The pro billiard tour consists of a series tournaments that include the world championships as well as major events. In its first year, it hosted the biggest billiards tournament ever. The tour ran into serious financial difficulties in 2006 and was forced to cancel major events. The IPT Ultimate 8 Ball was the catalyst for the tour's revival in 2007.
Stauch's involvement at billiards
Shari Stauch was a professional player of pool for over 20 years, before she retired in 2004. Stauch also played professionally for 20 years, before she retired in 2004. With Harold Simonsen, Stauch founded Pool & Billiard Magazine. She was the Women's Professional Billiard Association's Sportspersons of the Year in 1995. In addition, she is a five-time winner of the WPBA President's Award. She was inducted into WPBA Hall of Fame 2007
Billiards is a game with a rich history. It has been played by many people, from commoners to royalty, hustlers and presidents. It was first played as a lawn game in Northern Europe in the 15th century and evolved into the style we know today.
IPT Ultimate 8 - Ball
In Los Angeles, the IPT Ultimate 8-Ball held its first event in June 2008. In the beginning, a match was planned between Alex Pagulayan and Karl Boyes from England. Pagulayan was contacted by his manager to request a substitute player. Tony Robles was invited as a replacement for Pagulayan. Robles accepted the invite and flew to L.A. in the middle of the night. He won the match against Karl Boyes in a thrilling and close match. The match was worth $5,000 and $1,000 respectively, plus expenses.
The IPT Ultimate 8-Ball will be held worldwide in 2006 in five cities. The IPT will give away more than $8 million in prize money in 2006. The record-breaking prize money for the North American Open 8-Ball Championship is $2 million. There will also be a unprecedented first-place prize of $350,000.
Women's Professional Billiards Association
The Women's Professional Billiards Association is a professional pool tour for women. WPBA, which was originally the Women's Professional Billiard Alliance in 1976, features female pool players. Madelyn Willow, Palmer Byrd, Larry Miller are the founding members.
WPBA was an original British billiards association. It sponsored tournaments for both amateurs and professionals. In the early years of its existence, the association organized junior competitions as well as amateur competitions. Joyce Gardner, Thelma Carter and Ruth Harrison were its members. Gardner won seven out of fourteen tournaments, while Carpenter won four and Harrison three, respectively. Harrison broke the 1937 record of 197, which is still a record in women's billiards.
Jim Bakula's influence on women's pro billiards
Jim Bakula is a pioneer of women in billiards. His influence goes back to the 1980s. Bakula was the General Manager of Brunswick's Billiard Division and advocated for women's sections in events. Later, Bakula was elected president to the Billiard Congress in America (BCA). In an appeal to them to provide grant funding for WPBA, he won. This ultimately led to the creation and funding of the Women's Pro Billiard Tour.
The pro billiards tour is in its future
Pro billiard tours are in flux. Don Mackey, who is trying to bring stability to the fringe professional sport of PBT, is one of those who are trying. Camel cigarettes was the sponsor of the 1996 PBT tour. The company later parted ways with Mackey and began its own tour.
It's been ten-years since the first event of the Gulf Coast Women's Regional Billiard Tour paid out $12.330. In order to add more events to the Gulf Coast, venues must have at least 20 tables. Many Texas-area venues were left out of the running. However, the new tour was a good addition to both the game as well as the venues.