PBS St Louis 2026 (Men’s World 8 Ball Championship, Mixed Doubles, Women’s Open, Bank Pool), 1-8 April, Half Million Prize Fund

Scrunge19 said:
The camera work in this event is quite poor. They seem to lack the understanding that seeing the ball go into the pocket is important, but in many cases it’s even more important to see where the cue ball is going afterwards.

There have been numerous times where they just show a zoomed in view of the pot and never pan out to show the rest of the shot.
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Agree. Too many close-ups and when they do, they should switch to overhead or wide angle before the shot is taken. A lot of these shots we're just seeing the result. Especially with the breaks, i've been rewinding to see what ball their targeting, but on some you can't even tell on replay because the cameras are switching.
 
Kris_b1104 said:
Yeah I hate playing and watching 8ball, but I don't mind seeing the pros runout on tight pockets on a big table. Beats Ultimate Pool by a long shot.
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predator can do with implementing a shorter shot clock for 8-ball. would make it more interesting. and/or TWYM break rule

otherwise pro 8-ball - on any table - is just runouts. even in the heyball final the other day, with those 3.5" rounded pockets, they ran out over 50%
 
meanwhile bergman has beaten two of the hottest players on the planet. what a story that would be if he were to go all the way. will play gerson next to qualify for L32

fedor, shaw, yapp, biado look strong on the scoreboard
 
skogstokig said:
meanwhile bergman has beaten two of the hottest players on the planet. what a story that would be if he were to go all the way. will play gerson next to qualify for L32

fedor, shaw, yapp, biado look strong on the scoreboard
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Agreed, the Bergman story is captivating. I've known Justin since he was a teen, saw him at his best and would be thrilled if he were to recapture the game he showed about ten years ago. His decision making has always been elite across all the disciplines, so if he is able to execute at a high level, he'll offer a stiff test to any opponent.

Gerson is also an interesting story. Many have suggested that South Americans deserve Mosconi Cup consideration. With absolutely brilliant play, Gerson beat Filler in the Big foot 10-ball at Derby City in January. Gerson is one of those players that can catch fire at a moment's notice.

My hunch is that Big Kaci is very dangerous in this spot. His big, powerful break is a much more important weapon in 8ball than in 9ball. He also played well at the recent European Open, so his current form appears to be solid.

The World 8ball has never been easy to handicap, but it is usually won by one of the game's giants, so that's what I'm expecting.
 
sjm said:
Agreed, the Bergman story is captivating. I've known Justin since he was a teen, saw him at his best and would be thrilled if he were to recapture the game he showed about ten years ago. His decision making has always been elite across all the disciplines, so if he is able to execute at a high level, he'll offer a stiff test to any opponent.

Gerson is also an interesting story. Many have suggested that South Americans deserve Mosconi Cup consideration. With absolutely brilliant play, Gerson beat Filler in the Big foot 10-ball at Derby City in January. Gerson is one of those players that can catch fire at a moment's notice.

My hunch is that Big Kaci is very dangerous in this spot. His big, powerful break is a much more important weapon in 8ball than in 9ball. He also played well at the recent European Open, so his current form appears to be solid.

The World 8ball has never been easy to handicap, but it is usually won by one of the game's giants, so that's what I'm expecting.
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i like when the pressure of the players carries over to the viewer, so i've come to enjoy watching gerson and his nervous stroke. i don't know how he does it. but yea, hope they put that match on a tv table. very contrasting styles
 
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skogstokig said:
i like when the pressure of the players carries over to the viewer, so i've come to enjoy watching gerson and his nervous stroke. i don't know how he does it. but yea, hope they put that match on a tv table. very contrasting styles
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Yeah, Martinez has very suspect fundamentals but he is an elite decision maker.
 
I really like seeing the pros at the Table for their first inning, and seeing the wheels turning...the decisions on what set to take, and how to run it out.

I don't see how this can be seen as that much less tactical than 9 ball...

I have enjoyed this free tourney much more than the last few wnt tourneys I paid for ...

It will be interesting to see how the BnR numbers and/ or average number of innings compare to the last few 9ball majors, as there seems to be several knowledgeable folks on here who think 9 ball is way too easy for pros...hint, hint @AtLarge
 
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jokrswylde said:
I really like seeing the pros at the Table for their first inning, and seeing the wheels turning...the decisions on what set to take, and how to run it out.

I don't see how this can be seen as that much less tactical than 9 ball...

I have enjoyed this free tourney much more than the last few wnt tourneys I paid for ...

It will be interesting to see how the BnR numbers and/ or average number of innings compare to the last few 9ball majors, as there seems to be several knowledgeable folks on here who think 9 ball is way too easy for pros...hint, hint @AtLarge
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do you mean there are more innings in 8-ball? from what i've seen it's wet break and runout or dry break and opponent runout.. very little tactics involved
 
skogstokig said:
do you mean there are more innings in 8-ball? from what i've seen it's wet break and runout or dry break and opponent runout.. very little tactics involved
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No, I am curious as to how many times each player gets at the table compared to wnt. It could be as you say, each player averages only one chance at the table. The numbers will show that

Casually viewing, it doesn't seem that much different as far as number of times each player gets at the table...just in the few matches I e watched
 
jokrswylde said:
... It will be interesting to see how the BnR numbers and/ or average number of innings compare to the last few 9ball majors ...
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The B&R % is generally higher and the average number of innings per game lower for pro 8-Ball than for pro 9-Ball.

Here are some stats for the matches I tracked in 2024 and 2025 (combined) in the world championship events for 8-Ball (427 games), 9-Ball (557 games), and 10-Ball (554 games). The stats are for 8-Ball first, then 9-Ball, and 10-Ball last.

B&R games -- 33%, 21%, 19%​
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1-inning games -- 70%, 38%, 39%​
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Average visits* to the table per game -- 2.4, 4.1, 4.2​
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*A visit is a turn at the table for one player; so 2 visits per full inning.​
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