Is Pool a Sport?

By: Markus Noé

The question of "is pool a sport" has been a popular topic among pool players, fans and promoters for decades. The 2018 Olympic Games opening ceremony in Pyeongchang, South Korea is this Friday February 9th. As each edition of the Olympics comes and goes this nagging question consistently resurfaces, because for many promoters of Cue Sports such as myself and Erik Hjorleifson the Olympics is the Holy Grail.

Could you imagine? Worldwide acceptance that pool is a sport means governments would be willing to put money into it like they do in all Olympic Sports. Countries would have Academies for their "pool athletes" with strong junior programs. The stigma which still prevails in North America of a smokey room filled with gamblers, drug dealers and drunks would be gone.

In my early to mid 20's when pool was really starting to take a hold on me, that question seemed like an easy one answer. My immediate reaction to whoever dared pose such a question was an emphatic "Yes", usually followed with an eye-roll. Once I started to compete and play stronger players and saw what it took to become great it became clear to me instantly that pool is a sport. Just in the amount of hours it takes to become world class, the drills, the travelling to tournaments the 10 hour plus days to win a weekend tournament it is clear that a significant commitment needed to be made.

Now in my early 30's having improved my own game as well as my overall understanding of the state of pool overall, I find my opinion on whether or not "pool is a sport" has evolved and continues to do so. Currently my belief is that there is enough work and sacrifice that goes into becoming a world class pool player that it should be put on par with other sports such as Golf and Curling. However there are some major issues that die hard's like myself and others have to be honest with ourselves about when comparing pool with other worldwide recognized sports.

For me it begins at the very top with World Pool Association. Pool is in such a fragile state that among the old guard it is frowned upon to point out anything negative even if its true. We here at Cue Sport Nation have often been in hot water because of our willingness to call out an association, promoter and so on. However we are also quick to praise when the occasion calls for it. I am a believer that a strong World Pool Association is good thing for pool and is necessary in terms of getting pool into the Olympic umbrella and to growth of pool overall. However what we have now is basically a defunct association and as Chinese promoters and others are making clear an unnecessary one.

I have explained this several times in articles but here is a quick recap of what the WPA does. They wait for a promoter with enough money to meet their prize pool requirements, they depend on them to get a venue and basically most of the promotion is also on the promoter. The WPA runs a website http://wpapool.com/ where players can go see a list of rankings, upcoming events and so on. They provide little promotion of their events and rely on sites like www.azbilliards.com to post their coverage of World Championships otherwise they might go unnoticed all together by North American fans. 

In World Championships and other major events that want to recognized as a "World Event" which require a minimum $350,000 prize fund to be sanctioned, they take 5% in administration fee's.  The WPA uses this fee's to cover travelling cost for their board members and to presumably progress pool. However I have never turned on my television or any of my social media accounts and have come across a WPA commercial.

Furthermore they have been ineffective at pushing their authority in terms of rules and regulations. Virtually every tournament I play in has a different set of rules, call shot, 9 on the spot break from the box it is endless the amount of rules there is, and at the pro level they go through the same thing. With the WPA in its current state they are not respected enough for anyone to care about sticking to playing world standardize rules in 8,9 or 10 ball. This causes an inconsistency that is detrimental to the growth of pool. If I play golf in Europe or in North America the rules are the same. In soccer an offside is universally understood if we are all not playing under the same rules then how can pool be considered a sport?

The next issue would be things like racking. Unless a template rack is involved or special rules enforced where one cannot "load a rack" by touching balls after they remove the rack then some strange things can occur, especially in 9 ball. At the professional level it is no real secrete to anyone the 9 ball rack has been conquered. With a tight rack the wingball goes in at virtually any speed and if a template is being used you can soft cut break and shoot the 1 into the same top corner each rack if you get a feel for it.

When a template is not being used and there is no rules in a rack your own event then some players have became wizards at "gapping" balls. The prolific ones can ensure not only the wingball goes but sometimes another ball with it and an automatic shot at the 1 ball. This has made the game too predictable and more of a racking contest than one of elite skill because at a certain point most players can run out racks that have zero clusters or "problem" balls. Again I cannot tee up a golf ball a certain way that will guarantee me a 400 yard drive and a chance at eagle or birdie every hole.

The next issue I have a hard time wrapping my head around when it comes to answering whether or not pool is a sport, is the drug an alcohol issue. Drugs is an issue in all sports, I am a big fan of Mixed Martial Arts and these athletes are constantly getting in trouble for the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs or "PED's."   It is a fact that athletes in major sports like to use marijuana and drink socially. However what is really never seen or heard of in  other sports is for drugs or alcohol to be used openly during competition.

This is by no means a judgement but I have been to tournaments with world class fields and have seen top players puff the magic dragon, or indulge in a few beers openly during competition. Not to mention those using cocaine, speed and adderall. Now what sport can you openly use and abuse drugs and its not a punishable offence? It is also clear that players who are using drugs are winning. I mention drugs and alcohol not because I am a prude I am far from it in reality however it demonstrates another area in which there is no standard.

That is the real issue keeping pool from being recognized as a sport is its lack of standards overall. Combine this with flimsy rules and a weak World Pool Association and we have our current state of pool. Snooker has been in the discussion several times for being included in the Olympics and has even been close to achieving this. Barry Hearn from Matchroom Sports runs Snooker and holds it to a high standard and currently it is light years ahead of  pool in respect and prize pools.

Hearn puts on some of pool's most successful events such as the World Cup of Pool, The World Pool Masters and the Mosconi Cup. He was also once responsible for the World 9 Ball Championships and had a first place payout of $100,000. Unfortunately he had a very open disagreement with the WPA and the World Championships have never been the same since. First place now hovers between $30,000 and $40,000 for over a decade and some years we don't even have an 8 or 10 ball championship at all.

My current answer on whether or not pool is a sport for now would have to be no it is not. It has all the makings of a sport however it is unorganized and in its current state untenable. This is by no means a death sentence but just a routine check up. To me the quick answer is players need to band together and hold themselves, promoters, and various associations to higher standards. Shane Van Boening has already started this by boycotting certain international events and there have been more than a few players who are following his lead. Perhaps the current institutions and gatekeepers of pool needs to be starved to the point of extinction and a renaissance of sorts needs to take place for pool to really ever be put back on track?  Feel free to leave a comment or share this article change starts with a discussion.

    

Breakdown of the Archer Cup Entry Fee's vs Added Money

By: Markus Noé

The Archer Cup is scheduled to take place September 30 - Oct 1st. It was originally slated to be a $10,000 added based on a 32 player field, this was guaranteed. However there has been a big backlash from Québec pro's and semi pros about the entry fee being $400 after fee's for Pro and $280 for Semi-Pros.

Now look at the poster above the BREAK EVEN line is top 16 and top 12 is profit. This is as good or better payout then Turning Stone because it is only $10,000 added compared to $25,000 and the Archer Cup is only a two day event compared to 4 for Turning Stone. For many Québec players the expenses is not even close to the same and this event is in their back yard. Even players from Québec City are only a few hours away.

Now think of the U.S Open, it is $1000 entry American. You need to book a hotel for 7 days minimum. The profit line is top 5, and you have to beat out 191 of the best players in the world. Québec is a talent packed province and despite how some of them talk it is clear they have aspirations like all pool players to be better and play well against the best in the world.

 Marco Sanschargrin is giving Québec players this opportunity to go at some of the best in the world and made if affordable, if you think about it logically. He is seeding the tournament so based on the field in the poster above most players semi-pro and above are guaranteed to get through the group stage and have a fair chance of breaking even. Not to mention top semi-pro will receive $400 and top AAA $300.

