The DU Lounge
Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsTrump to play in the U.S. Open Pool Championship
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
(23,862 posts)Table's too friggen big.....and the balls are too friggen small.
unblock
(51,974 posts)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
(15,265 posts)multigraincracker
(32,531 posts)won the National 9 ball championship in Vegas back in the late 80s. Great guy.