PRESS RELEASE
The 14.1 Straight Pool Hall of Fame New Brunswick, New Jersey- Pool fans are invited to join dinner with the world’s greatest players at the 1st Annual 14.1 Straight Pool Hall of Fame. The special event takes place on August 31, 2011 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel during the 71st Annual World Tournament of Straight Pool which will feature the likes of Oliver Ortmann, Johnny Archer, Thorsten Hohmann, Niels Feijen, Allen Hopkins, Stefan Cohen and many more straight pool stars. This year’s nominees on the ballot include Ray Martin, Ray Martin, Dallas West,Nick Varner, Jerome Keough, Alfredo DeOro, and Willie Mosconi. To vote, please send in your choice at worldstraightpoolchampionships@gmail.com “We wanted to recognize and honor those who are not just obvious choices, but unsung heroes in straight pool history that might not have been noticed on other ballots. There are many legendary players whose names have only been made known to me in the past few years from our resurrection of the World 14.1 Tournament”, said Charlie Williams, Founder of Dragon Promotions. One of the goals of the event is to honor the champions of 14.1 that have passed and honor those who are still living. The Straight Pool Hall of Fame goals are also to cover all the expenses of the living inductee to the event and the Hall of Famer’s costs in playing in the event. In partnership with the support of Dr.Michael Fedak, Dragon Promotions will produce The World Tournament for the sixth straight year. This year’s event will have the biggest payout in men’s straight pool history with $20,000 going to the champion. The event is $35,000 added , boasting a total $70,000 in the prize fund for one prestigious straight pool tournament . Predator Cues will also be sponsoring the event for the sixth straight year and the luxurious Hyatt Regency in New Brunswick, NJ will host this year’s event starting August 28 through September 2, 2011. All the greatest straight pool players from around the world will arrive at the birthplace of 14.1 to play for this coveted title and becoming the #1 Straight Pool Player on Earth. The World Tournament is the oldest tournament in history that still exists today. Invented by Jerome Keough and shortly after recognized as the official game of billiards. The first World Tournament of 14.1 was held in 1911 and won by Alfredo DeOro. In its history due to war and economics, the World Tournament had 29 tournaments that did not take place including a 15 year gap between 1990-2005 until Dragon Promotions revived the game and the World Tournament in 2006. It has taken place every year since.
BEGINNING TO TURN HEADS It started as an idea less than a year and a half ago. The first Behind The Rock Tour tournament attracted four players to a small pool room in Bremerton in the winter of 2010. Since then, the tour organizers have been actively recruiting members and today, their weekly tournament claims 195 members playing in four rooms across the state of Washington. The intention of the BTRT is to attract tens of thousands of participants across the country in
was underappreciated for its deceptive difficulty. The offensive-based scoring games have been developed for all the standard pool room games such as 8-Ball, 9-Ball, 10-Ball, One Pocket, 14.1 and others. The games certainly teach pocketing skills, but also cue ball control, sometimes a key skill overlooked when playing in games that reward defense in traditional league or tournament play. The bottom line, according to many players, is that
hundreds of pool rooms each week playing a variety of games vying for big purses. Sound ambitious? According to the president of BTRT, Deby Welfinger, it is the tip of the iceberg. “Our goal is to elevate the sport of pool to a level that is on par with any of the current televised sports,” she says, “including televising interesting matches.” She continues, “We want novices through pros to be playing in any one of our divisions, in any of our scored games, whether in handicapped play or open competitions. We believe that with our format and with the technology offered by the internet, we will change the sport of billiards for everyone.” Currently, the matches played are a scored match called “211” which is based on 10-Ball vs. The Ghost. Essentially, players play eleven games using a score sheet. Each game consists of a break, scoring a point for each ball dropped, then a second chance for players, starting with ball in hand, to attempt to run out the remaining rack also scoring a point for each pocketed ball. Bonus points are available from the subsequent game if a rack is run-out. It is pure, challenging, unadulterated offensive play that teaches position and control. BTRT got its start with the realization that the current business for professional players is not sustainable. Between travel, lodging, meals, and fees, working the tournament circuit only made money for a small handful of players. With a tag of “Play locally, Compete nationally” the BTRT offers weekly competition for any ability of player in certified rooms. And with purses paid out to the top third of the field each week, players need to have their “A-Game” to earn some cash. BTRT contends that properly managed and with the appropriate sponsorship, pro players can make a fair living playing in this format. The tour developers also believed that the sport
these games significantly improve any player’s ability. For players who want to compete equally with others, a handicapping system is employed for every player regardless of their level. Because the handicaps are based on actual scores averaged out, direct comparisons of ability can be made yielding a ranking of players. No assessment of ability is needed as compared to league play. We talked to a number of current members of the tour and all of them expressed a real affection for the tour in spite of the evident challenge. Says Tacoma’s Justin McCrory playing out of the Malarkeys room, “My goal is to improve enough to make a living at this sport. I’m not sure I would have advanced toward this dream as fast as I have without this format. It’s just that challenging and so addicting!” The BTRT has applied for a patent on the unique tournament system and with a fully developed website, they seem to be on a track to capture a big part of the pool-playing market with their tournament system. According to them dozens of rooms in at least twenty states are waiting for enough players to get involved with the Tour. Their website at www.behindtherocktour.com provides a solid basis for understanding the tour, the games, rankings, and so on. Any interested player should start there. The BTR tour may have started small, but according to their feisty founder, Ms. Welfringer, “The interest in the BTRT is growing. Our growth rate is such that we expect to have a thousand players in another six months, and by this time next year, we hope to have almost three thousand members participating. We’re ready for them and we’re going to turn this sport around!” Hmmm. According to their website, 10,000 players means a weekly payout pot of $80,000. Can you imagine when BTRT goes worldwide. You might want to check them out.
August 2011 - Rackem Magazine 15