SPM Billiards Magazine Issue 31

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By Steve Jennings I was watching The Dog Whisperer on TV and admiring how easily Cesar Milan is able to get dogs to do exactly what he wants them to do. It got me thinking about (what else?) pool. I realized that we need to be able to apply the same principles to our pool game if we want to learn “cue ball control”. In order to get the cue ball to do what we want it to do, we have to focus on our own behavior.

The cue ball is simply a plastic ball. It responds to the “commands” we give it. And we give it commands by the way we move our body, and the stick we hold in our hands. We must learn what the cue ball naturally wants to do, based on basic physics. What does the cue ball want to do after the tip strikes it? What does it want to do after it hits another ball, or a cushion? Once we understand the natural tendencies of the cue ball, we can give it different commands.

We do this in 3 basic ways. First is the ANGLE we place the cue stick in relation to the shot. Second is the SPEED we have the stick moving when it makes contact with the cue ball. And finally, we apply SPIN based on where we cause the tip to contact the cue ball.

If we give the proper commands to the cue ball, and we do it in the correct way, the cue ball will respond exactly as we want it to respond. So, what we often call cue ball control is really self-control.

To become a great player, we must become “Cue Ball Whisperers” Make sure that our behavior is the correct behavior to get the results we want from the cue ball.

Steve Jennings ACS and PBIA Master Instructor

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Steve has been playing pool since the age of 10, first learning on a table at home, and moving into pool rooms a few years later. While in the service in the early 70s, he won several tournaments and base championships. After his discharge, he continued to play recreationally, and in several regional tour events.

In the 90s, he was coaching other players, and teaching game strategies. Then in the early 2000s, he attended CueTech pool school. BCA Master instructor Randy Goettlicher headed up the school, and his real pool education started. He became a BCA (later changed to PBIA) instructor and later added ACS certification. He continued working with several other Master instructors through the years, and in 2015, reached Master instructor status. “I have been fortunate to have learned from the best instructors in the country. I have worked with hundreds of students ranging from beginners to professional players, and certified and upgraded dozens of instructors.”

Steve is now Director of Training for Florida’s Pro Billiard Academy, and continues to study the game and new training techniques, as well as teaching classes as often as possible. “ I look forward to helping every player I work with to reach their full potential with their game.”

You can contact Steve at 980 253-0211 or shjennings@hotmail.com to schedule lessons.

Steve Jennings PBIA Master Instructor ACS Level 4 Instructor SPF Certified Trainer 5

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By Anthony Beeler The mental game of pool is often overlooked. It’s a lot more fun to practice running balls than it is to work on your concentration skills. Like most sports, the mental side of pool has a huge impact on how you play. Have you ever been beaten by someone who has a terrible stroke? Perhaps their superior mental game skills were a contributing factor leading to your demise. Let’s have a look at some things you can work on that will improve your performance without changing your stroke.

First, I recommend that you create a game plan. This is quite fun once you know how to do it. Think of it as studying before a big test, but it’s for pool, not history. You would never take a test without studying, right? Well, those times you did study I bet you got a better grade.

Creating a game plan is all about exposing your opponent’s weakness areas and highlighting your strengths. If he isn’t very good at strategy, then you will want to use sound defense to outmaneuver him.

In 8-Ball, break off the side cushion and hit the second ball. This will create more clus-

ters and will turn each game into more of a strategic affair. You may even have to block the pocket a few times to keep your opponent off-balance and create openings for yourself.

In 9-Ball you should slow down and play the percentages on every single shot.

No matter what game you play, always use the P.A.S.S. formula to make good decisions:

P - Look for POTENTIAL PROBLEMS. A - Determining the ANGLE you have on your current shot.

S - Determine what SPEED the shot needs to be struck with.

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S - Determine what SPIN you need for desired position on you next shot.

Always, think at least 3 shots ahead.

From there, you should subconsciously execute the shot exactly as you planned it. Don’t let your stroke or any mechanical thoughts get in your way. Just do it!

Good mental game skills aren’t about calculating how to “run out” every time. Your best matches will be played when you learn to ‘manage’ the table well. If you can gain a 2 percent advantage playing one shot over another, always play the percentage. When all things are equal always choose the offensive shot over the defensive shot because it will give you a chance to win.

Work on your alignment: All too often pool players are misled by the results of their shots. If you are striking the cue ball off center the problem doesn’t always necessarily have

to do with your stroke. Players generally assume it’s their stroke mechanics and generally their alignment doesn’t even cross their mind.

Pros work on their alignment almost every outing. At the end of the day, it’s a lot easier to adjust your alignment than your stroke. If you are having problems shooting straight focus on your alignment.

Practice pocketing balls: Being confident in your ball pocketing ability will take the pressure off the rest of your game. This will allow you to focus primarily on your position play and making the decisions you need to make. When practicing, always shoot easy shots first. This will help you build your confidence. One thing I like to do is spread 15 balls and pocket them in any order. The more balls you pocket the better feel you will have for the table, and the more confidence you will have.