Most Pro's if they don't have the money get staked its as simple as that. Traveling Pro's understand that "backers" are a normal part of the game, and that in the long run they can make them a profit or break even. Also these guys are gamblers a big part of it for them is to have a horse in the field they can sweat and see if they make money, this is all common.

I believe that the problem is most Québec Pro's do not travel much and they don't look at tournaments like this the way "road" players do.  You could not ask for a better 2 day pro event and to think even in a 64 player field, maybe it will attract 5 world class players. This means you can talk to your backer and say that you have a good chance to break even and a cheap shot at $5000.

Unfortunately for the most part I am hearing "its too much I cant win." So now Sanschagrin who has done so much for professional pool in Québec is left scratching his head. Because last minute the players wont support him. It is outrageous really and I have recently spoken to him, he is at a loss for words.

The reality is now players have frustrated one of the best promoters in Canada into thinking he does not want anything to do with Professional events anymore. The Archer Cup could be the last Pro event Sanschagrin and Eventime Production promote. To be honest I cannot blame him the truth his the Québec pro's and semi-pros complain too much and don't show up when he needs them, a perfect example is the Canadian Championships his past year. It was well attended but their could have been dozens more French Canadians in the field.

Now we are in a situation that Marco has to drastically lower the entry fee so he can fill this field. This means that it will no longer be $10,000 added because international players will not come and he got this sponsorship by promising an international field.

In conclusion if you look at this reasonably the entry fee is not a problem for semi-pro players and above. Sanschagrin is almost gift wrapping the break even envelope for these caliber players. This article is a last minute plea to save this event and keep the entries where its at. For I fear if Sanschagrin lowers the entries just to fill the field, Québec Professional players will have lost one of their biggest supporters permanently. These events should be praised and welcomed with open arms, I know the players that can afford it will do the right thing. "Make Pool Great Again"

"Gentlemen's Rule": Big Red Breaks Down Shaw Vs Strickland 14.1 Controversy

By: Erik Hjorleifson

This past weekend the World 14.1 Straight Pool Tournament took place at Steinway Billiards in Queens, New York. The worlds best straight pool players including Darren Appleton, Thorsten Hohmann, Shane Van Boening and John Schmidt were all on hand. In the end it would be Mika Immonen taking home the $10 000 first prize defeating Earl Strickland in the final. 

Strickland's road to the final however took a tumultuous turn in the his semi final match against up and coming superstar Jayson Shaw. What unfolded with the score being 189 to 184 in favor of Strickland was one of the oddest circumstances I have ever seen in pool let alone a professional match.

To set the scene here is the video that ignited the controversy

add video

Although the audio and video is not HD quality you can see that Earl clearly calls the 2 ball in the corner pocket by accident instead of the ten ball which he intended to pocket. Obviously earl was caught in the heat of the moment and recognized the ten as the same color as the 2 and dismissed the stripe part of the ball. The standing rule in straight pool is that you must call shots that are not obvious and you must call the number of the ball correctly. In fact in another odd occurrence, although not on video, Strickland had been called on a foul for making this exact mistake earlier in the match. Definitely an odd beginning to the discrepancy but what happened from there was even more obscure. 

Here is the second video from the stream. This shot was under review until 11 minute 30 second mark. The tournament director comes over and makes his ruling.

After watching this video you can see the issue that further confounds the situation is that the tournament director was not present at the time of the shot, however apparently he did have a referee watching the match. As you can see in the video the tournament director decides to review the shot on the stream and says Earl's call was inaudible because the commentators were speaking as Earl was calling the ball.

The video in this article and the video circulating on Facebook is a cell phone video and in this video it is clear that Earl calls the wrong ball. After the tournament director determined the call was inaudible on the stream I do not expect him to have the presence of mind to see if there were any other live videos but it is my understanding that the gentleman in the dress shirt seated near Shaw was observing the match in a refereeing capacity. Why the tournament director did not ask the secondary referee who was sitting right there for input is beyond me and I feel its really unfortunate he didn't because in the end by the rule book the wrong ruling was made.

A lot of people are begrudging Earl for what happened but it has to be said that it was obvious that he pocketed the ball he intended he just made an honest mistake with the number of the ball. Shaw is known tour wide as a very sportsmanlike player and is one of the most exciting players in the game but the question must be asked "did he really want to win that way?". I believe prior run ins with Earl made it easy for him to pounce on the opportunity to take advantage of the situation. I also believe that the same occurrence being called a foul earlier in the match prompted Shaw to see the same call be made again.

I would like to make it clear that I am not saying by any means Shaw was out of line here and the final ruling was very unfortunate for him and I think he is a great role model and ambassador for the game. I do wonder though what would have happened if Earl immediately admitted he made an honest mistake and looked him in the eye and asked him if he really wanted to win like that. Again though that is not what did happen and I believe prior history and like I said the same foul being called in the match already I would not fault him in any way for standing up in what he believed in.

Shaw's decision to call Strickland on his actions falls into the "gentleman rule" exceptions, here are a couple of instances where I feel a player is abusing the gentleman rule.

1. when your opponent fouls you must by the book, verbally ask "ball in hand?" your opponent must acknowledge, technically picking up the cue ball without asking is a foul. Worst infraction, the fouling player should never invoke this rule.

2. the cue ball must come to a complete stop after pocketing the last ball after before it is moved......as long as the cue ball isn't tracking near a pocket this rule should never be challenged by the incoming player.

3. playing 8 ball the opposing player takes ball in hand off the break when the rule is to start behind the line. in my opinion the fouling player can still be deemed gentlemanly if he lets the player foul by not placing the cue ball behind the line,. it is the incoming players fault

4. Playing rotation the player allows the other player  to shoot a ball out of sequence, nothing ungentlemanly about this at all it is purely the shooters fault.

I would grade what Shaw did somewhere between 3 and 4 with number 1 being the worst infraction

for me the situation is very important in the applications of 3 and 4. The more there is at stake the more acceptable calling those rules is.

Comments and opinions are most welcome.

My Frustration With the Lack of Promotion from the World 9 Ball Championships

By: Markus Noé

For players who have not won a major title, winning a World Championship is supposed to do a lot for them. It essentially puts them on the map. After winning a World title ideally you are now a household name throughout the pool world, making it easier to obtain sponsors and not have to grind it out as much as many have to do now. The life of a professional pool player is not easy as everyone knows. The light at the end of the tunnel is that a World title can give you some breathing room.

Unfortunately the media coverage has been next to nothing. In 2016 a brief article pictures and score updates is not enough. Where are the video interviews of players? Where is the proper stream with commentary? Why is there no mention of a television deal in the works. If you cannot promote our greatest players on the biggest stage then what are we doing here? How can you except to grow and promote the sport if 90% of the world has no idea whats going on at the moment. Do fans of other sports have to seek out random Facebook pages for updates of their most prestigious events... I think not.

Again I will ask what does the WPA do to ensure the continued growth and success of the sport. What do they do for juniors throughout the world? Is there referee programs? These are all just basic questions, they might be doing all this but for certain they are not getting their point across. The most action I have ever seen from the WPA is when they attacked Charlie Williams for calling his 14.1 Event a World Championship without their sanctioning.

This year event started off with the announcement that they wont be streaming every table like they have been. The company involved could not guarantee their product because the infrastructure was not adequate, something the host country and WPA were made aware of last year. All this and I haven't even mentioned the less then remarkable payouts.

