Playing hardball
As the superstars of pool head to the UAE for the World 8-ball Championship, James Fryer racks up the essential details on a hustler’s paradise.
Whether hearing about 8-ball conjures up memories of a misspent youth playing at the local pool hall when you should have been in school, Paul Newman’s appearances in The Hustler and The Color Of Money, or the novelty toy that predicts your destiny, you’ll be interested to know that 8-ball’s pool masters are coming to the UAE from November 8 to 14. The week long World 8-ball Championship will be kick-started with the opening shot taken by His Highness Sheikh Saleh Bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Chairman of Fujairah Department of Industry and Economy. One of the most exciting players in the game of snooker, Ronnie ‘The Rocket’ O’Sullivan, is also set to make his pool debut.
Sixty-four players from countries including the UAE, Great Britain, Canada and the Philippines will be cueing up at Fujairah Exhibition Centre, including 18 of the world’s top 20 players who are flying in to take on the emirate’s 8-ball elite. The championship will be hosted by Fujairah for the second year on the trot. What’s On pulled WPA President Ian Anderson off the table for a few minutes to explain: “Fujairah is certainly different to most other places we play major championships, but there’s a good rapport with local people and it’s helping to grow the sport throughout the UAE.”
With worldwide TV audience figures reaching 10 million last year, participation by pool pros ‘The Magician’ and ‘The Lion’ and appearances by trick shot legends Mike Massey and Fabio Petroni, this year’s competition is set to be even more popular. Anderson accounted the burgeoning trend: “Pool is played in most countries and by millions of people around the world. There are no weather issues, no age constraints, no gender barriers and you can play for fun or competitively.” Audience members of all shapes and sizes will be thrilled as the 8-ball legends battle it out on five championship tables.
Albert Einstein said there were six-million shots in the game of pool, but, spectators will be glad to know that while snooker can be enough to send some people to sleep, the fast pace of 8-ball will keep you perched on the edge of your seat. Ronnie O’Sullivan certainly won’t be dawdling over shots – he’s not nicknamed ‘The Rocket’ for no reason, renowned for taking his snooker shots at lightning speed, as well as having ambidextrous cue abilities; his pool debut is sure to be a huge crowd pleaser.
Efren ‘The Magician’ Reyes will be defending his title after beating his fellow Filipino countryman Marlon ‘Marvellous’ Manalo to win last year’s tournament. The 51-year-old ‘Magician’ has potted his way into sporting legend in his own country and has even lived up to some classy pool stereotypes by appearing in beer and fast-food TV adverts. His impressive career history includes trouncing the competition in tournaments around the world and being inducted into the Billiard Hall of Fame in 2003. We’re hoping the crowd favourite and popular choice will be conjuring his magic again this year.
Another pro to watch out for is world number one, Thorsten ‘The Hitman’ Hohmann from Germany. Earning his nickname through an array of precision shooting and over-powering breaks, Hohmann is young enough to be The Magician’s apprentice at half his age, but still boasts an impressive collection of achievements, including becoming the 2004 European 8-ball champion. The ‘Hitman’s’ most impressive performance was taking the 2003 World Pool Championship as a rank outsider.
As the World 8-ball Championship 2005 is one of only two world championship tournaments for men on the WPA’s calendar, it provides a crucial opportunity for the latest and greatest hot shots to secure invaluable world ranking points.
The championship is sure to prove as enjoyable for the players as it is the spectators, but at the end of the seven days, points aren’t all that matter. In the words of ‘Fast Eddie’ Felson (played by Paul Newman), ‘Money won is twice as sweet as money earned’. With a total of $110,000 of prize money up for grabs, What’s On is sure that the victor won’t be walking away with a bitter taste in his mouth.
Official Title:
Damas World 8-ball Championship 2005
Date:
November 8 to 14, 2005
Venue:
Fujairah Exhibition Centre
Tel:
(04) 3210008
Website:
www.acesme.com
INTERNATIONAL POOL VARIATIONS
While the version of pool commonly played in the UK has been widely adopted in countries including Australia, South Africa and the UAE, the more popular version played in the US dominates the rest of the world. The game of pool is internationally administered by the World Pool-billiards Association (WPA).
8-ball in the UK has become so popular that it is commonly simply known as ‘pool’. And rather than using traditional numbered balls, plain red and yellow balls are often used instead. The black ball does, however, still bear the iconic number eight. Another difference lies in the size of the pockets – tables in the UK are smaller and have pockets just larger than the balls, whereas internationally, tables have significantly larger pockets.
In the US all shots are nominated: failure to execute the exact shot ends the player’s innings. In the UK a legal move is one where the cue ball hits one of the player’s own balls, and does not pot the cue ball, the black ball or any of the opponent’s balls. A player is awarded with another shot if he has successfully potted one of his own balls.
After foul shots in the UK, the offending player will miss a turn and the opposing player receives two shots. If the cue ball was also potted the opposing player can also choose where in the ‘kitchen’ or semicircle to place the cue ball.
TYPES OF POOL
- 3-ball – Two or more players attempt to pocket a rack of three balls in the least number of shots.
- 8-ball – Fifteen numbered balls are used. One player is assigned balls one through seven and the other player balls nine through fifteen. The object of the game is for each player to pot all of his assigned balls. Once one player has potted his balls he can then attempt to pocket the 8-ball. If he successfully does this without also sinking the cue ball then he wins the game.