While pool is a very technical sport, the 9

most challenging part about the game is developing the right mindset. A great deal of your performance has to do with making quality decisions. Use the tips above to comfortably prepare for your next match while eating lunch or sitting in a recliner. Hopefully this article will help you to shoot your best during your next match – or maybe at least it will help you have a more enjoyable time the next time you are on the slate.

Anthony Beeler is the current Billiards Instructor of the Decade and is a former BCAPL National Champion. He has numerous “Top 25” national finishes and is the primary author of the ACS National Billiards Instructor’s Manual. He has also authored the book Unstoppable! Positive Thinking for Pool Players. Anthony currently has the highest established Fargo Rating of any Master Instructor. He has won over 300 tournaments and has defeated numerous professional players in tournament competition.

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Kamui SAI Tip Review

By Garret Troop

The break is one of the most important shots of the game and I feel that many people just try and power through it. Whether you like a little finesse in your break or simply like to try and hit them as hard as you can, the most important part of the entire shot is controlling the cue ball. Some like a softer break tip and others like a rock-hard tip.

Kamui has been an industry leader for years and their innovations have helped the players reach new heights. They have a wide variety in their cue components that help the player reach their potential as a player while helping them identify what their strengths are in the game.

The Kamui SAI is their new break tip and I have to say that I was pleased to try it.

The first thing I do when playing with a break tip is do the opposite and try and play as many games with it as possible. This shows me how far I can push the tip to its extremes. It holds chalk very well. I tried it with Masters, Taom and Kamui chalk 1.21 and 0.98. When a tip is chalked properly you shouldn’t need to grind it into the tip every time you shoot, I was able to play rack after rack.

I spent a lot of time with this tip. I have a Break Rack and spend about four hours simply breaking the rack and developing my break stroke. I find that I can break and

maintain control of the cue ball the best at about the 20 mph break speed and try and park the cue ball in the center of the table.

I then go back and play that same stroke in a real game. Honestly the tip is a layered leather tip that is resin infused very similar to the Samsara and the Odega tips that are similar.

I noticed that the tip didn’t have the tint that you get when you break with a purely synthetic tip like phenolic or G10. The SAI feels like a hard leather tip but with the power of a high grade phenolic.

I play with a lot of different tips but the more I play the more of a Kamui fan I’m becoming. They really put a lot of R&D into their products and stand by their brand and their name.

I am also able to jump with ease as I test this tip. It holds chalk extremely well and I feel that although it’s not as hard as say 14

using. I’ve seen people jump with an Elk Master before.

I have heard that the install on these tips is easy, and they burnish well. I don’t have an exact number but an estimate from a prominent cue maker (Brandon Jacoby) that the durometer is at about 86. That puts it just under a phenolic that at about a 90 on the durometer scale.

Finding materials that go well together is hard and that is why I personally believe that Kamui came up with a solution that fits the needs of the many. This tip will last you a good long while.

I tested it with follow and draw of the cue ball. I was able to max out the English applied and remain in control. I tested it with a soft, medium and a hard break. I feel that the perfect combination is to hit the lead ball as square as possible and at an above medium hard speed. This has enough power and emerita to get the rack moving and pocket a few balls. In my opinion the

break is more about the control of hitting the lead ball as square as possible and keeping control of the cue ball in the center of the table with say a half tip to a full tip of English above dead center. A smooth stroke and a good follow through will get you far in this game. It’s important to find what’s best for you and protect that until you have mastered your potential. This takes thousands of breaks in and out of competition to find what’s best for you.

I used a flat laminated break shaft by Jacoby, and I can only imagine the power, force, and precision that you can get with this on a carbon fiber shaft.

I enjoy doing these reviews and seeing what’s new out there on the market. This tip did not disappoint and for my playing style it’s a perfect match with the hardness and control of a non-synthetic leather tip.

Power is important but not as much as control and this tip is that balance, we all look for in our bag of goodies.

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I was not paid to do this review other than my love of the game and the power of knowledge.

Kamui has always stood by their name and their brand. This tip has been long awaited and its doesn’t disappoint. I have played with a lot of tips both playing and breaking.

So far this is my favorite tip, and I can’t wait to see what they have next up their sleeve.

Alberto from Fort Worth Billiards was able

to send me this tip for a review and they retail for $48 installed on any shaft. If you haven’t had a chance to go, there in person or online I totally recommend it as it’s the best place to go for just about anything you need in the pool scene. He has a 5,000 square foot showroom floor and another 5,000 in their warehouse area. Alberto will take care of whatever you need.

This Kamui Tip gets the SPM Seal of approval!

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Po nts!

A New Game in Billiards

By Albert Charbonneau

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reetings from South Carolina. The birthplace of the new billiards game, Points. This challenging game was invented by Mr. Albert Charbonneau as an alternative to the most common billiard games that many players are used to. Points was designed to be played in a multitude of ways including as a solo game for practice and a two or more-player game. It can be a tournament game and it can even have its own league. Albert also wanted to add in a few small life lessons within the game that we all could use to improve ourselves.

The most important part of Points is that all shots must be called and made as they were called. There’s no slop allowed. You know in your heart if the shot really went the way it was called and when it doesn’t, always be the bigger person and take the zero. Here’s one of those small life lessons. Have a high level of integrity so no one can call you out when the shot failed to go as it was called.