There really needs to be more thought into promotion, otherwise the players we respect so much will all continue to struggle. My feeling is that the winner of this years event is getting robbed, because the promotional platform provided by the WPA and host are grossly inadequate. Does it matter if you won if nobody knows?

Redefining Professional Pool

By: AC Henry

Before you can fix a problem, you first have to admit what the problem is. With professional pool that’s very difficult, primarily because professional pool in the United States almost does not exist.
Almost all professional sports both in the U.S. and around the world have organizations designed to define and organize their respective sports and business plans. This usually starts with something as simple as a group or organization within the sport forming behind a straight forward mission statement.
   
We could discuss what a mission statement is and what it should say. But that would be premature because professional pool does not yet have such an organization, and whether the goal of the organization should come first is a chicken or egg kind of question.
   
Before starting to discuss a possible organization or what their mission should be, I would like to suggest that we define some basic terms and concepts.For the purposes of discussion, I am defining professional pool as a sport where experts compete for prize money that is greater than the entry fees.
   
This is an important concept, because many pool tournaments and events pay the athletes primarily from entry fees. If the entry fees for a particular event are merely divided among the participants based on finishing order and no more money, or very little, was added to the prize pool, that is not a professional sport.

If a group of one hundred competitors pays $100 each for entry, and the prize pool is $10,000, the athletes as a group broke even. That is not a professional event, and the athletes as a group did not earn any money. They just redistributed it. To be honest, adding five or ten thousand dollars to an event and adding that to the same $1000 in entry fees, hardly qualifies either. A $10,000 added tournament that takes one hundred entrants, the average athlete makes $100 for competing.

Even if the player finishes in the top fifty, he probably won’t make enough to cover travel expenses. That is not a profession. It’s a hobby.To be called a professional sport, athletes must compete in a venue where seats are sold and money is generated aside from athlete entry fees, by the promoter who pays the athletes out of revenues earned from ticket sales and advertising revenue. If broadcast revenues can be added, so much the better, everyone makes more money.
 
 There is a real problem with the current perception of who should be paid, how much they should be paid, why they are paid, and where the money should come from. Most of the misconceptions come from lack of understanding of why professional athletes are paid in the first place.

 It’s common among athletes to assume that because they work hard at their craft, and have attained a certain level of proficiency at it, they should be compensated, but working hard and being good at something doesn’t make money fall out of the sky. The money has to come from somewhere. Where does a professional athlete relatively large income come from? It comes from the fans who pay for seats in arena’s where sports are played and if enough people are interested to have the sport broadcast, and advertising revenue is generated, the purses and salaries go up. Why?
If a promoter can sell enough seats and advertising space to earn a profit, he is willing to pay the athletes for providing the show. Otherwise he has no incentive to pay big purses and in fact may not be motivated enough to keep holding “professional” events.

I’ll let you in on a little secret. The first pool promoter that figures out how to sell a pool show to the general public is going to make a lot of pool players very wealthy, and become very wealthy in the process.The current problem for professional pool is not the players, or a lack of talent, or gambling, or an uninteresting game, and for sure, the amateur organizations are not killing the game. They are growing a turnkey audience of already interested fans. The problem is that no one has defined a goal. The goal should be to increase purses. Big purses draw more interest from players and fans alike.

 The current model for a professional pool tournament is for a promoter to find a viable venue, sell the players on the venue and the pitiful purse. Then collect as much as he can from entry fees, a few pool related sponsors who might sell a few products, and maybe make a small deal with a hotel or resort that will make him a couple of bucks, then divide up as little as he can to provide a purse and keep what’s left over. The players will complain that the purses were too small, and the promoter will complain that he worked his tail off and made little or no profit.That isn’t a professional sport. It’s an amateur gathering of pool people expecting more than is reasonable off a very small pie.
 

The current state of professional pool is this. It’s a very interesting game, played by millions of people and it takes place on a surface that plays well on screen, has a large number of extremely talented and interesting and very expert players, who almost no one knows exist. They playing very competitive matches for each other and a very small number of fans to watch, and no one is even attempting to sell the game to a larger audience. They are swapping the same small purses back and forth among the top players, while never even speaking of the game to non-players.
 
 Additionally, the professional players and promoters are making a myriad of excuses for the demise of a game that has never really been promoted as a legitimate professional sport. As a result of all of these excuses being put forth, we have damaged the public perception of the game, making it harder for promoters to sell the game to a new audience.
 
 If pool is to make strides towards respectability, it is important to define the goals. I would suggest that since tours promoted by a single promotion company have been tried several times in the past and failed, that an organization of several promoters be formed to encourage cooperation in putting on a tour involving individual promoters for each event. Through cooperation, they could form a rules committee, possibly involving some of the players, so that there is some consistency in the rules of events. They could also share the advertising, as amortizing advertising costs would allow them to spread the large cost of promoting the events out and reach more potential fans. Cooperating could also lead to a points system similar to golf or tennis and possibly even a qualifying program. The possibilities are endless.

 Ultimately, the game needs the support and a fan base to be developed not just among pool players, but among the general public. It is a very interesting game, with character, and characters, drama, it is highly competitive, and it plays at a very watchable pace I would also suggest that a number of the events take place in existing full time pool halls, as it is often suggested that the very places we all play are in need of additional sources of revenue and it eliminates the cost of moving and installing the tables.
 
 Pool will not be saved by some miraculous outside source or happenstance. The Hustler or The Color of Money will have no third installment, and no other movie production about pool is on the horizon. Manny Pacquiao is going to go from boxing to statesman, and Kevin Trudeau has his own problems and won’t be reinventing pool promotion again anytime soon.Ultimately, pool is a goldmine of opportunity. It will take a huge effort from more than one to make it succeed.




AC Henry runs http://www.caliberbilliards.com/, he makes his own tips which he sells on this site as well as writes article such as this, make sure to check out his site! 

Corner Bank 10 Ball Series: Postponed or Cancelled?

By: Markus Noé

Just over a week ago pool players and fans had to absorb another bitter disappointment as the highly anticipated Corner Bank 10 Ball series has been postponed. This announcement was just days after a press release came out finalizing details such as dates and payouts. It was released that there would be five qualifying tournaments with $25,000 added in each event and one grand finale with $100,000  added.

Of course this caused a big stir to professional pool players and fans alike as there is simply nothing comparable out there today. The Corner Bank 10 Ball series was immediately going to be one of the most prestigious circuits in the world guaranteeing $15,000 for first prize for their five qualifying events. With $100,000 added in the grand finale I would assume the projected first prize would have been somewhere between $30,000-$40,000 but those numbers never came out.

For those that remember the original plan was to hold the first World 8 Ball Championships since 2012 at the Corner Bank. The World Pool Association does not raise the money or look for the venues themselves, they rely on a group of investors or an independently wealthy person like Manny Pacquiao to come up with the required amount of money to be allotted a World Championship sanctioning. So what has happened outside of 9 Ball, is that the World 10 and 8 Ball have had years of gaps in between events if no one wants to basically donate nearly $300,000. As we all know, last year Pacquiao hosted the first World 10 Ball Championship in the Philippines. He put up the money and the W.P.A took a percentage as "administrative" fees, and they got to call their tournament a World Championship.

The Corner Bank apparently had a similar group of investors interested in doing the same thing except this was going to be for the 8 Ball. It was the biggest announcement for North American pool players in decades, as there has been no World Championship held on the continent since the 1990's. It was about a month after this announcement that the organizers stated they would be stepping aside to let China take over the World 8 Ball Championships as they had made a 5 year commitment with a prize pool of $300,000 for both the Men's and Women's divisions.

