The pro-billiard tour includes a series of tournaments including the world championships or major events. The tour hosted the first ever billiards tournament. The tour ran into serious financial difficulties in 2006 and was forced to cancel major events. In 2007, the IPT Ultimate 8 Ball was staged, and the tour was resurrected.
Stauch's participation in billiards
Shari Stauch played professionally for 20 years in pool before retiring in 2004. Stauch co-founded Pool & Billiard Magazine together with Harold Simonsen. This was in addition to her playing career. She was named Sportsperson of the Year by the Women's Professional Billiard Association in 1995 and is a five-time WPBA President's Award winner. She was inducted into WPBA Hall of Fame in 2007.
Billiards has a long tradition. Players have included royalty, commoners, hustlers, and presidents. It originated in Northern Europe as a lawn game, and it evolved into the current style.
IPT Ultimate 8-Ball
The IPT Ultimate 8-Ball's first event was held in Los Angeles, California in June 2008. Originally a match between English player Karl Boyes and Filipino player Alex Pagulayan was scheduled. However, Pagulayan's manager contacted the IPT's management for an alternative player. As a result, Tony Robles was invited to fill in for Pagulayan. Robles accepted the invite and flew to L.A. in the middle of the night. He beat Karl Boyes in an exciting and close match. The prize money for each player was $5,000 and $1,000.
The IPT Ultimate 8-Ball is the largest pool tour in the world and will be held in five cities in 2006. The IPT will offer more than $8 million worth of prize money in 2006. The North American Open 8-Ball Championship boasts a record-breaking prize pot of $2,000,000 and a staggering first-place reward of $350,000.
Women's Professional Billiards Association
Women's Professional Billiards Association provides professional pool tours for women. WPBA was established in 1976 by the Women's Professional Billiard Alliance. It features women pool players. Madelyn Whitlow (founder), Palmer Byrd (founder), and Larry Miller are its members.
WPBA was an original British billiards association. It sponsored tournaments for amateurs and professionals. In its early years, the association sponsored amateur competitions and junior contests. Joyce Gardner and Ruth Harrison were members of the association. Gardner won seven of 14 tournaments she entered, and Carpenter and Harrison won four each. Harrison broke the record of 719 in 1937, which still stands as a record for women’s billiards.
Jim Bakula's influence upon women's pro-billiards teams
Jim Bakula's influence on women in billiards goes back to the 1980s. Bakula, who was the General Manager for Brunswick's Billiard Division at the time, advocated inclusion of women's teams in events. Bakula became president of the Billiard Council of America (BCA), and appealed to them for funding the WPBA through grant funding. The Women's Pro Billiard Tour was created as a result.
Future of pro billiards tour
The future of the pro billiard tour is up in the air. Don Mackey is one of those trying to help the fringe professional sport, PBT, find stability. Camel cigarettes sponsored the PBT's 1996 tour. After that, Mackey filed a federal suit against them. Later, it split and began its own tour.
It has been ten years since the first event, the Gulf Coast Women's Regional Billiard Tour, paid out $12,330 in prizes. The tour has added additional events to the Gulf Coast and required venues with at most twenty tables. This meant that many Texas-area rooms were out of the running. The new tour was a positive for both the venue and the game.