Points has two versions to play, both with two methods to choose from. The first version is Solo-Practice and it’s all about practice. The first method is a half table setup which represents a soft break during the

actual game. It’s easier to make shots when someone is just starting to learn how to play.

The other method is a full table setup which represents a hard break. There is no breaking during solo-practice. Simply spread out all 15 balls randomly on either half of the table or the full table & start with cue ball in hand.

Solo-Practice has a permanent shot limit of no more than 30 shots with the goal to always try to beat your best score within the 30-shot limit. Mr. Charbonneau said it best, “If you are taking more than 2 shots per ball to make points, you might not do very well when you start playing against someone who can make points with every shot.” Another one of those small life lessons is right here. Always strive to be better.

The second version is the actual game of Points. It also has two methods to choose from. Points can be played with a set shot limit with the winner being the player with the highest score within the agreed set shot limit.

The other method is to play with a set point amount with the winner being the player who reaches the agreed set point amount in the least number of shots.

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out. It’s what makes the game so exciting to watch too. Crowds gather to see who can make the most points. Albert set up a two -tier points system that’s very easy to understand. He introduced half table points then, simply doubled the points value for full table shots. Straight in shots are 1 point each and each element added to a shot is worth 5 points. These points are for half table shots so when the same shots are full table, the points are doubled.

The most common elements are banks, kicks, carom shots, combinations, jump shots, masse shots and kiss shots. Whenever more than one element is added to a shot, the score increases by 5 points per element for half table shots and 10 points each for full table shots. An example would be a called shot where the cue ball goes 3 banks to an object ball sitting at a side pocket. The score would be 15 points because there were 3 elements added to a half table shot.

The break shot is scored as 1 point for each object ball that goes into any of the top 4 pockets and 2 points each for any object ball that goes into the bottom 2 pockets. There is no penalty for scratching on the break and

the player gets to keep whatever points were made.

Scratching during any method of the game is a bad thing so Albert made sure everyone gets punished for the lack of cue ball control.

(Another small life lesson) The only exception is when a scratch occurs during the break.

Any other time a scratch occurs it comes with a 2-stroke penalty.

Albert has big plans for this game & he’s hard at work trying to promote it & design everything that will be coming in the near future. He wants his creation to spread all over the world & even help bring the sport of billiards back to American television! His goals are high and the fight to break into an industry that’s dominated by some of the most popular games will be the real challenge for him. For Albert, it’s a fight that is well worth the effort because the reward is a new age of billiards for us all!

Albert Charbonneau can be contacted through his Facebook account or via email at Alfu2u21067@aol.com You can find all of the rules & setups on his Facebook Homepage.

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By Patrick Sampey

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onday, July 25th, 2022 (11:32am) – Good morning, fellow Billiards Aficionados! Patrick Sampey here, writing for SPM (Sneaky Pete Mafia) magazine. What a treat we have for you today, or tonight, wherever you are in the world. We at SPM have had the pleasure to be able to interview none other than world #1 ranked Kelly Fisher.

Some quick facts and stats on Fisher before we begin: Fisher was born on August 25th, 1978, in South Elmsall, England, is 43 years young, began playing snooker at age 12, is a five-time world snooker champion (1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003), came to the USA to pursue a career in professional pool in 2003, has accumulated 5 back-toback major tournament wins in 2022 alone, and just recently won the Gold medal for women’s 9-ball in the World Games on July 16th, Saturday night; the World Games is an offshoot of the Olympic games, held every 4 years, featuring games not included in the Olympics, pool being one of their events.

Fisher’s 5 major women’s world pool events were the 2022 WPBA Ashton Twins Classic,

the Predator Germany Women’s Open, the 2022 Women’s NineBall Pro Players Championship, the WPBA Predator Event, and the WPBA Northern Lights Classic. She won those events in succession this year, which is an incredible run.

Kelly Fisher currently stands atop women’s professional pool worldwide, and at 43, highlights the fact that age is just a number.

Pool can be played at the highest level well beyond other sports that require excellent athletic training, like basketball or football.

However, we still have Tom Brady, slightly over 40 and still doing it, arguably the world’s greatest quarterback to ever live.

It is debatable. But suffice it to say, Fisher has strived for excellence her entire career in billiards, both in snooker and now in pool, and has shown to be a rare breed indeed, having mastered snooker, Kung Fu, and pool.

How does her mastery of martial art such as Kung Fu come into play with her snooker and pool games and her success in each?

Glad you asked. Fisher concludes that it was her success in Kung Fu, precisely the mental toughness it gave her, that gives her such a 22

strong mental edge against her opponents now; Fisher, having received a black belt by the time she was 15 years old, but due to injuries to her right arm, and the fact that she chose to pursue snooker full time at about the age of 15; once she had achieved her black belt ranking, she made the hard decision at that time to pursue snooker professionally.

And Fisher told me in our interview that she had about 50 snooker titles over her snooker career.

years for different aspects of the game, and then my coach Lionel Payne was right there at the beginning with my dad. Lionel Payne is still my coach today and my mentor. I just spoke to Lionel in preparation for this, right so you know, I think I’ve been very fortunate to have great parents, a great coach, and even now, great family and partner around me to really have their support, but as far as mental preparation I think a lot of that comes with experience and there’s no magic trick.”

