Cue Sport Group

Archive for February, 2010

Straight from the Trondheim town of Norway, this Norwegian beauty started playing pool when she was 14 years old. She was coined to be always one of the boys – being the only girl in the group who would play at a 7 foot table in front of her. Tracking from her early pool days, she was already known for beating most of the boys, all the time.

Line Kjorsvik has been the five-time European Champion and was once hailed to be the number one woman billiard player in Europe. The rest of her titles include the following:

• 22-time Norway Champion
• Bronze medalist at the 2005 World Games
• 2-time Ladies’ Eurotour winner
• Nordic champion

In her personal website, she expresses her gratitude to the sport for with the opportunity it posed in her life made her travel different parts of the world and meet amazing and incredible people.

Photo via http://www.line-kjorsvik.com/

We’ve seen, heard and admired most of the popular pool icons for their skill, affability, and charm. But one famous pool player seems to be misunderstood for his often-outspoken views and occasionally impulsive behaviors at tournaments, particularly his match with snooker star Steve Davis in 2003 World Pool Championships, where he engage in heated verbal arguments with fans and referee Michaela Tabb. Wandering who’s this controversial star pool player? The name is Earl Strickland, one of the best nine ball players of all time because of his numerous championship titles within his 25 years of pool playing career.

This cue artist from North Carolina started playing pool at the age of nine, and after intensive practice he entered his first pro tournament at 15. A winner of the prestigious Player of the Year Award, and his accolades include five wins at the U.S. Open Nine-ball Championships, and the WPA World Nine-ball Championships. Strickland is the only WPA World Nine-ball Champion ever to win the event in successive years.

He was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America’s Hall of Fame in 2006 and in 2007; he was ranked #6 in the Pool & Billiard Magazine’s Top 20 Favorite Players.

(Photo via insidepool.com)

This boy slept on the table and dreamt about pool. Who would have thought that the kid who worked as a billiard attendant will now become one of the World’s Greatest Pool Player? Efren “BATA” Reyes is among the favorites in cue sports. He’s usually called “BATA” (Kid) since he was too young then working as an attendant and playing pocket billiards, so from then on it became his nickname.

Efren started playing pool when he was eight years old; he would stack cases of Coke three high so he could be able to shoot. For the first three years, he still learned a lot about the game. And with his perseverance and enthusiasm, Efren has made a huge name in the World of Pool Sports. Efren won in US Open Nine Ball Championship in 1994, he was the first non American to win the event. In 1999 He won in the WPA World 9-ball Championship and with his countless achievements and tremendous popularity the rest is history.

We knew Efren by many names, from ‘Bata’ to ‘The Magician’. And now as a Hall of Famer. Filipino Pool icon Efren ‘Bata’ Reyes has been voted into the sports’ Hall of Fame, a well-deserved award for one of the most famous and enigmatic players in the World of Cue Sports.

(Photo via insidesports.ph)

We often see pool and billiard players rub a green, blue and sometimes brown little cube on the tip of their cue after every shot. Well, that thing we see is called a Cue chalk and they are available in many colors. The chalk is placed on the tip of cue before and after the player makes a shot to provide a better grip which prevents miscuing.

The tip of a cue is made up of different flexible materials. A typical example is leather which becomes hard and compress after being used subsequently. Frequent usage of the cue stick makes the tip deteriorated and looses its good grip of the cue ball. This causes mishap to most of the pool players in giving a good hit on the ball. Pool Chalk or snooker chalk prevents the tip of cue from slipping off the cue ball. And it is therefore necessary to keep that chalk in every game. It helps to save that shot from losing the competition.

(Photo via drakeliesure.co.nz)

Wu Chia-ching at 17 years old is the youngest player ever to win the WPA World Nine-ball Championship. Also known as “Taisun” meaning “Little Genius” began playing the game of eight ball at the age of 10. He practiced his pool playing skills most of the time in their own pool hall. Wu’s grandmother raised him since age of 2, and she’s the one who would always escort Taisun to pool competitions or events happening within the community.

The young professional pool player became  a runner-up in 2004 Juniors Nine-ball World Championship and in 2005, he won the WPA World Eight-ball Championship. But it was not always a lucky day for Wu, when he lost to Ronato Alcano of the Philippines in a quarter final round of  the 2006 San Miguel Asian Tours.

He won 2^nd place in WPA World Ten-ball Championship in 2008, he was beaten by Darren Appleton. Wu Chia ching still the youngest pool champion player in the world.

