What's your favorite pool memory from 2025?

[Cartune]

When the heart surgeon said it was OK for me to try playing again.

My best friend had quadruple bypass surgery a few weeks ago and we shot at his house for 3 hours a few days ago, it was awesome.... this was my best moment if I had to sum it up!!!


Lou, you did the right thing. Always spend time with the kid with a cue and a mother in need, well done sir

 

[Blue]

I hesitate to write this because it's somewhat personal but, here it is.

One morning very early this year I was practicing on my favored table in the back of pool hall. A young woman walked in with a small boy. I'm terrible at guessing the ages of kids but he was somewhere before a tween -- dark hair, skinny, well dressed in kakis and a rugby shirt. He had his own cheapie cue in a soft case and seemed a very quiet, very intense type. They took a table several away from me while I was practicing some 14.1 and running a fair number of balls. And after about a half an hour the woman approached me and said, "Excuse me sir but it looks like you know what you're doing. Would you mind giving my son some pointers?"

Now, normally, I might have demurred -- I consider my practice time sacred but something about her gentleness touched me and I said, "Sure."

At his mother's urging (pushing) he approached me and stood at my table and I asked, "Are you ready to learn something?" And he imperceptibly nodded. And so I spoke to him softly, telling him, "Pool is a game of precision and repeatability. If you are precise in your set up and execution you will be able to repeat your setup and reliably pocket balls."

So we began. I set up a small series of shots. Corrected his stance, grip, and bridge and tell him, "I know it's a lot. But if you stick with it you'll be able to do it without thinking. Trust me." And, as I suppose you would expect, he has a modicum of success and after about 40 minutes the woman says, "Kevin, it's time to go. Thank the man." And, in a very serious fashion, he walks up to me and shakes my hand, and says, "Thank you."

Mom and son walk to the bar to pay time and she buys him a Coke and after a few minutes walks back to me and says, "I cannot thank you enough for what you just did. Kevin's dad died two months ago in a work accident and we're on our way to my mom's house. He seems kind of lost and still in shock." And suddenly she gives me a big hug, softly crying on my shoulder.

I don't know what else to say except that sometimes, even in the pool hall, there is room to do a good thing.

Lou Figueroa

Thumbs up and respect.

Thats what made you that guy

 

[Frosty]

my memorable pool thing in 2025 was not a good one

local pool room all tables full with regulars and no one gambling at all except for the so called best player in town, who does bet , and he had to play with one guy for 3 dollars a game.
pool 2025.

This is a sad thing isn’t it? It’s somewhat similar where I play now, although there is a small group of old school players that still gamble as we always did and bet it up pretty good with each other as we all always liked to bet high.

One in our circle loves to chide the top 2 or 3 players there of the younger generations who have the skills to gamble but seldom do, and generally only play cheap, and amongst themselves. The best of them challenged one of our group once and got skinned alive, so they avoid us now.

 

[gregcantrall]

Well 2025 has been a year for finding pleasure in small things. The fun part was finding a local $5 eight ball tournament. The funny part was first place money didn't cover my bar tab. Meeting and making new friends made it fun.
Happy holidays.

 

[SA96]

Getting a photo with Shane and Skyler at the Mosconi Cup.

It was also cool to attend my first Mosconi Cup event, despite the score!

Tyler's misses on the 9 were all pretty crazy moments.

 

[briankenobi]

For me its beating Venom for a discipline medal in our last artistic pool tournament. We both scored the same for that discipline (category) and it went to a sudden death shootout to which I won. He finished higher in the event than me, but I will take any win against him I can.

 

[Island Drive]

It's been an interesting year for me.
Got back to the game and the world of pool after being a way for about 15 years.
Equipment changed, I changed, the top pro players have changed...
I signed up for an 8ball league and started to play in a weekly 9ball tournaments and been doing pretty good, much better than I thought that I would. Been getting into all the league's playoffs and last league I finished 2nd.
Won a bunch of the weekly 9ball tournaments and finished high in most of them.
Not a bad year.

If your in a healthy demographic of players that can handle getting beat.... your in a good area.

 

[Cmate]

I made a cross side bank in early August...

 

[Mr Machine]

Hadn’t been back to the sports bar I mean poolroom since the plague hit.
In the meantime we left the city, no pool for two years.
Finally bought a GC3 & practiced every day.
Back then my buddy and I would play straight pool to a hundred. The result always in doubt, usually within ten.
I went back in the spring, we played again
and I won by 53.

 

[g0ds gReeN]

Acquired a box of v10... without finishing my box of pyro. Basically enough chalk to last the afterlife, definitely going to give one each to the 2 guardians that protect my spirit on its journey home when the time comes.

 

[maha]

to toot my own horn. many decades back a friend from the pool room who lived near me did me a couple favors that really helped me out and helped me go on from there.

i was bored and researched him. thought he was probably gone by now but found out he wasn't doing well and was in not good financial straights.
i always somehow wanted to return a favor to him but haven't seen him in well over 50 years. so this year i got his address and stuffed an envelop full with c notes and sent it to him registered mail. anonymously.