Fisher told us at SPM, “I think that I’ve been fortunate with my dad being a professional boxer and wrestler. He taught me very well when I was young that you win your fights in the gym, making me practice very hard. I also did martial arts and Kung Fu and went all the way to black belt. I think that helped me mentally and disciplined me throughout the

Fisher seeks excellence in all she does: excellence in martial arts, excellence in snooker, excellence in pool. And she has achieved excellence and beyond, but she’s not nearly done yet, and continues to push, every single tournament, match, rack, ball potted.

She keeps grinding, logging many hours on the table green.

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Kelly Fisher is humble, thankful, very approachable, and easy to talk to. She thanks all her sponsors and appears to know how to promote herself and pocket billiards, leading the way not just on the table but off as well.

She is an asset to the game and a sensation to witness play. She maintains the highest caliber pool play worldwide, showing players an exemplary role model for younger female players to look up to and emulate. She doesn’t brag or boast about how great she is, just lets her game do the talking.

Fisher concludes from her dorm at the World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, “So, not taking anything away from anybody, but we have other players missing as well (Asian players). But, I’ll take it. I’m playing well. I don’t care who I play, to be honest. If I play well, they’ve got to play well to beat me, and that’s the way I look at it. If I don’t play well, then I don’t deserve to win. So it’s just a matter of keeping my game to the best I can keep it, and if anybody plays better than me, I’ll shake their hand, and fair play...all I can do is play my best, and pray and hope to keep a high standard, and hopefully keep winning.

That’s the goal.” – Fisher.

Fisher appears to be very humble, considering her world #1 ranking, but she also has a lot of positive things to say about her peers in pool.

Though she had won 5 major titles in a row this year, including taking the Gold medal for women’s 9-ball at the World Games a little over a week ago, she talks highly of all the women’s professional female players.

The story of how Fisher won the Gold, with tenacious grit and a solid mental game, built upon a black belt Kung Fu status from her youth – that’s an incredible account in and of itself: Fisher’s opponent, Chieh-Yu Chou, came out of the gate strong in the 9-ball finals of the World Games, leading early on 3-0, then 4-1, against Fisher, but Fisher’s game was lights out, outplaying Chou in both the defensive game and in the break and run out gambit as well. At 4-1 down, Fisher came back 2-4, 3-4, 4-4, then after a testy safety battle, won 5-4, 6-4, 7-4 – putting a “6 pack” on her Asian opponent, with Fisher ultimately winning 9-5, and taking the Gold.

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During the interview, Fisher points out that many Asian players haven't been included in many of the professional women's events this year due to traveling constraints amidst the global pandemic. "We've got a lot of Asian players missing," Fisher explains of her recent tournament wins, which isn't to take anything away from her recent victories but to show that she accounts for all the variables in the game.

We discussed many aspects of pool in our interview and how COVID-19 affected things. Still, Fisher said that through Modern technology, players were able to match up with one another remotely from their homes or poolrooms and match up head-to-head, playing the 9-ball "ghost," with whomever gets the best score against the ghost wins.

Playing the ghost in 9-ball is an individual practice game, where after the break, the

player gets "ball in hand." The "ghost" wins the game if you don't run out the table.

Combination shots on the 9 don't usually count; I don't believe. Playing the ghost has different rules, depending. So, the virtual tournaments, matchups, and events helped keep the game alive at a very dark time in human history.

At one point in the interview, Fisher points out that Margaret Fefilova Styer, and Kristina Tkach of Russia, couldn't make a few events due to the crisis in Ukraine.

"Every tournament I play in, I try my best, and I'm there to win it," Kelly said to us at SPM. That's the mentality of the best of the best and a testimony to what it takes to have a winning mindset and winning record against the world's best female players.

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Fisher said it was a “dream come true” when she won the Gold medal in Birmingham Saturday the 16th of July; however, at the same time, she has worked hard her entire billiards life to achieve it. I count myself lucky to have caught her just before her historic gold medal win at the World Games, 2022. That win puts an exclamation point on all her success in cue sports and stands as a testament to the caliber of game she brings to every single tournament she enters.

Neight Mindham of Cue It Up Podcast asked, “Can anyone beat Kelly Fisher?” And in light of all her recent success, Fisher has become an absolute juggernaut in the sport of pocket billiards. Fisher isn’t unstoppable, however, and just lost last night to Jasmin Ouschuan, taking a rare second place prize in a toughly contested match, being tied much of the match until it was 8-8 then losing in the finals 10-8. But Jasmine played top-level professional pool, and that’s what it takes to beat a champion of Fisher’s pedigree.

To highlight how Fisher shows support for her coach and sponsors, and peers in pocket billiards, here’s a quote from a recent Facebook post after her win in Bremen, Germany this year: “Hard to express how happy I am to have won the Predator Pro Billiard Series German Women’s Open The shoot-out & sudden death made it truly the most intense & thrilling Final that I’ve ever played in. Eylül Kibaroğlu is strong and she pushed me all the way to a high-level 9-8 shootout win!! Congrats to her on a great finish and it could have easily been her lifting that trophy instead of me. She showed shear grit!

