The pro billiards tour is a series that includes the world championships and 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 organized in 2007, and the tour resurrected itself.
Stauch's involvement in billiards
Shari Stauch, a professional pool player for twenty years, retired in 2004. In addition to her playing career, Stauch helped develop the billiards industry by co-founding Pool & Billiard Magazine with Harold Simonsen. In 1995, Stauch was named Sportsperson Of The Year by Women's Professional Billiard Association. Five times she has been awarded the WPBA President's Award. In 2007, she was inducted into the WPBA Hall of Fame.
Billiards has a long tradition. Players have included royalty, commoners, hustlers, and presidents. It was developed into the style we now know from the first time it was played in Northern Europe, in the 15th Century.
IPT Ultimate 8-Ball
The IPT Ultimate 8-Ball's first event was held in Los Angeles, California in June 2008. An original match was set up between Alex Pagulayan (Filipino player) and Karl Boyes (English player). Pagulayan was contacted by his manager to request a substitute player. As a result, Tony Robles was invited to fill in for Pagulayan. Robles accepted the invitation and flew to L.A. during the night. In a thrilling match, Robles beat Karl Boyes to win the match. The prize money for each player was $5,000 and $1,000.
The IPT Ultimate 8-Ball pool tour is the largest in the world. It will take place in five cities in 2006. In 2006, IPT will distribute more than $8,000,000 worth of prize money. The North American Open 8-Ball Championship's record-breaking prize fund will be $2 million. It will also offer a $350,000 first-place bonus.
Women's Professional Billiards Association
Women's Professional Billiards Association (WPBA) is a professional pool tour that caters to women. The Women's Professional Billiard Alliance was founded in 1976. The WPBA is a professional pool tour for women. Madelyn Whitlow (founder), Palmer Byrd (founder), and Larry Miller are its 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 was a member, as well as Ruth Harrison and Thelma Carpenter. Gardner won seven of 14 tournaments she entered, and Carpenter and Harrison won four each. Harrison broke Harrison's 1937 record of 193, which remains a record in women’s billiards.
Jim Bakula's influence upon women's pro-billiards teams
Jim Bakula is a pioneer of women in billiards. His influence goes back to the 1980s. Bakula, the General Manager of Brunswick’s Billiard Division was a strong advocate for including women’s divisions in events. Later, he was elected president of the Billiard Congress of America (BCA) and appealed to them to support the WPBA with grant funding. The Women's Pro Billiard Tour was created as a result.
The future of the pro-billiards tour
The future of professional billiard touring is in doubt. The PBT, a fringe professional sport, is looking for stability, and Don Mackey is one of the people attempting to help it get there. Camel cigarettes, the sponsor of PBT's 1996 Tour, was recently sued by Don Mackey. They later split and created their own tour.
The first event, the Gulf Coast Women's Regional Billiard Tour - which paid out $12,330 worth of prizes - took place ten years ago. The tour has added additional events to the Gulf Coast and required venues with at most twenty tables. Many Texas-area venues were left out of the running. The new tour proved to be a boon for both the game and the venues.