It is still unclear whether the W.P.A gave the World 8 Ball to the Corner Bank and approved a press release or not. If they did then it is still unclear why they would be entertaining other offers after they have given the World Championship to another bidder. I stated in a previous article this would not happen in any other sport. I understand the investors behind the Corner Bank bid wanted to have an event they could build off of for years to come and a future bid against China would have been hard or impossible to match so we collectively sighed and allowed ourselves to understand.. That being said this was handled poorly at all levels and did nothing but get the hopes up for players and fans. There has still not been a date added to the W.P.A calendar for World 8 Ball Championship for 2016.

A few months later once the 10 Ball circuit was announced it was easy to make the connection of what was going on. The organizers were planning to parlay the money from the defunct World Championship bid into this circuit, which is fine and provided a great deal of excitement.  With still less than a decade of experience in this "pool world" I am not one of these jaded guys that scoffs at every big announcement. I was generally excited to hear the owners of the Corner Bank and the group of investors were still interested in doing something great for pool.

That being said even at the original announcement once the numbers came out I had questions. For instance co-owner and television personality Jim Wych talked with Billiard Digest(BD) and spoke of "investors" not sponsors. There is a big difference, as an investor plans to build the product and eventually profit from it, which is something myself and Erik Hjorleifson here at Cue Sport Nation are big proponents of as we believe for the game to grow promoters need to make money. A sponsor is someone who simply wants to add money to the prize fund and have their company name branded all over the event and are not trying to profit directly from the event.

From a media perspective there has been a lack of transparency in these proceedings. I cannot call up these investors and asked them what went wrong because they have not been identified. I cannot ask the owners of the Corner Bank because they apparently wish to not comment as I have tried to reach out. So far they have been picking and choosing who they speak with and the reality of the billiard media outside of Cue Sport Nation is no one else asks the tough questions. There is a thought that if you criticize a promotion that it is bad for the game overall but I would point out the NFL, Baseball, Hockey and all the major sports to those who think like that. All these sports have had major controversy and have not only bounced back but have done even better since. This stuff is just a part of doing business - but that topic is for another article.

Combined with the Grand Finale there was going to be $225,000 in added money, a substantial investment. Let's imagine that Cue Sport Nation is the investor for this circuit. The entry fee for these events were slated to be $250, which means if they get a full field that is $32,000 in entry fees if it was a real successful circuit. And if each field maxed out including the final that would make $192,000 which is still in the red financially speaking.

With these events being hosted in a pool room the age old problem of seating for spectators comes up. Logically the amount of paid spectators to each event would be limited making it hard to make money that way. Next would be stream revenue which I assume they calculated in this.  We had one promotion called Bonus Ball whose business plan was strictly geared to revenue from stream purchases and we all saw how that worked out. If money could not be made on streams or spectators was there talks to have this tour air on a television network? Did the investors have a deal with the Corner Bank for a percentage of their sales during these events? These are all standard questions that would be asked by other sports journalists in other sports but are almost impossible to get a straight answer from pool promoters which I believe is inadvertently hurting the image of our sport as a whole.

As an investor these would be big questions I would have and if they were not addressed properly I would pull out my money as well. From an outside perspective and of course because of transparency issues I lack all the details, but from the looks of it these investors would have to fork out $225,000 a year minimum to keep this circuit afloat. If they would have continued on with this circuit in my opinion it would have been nothing but a one off "make a wish foundation" wish for pool players, which does not help the sport or the investors long term . This has brought me to the conclusion that this circuit has been cancelled rather than postponed.

Jim Wych and John White own what is known as one of the nicest pool halls in the country and are both well respected throughout the sport. They are both accomplished players and Wych is a well known T.V personality for Matchroom Sports events. I wish them all the best and whenever they make their next big announcement Cue Sport Nation will be there to freely promote it like we did the World 8 Ball and the 10 Ball announcements.  I would imagine a valuable lesson in business has just been taught here about having all your ducks in order before making a splash like they did. At the end of the day there is a right and wrong way of doing things.

cuesportnation.com 

Did P&B Make the Right Choice for Male Player of the Year?

Ko Pin-Yi. Photo by Markus Noé.

By: Markus Noé

This past weekend Pool and Billiard Magazine released their first issue of 2016, and inadvertently caused a bit a stir. It was early Saturday afternoon as I was aimlessly scrolling through my Facebook news feed, when I saw the Pool & Billiard (P&B) online version of their magazine posted on Phil Capelle's wall. The main story of this issue was their picks for players of the year. On the women's side the pick was Ga Young Kim and the Men's was Shane VanBoening.

Anytime there is a choice for an award such as this there can usually be arguments made for one player or another. For instance Siming Cheng could have easily been an argument for player of the year. She is ranked number 4 on the World Pool Association(W.P.A) players list but won many non ranking events in Asia, where we all know is stacked with female talent.  However Ga Young Kim had a very successful season as well and overall I think no one had an issue with that pick.

Now for Shane VanBoening who also had a great year by repeating as Champion at the World Pool Masters. He had a runner up finish at this years World 9 Ball Championship in Qatar, and won the Challenge of Champions. A very impressive year and he won various other titles. Now usually I find myself defending SVB against his overly harsh critics. However this time, I like many thought the indisputable male player of the year was Ko Pin-Yi.

Some players were visibly bothered by the SVB pick instead of Ko Pin-Yi, the most vocal of which was Darren Appleton. He made the point that Ko won the two major events that are not only the most prestigious but the most sought after by the players, which is the World 9 Ball and World 10 Ball Championships. To win either one of these titles one has to make their way though a talent packed field of the best 128 players in the world. Make it even more difficult once these fields get down to the final 64, despite anyone's record the tournament switches to single elimination. Ko was able to accomplish this feat twice in a single calendar year, something that has never been accomplished before.

 Now despite this and not that it mattered much in my opinion, Ko was successful in other big tournaments in Asia. To me not automatically crowning the #1 ranked W.P.A player and the history making double World Champion, player of the year is not only strange, but irresponsible. Could you imagine if golfer Jordan Spieth who won five times on tour and two major major titles, did not get the nod as player of the year for 2015? I think it would be laughable, and in the pool scene the World 10 Ball and 9 Ball Championships is equal to winning the Masters or the U.S Open. Of course I mean in terms of prestige, payouts is a discussion for another article

It should be noted that Phil Capelle is the author of this article, but this apparently was a "board" decision by P&B. Obviously Capelle and the people at P&B are knowledgeable and the magazine itself and books by Capelle are a great resource. I just feel on this one they got it wrong. It is pretty clear who my pick is and other publications will have their pick as well so this was not the "end of the world" by any means.

However like I mentioned before this past season there was such a clear cut player of the year, that it was shocking and reinforces something that I have been coming across frequently. Which is either a lack of appreciation or knowledge of Asian and European players on this side of the pond. When in reality outside a few top North American players, Asia and Europe dominate the international pool scene. Now I feel that last statement should not be controversial but it will be to some which further proves my point. This is an opinion piece so feel free to post your thoughts or share this article with your friends. Also Ko Pin-Yi will be at Turning Stone which starts today so this will be a great time for those who have never seen him play to do so. I will be there for the entire event and hope to see as many of you as possible.

Mosconi Cup Wrap Up: Managing Expectations and Looking to the Future

By: Markus Noé

Last Friday saw Team Europe put the finishing touches on their sixth consecutive Mosconi Cup win. A truly remarkable feat that the American team has accomplished themselves but that seems like a lifetime ago. This was the 22nd edition of the very popular Mosconi Cup event brought to you by Barry Hearn and Matchrooms Sports.