Thanks to my coach Lionel Payne who’s had the job of keeping my cueing straight for the 26

shootouts!

Probably gave him, Val & the rest of my family & friends a heart attack watching I’d just like to say a huge shoutout to Predator Cues for coming up with this format… although I know it can be tough on the players, this has to generate the most excitement, drama & nail-biting stuff that we’ve ever had in the game! I feel we have the chance to take pool to the next level by getting more viewers and possible larger outside industry sponsors… I feel pool has a wonderful future ahead of us. Now I just wish I was 10 years younger or could hit the pause button on my age.

Thank you to everyone’s hard work making it a great event with perfect conditions, TV set up with free live stream on all tables. Top prize money that hopefully can only grow with the support of the players.

Couldn’t do it without my sponsors : Predator Cues N’ The Zone Shenzhen Xingjue Billiards Co., Ltd ALFA coin” – Kelly Fisher.

The above quote from Kelly Fisher’s Facebook page says it all, and she also told us that her coach, Lionel Payne, discovered her 31 years ago, and took her under his wing. Hence, Fisher acknowledges his influence and how much his instruction has helped develop and shape her game through the years. It always helps to have a mentor like that I would imagine, and he has helped create the world’s #1 player.

Thanks to Fisher for allowing us at SPM to have an interview with her. Tallahassee Squirrel is out for now. Check us out at SPM for continuing coverage of all things pool related. Until next time: keep on hitting them balls.

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By Kat Day

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ichard Kranicki is a pool player, screen writer, designer of the Protrusion Cue and pool instructor. Kranicki was also a writer for a billiards magazine. It was not the clacking of the balls or the bright colors that attracted Kranicki to pool.

Kranicki states, “I walked into a poolroom at the age of 14 with my friends and fell in love with the game and the pool room’s wooden floors. I Just liked how I was sinking the balls...how they disappeared off the table.”

Kranicki goes on to say, “While watching a

world class tournament in Philadelphia in 1986, I learned that the world class players were not just banging balls around. I talked to a Magazine writer and learned that world class players had methods that they used. So, I signed up for lessons then and traveled to New York every week for several months! That was a 200-mile round trip every Saturday!”

In a previous interview with Joe Young, Kranicki goes on to say that after learning with Jerry Briesath and being put on the right track he went on to train with Don “The 28

Preacher” Feeney! Feeney taught Kranicki the importance of proper alignment.

Kranicki would spend 12-14 hours practicing and states in a prior interview with Joe Young, “During a two-year span of mainly practicing, 12-14 hours a day at times, I would lose track of time. For example, I would start practicing on a Monday morning and finish on a Tuesday evening, but still thought it was a Monday afternoon when I went to bed! I went from running five balls in rotation 50% of the time to 10 balls 50% of the time. But my 500% improvement did not satisfy me. So, I started my personal quest for more knowledge with a prayer and a daily journal.

Ironically, in the summer of 1989, I ended my quest to be the best player I could be when meeting Willie Mosconi. I met Willie through Mike Fusco who was the owner of The Boulevard Room and I soon started to write Willie’s screenplay. While I was demonstrating a couple of my discoveries to Willie, he offered his collaboration with my instructional book that I was beginning. What an honor! Here’s a legend whose name everyone would empathetically say while shooting pool back then, and he offers his assistance to me? I was in disbelief! I was extremely honored to be the only author to have received the Mosconi endorsement! Sadly, Willie and I did not get a chance to work together on my book, because he passed away soon afterwards. However, his family honored Willie’s intentions by endorsing my book, ANSWERS TO A POOL PLAYER’S PRAYERS.” You can find Kranicki’s book on the Internet!

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Kranicki is a God-fearing man that puts all his trust in God before he begins anything he starts his day or task with a prayer for guidance.

SPM asked Kranicki, what was the thought process behind creating The Protrusion Cue? The Protrusion Cue idea originated in July of 1987 in a 17-and-a-half-hour drive from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Madison Wisconsin. Kranicki was first introduced to the importance of straight stroke by Jerry Briesath, who he calls “The Godfather of Pool Instructors.” Kranicki used Briesath’s organized teachings as the fundamentals. Kranicki spent thousands of hours exploring new techniques for aiming, alignment, cue ball speed control and developing a consistent straight stroke.

Kranicki states, “Naturally I was aware, like every player that the proper aiming of the front of the cue stick was necessary. However, I came to realize that the correct alignment of the back of the cue was not so automatic. This is because the shooter can see the front of the cue stick but cannot see the back of the cue while shooting. The cue butt area is out of sight when in a shooting position. It became apparent to me that the alignment of the back of the cue stick relies more on a ‘feeling in the hand.’ So, after many hours of experimenting with different gadgets, and investing thousands of dollars, I designed The Protrusion Cue Stick to embellish that feeling.”

