Cue Sport Group

Archive for the ‘Pro & Semi-Pro Players’ Category

Johnny Archer, or also known as The Scorpion is a popularly known American billiard player who was born in Georgia on November 12, 1968. He was named The Scorpion just simply because of his zodiac sign which is Scorpio. Not to mention that his sponsor is Scorpion cues, which is also a signature model.

He began playing the sport at age 12 and all his amazing accomplishments allowed him to be recognized as the Billiards Digest Player of the Decade. He was able to win two WPA World 9-Ball Championships in which he won over fellow American player Bobby Hunter in 1992. His other accomplishments are already too many mention but you can be pretty sure you will get to see it when you check the net.

No doubt, he is considered to be one of the greatest pool players of all time from around the globe. Truly a threat to many other players of pool!

Photo via insidepoolmag.com

Chao Fong-Pang, also known as the Cold Face Killer, is the popular pool player from Taiwan who has already won numerous tournaments and billiards worldwide. He is one of the few Taiwanese players who excelled in this line of sport having able to win a total of 5 pool championships against the world’s best pool players. He ranks at 56 currently.

In 1993, he was able to defeat Thomas Hasch during the World Pool Association World Nine-Ball Championship. In 2000, he triumphed once again over a Mexican in the name of Ismael Paez. For three times he also won the International Challenge of Champions and won over Japanese player Okumura Takeshi in 1995. He defeated Django Bustamante from the Philippines in 2001 and Thomas Engert from Germany in 2005.

The Cold Face Killer is truly a threatening play at work in the field of billiards, excelling as one of the best Asian pool players there is ever.

Photo via azbilliards.com

Ray Martin has been known in the world of billiards being called as the Cool Cat. He has been the only 1 out of 7 players who have won at least three 14.1 titles, gathering up straight world pool titles for 1971, 1974, and 1978. He started earning the name the Cool Cat when he won a certain competition in the midst of an earthquake. Not to mention that he was able to win numerous 9 ball tournaments.

It was in 1994 when Ray Martin was inducted to the Billiard Hall of Famers. His nine ball instruments include the 1980 Caesar’s Tahoe Invitational, the 1981 ESPN King of the Hill and the Music City Open in 1983. He was the co-author of Rosser Reeves for the book The 99 Critical Shots in Pool published in 1977. He currently spends his time teaching fresh pool players on how to master the sport.

Photo via internationalpooltour.com

Rudolph Wanderone Jr. is also known as Minnesota Fats. He is considered to be the most popular pool player in the entire world for not being able to win any serious pool competition.

He started pool hustling during his early years. It was with the help of Willie Mosconi, another billiard hall of famer inductee, that Minnesota Fats turned out to be the lead star of a tv show aired weekly where two pool players show competing against each other. Minnesota Fats may have always lost the battles to Mosconi during these tv matches but it surely did not stop him from becoming a legend in his own right in the world of pool. He became a billiard hall of famer inductee himself in 1984.

Fats was able to make lots of money out of his pool skills during that time. He is known for being capable of shooting pool with just one hand and became popular for wearing hundred dollar bills in his suit’s handkerchief pocket.

Photos via pool.meetup.com and davidicke.com

It was clearly 3 years ago when Karl Boyes was just a regular semifinalist at the World Pool Championships. That competition was won by fellow countryman Daryl Peach. From that point in time, Boyes together with his fellow Brit cueists started bearing faith that they can truly shine in the international scene.

It was Darren Appleton who first won the World 10-Ball Championship two years ago followed by the UK team winning the World Team Championships just early this year. Add to this is Boyes’ recent winning over Dutch star Niels Feijen. This was Feijen’s comeback to claim the title in a hill-hill final of 13-12.

During the early part of the game, it was clear that Boyes was totally in control but Feijen was still able to crawl back into the game, breaking racks all over to reach 11-9. But it was Boyes’ ability to keep his nerves in check that made him win the title.