- 9-ball – In this form of billiards there are just nine numbered balls along with the cue ball. Both players attempt to pocket the lowest numbered ball, and once this has been achieved the players move on to attempt to sink the next numbered ball. The yellow number nine ball is potted to win the game.
- Bumper Pool – Played on a special octagonal or rectangular table with a pocket at each end and a number of pinball-like bumpers on the playing surface.
- Cut Throat – A three player game where each player takes five balls: 1-5, 6-10 and 11-15. The last player with a ball remaining on the table wins – the goal being to sink your opponents’ balls.
- Killer – Each player has three lives and loses one for each failed shot. Potting the black gains an extra life. The last man standing wins.
- One Pocket – Each player chooses one of the two corner pockets at the foot of the table. Whoever makes eight balls in their pocket first wins.
- Straight Pool – Also known as 14.1 continuous, a player nominates a ball and pocket and is awarded one point for every legally potted ball. Once 14 out of the 15 balls on the table have been potted, the 14 balls must be re-racked. The player then makes an attempt at the 15th ball whilst also attempting to break up the racked balls so he can continue the run. The player who scores the predetermined point total (often 150) prior to the opponent, wins the game.
JARGON BUSTER
- Ball in hand – Ability to place the cue ball anywhere on the table after a foul.
- Baulk line – Also known as ‘string line’, the line across the pool table behind which the cue ball is placed at the start of a game.
- Break – Opening shot of a game. Also see ‘innings’.
- Bridge – Hand position to support the cue.
- Chinese snooker –When a clear shot can be made to the ball ‘on’, but is made difficult by a ball immediately behind the cue ball.
- Cue – Wooden stick used to hit the cue ball.
- Cue ball – The white ball which is hit with the cue in an attempt to pocket or position object balls.
- Cushion – Also known as the ‘rail’, the elasticated sides of the table.
- D-zone – Also known as the ‘D’ - the semicircle in the exact centre of the baulk line.
- Draw – Back spin on the cue ball – making the ball come back towards you after hitting an object ball.
- English – Putting spin on the cue ball. Other types include the ‘inside’, ‘outside’ and ‘reverse’ English.
- Follow – Top spin on the cue ball – carrying it forward after hitting an object ball.
- Follow that car – The cue ball follows an object ball into the pocket. Frame – From the opening break through to when the black ball is potted.
- Frozen – Ball is touching the cushion or another ball.
- Head string – A line showing where the cue ball can be placed before a break shot. Also known as ‘baulk line’.
- Jump shot – When the cue ball jumps over other balls.
- Kick shot – When the cue ball hits one or more of the cushions before hitting the object ball.
- Kitchen – The area on the table behind the head string.
- Match – A predetermined number of frames.
- Miscue – Mis-hitting the cue ball.
- Money ball – The ball which is pocketed to win.
- Object ball – A ball which can legally be played.
- Open table – This is when the choice of stripes or solids has not been determined.
- Pocket – One of six holes in a table into which balls are shot to win the game.
- Pot – Also known as ‘sink’, used as a verb as in ‘to sink/pot a ball’.
- Rack – A wooden or plastic triangle used to assist in setting up the balls. In games with 15 balls, such as 8-ball, the rack is triangle shaped. In 9-ball a diamond-shaped rack is commonly used.
- Shark – Sharking someone is to distract them while mid-shot, also known as a sledge.
- Side – Check side and opposite side are used to spin a ball for control and position.
- Snooker – When the ball ‘on’ cannot be hit directly due another ball lying in its path.
- Trick shot – A shot involving sleight of hand, illusion, a special skill or ingenious knack.
8 BALL’S 8 BEST
Rank | Player | Nickname | Country | Lowdown
1 | Thorsten Hohmann | The Hitman | Germany | Became an overnight sensation winning the 2003 World Pool Championship as a rank outsider. Honed his skills during a five-year stint with the sports division of the German Army.
2 | Niels Feijen | The Terminator | Netherlands | Rumour has it Feijen’s coach would make him practice for 10 hours a day until he was literally crying on the table. The Terminator shot to fame in 2000 and went on to secure a famous win over Efren Reyes in 2001.
3 | Marcus Chamat | Napoleon | Sweden | The much-loved Swede regularly finishes high on the Euro Tour and is ambitious to win the sport’s biggest championship.
4 | Ralf Souquet | The Kaiser | Germany | Began playing at the age of six in his parents’ pub. From then on he practiced up to five hours a day. The giant of European pool.
5 | Alex Pagulayan | The Lion | Canada | World Pool Champion in 2004 and famous for his celebration dance after sinking the winning ball -jubilations never before seen in the championship.
6 | Efren Reyes | The Magician | Philippines | Winner of the 2004 World 8-ball Championship and a sporting legend in his home country. Gained his nickname by making some of the most spectacular shots ever seen in tournament play.
7 | Oliver Ortmann | The Machine | Germany | The first German to win a World Championship title in 1995. Took the US pool tournament scene by force who consequently created Ortmann’s trademark and nickname, The Machine.
8 | Thomas Engert | The Lean Machine | Germany | The last of our 8-ball’s 8 best – a big hitter in European pool since he emerged in 1992, enjoying his most lucrative year yet in 2004.