The Protrusion A

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The Protrusion B

According to Kranicki, The Protrusion Cue Stick does what no other cue stick can do, it’s designed protruding piece will help sensitize your palm and finger points of your grip hand where they touch the protruding piece as you hold the cue. Thus, the sensitize points on your hand and fingers act like a guide as you stroke and will immediately alert you if you are twisting or angling your stroke. Therefore, The Protrusion Cue is an excellent playing cue and training tool for developing the proper muscle memory for achieving a straight stroke.

Kranicki is very grateful that Dale Perry the world-renowned custom cue-maker was the first to make his custom prototype cue which first sold for $500.00. Kranicki states, now with his association with a world cue manufacturer, Kranicki is very happy to announce that he can offer them for $150 each! Kranicki has a limited supply left.

The Protrusion Cue has a Member Cue Level Grade Canadian Maple Shaft with Lepro tips that are 12.5mm with a white plastic ferrule. It comes in both an A and B model. With a 5/16 *18 joint, Black plastic middle ring with one silver ring on the shaft and a black plastic cap. Weight adjustable 19 – 19.5 oz. These are the specs on The Protrusion Cue Stick.

Kranicki was asked where he sees the Protrusion Cue Stick in Five years and this was his reply: “If one of my screenplays is produced into a film, then The Protrusion Cue Stick will live on for decades in motion picture history. This is because I wrote The Protrusion Cue into the story! I am happy that the cue meets the approval of my supportive friend, Fred Caruso who is a successful veteran Hollywood Producer! Fred Caruso approved the cue being in the story simply because it is an integral tool used by the main character and not as a commercial for the product. Kranicki has three screenwrites and is hopeful with the help from his friend and Hollywood Producer Fred Caruso that one will be made into a movie! Two of his screenwrites are pool related! SPM Magazine looks forward to what the future holds for Richard Kranicki!

Richard Kranicki is the designer of The Protrusion Cue and can be reached at Poolprayers@ aol.com.

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The One Rail Kick Shot

By Dominic Esposito a.k.a.

The Drill Instructor There are several systems available for making a successful one rail kick shot. It’s not fair to say one method is better than another.

Players often know more than one methodology; however, they’ll always have a preferred way.

It’s critical to be proficient with at least one – One Rail Kick method or you’ll always be guessing. I can say this for sure, the best one rail kick system is the one that works no less that 7 out of 10 times. Any less than that and you’re going to be giving up Ball-In-Hand too many times.

Don’t get caught up judging which method better, easier, or harder. If the math was done right when it was created, it works. However, that doesn’t mean they are all perfect for every One Rail Kick.

This month’s drill shot is called, “The Parallel One Rail Kick” method. What makes this kick shot difficult is the parallel movement. It takes time to develop the move accurately.

1. Use the cue’s tip to find the mid-point between the cue ball and the target ball. In this case, we’re kicking the 8 Ball into the side pocket.

2. From the mid-point, pivot the butt and point the cue directly at the cushion on the opposite side of the target ball. Move your 34

feet as you’re pivoting the cue. The point directly across from the target is called “the mirror.” In my diagram, no pivot was needed, however, most of the time it will be.

3. Hold the stick level and parallel shift until you are directly over the cue ball. Sounds easy right? Eventually it will be. For now, however, this the hardest part NOTE: If the parallel shift of your cue stick on the front or butt end is off the parallel line as much as ½ inch, your aim spot will be off by double. Learning to parallel shift accurately is no small thing. Work moving between the diamonds to train your parallel shifting accuracy.

4. Shoot ½ Tip above Center Cue Ball.

Any L or R spin will cause a missed hit.

5. 4 to 6 Speed Shot Stroke is best most of the time. If the parallel shift is correct all should go well for executing the shot.

When you get this method down, you can also use it to measure banking an object ball.

Remember, step one is key. Kicking or banking, the measurement process of the ball rolling into the cushion to hit the DTP (Diamond Target Point) is the same.

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By Mark White

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n interesting discussion for pool and snooker players, in fact, anyone who plays a game with a cue. I would love to hear your thoughts on a debate that has been going on for as long as the sports themselves. Here is mine...

I played snooker to an ‘Above average’ standard; I have made 19-century breaks in my life; the highest is 132, a total clearance (36 successful shots in a row without missing). So which game is harder to master? Does size matter, are snooker players better because their equipment is 12x6 as opposed to a pool player who can range anything from 6 foot to 9 foot depending on whether you are an American or English.

I think each game has its own degree of difficulty; let’s begin with English 8 ball. It’s played on either a 6ft or 7ft table. The pockets are smaller than its allies across the pond, 38

but in comparison, so are the balls; however, smaller balls have their advantages and disadvantages, the draw shot (Screw) is easier for us that play with smaller balls, but the run through shot is much more difficult. The strategy of E8B is very different from A9B, there is a lot more safety in E8B, and there are as many different rules, pocket sizes, cloths, and types of balls and equipment which divides the game of pool, never mind the two different skillsets demanded by pool and its bigger Brother snooker.

I think it’s fair to say that as far as similarities between any of the cue sports are concerned, they stop at anything beyond the fact that there are balls, cues, and pockets involved. In my humble opinion, you cannot compare them. I took up A9B later in life as I could no longer play to a level at snooker where I enjoyed it anymore, I also wanted to have more fun in life; music playing, a not-so-stuffy level of etiquette was expected in pool, as was demanded in a snooker hall.

