Cue Sport Group

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

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

Fisher is an English professional pool player who was also a previous professional snooker player. She was only 17 when she first won her very first World title. And for the record, she has won about 80 national titles and 11 world titles as total.

With her incomparable record, Fisher has always earned the impression of being a consummate pool athlete. For a good number of times, she was also considered the highest earning player, that including both male and female players.

She was just 7 when she first picked a cue. She recalls that she used to watch snooker games on TV with her dad and always liked the look of the game. She asked her very first small table for Christmas, and right then and there, everyone knew she would come to where she is now.

It was on March 18, 2009, when she endorsed the Delta-13 billiard rack product and even has her own collaborative series of it. Then on June 8 of the same year, she was nominated to become a part of the Billiard Congress of America Hall Of Fame.

Photo via womensworld10ball.com

Karen is a former pro snooker player and is now a professional pool player. She started her snooker career by the age of 14 in UK where she and her parents moved. It was after her 21^st birthday in 1990 when she won her first World Snooker Championship and never ceased to win other World titles in 1991, 1995 and 1997.

It took Karen only less than two years to be recognized as the world’s number two best player in the WPBA pro events. Before the year 2001 came to an end, Karen was on the top, ranked as the #1 female player in the world and remained on that spot for two more years.

Photo via insidepoolmag.com

Known to be the Black Widow of the women’s billiard scene since this Korean-American professional pool player usually wears black during every game. She mentioned in her website that it is pretty important for her to not eat so much before the game. According to her, the mind won’t be able to think so much if it is full and slow.

She also believes in the strategy of chalking up before taking every shot. Lee began playing in 1989 and became no. 1 in the female pool playing scene. She received the accolade of the Women’s Professional Billiard Association Sportsperson of the Year Award by year 1988. She also brought home the bacon for the USA during the 2001 World Games in Japan. She is also the author of The Black Widow’s Guide to Killer Pool.

During ordinary days, she spends time doing art, reading, swimming, fashion, and spend time with her kids. She loves hot sake and sushi.

Photo via sports.rightpundits.com

Johnny was known for using different strategy to win his every game. He is even considered the most scientific billiard player in the history of the sport. He was able to win the World Three-Cushion Championship for 12 times and he became famous for his popularized diamond system approach.

He uses table marks to know the direction of where the ball will rebound and perfected this method by using his mind which is an expert in mathematics.

Photo via poolroom.com