Trump to play in the U.S. Open Pool Championship

[William Seger]

Judd Trump, that is. So what? Well, Judd Trump is currently the #1 ranked Snooker player in the world, having won 22 ranking events, whereas the U.S. Open is arguably the most prestigious 9-ball tournament in the world. Snooker and 9-ball are both pocket billiards games, but that's about where the similarity ends.

Trump isn't the first professional Snooker player to dabble in 9-ball. There's a yearly tournament called the Mosconi Cup between 5-man teams from Europe and the USA, and in its early days in the 90s, some of the biggest Snooker stars of the time played for Europe: Alex Higgins, Jimmy White, Steve Davis, Mark Williams, and even Ronnie O'Sullivan. They did tolerably well, in fact -- O'Sullivan beat the legendary Earl "The Pearl" Strickland in one match, which I'm sure Earl still hasn't forgotten.

Should be interesting.

[OAITW r.2.0]

1. I think snookers is a lot more difficult than a 4 x 8 pocket table. nt

Table's too friggen big.....and the balls are too friggen small.

[unblock]

3. Oh, absolutely!

American pool is far more accessible for novices. Just a few pointers and a little practice and most anyone can play and feel minimally competent. Sink a few balls now and again and have some fun.

Mrs unblock and I spent a week in England and played a ton of snooker. After days and days playing, we felt defeated.

It requires not only far more precision in aiming, but also a much more careful touch.

Also, stringing together several good shots in a row is really, really hard in snooker. Running the table is hard in 9-ball, but it's the stuff of legend in snooker.

[CentralMass]

2. tRump plays pocket pool.

[multigraincracker]

4. My friend Art, who passed away a few years back,

won the National 9 ball championship in Vegas back in the late 80s. Great guy.