner and Rempe have won titles and in which disciplines? And one last question: Has Buddy Hall or Steve Mizerak won World titles?
Thanks for all the help!!
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Terry Ardeno would know for sure, but I believe that The Miz won a World Open Title (PPPA) in 14.1 in back to back years. I believe that it was 1982 & 1983.

Buddy Hall won the 9 Ball World Championship in 1984.

I believe that Sigel won the 9 ball World Championships in 1985. Mike Sigel was also the 14.1 World Champion in 1979, 1981 and 1985.

Ray Martin was 14.1 World Champion in 1971, 1974 and 1978.

I know that Nick Varner won the 14.1 World Open (PPPA) in 1980, 1985, and 1986. He won the 9 ball World Championship (MPBA) in 1989. I think Nick won everything in 1989, at least it seemed like he did. In 1994, Nick won the Challenge of Champions. In 1999, he won another 9 ball World Championship. Nick also won the 1 Pocket World Championship ( I forget which year) - as well as a World Championship in banks (9 ball banks).

There was an 8 ball World Championship in 1994 that Nick Varner won. Not sure who held it (Might have been Don Mackey). I'm not sure if this was an official WPA sanctioned World Championship.

Because there has been no tour that has withstood the test of time (and politics), it gets confusing when wading through the alphabet soup. I believe that one year (1999) there were two 9 Ball World Championships held, one was won by Nick Varner, the other was won by Efren Reyes. Go figure.
 
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There were many years when there was no World Championship in pool. And there were many tournaments called World Championships that had only American players in them. That was what professional pool looked like in the 70's and 80's.

Meanwhile the U.S. Open was a major championship every year with all the best players playing. So were tournaments Like Caesars Tahoe, Caesars Palace and Caesars Boardwalk. Plus the B.C Open, The Resorts International, The Williards events and even the Sands Regency in the 80's. The Brunswick World Championships began in the mid 80's.

Buddy and Sigel won several of the above events. So did Earl and Nick. Miz won a bunch of U.S. Open Straight Pool titles. Rempe won one of the big Resorts events (1986) beating Efren in the finals. Keith won the B.C. Open when everyone played in it. 25K first prize in 1985. In fact most of the major events back then had hefty first prizes and deep pay outs. Williards paid 40K one year (Buddy won) and Rempe won 35K in his big win. Earl won 33K plus a new car in 1983 at Caesars Tahoe, and 25K the next year at Caesars Palace. Efren won 20K at his first U.S. event at Red's in Houston (1985). Earl won it the year before beating the Miz in the finals (also 20K). Twenty years ago we always had two or three events each year with BIG prize money. My first L.A. Open in 1992 Earl won 21K and in 1993 Mark Tadd won 26K.

Many of these above events were called "world championships" by the players who won them, and rightfully so. There were several World Championship Straight Pool events in the 70's and 80's as well. Miz, Sigel and Varner were the dominant players back then.

The first "World Championships" put on by Brunswick (Pat Fleming, Joe Kerr and yours truly were the officials) paid out 15K for first in the mid 80's. It was not the biggest in terms of prize money but it was covered by ESPN, so that made it an important event for all the players.
 
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Nick beat up on Pagulayan (4-0) at the 2000 World One Pocket for his 1-P title.

DCC Banks pretty much is the world championship.
 
bud green said:
Nick beat up on Pagulayan (4-0) at the 2000 World One Pocket for his 1-P title.
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I remember that match...I wonder how that matchup would turn out today. Pagulayan used to be a "gopher" type one pocket player. Recently, his ability has jumped a couple notches, and his shot selection is impeccable.

I don't think anyone (including Efren) would like playing even one hole with Alex today.
 
the420trooper said:
I remember that match...I wonder how that matchup would turn out today. Pagulayan used to be a "gopher" type one pocket player. Recently, his ability has jumped a couple notches, and his shot selection is impeccable.

I don't think anyone (including Efren) would like playing even one hole with Alex today.
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You and I are usually eye to eye, Marley, Bob...but I think you aren't going to like betting on Alex vs. Efren in thaat game.
 
Black-Balled said:
You and I are usually eye to eye, Marley, Bob...but I think you aren't going to like betting on Alex vs. Efren in thaat game.
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I don't know, BB.

From the recent Efren matches that I've seen, he has trouble pocketing routine shots consistently. Efren will probably always be my favorite player, but his time at the top of the mountain looks to be nearing its end...:frown:
 
bud green said:
Nick beat up on Pagulayan (4-0) at the 2000 World One Pocket for his 1-P title.

DCC Banks pretty much is the world championship.
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Varner put on a one pocket clinic in that final match. the semi final with Alex beating parica was a really great match and I thought Alex would give Varner a tough match but Varner went right through him.
 
hwest said:
It's very confusing when you're watching some matches featuring old world champions. For example Mike Sigel was credited as a 10-time world champion on IPT, but in Wikipedia they say he only won 5 world championships. It's often said that Nick Varner has won a world championship in 8-ball, 9-ball, straight pool, bank pool and one pocket. Is he considered a world champion of one pocket and bank pool if he has won the banks/one pocket divisions in the Derby City Classics? Has there been a legimite world championship in 8-ball or has he just won a major(the biggest 8-ball tournament of the year at that time).
It would be nice if some knowledgeable old timer like Jay Helfert could clear this up a bit. Does anybody have a complete list of past world champions? I would be also interested to know that which year Sigel, Varner and Rempe have won titles and in which disciplines? And one last question: Has Buddy Hall or Steve Mizerak won World titles?
Thanks for all the help!!
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Here is a list of some past World Champions:

http://www.wpa-pool.com/index.asp?content=champ
http://www.bca-pool.com/play/tournaments/results/archive_main.shtml
 
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If I remember correctly, Alex was making or almost making a ball on his one pocket break every time against Parica.

Varner outclassed him completely in the finals but it wouldn't happen today.
 
Thanks for all information! In 1999 when there were 2 world championships, were the fields of players about the same or did other of the tournaments have a tougher draw?
 
World championships these days include a lot more non-United States players and, imo, there are no World Championship tournaments. It's all hype. The promoters call them what they want and maybe it's open to everybody and maybe it's not. Maybe the players call it a world title and maybe they don't. If there were one really meaningfull tour, like the PGA, then there could be more really meaningful tournaments.

I really feel like anybody who wins a well-attended pro tournament is a world champion for that week or month.
 
hwest said:
Thanks for all information! In 1999 when there were 2 world championships, were the fields of players about the same or did other of the tournaments have a tougher draw?
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The first World Championships put on by Matchroom that year had the far tougher field. First prize was 100K and Efren beat Chang (from Taiwan) in the finals. The "other" world championship put on by the WPA that year had a less than stellar field with much smaller prize money. They gave the sanction to Matchroom the following year knowing they could not compete.
 
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