In the 1990's, 9 ball was still mainly a game played and dominated by the Americans. In Europe, Snooker was still by far the most popular cue sport played and this showed in the early teams that they put together. If you look back at the old videos, Snooker legends such as Jimmy White and Steve Davis made appearances and even enjoyed some success. That being said the Americans dominated the 90's and early  2000's so much that I believe only after this year has Europe finally drawn even or near even according to matches won and cups won.

The reality is during the last 20 years as legends like Earl Strickland, Johnny Archer, Nick Varner and others have begun to decline there really has not been many top players to take their place. Meanwhile the Europeans and the Asian countries have leaped forward. As a Canadian I have said before I don't really have a stake in the outcome of the Mosconi Cup, however as a die hard pool junkie I do crave competitive matches. During the last several years as the Americans have been getting blown out year after year, the fans to my amazement still cry out for players like Strickland and other older legends who have not won anything on the international scene in years.

At first I credited this to simple nostalgia which runs rampant in this sport. However I am starting to believe that the fans are simply not properly informed as to what they are up against in the European side despite their recent domination. For example this years team featured recent World 9 Ball Champions Niels Feijen and Darren Appleton. They follow that up with the 2010 World 8 Ball Champion and potting machine Karl Boyes. Next would be Nick van den Berg who has won various Mosconi Cups along with Euro tour stops and a top 3 finish at this years China Open. Finally you have the rookie Albin Ouschan who did not make the team in 2014 when he finished second to Feijen at the World Championships. Ouschan also captured one of this years major titles by beating John Morra in the final of the China Open.

Now outside Shane VanBoening who we all know has won four U.S Opens, two World Pool Masters and countless other events, who on this team has enjoyed any kind of success recently against international fields? The best I could come up with on the top of my head was Mike Dechaine who placed 4th at the 2014 U.S Open and second at the most recent Turning Stone Classic as well as a solid World Championship appearance. Outside of these two you have Corey Deuel who is a U.S Open Champion, All Japan Champion and winner of other tournaments but that was mostly in the early 2000's.  Next you have Justin Bergman who just played in his second Mosconi Cup.

I am admittedly a big Bergman fan, I enjoy the amount of heart he plays with and how he conducts himself on and off the table. That being said until recently he has been known as a barbox player and perhaps one of the best money players in America. Which is an accomplishment but it is hard to compare that to the Europeans who play in all the major events each year and have sharpened their skills both physically and more importantly mentally. Lastly we have the rookie Sky Woodward who we can argue had the overall best performance of any American this year. However he too is just beginning to come on the scene and at only 22 years old he really is the future of American pool.

I am outlining this not to slight the American team at all, but to have some perspective and realistic expectations. It frustrates me when I am scrolling through my social media accounts and see dozens of comments along the lines of how lucky the Europeans are, and that they get all the rolls. Or that "we need Archer and Strickland back." The simple truth is that the American legends are just that now, legends. Meaning their time has come and gone and it is time for the younger generation to take their place. When it comes to "luck" or "rolls" I have noticed that since I started playing competitively it frequently looks like the better players or teams are getting lucky. That is because when you are not good enough you rely on these "rolls" to win and when the better players get them it is just that much more demoralizing.

All this being said this was by far the most competitive Mosconi Cup I have seen in years with the final score being 11-7. A lot of this is due to the continued development of players like Woodward, Dechaine and Bergman. Also the addition of Captain Mark Wilson these last few years has really seemed to help with character and team building which is imperative for a competition like this. Unfortunately though until players like Bergman, Dechaine, Woodward and other "Young Guns" get more exposure to international events, crowds and have success, I don't see the Americans winning anytime soon. This is nothing to be mad about it is all a part of the natural progression. If you look at any sports team they are not winning the World Series, Super Bowls or Stanley Cups because of one good off season. It is developed over a few years of players getting more seasoning and acquiring new additions.

As a fan, I do feel it is time to expand on this two team event. Because to be honest it is not that interesting to see one team dominate over another each year. With pool being in such a bad way for so many years now the Mosconi Cup has been a bright spot. I fear with one team's consistent domination, eventually it will not be interesting to watch. Let's face it, in my opinion both these teams would be blown out out of the water by a team in Taiwan if they were permitted to play. At one time the Mosconi Cup was an event built and promoted by best on best. In 2015 that is not true anymore; the Philippines, Japan, Taiwan and even England on their own could come up with some monster teams. I even think Canada could have a very competitive team.

In conclusion the accomplishments of team Europe need to be respected more as this domination has not been due to luck. It is undeniable that the the format of the Mosconi Cup is exciting and great for T.V but it is time to expand. 9 ball is now a game played all over the world and how exciting would it be to see it expanded on to include some of the other talented teams that are out there? Also how great would that be for the exposure and promotion of our sport overall?

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Promoting Pool but at What Cost?: Handicap vs No Handicap Debate

Graphic taken from https://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/p/keep-calm-no-professionals-allowed/

By: Markus Noé

Last weekend Shooters Snooker & Sports Club in Scarborough Ontario held an open no handicap tournament. These types of tournaments have been lacking in all of Ontario not just the Greater Toronto Area (G.T.A). Handicap tournaments as a whole have been gaining in popularity over the past decade in North America, but at what cost?

I credit this popularity because these handicap systems present the illusion that everyone has a chance to win. However this thought process comes with some major pitfalls. For example if Erik Hjorleifson, John Morra, or Mario Morra are playing on one of the various tours in the G.T.A, these three have a talent level that is above any field that can be can be assembled in the area. Thus they are the favourites to win any event they play and if participants are being honest with themselves they should feel that this is perfectly reasonable. Because these three players are perfect examples of people who have dedicated their lives to mastering the sport of pool, therefore their talent and motivation have earned them this edge in play.

By the end of the season there are people who like to look back and see how many tournaments "The Big Three" have won. Lets say that number is around 60% of the tournaments, based on the handicap philosophy this would not seem right. In this thought process ideally if there were 10 tournaments there should be at least 7/8 different winners, so what happens from here? Keeping inline with the handicap mantra there needs to be an adjustment. In the G.T.A what has happened if "The Big Three" have to race to 11 they introduce something called an 11 minus.

This is another method to try and take the edge away. Meaning if you are an 11 minus when you play a 6 they race to 5 or if you play a 7 they race to 6. You can imagine when they play higher ranked players whether they are 8,9,10 how difficult this could be. That being said these three are elite professionals. With their knowledge of the rack, ability to keep calm under pressure and the intimidation factor they bring to the table they still find a way to win the majority of the time.
Thus the next step is you see countless of tournament posters with the fine print that reads "No Pro's."

It is not just the Pro's being left out now you will also see a lot of tournaments where no one over "8" permitted. So there has been an outcry of late for traditional tournaments with straight up races. Going back to last weekend, 36 players ended up showing up with most of them being between the 5-7 level. There was a big gap of players in the 8-10 range who are not only the better players in the area but the ones who were a part of the outcry for these types of tournaments.

Now 36 players showed up for a non handicap tournament less then a month after 115 play a 7 and under tournament at the same location. So when push comes to shove the players who wanted this most did not show up. Of course it is summer and people don't play as much but it still does not account for the low turn out of the higher skilled players.  This fact begins to make me ponder the will of amateur players. As a group, is our ego and pride so fragile that we cannot even enter a tournament anymore where we are not some sort of favourite, or with the illusion of being a favourite? Is this what handicap tournaments have done to the sport, where pool room owners and tournament organizers have to cater to the lowest common denominator.