Photo via karlboyes.co.uk and pro9.co.uk

I am not talking about the villain character against Peter Pan. Believe it or not, there is also a pool player that has a nickname of Captain Hook. He is Mike Sigel who is well-known for his defensive play. One of the best 9-ball players ever, Sigel is also a Straight Pool champion. This Hall of Famer got his nickname from his personal cue that has a little fish hook design like it would catch fishes of money. Though he hates defense, Captain Hook play it after a break and run of a game or two. For the record, he has a Hi-Run of 346. Sigel participated with the International Pool Tour where he won his first historic match for the IPT against Loree Jon Jones but defeated later on by Efren “The Magician” Reyes. Aside from being a great player, Sigel is also a great marketer and cue equipment promoter.

pic via news.bbc.co.uk

Now, it is time for us to know the Kentucky Colonel of pool. He is Nick Varner that was exposed on the game since he was a child because his father owned a small billiards equipment showroom and pool hall. Varner showed no interest on the game until college where he started to get thrilled with the competitions. He became popular especially on Straight Pool where he became a college champion on the said game in ACUI. He even managed to name his custom cues as The Gainesville as a tribute for his second national title. Though small in height, Varner became dominant in pool tournaments where he is also known for disarming personality and exquisite cue ball positioning. For the record, Varner had over 80 tournament championships which include eight World Championships. Varner that was inducted into the Billiards Congress of America’s Hall of Fame in 1992 is the sole player ever named World Champion in 5 different pool games, including Straight Pool, 9-Ball and One Pocket.

pic via billiards.about.com

The One and only one, The Deacon in the field of pool games. With the real name of Irving Crane, this 1978 BCA Hall of Fame inductee was known to master the safeties all by himself. One can’t really forget his flawless run of 150 and out against The Meatman or Joe Balsis in 1966. Crane both possessed patience and aggressiveness as he was also addressed as a refined gentleman and a fine role model. In terms of technicalities, Crane maintained his class level performance as he manifested excellence in the game. For the record, Crane seven major world tournaments or title matches as well as named champion during four different decades. Crane who came from Livonia in New York and died in 2001 had a very stunning achievement to run 300 balls on a 5 by 10 table just like Mosconi and Ralph Greenleaf. Don’t you want to be as elegant as him as he showed great imagination in his play?

pic via untoldstoriesbilliardshistory.blogspot.com

Some were quite disappointed with the long wait for the pool player Danny Diliberto to be inducted to the BCA Hall of Fame. Aside from playing the game for more than five decades, Diliberto already won major championships in every pool discipline as well as in the One Pocket Hall of Fame. Diliberto, who is also in the Boxing Hall of Fame, has 14.1 continuous straight pools as his strongest game with one pocket a close second. Diliberto showed vast of knowledge as a popular commentator for Accu-Stats while sharing some fun war stories. He also has a released book entitled Road Player that tackles about recounting pool and gambling stories and now available at selected book dealers like Bebob Publishing and Accu-Stats. He is also busy nowadays travelling around the world where he usually shares his knowledge through lessons. One good example is when Diliberto was thanked by a French player for winning a major European straight pool title.

pic via poolbum.com

If you think that the male population dominated the sports world then wait for few more years because the female would not stop showcasing their talents and skills even in billiards. An emerging professional pool player that shows extreme focus and passion on the game, that is Emily Duddy. Duddy, who is originally from Los Angeles, competed in the 2010 WPBA Regional Tour Championships at Hard Times Billiards in Bellflower, California. This game is designed to give women aspirants a chance to have a spot on the WPBA women’s professional tour where big names like “The Duchess of Doom” Allison Fisher, Ga-Young Kim, Kelly Fisher, and “The Black Widow” Jeanette Lee were famous for. As supported by her friends and family, Duddy had her first pro event at the WPBA San Diego Classic against New York player Liz Ford with a hill-hill win. Even if Duddy has lots of things ahead in terms of experience and time, she shows well-equipped package to go on with the said journey as she is part of the team “Kiss of Death” who won the 2009 Open BCAPL Team 8-Ball Championships.

pic via nycgrind.com