Video: Pool sharks aim for more money, respect
The International Pool Tour’s World Open 8-Ball Championship in Reno this week is moving pool sharks out of smoky halls and home billiard rooms and into the limelight.
The $3 million in prize money, a record for a pool tournament, could elevate the game to a gentleman’s sport, say pool players. Just like professional golfers, pool players may be able to make a living by competing on the tour. Those who lost in the first round, among 200 entrants, received $5,000. Champion Efren Reyes won $500,000.
Kevin Trudeau, founder of the first-year International Pool Tour, has described the event as the arrival of the golden age of pool.
“You could always make a good living, but you had to be the top four or five,” said 2004 U.S. Open winner Gabe Owen. “Now, it’s just like golf, and you can be on tour. There are people ... who have been retired for years coming out to play.”
The competition lured Mike Sigel, the winner of 105 professional pool tournaments, out of a nine-year retirement.
The competition in Saturday’s round-robin semifinals included two Americans, two Filipinos and two Europeans.
The tour is attracting Europeans who play English 8-Ball and Snooker, with smaller balls on larger tables, to switch to the American game, said Kimberly Spies, IPT event planner. Jayson Shaw of Scotland practiced with the American ball for five weeks before qualifying for the first round of the IPT, she said. He was eliminated before the Reno tournament.
“Now that we have real prize money, this will get people to want to play, this will get people to recognize us,” Owen said. “It’s an exciting game if you get into it, but nobody has ever wanted to get into it because you’d go broke if you did.”
Owen said it’s not a sport a player get into casually.
“It’s got to be your job,” Owen said. “You have to play it all the time. If you have another job, you’re not going to be able to compete with the guys out here.”
The tour creates matches such as the one where 13-year-old Austin Murphy of California defeated all-star Ewa Mataya Laurance, “the Striking Viking” from Sweden, who has won all pool major tournaments, including the World 8-Ball and 9-Ball championships, and is a member of the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame.
“At the IPT, everyone is big competition,” Murphy said.
Murphy said he’s seen shots on the tour he’d didn’t even know were possible but plans to practice them when he gets home.
“(Pool) deserves to get respect,” Murphy said. “People look at it, and they’ll always tell me, ‘I could beat you.’ But (then they realize) it’s harder than it looks. If we have big tournaments and wear suits,... it’ll change the pool industry.”
The “Rocket” vs. the “Magician”
On the tour, most players have a nickname and backstory. Rodney Morris, originally from Hawaii and now a Floridian, earned the nickname “Rocket” because of his propensity to break the rack and keep shooting without giving his opponent a chance to pick up a cue.
He finished an eight-game round in 24 minutes. In the semifinal round, he played Efren “the Magician” Reyes, a member of the BCA Hall of Fame. They were tied at seven, with the winner of game eight being one game closer to the finals.
Reyes held his cue tentatively, often walking around the table several times before taking his shot. Even though he hesitated before striking, it seemed that with a few taps of his wand, “the Magician” was sure to pull a victory out of his hat. But even after completing several nuanced shots, the crowd gasped in shock as a ball stopped just short of a pocket.
His spell at the table was broken, and Morris leaped up from his seat and ended the game quickly.
Morris may have appeared confident, but he confessed his heart was racing. He said he works out to elevate his heart rate and then practices so his shots will be steady under pressure.
In spite of Morris’ magnificent performance in the semi-finals, Reyes beat him in a rematch for the finals.
The $3 million in prize money, a record for a pool tournament, could elevate the game to a gentleman’s sport, say pool players. Just like professional golfers, pool players may be able to make a living by competing on the tour. Those who lost in the first round, among 200 entrants, received $5,000. Champion Efren Reyes won $500,000.
Kevin Trudeau, founder of the first-year International Pool Tour, has described the event as the arrival of the golden age of pool.
“You could always make a good living, but you had to be the top four or five,” said 2004 U.S. Open winner Gabe Owen. “Now, it’s just like golf, and you can be on tour. There are people ... who have been retired for years coming out to play.”
The competition lured Mike Sigel, the winner of 105 professional pool tournaments, out of a nine-year retirement.
The competition in Saturday’s round-robin semifinals included two Americans, two Filipinos and two Europeans.
The tour is attracting Europeans who play English 8-Ball and Snooker, with smaller balls on larger tables, to switch to the American game, said Kimberly Spies, IPT event planner. Jayson Shaw of Scotland practiced with the American ball for five weeks before qualifying for the first round of the IPT, she said. He was eliminated before the Reno tournament.
“Now that we have real prize money, this will get people to want to play, this will get people to recognize us,” Owen said. “It’s an exciting game if you get into it, but nobody has ever wanted to get into it because you’d go broke if you did.”
Owen said it’s not a sport a player get into casually.
“It’s got to be your job,” Owen said. “You have to play it all the time. If you have another job, you’re not going to be able to compete with the guys out here.”
The tour creates matches such as the one where 13-year-old Austin Murphy of California defeated all-star Ewa Mataya Laurance, “the Striking Viking” from Sweden, who has won all pool major tournaments, including the World 8-Ball and 9-Ball championships, and is a member of the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame.
“At the IPT, everyone is big competition,” Murphy said.
Murphy said he’s seen shots on the tour he’d didn’t even know were possible but plans to practice them when he gets home.
“(Pool) deserves to get respect,” Murphy said. “People look at it, and they’ll always tell me, ‘I could beat you.’ But (then they realize) it’s harder than it looks. If we have big tournaments and wear suits,... it’ll change the pool industry.”
The “Rocket” vs. the “Magician”
On the tour, most players have a nickname and backstory. Rodney Morris, originally from Hawaii and now a Floridian, earned the nickname “Rocket” because of his propensity to break the rack and keep shooting without giving his opponent a chance to pick up a cue.
He finished an eight-game round in 24 minutes. In the semifinal round, he played Efren “the Magician” Reyes, a member of the BCA Hall of Fame. They were tied at seven, with the winner of game eight being one game closer to the finals.
Reyes held his cue tentatively, often walking around the table several times before taking his shot. Even though he hesitated before striking, it seemed that with a few taps of his wand, “the Magician” was sure to pull a victory out of his hat. But even after completing several nuanced shots, the crowd gasped in shock as a ball stopped just short of a pocket.
His spell at the table was broken, and Morris leaped up from his seat and ended the game quickly.
Morris may have appeared confident, but he confessed his heart was racing. He said he works out to elevate his heart rate and then practices so his shots will be steady under pressure.
In spite of Morris’ magnificent performance in the semi-finals, Reyes beat him in a rematch for the finals.
posted by Kristin Larsen at
10:46 PM
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