Combined with this, these top players have to deal with insulting statements like, "I am just here to donate," or "they are here to rob us." Not only insulting to people who have dedicated their lives to the sport but how much more short sided could these statements be. Especially in the format that was just presented at Shooters which had staggered entry fee's for the different levels. The value in this is to compete against high level competition without a spot to see what you got, and toughen you up and see what needs to be worked on.

Living in Cornwall, Ontario an hour outside of Montreal I play most of my pool in Quebec each season. In the Quebec Federation there are only 2-3 Handicap tournaments a season and they are mostly frowned upon. They have the luxury of having enough players to fill division for players ranked "C" through to Professional without the need for handicaps. In fact many of the Quebec players are against Handicaps as a whole. I have noticed the benefit in just the last two years alone playing the most tournaments I have ever played. As a "A" ranked player this year I secured wins over a Semi-Pro and some other higher ranked players straight up. My game and my confidence has benefited greatly from these tests and am on my way to consistently playing at a higher level.

If I would compare this system to that of the ABO handicap system in the Ottawa/Gatineau region, which I have played on and off for 5 years. It is easy to notice that many of those players who solely play these handicap events have not improved at all since I began to play. This has nothing to do in my opinion with talent level but however with these players not needing to improve. Because they have had moderate success with many mid-level cashes and the occasional tournament win. However all the while not earning enough points to be bumped up to the next level.

The result of this is we are not developing players and thus not progressing the sport we all love. Now I wont argue the fact that handicap tournaments have their place, especially for weekend enthusiasts. However we cannot let it get to the point where we are heading now. Which is we are excluding our pro's from the majority of the tournaments and handicapping them in ways where their opponents might not even have to play well to win. We need to be embracing our talented players rather then turning our backs on them, and in a sense berating them for their high level play rather then celebrating it.

Finally I would like to make the point, if Tiger Woods came strolling into our local Golf Club, and decided to play the weekend tournament. Would everyone be saying to themselves "I am not playing because I don't have chance." I think not, people would be lining up to play because they have a chance to play with one of the best players in the world and see how he handles himself ,how he hits the ball, what his approach to the game is. It is the responsibility of all players and enthusiasts alike to treat our sport in the same way, because if we don't no one will.

Currently we have two Canadian players ranked well within the top 20 in the world, John Morra and Jason Klatt. They have done this with zero government support, minimal sponsorship and at time when the sport is recovering from the lowest point ever seen. A truly commendable accomplishment and a testament to their will and determination. I can guarantee you they got to this level by competing in hundreds of tournaments in which they where far from the favourite. I fear if we continue on this path we are just a few years away from a talent drain in our Canadian Pool community, which could be devastating to the future of competitive pool in Canada.



                               

Deuel Reignites Rack Your Own Debate at the Carom Room Spring Classic

By: Markus Noé

This past weekend the Carom Room Spring Classic $2000 bar-box 8 ball tournament in Beloit Wisconsin was played. This was a star studded field with the likes of Dennis Orcollo, Shane VanBoening, Darren Appleton, Jason Klatt, John Morra all in attendance. In the end it was Sky Woodward who double dipped Shane VanBoeining in this true double elimination final. 

 The "Prince of Pool" Corey Deuel was also in this field. He is a multiple Mosconi Cup team member and former U.S Open Champion. On top of many people suggesting that he could be the best bar-box player in the world, he is also one of the most knowledgeable players when it comes to racking and breaking the balls. In fact he is so adept with his racking and breaking techniques that he has become a controversial figure in pool.

 Sardo Tight Rack

When I first got into the "pool scene" in the mid to late 2000's, I remember the outrage from fans and fellow pro's for his mastery of the Sardo Tight Rack. This was a new rack on the market at the time that tightened the balls in an almost machine like fashion to provide a "perfect rack". The reason why this was a "perfect rack" is because the balls were tapped into place upon instruction from the Sardo company. This is called training the cloth, the rack helped in arranging the balls into the divots. After some  time with this new rack he was able to figure out a way to consistently pot the wing ball and to have a reasonable opening shot by soft breaking the balls. With his world class ability these racks were almost too easy as his run-outs were abnormally high even compared to other pro's.

For certain purists they believe there should not be this type of consistency with the rack, and that running out carbon copy patterns over and over again does not demonstrate much skill. To others the game is simply about winning the most racks and if you are doing that by breaking and running more racks than the others based on superior knowledge, then all the more power too you. 

 Deuel's Experimental Break

This past weekend Deuel once again caused a stir with his racking and breaking techniques. In a match early on in the tournament, Deuel was up against Canada's #1 player John Morra. Check out the video below to see what he was doing. 

      Video courtesy of Pool Action TV

As you can see this was not a traditional break by any means. Deuel clips the last ball in what looks to me like a straight-pool break. He does so intentionally to make the 5 ball cross corner. Right away any pool player can tell that this will be a challenging rack to run-out as he does not break out the 8 ball at all. However if you look closely Deuel has patterned racked the balls in such a way that by hitting it at the speed he did only the solid balls came out of the pack, with the exception of two striped balls. This allows Deuel to have complete control of the rack. Because at this point if he misses, Morra's stripes are all clustered together with the 8 ball directly in the center of the pack making for a very tough out.  

Another top ranked Canadian player who was also there, Jason Klatt had this to say when asked about the Deuel break. "Well if he broke like that vs. me I would like it cause he needs to come with some Houdini outs.  And I like the slow grinding games personally.  He just did it to change the pace of the match and mentally breakdown his opponents.  I love that stuff."  

On the other hand there are those who feel like this is nothing more than a gimmick that cheapens the game. After the match with Morra, Deuel took to Facebook and stated to his followers that he just won a tight match against Morra 15-13. It would be an understatement to say Morra was bothered by this, as he took to Facebook and criticized Deuel's methods. This debate ended as all good arguments between world class players should, which was by Morra challenging Deuel to a high stakes money match. 

I also reached out to the "Prince of Pool" to inform him of this story and wanted to know his thoughts to the question I had. Which was how he feels about the divide in opinion his techniques has caused. Some peg him as a genius and some think these types of tactics diminishes the game. Deuel had this to say, "Can't hurt the sport...it's the worst I've seen...I like to try new things maybe this will spice it up a bit. Shane has been winning last few years but still no money in the game... and his break is very flashy and exciting...but the run outs are too easy...and rotation games are self explanatory ...1 then 2 then 3 ...viewers that don't know what 'English' is get bored to death.

It appeared to me that Deuel who is a veteran on tour, is more concerned about the current state of the game. This is a guy who has seen the sport come down to a historic low in America, and I get the feeling that he thinks his tactics are far from the biggest concern facing the sport today. Personally I am divided on the whole issue, so I am curious to what you the readers have to say. 

Feel free to join us on the Cue Sport Nation Facebook page to get in on the discussion. Finally it should be noted that Deuel was forced to abandon this method. I was informed by Ray Hansen at  Pool Action Tv that this tournament was played under the Billiard Congress of America Rules (B.C.A). The ruling was this was not a "random rack" which is a requirement by the B.C.A, thus he was no longer able to use it.  

Will the Canadian Championships be a Success This Year ?

2014 Canadian 10 Ball Champion Erik Hjorleifson with Rob Sakell

By: Markus Noé

Here in Eastern Ontario we are getting our first wave of spring-like weather. The melting snow signifies that the Canadian Championships are just around the corner. It kicks off March 31st with the Open 8 Ball division and concludes April 4. During this week the 8, 9, 10 ball Men's Champions will be crowned as well as the 9, 10 ball Women's Champions.