Pool in whatever form is more widely played, and one reason for this is the sheer size of the table and the space required, right? It’s faster, which is due to the number of shots required to win a game.

There are far more pool players around the world shooting pool than snooker, a statistic which should mean there are going to be a far more significant number of cueists providing more talent.

Here’s the thing, you will NEVER see a top-class world pool champion EVER become a topclass world snooker champion. I say NEVER; there is always an exception to every rule, a freak of nature, a rare talent who just seems to be good at everything they try their hand at. Mark Selby from England won the English 8-ball world title in 2006, but this was after he’d made his debut at the world championships at the crucible in 1999 aged just 16 and had already been crowned under 15 English snooker champ. So contrary to popular belief, Selby was a snooker player first, so even he was the boss of the big boys/Girls table before conquering, shall we say, Kilamanjaro in relation to already having reached the peak of Everest, making him the only man to have been world champion in both snooker and pool including almost winning the Chinese 8 ball world title finishing runner up in 2015. I think Chinese 8 ball is the perfect recipe for bringing the 2 games together, and given time, a snooker player would outsmart the pool player.

I honestly don’t think you will EVER see the likes of a player such as Chris Melling, Jayson Shaw, or Alex Pagulayan, who are good snooker players choosing to make their living on a 12x6. In the same way, I don’t think you will ever see a top-class snooker player switching to pool (In his prime) purely because there is nowhere near as much money to be won in pool.

Strange, right, considering the popularity of pool in relation to snooker.

I believe any snooker world champion given time to learn the strategy of and of the pool, win a pool world title whether it be 8, 9, 10 ball or indeed one pocket or straight pool, NEVER the other way round.

Maybe there’s an event waiting to happen. Perhaps Matchroom could host a mixed event world championship, I think. However, it would be a bit like a boxing match between a heavyweight and a lightweight, and the larger ‘Ring’ would enable the more skillful athlete to outthink and outclass his/her opponent.

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By Kieth Shaner

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e, in the pool world, have had mad rush of young talent being celebrated like never before in the history of our sport. We’ve also had a huge surge in youth initiatives and available events for Juniors, tours, national events, and Junior worlds.

Lockhart & Ernie Drumm) a treasurer (Stella Pegan), and a league secretary (Mari Church).

They originally operated out of Drumm’s Family Billiards at their Main Street location in 2015 playing APA and feeling their way through the process.

Today, I would like to introduce everyone to one of those initiatives, The Licking County Ohio Junior Billiards Program!

When the 2016 season began, they had solidified their program a bit more and added a few new players. They also had switched to NAPA.

I have had a part-time association with this group over the years, and I have seen many young players develop and I have seen this program grow bigger every year. I spoke with Stella Pegan recently on their program. Here is their story…

2017 saw some big changes in the program, they were now playing VNEA, the program added and reshuffled their officers and trainers. Eight players went to the VNEA Junior Championships that year and placed in two team events.

A little history A lady, here in Newark, originally started a junior program but due to some personal events happening, she couldn’t continue. So, Stella Pegan and William Lockhart, after some discussion, decided to take over, as their son WJ was already involved in the game, and they were familiar with many of kids.

Another big change came in 2018 as they moved to Newark’s Townz Family Billiards.

They now had fifty kids in their program, so they divided the league into 2 divisions (A & B) and they began staggering the training, with the older A division doing their 2 hours of training and league play and then the younger B division would come in and do their 2 hours.

They started with two trainers (William

They continued to thrive over the next 3 42

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seasons Forming their committee and adding their own fundraising events and Junior tournaments., which were open to all youth players.

Championships. With more kids, more trainers and new equipment & technology.

Now how did they do it? I asked Stella to explain…

They have also had great sponsorship over the years, such as Ed’s Sleds Car Sales, American Trophy as well as Drumm’s and Townz billiard rooms.

KS: What is the basic format of your league?

In 2021 they really exploded on the scene at VNEA Junior Nationals. They had the largest contingent of 24 kids, and they took home a ton of honors. They also added GSB cues as a sponsor for many of their players as well as donating to their events. Willie, Jody Boggs and Joe West were the main trainers, Jason Angus had become Treasurer and Stella the Secretary.

The new 2021-2022 season has them back at Drumm’s at their new location as they prepare for this year’s VNEA Junior

SP: Singles League has been the biggest format, but we have had teams in the past years. The struggle was kids not being able to make it when we did teams.

KS: What is the structure of the instructional portion of your program and how has it evolved over the years?

SP: In the beginning, Willie would research different training techniques to do with the kids as a group after they did the matches.

Then we started getting bigger, so we split the kids into groups of Division A, being the more advanced kids and division B for the kids who were beginning. At one point we

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even had a C division. They would play their matches and then get training on their division.

The younger kids we worked on basics. Then the older kids working on more advanced techniques. William Lockhart and Jody Boggs went to Vegas in 2021 and became certified instructors.

This past year we bought a break rack that helps kids to be better in their break and control the cue ball. We also bought a Pro Billiards Projection, it has 700 drills and games that the kids can use to advance their game. We also received an iCue to help the kids work on cue ball control.