(Photo via billiardstanloc.com)

Talk about the best pool players in history and the name William Joseph Mosconi best known as Willie Mosconi or “Mr. Pocket Billiards” will always be mentioned. The American cue artist from Philadelphia was among the first to be inducted in the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame. Mosconi popularized pool by setting many records. He won the World Straight Pool Championships for fifteen times. He was also one of the best Trick Shot Performer and holds the world record during a straight pool exhibition for running 526 consecutive balls without a miss and up to this day no one has beaten it.

Mosconi was already straight pool champion at the age of 11 in 1924 and was doing trick shot exhibitions most often. In 1968, Willie Mosconi received the honor as a Hall of Famer in Billiard Congress of America.

The Mosconi Cup that’s being held annually was founded in 1994, a year after his death. This event is in honor of him, it’s the annual competition between American and European Pool players and that has become popular more than ever.

(Photo via billiardsforum.info)

Looking for a world class billiard or pool table that can match your amateur or professional playing skills? Browsing the Internet will certainly give you plethora of results but only a few are known for quality and excellence. Review most of the Classic World Pool Competitions in the past and you’ll notice that there’s a common brand of pool table being used.  May it be a vintage or modern design, Brunswick is reputed by most professional players for quality, accuracy, and unsurpassed playability.

Brunswick is made of quality slate inspected and certified to provide lifetime playability; it has superb performance Nut plate and hardened dome washer compared to other brands. The Super speed cushion rubber is composed of thin layer of cotton canvas for better accuracy in rebounding and consistent accurate nose height for superior banking.

Being the top brand for excellent performance, and most sought for game room furnishings since 1845, Brunswick Competition table is a result of refine engineering for more than 160 years.

(Photo via exoticexcess.com)

Francisco “Django” Bustamante is just one of the favorites among the professional pool players in the world. Known for his strong and powerful cue break and his signature behind-the-back shot, this Asian cue artist has won a number of titles like The German 9 Ball Championship, The Munich Masters and Japan’s 9-Ball Championship. He almost beat Earl Strickland in the 2002 World Pool Championships, if it wasn’t for his series of unlucky scratch that led him to the 2^nd place.

Bustamante, has started playing pool since the age of 10. And his early training and passion for pocket billiards led him to become one of cue sports greatest International stars.

Django holds the record for winning three Camel Pro Billiards titles in one season. His Columbus 10-Ball title also concluded the first ever Camel trifecta, with titles in each of the three games competed on the Camel Pro Billiards Series: 8-Ball, 9-Ball and 10-Ball. Together with the rest of the best Filipino pool players, Francisco “Django” Bustamante gives honor and glory to their country.

(Photo via insidepoolmag.com)

You may think that hitting a ball with the cue and shooting it in the pocket, is what all it takes to play the game of pool, but there’s a lot to it once you dominate the table. Making that shot in pool is a common urge, and predicting where the cue ball will stop is a challenge, however knowing how to strike the object ball with your cue ball is the secret to winning.

Many amateurs would think that every ball is all set to make the shot as long as its proximity to the pockets is high. Beginners eagerly take the attempt if they immediately see the line of fire to the hole, not knowing the complications it will make. The next thing you’ll know is you’re into a situation when you can’t find a good way to hit the cue ball into the object ball and make that shot even worst.

Professional pool players will find first their correct cue before they make the attempt, they take a few moments walking around the table, checking the cue ball in various angles in relation to object balls to be hit, and this is what they call a preshot routine.

Here are a few reminders that can help amateurs improve their pool playing routine. First, learn to control the cue ball, keep in mind where you want it to stop on the table after your shot, and then look for the aiming point as well as the collision point. Set your hit on how fast you want your cue ball to move then focus before making the strike.

Just think twice before you make the hit and don’t hesitate to make your own playing strategy.

Often we heard from our best professional pool players the name Willie Mosconi, who dominated pool for decades, and publicly on television, and known by many Americans as the greatest, but there was once a mentor and superior of Mosconi that shouldn’t be forgotten.

Known for his alias as “The Aristocrat”, Ralph Greenleaf was widely considered the greatest pool player ever, and handsome to boot. Ralph Greenleaf was pool’s brightest star from the turn of the century through the Depression. Greenleaf and Willie Mosconi stand as the two greatest pool shooters in history. Like Rachmaninoff at the piano, Greenleaf used his massive hands with their long, tapering fingers to perform his calling marvelously.

When Mosconi was a boy, he toured with Greenleaf, who taught him exquisite positioning with the cue ball and built in him the competitive edge to win.

Some old-timers state that Ralph’s frequent bouts with liquor crippled the potential of his brilliant career and have believed to bring this pool giant to an early death in 1950 at the age of 50.