*THE REAL* Pool's 15 most influential people/brands list

Kickin' Chicken

Kickin' Chicken

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That other thread that was off by a lot inspired this thread where we can share what we feel are the real 15 most influential people/brands in pool.

Here's mine in no particular order:

Efren

Earl

Walter Tevis

SVB

Greg Sullivan/Diamond

Pat Fleming/Accustats

Mark Griffin/CSI

Brunswick

Aramith

Simonis

Willy Mosconi

Jeanette Lee

Minnesota Fats

George Balabushka

APA

Barry Hearn/Matchroom

Barry Behrman

Who did I miss? Who shpuld be off? Replaced by who?

best,
brian kc
 
I hate to say this, but Florian Kohler generates a lot of followers, and views. I think he has put out more content than lots of the people on the list, the level of content? Well I much rather watch Earl and Efren. So while his influence and brand isn't a majority of pool players thing, he does his part of getting people to watch some type of billiards. <EDIT> I bet that more people know of Venom than say 2/3 of that list.
 
Hopkins/SBE.

Mezz and Predator, most recently, for promotional efforts and tours.

If we are including past operations: TAR! Though no longer operating, how great were the TAR days?

I'd also nominate Ed Liddawi of Sandcastle Billiards. He's really trying to get pool going and pouring a ton of effort into the game with his NBL.

I wonder what your thoughts are on various publications too: Inside Pool, Phil Cappelle, Robert Byrne, etc. And YouTube channels like Sharivari and Florian.
 
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noMoreSchon said:
I hate to say this, but Florian Kohler generates a lot of followers, and views. I think he has put out more content than lots of the people on the list, the level of content? Well I much rather watch Earl and Efren. So while his influence and brand isn't a majority of pool players thing, he does his part of getting people to watch some type of billiards. <EDIT> I bet that more people know of Venom than say 2/3 of that list.
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I agree 100%. He is not my cup of tea but I chuckle now when a non pool player friend (everyone should have a couple of those) instead of bringing up The Fat Man says, "Hey, have you ever heard of this guy they call Venom?"
 
In all areas of the game, the popular opinion of these forums have shown huge influence over the years... From cue values and trends to the scheduling of major events to Mosconi Cup selections.
 
noMoreSchon said:
I hate to say this, but Florian Kohler generates a lot of followers, and views. I think he has put out more content than lots of the people on the list, the level of content? Well I much rather watch Earl and Efren. So while his influence and brand isn't a majority of pool players thing, he does his part of getting people to watch some type of billiards. <EDIT> I bet that more people know of Venom than say 2/3 of that list.
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Florian also owns an APA franchise, if I recall correctly, so he is involved in more facets of the game than just his trick show act...
 
noMoreSchon said:
I hate to say this, but Florian Kohler generates a lot of followers, and views. I think he has put out more content than lots of the people on the list, the level of content? Well I much rather watch Earl and Efren. So while his influence and brand isn't a majority of pool players thing, he does his part of getting people to watch some type of billiards. <EDIT> I bet that more people know of Venom than say 2/3 of that list.
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Florian has a following greater than all of American Pro Pool so he defiantly has to be on there for anything influential to pool.
 
Kickin' Chicken said:
That other thread that was off by a lot inspired this thread where we can share what we feel are the real 15 most influential people/brands in pool.

Here's mine in no particular order:

Efren

Earl

Walter Tevis

SVB

Greg Sullivan/Diamond

Pat Fleming/Accustats

Mark Griffin/CSI

Brunswick

Aramith

Simonis

Willy Mosconi

Jeanette Lee

Minnesota Fats

George Balabushka

APA

Barry Hearn/Matchroom

Barry Behrman

Who did I miss? Who shpuld be off? Replaced by who?

best,
brian kc
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I think maybe a separate list for people and a separate list for companies/brands?
 
jasonlaus said:
Most pool players know nothing about TAR or Ed Liddawi, along with SBE and the Derby sadly
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AZB needs to be on this list also, I got out of pool before TAR and came in after it ended so I had never heard of it prior to coming here. To me, AZB is THE historical billiards site and should be on the list.
 
so far I'm liking Venom and maybe AZB but who do l remove from my list to make room?

I do like keeping the list combined rather than doubling with people & businesses-orgs getting 15 each.

Got to make the cuts and draw lines somewhere.

.
 
I don't understand. At least I understood what the other list tried to represent, which was influence at present in our sport. Yes, it was the worst poll I've ever seen in our sport, and highlighted the cluelessness of its voters, but at least it was clear what it meant to be.

Is this new poll for current influence or historical influence?

One thing is for sure. The most influential figure in the history of the sport is, by a mile, Brunswick, which once had a virtual stranglehold on the sport.

The most influential figure in the sport today is Matchroom.
 
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sjm said:
I don't understand. At least I understood what the other list tried to represent, which was influence at present in our sport. Yes, it was the worst poll I've ever seen in our sport, and highlighted the cluelessness of its voters, but at least it was cleat what it meant to be.

Is this new poll for current influence or historical influence?

One thing is for sure. The most influential figure in the history of the sport is, by a mile, Brunswick, which once had a virtual stranglehold on the sport.

The most influential figure in the sport today is Matchroom.
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Glad I had both of those are my list

Sorry for the ambiguities Stu this is not meant to be a poll at all just an opinion sharing thread of who or what company / organization was or is most influential in our sport.

For instance, why I included Walter Tevis was the huge explosion of Interest in our sport The Hustler movie caused. And now maybe Venom should be I'm such a list with all of the social media attention he gets

Just looking for opinions and to have a little fun with it.

Best,
Brian KC
 
Kickin' Chicken said:
That other thread that was off by a lot inspired this thread where we can share what we feel are the real 15 most influential people/brands in pool.

Here's mine in no particular order:

Efren

Earl

Walter Tevis

SVB

Greg Sullivan/Diamond

Pat Fleming/Accustats

Mark Griffin/CSI

Brunswick

Aramith

Simonis

Willy Mosconi

Jeanette Lee

Minnesota Fats

George Balabushka

APA

Barry Hearn/Matchroom

Barry Behrman

Who did I miss? Who shpuld be off? Replaced by who?

best,
brian kc
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To common players you can probably remove everybody but Jeanette, Fats, Mosconi and Shane(maybe), and APA. Nobody knows who Tevis is and since most players are bar box players they probably don't know Brunswick, Simonis, Aramith, (maybe Diamond) sadly they probably don't know Earl or Efren, and certainly not either Barry, Mark, or Pat.

Now if it's a list for "Players" or followers of pool, then it's a pretty good list that could have a few additions or subtractions 👍
 
Kickin' Chicken said:
That other thread that was off by a lot inspired this thread where we can share what we feel are the real 15 most influential people/brands in pool.

Here's mine in no particular order:

Efren

Earl

Walter Tevis

SVB

Greg Sullivan/Diamond

Pat Fleming/Accustats

Mark Griffin/CSI

Brunswick

Aramith

Simonis

Willy Mosconi

Jeanette Lee

Minnesota Fats

George Balabushka

APA

Barry Hearn/Matchroom

Barry Behrman

Who did I miss? Who shpuld be off? Replaced by who?

best,
brian kc
Click to expand...
I like the list. I might consider:

Predator
Ozzy Reynolds (CSI)
Emily Frazer (Matchroom)
Valley
Zuglan
Joy
WPA
Barbara Lee :)
 
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