Over the past year as the "Straight-Pool" blog gained in popularity and grew into Cue Sport Nation, I have had the opportunity to talk to many of Canada's top players. With less than a decade of competitive experience under my belt I still consider myself a rookie of sorts on the on-goings of the Canadian Billiard & Snooker Association(C.B.S.A) or cue sports in general in Canada. It did surprise me however that every single top player I had a chance to speak with did have a horror story to share about our Canadian Championships. Complaints include amateurish streams, and not enough added money which results in players getting gouged in entry fees. Overall payouts being next to nothing, poor organization and communication with provinces outside of New Brunswick and Ontario resulting in no qualifiers being held, little to no room for spectators and the list goes on. 

 To sum it up quickly for a lot of players, their relationship with the C.B.S.A has been comparable to being stuck in in a loveless marriage and not being able to afford the divorce. The C.B.S.A is the only association in Canada permitted to give out World Championship spots, and for our top professional players who live solely off their pool winnings they are forced to compete. Otherwise they risk the expense money to travel to Qatar to play in very tough qualifiers just for a chance to make the final group. Thus the 5 spots the C.B.S.A have are coveted, and in all fairness might be the only reason it has survived the last decade. In defense of the C.B.S.A , top players who I have talked to do praise their efficiency when it comes to securing these spots but admit they could do more overall. 

 This recent track record has been less admirable and has resulted in dwindling participation. Last year the turn out was so bad that I felt the need to express my thoughts in an articled I headlined "Is Pocket Billiards Dead In Canada".  A few months later I wrote another one "Why Will Canada not be at the World Team Championships". To the credit of the C.B.S.A one of their executives reached out and shared his willingness to put in the effort into improving our national association and working with media such as myself to grow the game as a whole. 

Over the past few months I have been sent and posted "new sponsorship" press releases from the C.B.S.A. They have obtained sponsors such as O.B Cues, Diamond Tables, Aramith Balls, Chalk Cube, and Kamui-Tips to mention a few. The location for this years Championships will be the Delta Meadowvale hotel in Mississauga, ON, a great venue by all accounts. For streaming, I did recently hear that one of my favourite production companies Billard Québec offered its services for as little as $1000 plus accommodations, a true bargain price for the quality Guy Simard brings to the table for 6 days of uninterrupted coverage. 

Leading into this years events I am concerned that the entry fee is $325 for each division. Meaning that for players wanting to compete in all three they would be in for $975 and that is if you're from the G.T.A. For players who need to travel this can easily be a $2000 week. Also I have not heard of one C.B.S.A backed qualifier once again this year. However as pool players and fans have been accustomed to, we all must approach it as a clean slate. Already this year promises to be an improvement from years past and because of this there is interest from players who have not competed in the Canadians in years. This past weekend I had a chance to talk with one of our Canadian legends Luc "The Machine Gun" Salvas and he appears to be reinvigorated. He has been playing in all the Pro events in Québec and has hinted at participating in this years Canadian Championships and perhaps Turning Stone later this year

In conclusion I invite everyone to watch the stream this year if they cannot make it to Mississauga and like it or hate it be vocal on your thoughts of this years Canadian Championships. Because pool is not dead in Canada and whether the Canadian Championships is considered a success or not this year it is important to at least keep the conversation going. Remember the intention of this website - whether you are a pro, amateur or spectator, we are all one as a nation and are all responsible to improve the sport we love.

Visit our website at www.cuesportnation.com 

Sportsmanship to a Fault

By: Markus Noé

Yesterday I jumped in the car and drove just over an hour to take part in a "A" class tournament at Le Skratch Laval. After blowing a 6-1 lead in my first round match to lose 8-6 I battled for five matches on the losers side to finish in 5th. During my third match of the day something happened on the table next to me that stuck with me the rest of the tournament.

For privacy sake I will leave the names out as it is really not the point of this article. A habit of mine is to watch what is going on on other tables in between my turn because it just eases the torture a bit for me. I happened to glance over to the left of me at a key time in the match, as what happened next to me determined the end result.

There was only two balls left with the 9 on the spot and the 7 ball underneath and close enough that I would call the ref because a cut into the corner looked impossible without fouling. The option the shooter chose looked to be to play the 7 ball ball to the end rail safe and come back to center table. Keep in mind the opponent never chose to get up and get a ref despite having ample time to do so.

The safety which I mentioned before was attempted and of course the 9 ball moved but as I was watching I saw the cue ball clearly hit the 7 first. Now what I think added to the confusion was that the 7 ball ended up drifting quite a bit as is notoriously the case at this pool hall, and happened to barely make its way into the pocket.

As soon as the 7 ball dropped the opponent jumped out of his chair and suggested that what just occurred was a foul. I must say that what happened next is something I never saw before in a competitive match. After about 5 minutes of discussion the shooter was quilted into giving up ball in hand on the 9 ball, without getting the tournament director involved. The worst part of this for me was that I could tell that the shooter did not think they fouled but in an attempt to be gracious and avoid a scene conceded the game.

As a competitive player myself I have several issues with what went on here. First the ref was not called so any close call automatically goes to the shooter with no questions asked. Second the player who thought it was a foul should have had the etiquette to not say anything at all as he is a veteran of this circuit and is well aware of the rules, meaning he did not have a leg to stand on argument wise. But this was a "move" as he tried to play on the timid nature of his opponent.

As much as I hate the idea of someone making a move like this because one way or another it has an affect mentally on the rest of the match, if you want to have success as a competitive player you have to be more cut throat and have the confidence to defend your shot in this scenario. Giving up the rack might be considered the "nice thing" to do but in reality it was a mistake.

It was almost predictable what happened the rest of the match as mentally the player who committed the "non foul" was broken. The frustration was evident as after the incident it was a blow out with the one player barely able to pocket a ball, and I believe only won one more game the entire set. To add insult to injury this was a losers side match.

No one wants a good shot or a win to be taken away because they are called a cheater or lucky and so on. However the lesson here is yes you want to show sportsmanship and etiquette as overall we all know this is lacking in our sport. But by no means do you want these good qualities to work against you as it did in this particular match. It could be argued here that what the player sitting down did was in poor taste, but at the end of the day "this is war" as the great Earl Strickland has said, and some people will do whatever they can to win.  It is important for all players to have the confidence and mental toughness to fight through these situations.

 Yes it might feel good to avoid an argument and rise above the situation, but that missed opportunity will weigh on you mentally the entire set and magnify any bad rolls you get and any good rolls your opponent gets the rest of the match. It is hard enough to win matches and tournaments so do yourself a favour and don't get swindled into giving anything away.

W.P.A Lifts Sanctions on "Womens International Pool Championships"

By: Markus Noé

Azbillards released a bombshell article last week by Jerry Forsyth siting the World Pool Associations anger with Dragon Promotions. The issue was that they were promoting the upcoming "Women's International Pool Championship" as a continuation of the former World 10 ball Championship held in the Philippines. As I received the same promotional package as everyone else I can say that W.P.A had a legitimate concern here. The result was the W.P.A stated that anyone attending this tournament will be stripped of all their ranking points and be forced to qualify for each event in 2015.

To begin it is important to outline that the W.P.A is the governing body for pool, meaning they are the only ones who can sanction a World Championship.  This sanctioning is not given out lightly and it shouldn't be because a World Championship should be held to a high standard. The main stipulation is having an adequate prize fund which Dragon Promotions was unable to obtain to gain the sanctioning. The W.P.A outlines their policy on this subject, for those interested, on their website.

