Quick hello and some questions???

I

Indianaguy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hello to all board members. I wonder why the hell it took me this long to find this place? I guess I never really looked? Oh well, time for the first of a million questions/answers.

How do the majority of touring pros make a living? I realize they have sponsors, a little side action which they win/lose, and they have tournament wins. The question is for the ones that dont win the big payoffs. Do they have day jobs? Might sound like a crazy question, but I have not been around any players that claim a living on a pool table. Thanks for any answers!!

Jeremy
 
Welcome to the board! As for your question, perhaps the best people to answer that are the pros we have on the board. I'm sure you'll find answers to most of your pool questions on this board.
 
bruin70 said:
a few scant years ago, the top money makers, like busta and alex's numbers, were making $50,000-60,000 less, because there were no "big" tournaments.,,,,and the top women were making $80,000.

there's only a handfulll who get good endorsements.

http://www.azbilliards.com/thepros/2000thepros.cfm
Click to expand...


If you go back and study tourney payouts for the last 20 years what you will find is I believe only twice has the leading money winner won over 100K and it was just barely over that figure. The 11th ranked player has make 11K a year also as an average. The truth of the matter is if your out of the top 10 or 15 and you don't have serious sponsors you must have a day job or be one hell of a fine gambler to survive.

One of the things that really iritates me is people don't call me a pro but I have no day job and for the last decade I have made my living with my cue, so you wanted to know a pro who does this, you just met one, me. I just went around the world and traveled 30,000 miles playing with my cue, and no dog, just me and my cue, my show, nothing else. I have a dog who makes more money playing with his nose than a lot of 9 ballers make. He was on TV playing for $25,000 early this year on prime time TV, not bad for a pool playing pooch.

As I see it, unless things change, pool's dead in the US and the future of pool is in the far east. All of the new top champions will come out of there and that is where most of the important new tourneys with money will be held. The pro's here all need to begin to learn how to speak Mandrin.

At the turn of the century the center of Billiards was Paris and Hoppe, Shaefer and all the main US stars spent most of their time over there because that was where the most talent was and the money. When Hoppe won his world title in 1908, he moved it to the USA for the first time and the center of billiards and pool became NYC and Phil, Pa. Hoppe and Mosconi were responsible for this.

I see another great shift now taking place like then and I predict in a few short years all of the top players will be on the pacific rim and we will still be playing in back rooms for peanuts. Unless some body with a lot of money and power does not step up now and change what is going on, American pool will slowly keep degrading as it has been doing for the last decade. It's not a pretty picture, don't shoot the messenger or get mad at me for simply telling you like it is. I don't like this any more than you do, but facts are facts.
 
Making a living as a touring pro is difficult and I'm not even sure I can call it a living right now. Most of the top pros make more money from endorsements. The top players make about $60,000 or so a year from tournaments. But there is a huge jump in prize winnings from Karen and Allison to numbers 6-32. I know some of the women have regular jobs that allow them time off to play. I myself don't have a job and make most of my money in "challenge matches"....aka...gambling and I get a small amount from sponsors. I am just lucky right now and don't have too much responsibility or bills in my life so I can afford to do this, that is why I am doing it now. Hopefully this has helped a little.

Take care,
Sarah
 
Sarah,

You confirmed what I was thinking. It's a shame there isn't more money available for at least the top 20. This is such a great game! Too bad more people don't feel that way!
 
Does anyone know what type of work any of the pros are in, that would allow for the amount of time required for top level play? I am either missing something, or there are a lot of guys out there damn near starving to death, or at least living day-to-day.

Some of the younger guys seem to "have money", such as Corey Duell (sp) and a few others. Maybe their parents are picking up some of the tab? This is a question that has been on my mind since I first became "hooked" on pool at 13 and Im now 27. Thanks for the response.

Maybe Ill meet a few of you at the Derby City Classic? How many of you are going to attend?

Jeremy
 
I think you said it right when you said day-to-day living. That is probably what alot of pool players are doing. It is more of a gamble rather than a profession. I know some of the women have office jobs or bartending jobs or house pros at pool rooms. Some employers are easy-going about missing work. For the WPBA tournaments they start on Wednesday and run through sunday so it is only 3 days of missed work and we only have 8 tournaments a year. As for some of the younger players having money, I am not sure how they get it. Alot of the younger players are on the road making money. Anyway...see you at the DCC.

Sarah
 
From working with a lot of the pro's most know live day to day. It's a hard way to go and you have to be very dedicated to the game to survive in the billiard world.

Derby City will be awesome this year. They have added an extra bunch of dough to the purse.

Until then for big amateur action January 8 ~11, 2004 see you at the Windy City Open www.windycityopen.org

Eydie
 
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