What brand of cue do the best Taiwan pros use?

HawaiianEye

HawaiianEye

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I lived in Taipei, Taiwan in the early 70s and there were hardly any local players who played pool...they all played snooker. It seems now that some of the world's most dominate players come from Taiwan and I was wondering what sort of cues they used.

When I lived there you couldn't have given me a cue that was made there or in China...I used a custom cue made by A.E. Schmidt in St. Louis. It seems that there is a market now for their cues. Do the Taiwanese and Chinese pros play with cues made from their own countries? If so, what brands?

I'm interested in buying a "cheap" cue to bang around with and not worry about it getting dinged up or stolen, but I haven't kept up with the cue market to know which of them are considered "best of the bunch". I'm not looking for anything custom made, I already have those from McDermott and Richard Black. I'm looking for something that plays well and costs $150 or less.

I read something somewhere recently that the Taiwanese players like thicker than what is considered "normal" for shafts...over 13mm. They also prefer heavier cues, which is not usual for most players today with the faster cloths and rails.

Can someone please educate me. Thank you in advance.
 
wow, taiwan in the 70's....my earliest memories of taiwan were from the 80's and my how it has changed since then! if you went back now, you might hardly recognize it!

southwest seems to be the cue that nearly every taiwanese top player uses now. a lot of the production cues over there are SW style knockoffs (some of which play pretty good). i always wondered how the SW obsession got started in Taiwan...

you are right about thicker shafts, most seem to use 13mm or over generally, and taper is on the stiff side. predator came out with the fat shaft to target the taiwanese market, which is 13.2mm. while low deflection has become pretty popular in most countries, taiwan is the opposite. hardly any LD shafts being used, it has been the toughest market for predator to penetrate.

I don't know about taiwanese players preferring heavier cues.....never heard that one before.
 
HawaiianEye said:
I lived in Taipei, Taiwan in the early 70s and there were hardly any local players who played pool...they all played snooker. It seems now that some of the world's most dominate players come from Taiwan and I was wondering what sort of cues they used.

When I lived there you couldn't have given me a cue that was made there or in China...I used a custom cue made by A.E. Schmidt in St. Louis. It seems that there is a market now for their cues. Do the Taiwanese and Chinese pros play with cues made from their own countries? If so, what brands?

I'm interested in buying a "cheap" cue to bang around with and not worry about it getting dinged up or stolen, but I haven't kept up with the cue market to know which of them are considered "best of the bunch". I'm not looking for anything custom made, I already have those from McDermott and Richard Black. I'm looking for something that plays well and costs $150 or less.I read something somewhere recently that the Taiwanese players like thicker than what is considered "normal" for shafts...over 13mm. They also prefer heavier cues, which is not usual for most players today with the faster cloths and rails.

Can someone please educate me. Thank you in advance.
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Lucasi will give you the best bang for the money.
 
McChen said:
wow, taiwan in the 70's....my earliest memories of taiwan were from the 80's and my how it has changed since then! if you went back now, you might hardly recognize it!

QUOTE]

I have been back twice since the 70s...in 1980 and in May 2011. It has changed significantly...some for the better and some for the worse. When I went back in May I never got a chance to look around for any cues or visit any pool parlors, so I don't know how they have progressed since I lived there. I would imagine their tables and equipment have vastly improved since I last played in one of their pool halls.
Click to expand...
 
I've read that Wu Chia Chig uses a SW. I'm curious as well why this seems to be the cue of choice.
 
I was in Taipei in 1978 for one week. I couldn't find a pool table, only snooker tables. Same in Bangkok, all snooker. Maybe a few billiard tables back then too. I just don't remember playing any pool in these two countries. I did try to play some snooker on the 6x12's and I got roasted. I'd rather play Rotation in Manila. ;)
 
my dad did mention playing snooker when he was in college in Taiwan, which would have been in the 70's. snooker seems to have died out in taiwan though, in favor of pool. i wonder if there are tables or snooker players still around. my cousin who lives in taipei and is an avid player, told me there aren't really any carom tables and that the only pool games really played there are 9/10 ball or 14.1. No 8 ball, no one pocket. i'll have to ask him about snooker.
 
I've heard some old colonial hotels in Shanghai have floors of snooker tables sitting abandoned... man I've love to get there.
 
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