For Ian Anderson President of the W.P.A, as he expressed in his American Billiard Radio Interview
it is not fair that other World Championships are held to a higher standard. For example the World Men's 9 ball this year paid out $30,000 for first place with a prize pool of over $200,000. The Women's World 9 Ball Championships has a prize fund of $150,000 with no entry fee required.

       Here is what Dragon Promotions wanted to call a World Championship:

•  Total advertised Prize Fund of $44,000

•  Entry fee of $540, meaning most qualifiers were only able to send 1 player

•  $14,000 First Prize slightly less then half of other World Championships

•  Also it was not clear whether or not it was a guaranteed prize fund or was it dependent on a full field.

To add to the frustration for Anderson is that he has been in conversations for months with Dragon Promotions. He even strongly suggested them changing their name to an American Championships of sorts. However it was made clear in the follow up interview the next day with Dragon Promotions representative Cindy Lee, they were hell bent on advertising this as a World Championship. She might have been aloof about it, but it was made crystal clear when she constantly repeated the marketing advantages of calling it a World Championship.

In all fairness the W.P.A could and should be criticized, however in this particular circumstance they are not at fault. Dragon Promotions had every opportunity to avoid the drama of last week, however they continued to snub the W.P.A. To me the real issue is obvious, Dragon Promotions does not respect the W.P.A and feel they do not have to obey their rules.

An example of this was during the interview with Cindy Lee, Mike Howerton made it clear that the W.P.A was extending yet another olive branch. Anderson was willing to change his previous ruling as long as Dragon Promotions revamped their promotion of this tournament.  Howerton outlined this and made it painfully obvious the solution. And when  asked if they were willing to submit to the W.P.A for the sake of their own event Lee arrogantly replied,"anything could happen"

To me this demonstrates the very low regard they hold the W.P.A. Furthermore it took them until yesterday to have a public announcement stating that have met the requirements and now the sanctioning against them will be lifted. Considering that they were on the defensive with zero bargaining leverage and with players needing to make decisions on whether or not they participate, this was handled with little consideration.

Let's not forget Dragon Promotions is not a non-profit, and this is not a charity event they are hosting. They wanted to falsely promote a World Championship not unlike what they do with the World 14.1, and make a bigger profit while showing disregard to the integrity of what a World Championship is.

For a company with a public imagine who is dependent on the support of the players it would have been wiser to not blame the W.P.A. Rather to take responsibility for what they did and apologize for it and move on. However their choice was to promote a watered down World Championship for their own personal gain and defend this right up until the W.P.A had to make a ruling. Simply put, if you want the prestige of hosting a World Championship - meet the requirements.

 

World 10 Ball Qualifier of Sorts Held in Laval

By: Markus Noé

Once again, as has often been the case since the debut of the Billard Feminin tour, attention has been diverted from its players to its promoter. Edwidge Cavanna, player/director of the Billard Feminin tour which is a WPBA sanctioned tour, held a qualifier for Dragon Promotions upcoming Women's International Pool Championship on November 15.

Cavanna's own tour has been riddled with controversy since its inception because of her inability to work with others. At the inaugural tournament at Le Skratch Brossard I witnessed one of these "episodes" which as become a norm. It was with the owner of Billiard Québec Guy Simard, who came in support and to set up a free live stream.

There was a point in the tournament where Simard and Cavanna began to have words. What I understood from the discussion as my french is not great, is that Cavanna was attempting to dictate to Simard who would be on his stream, in a hostile manner. Simard who was obviously insulted, packed up immediately after the completion of the next match and left.

Cavanna's reaction to this was to denounce the entire Billard Québec production publicly on Facebook.  The main complaint from Cavanna was with the commentating on the stream as she found some if it insulting. However with this being an amateur event, some of the players barely play at a C level making some of the matches very difficult to commentate. Regardless of this the bridge was burned and Cavanna instantly lost one of the most valuable resources in the Québec pool scene when it comes to promoting and streaming events.


Since then she has had a personal conflict with Hanna Kwon, the winner of the of the first two tournaments as well as several arguments with players and pool room owners. Kwon was the run away points leader on this tour which meant she was essentially denied a chance to compete for a pro tour card which this tour offers to its points leader. She was banned, along with anyone who argued her point or had any kind of disagreement with Cavanna. When asked for a comment Cavanna wished not to many one and only sited the tours code of conduct which was only made available shortly before the ban was handed down.

Last week, days before the qualifier was to be held, it was announced that anyone who was "not in good standing" with the Billiard Feminin tour was ineligible to play. This had me scratching my head in amazement as surely an amateur tour which averages 12 players an event is not comparable and should have no impact on a World Qualifier. It was this thinking that got me to send an email to Dragon Promotions detailing many of the same issues I have spoken about here, along with the following question:

"Does Dragon Promotion give full licence to the directors of their Qualifiers to openly pick and choose who can play these events? Even if the reason may be strictly personal and perhaps petty? "

After a few days I received an email from Dragon Promotions which completely neglected my previous email. Instead they chose to simply send me their promo packages of upcoming qualifiers with no reference to the issues I had brought up. Despite this I posted the press releases on our website and waited for the completion of the qualifier to respond.

In the end 8 people came to Billard des Pros to partake in the qualifier, which took place in a round robin format. Meaning everyone would play one another and the player with the most games won would win their spot at the World International Pool Championships. This event of course was not completed without instance, as in one match involving Cathy Verret a very controversial call was made by Cavanna.

It was made clear before this event that if the 10 ball is obviously going to be made in a particular pocket, calling it was unnecessary. In this particular case it has been made aware to me that the ball was well within a foot of the pocket meaning no bank shot or other option was available. Thus Verret casually went up and potted the 10 ball, immediately after her opponent asked her if she called that pocket. Cavanna's ruling, despite what was previously discussed, was that she had to call the pocket regardless and that it was her opponents shot with ball in hand on the game ball.

In frustration Verret reached into the pocket to concede the game, when she did so she was then informed that this action was forbidden and cost her an additional game. In the end she finished two racks behind the leader Natalie Chabot who won the qualifier. Taking nothing away from Chabot, who is one of the most dedicated and respectful players I have seen, Verret feels robbed and rightfully so.

I felt that it was not to much to ask that Dragon Promotions dictate to Cavanna that she has no right to ban anyone interested in participating based on personal issues, or "standing" on her tour. Their lack of interest into this issue says a few things to me. That they were unwilling to go out on a limb as they have no previous background information on Cavanna or the ongoings of her tour. It also tells me that perhaps there was a fear that if approached her, maybe she would choose not to hold a qualifier at all; not only losing one player but the money as well.

Luckily for Hanna Kwon and others who would not have been allowed to compete there is one more qualifier that has been added. This will be in Toronto at "Shooters" a six hour drive for those who were not allowed to participate from Montreal.

In conclusion even though this World International Pool Championships is not a World Pool Association (WPA) sanctioned event, Dragon promotions is promoting this as a World Championship in the same way they promote the 14.1 World Tournament. I have been a fan of theirs because as more and more events are being taken away on the international level, they are attempting to replace them. However if they want the recognition for hosting world class events there needs to be policy in place for these types of situations. Because as always, it is these types of incidents which get the discussion going on the subject that "pool is dead." When it is clearly not as tens of millions of people play throughout the world. It has been my opinion for sometime now that pool is far from dead, however its continued and prolonged mismanagement cripples its image and jades the players, resulting in poor participation.



*1 Nathalie Chabot 40

*2 Cathy Verret 38

*3 Corrine Johnson 36

*4 Rita Fortin 34

*5 Venus Belanger 32

*6 Christiane Boulay 30

*7 Marie-France Blanchette 25

*8 Stephanie Thompson 14