We want our juniors to go to school and get a good education, play sports, get jobs, stay out of trouble, and play pool. We highlight when they do great things outside of pool.

KS: How many parents and volunteers have worked with you over the years and how many former juniors have returned to help grow your program as volunteers?

SP: Clayton Townsend and Makayla Swonger have come back to help the kids over the years since aging out. William Lockhart Jr will age out this year and will be returning next year as a trainer.

We have had several people in the community that have come out to help our kids over the years. We welcome that. Keith Shaner, Bob Blamer, Barry Phillips, Ernie Drumm, Shane Albaugh, Travis Stewart, Shane Murphy, Amanda Combs The older juniors have helped many times mentor our younger youth during training.

KS: What are some of the highlights of your program and what events have you traveled to over the years?

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SP: Bringing home 13 charlies last year, best dressed award for the jersey that Jason Angus designed, sportsmanship award that went to Auna Poulnott, Top cat award went to Auna and Averie West.

Some of our kids Tanner Elliott, Skylynn Elliott, Lathan Elliott, Avaelah Elliott, Hunter Compton have traveled to JIC and BEF to play.

KS: Have your kids had any experience or interaction with professional-level players?

SP: Yes. Adam Smith & Dee Adkins locally, as well as Shane Van Boening, Tom Rossman (Dr Cue), and Dave Person at Nationals.

KS: Have you been around any other junior programs and if so, what have you learned from them that you have incorporated into your program and what have your shared with them?

SP: We started the only junior’s program in Ohio in 2015. Since than some other programs have started. We shared what we were doing with the Dayton area.

KS: How was your overall experience at the VNEA Junior Nationals in prior years?

SP: 13 Charlies, 7 certificates, 2 plaques, 11 sticks, 2 cue holders, $1,050.00 Ozone Gift cards.

Singles 1st Youth Female Auna Poulnott 2nd Youth Female Averie West 1st place Major Female Redemption Hailey Kurtz

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2nd Place Youth Male Trey Vogelmeier 7-8th place Minor Male Tanner Elliott 2nd Place Major Male Redemption Chase Combs 7-8th place Major Male Clayton Townsend Team 2nd place Youth team- Hollow Heads Gabe Cowgill, Lathan Elliott, Trey Volgeimier 4th place Youth team- Ounce of Fury Dallas Boggs, Auna Poulnott, Averie West 4th place Minor Team- Pocket Rockets Tanner Elliott, Skylnn Elliott, Faith Westbrook, Isaiah Angus 1st place Major Sport Team- Slingers Clayton Townsend, Chase Combs, Brayden Holtz 2nd Place Major Sports Team Junior Assassins William Lockhart Jr, Ethan Boggs, Curtis Landis 2nd place Minor Scotch Doubles Team Tanner Elliott and Kennedy Meyman Mini Singles 1st place William Lockhart Jr 2nd place Chase Combs 1st place Tanner Elliott 2nd place Isaiah Angus KS: You are preparing for Junior Nationals this year right now, how many kids are going this year and who are some standouts in this year’s group?

SP: 29 kids are going with this year. I believe all the kids going have potential to do very well.

Our only goal is to bring home more Charlies than last year. This will be the last year for William Lockhart Jr and Hunter Compton as they will age out.

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Going: Wish them luck Addy Allen Trey Vogelmeier Steven Tice Payton Tice Kylie Sky Ethan Hottinger Curtis Landis Hailey Kurtz William Bolton Jr William Lockhart Jr Faith Westbrook Averie West Dallas Boggs Ethan Boggs Isaiah Angus Tanner Elliott Skylynn Elliott

Jacob Elliott Lathan Elliott Avaelah Elliott Tyler McManus Hunter Compton Madison Ham Donna Ham Riley Ham Trent Townsend Chase Dininger Jonryan Freeman Noah Majersky I want to thank Stella and the program committee for taking the time to speak with me and share their story. Good luck to you this year and into the future!

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By Patrick Sampey

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onday, August 1st, 2022 – Aloysius Yapp, from Singapore, is a player in pool that I believe has gone under the radar. From my perspective, he is up there with Joshua Filler, Shane Van Boening, Francisco Sanchez Ruiz, Dennis Orcollo, and so many other top-world-ranked players.

Currently, he is ranked world #7 and is a former world #1, so, at just age 26, he has already achieved an impressive pool resume.

Yapp is a very cool, easygoing, and easy-totalk-to; he was just eight years old when he first played pocket billiards and a friend of mine that I’ve known on Facebook for a little while now. He has allowed me to interview him on Facebook Messenger and through Zoom, which Kathryn Brown Day (editor of Sneaky Pete Mafia magazine) had set up for us. Kathryn and I were able to catch up with Aloysius just after he defeated Carlo Biado to win the Bronze medal in The World Games, held recently at Birmingham, Alabama – Joshua Filler having won the Gold medal. So,

Yapp overcame Biado, who had beat him in the US Open just last year in the finals of the event. Yapp had beaten both Filler and Shane Van Boening convincingly prior to the loss to Biado in the finals in the US Open 2021.

Yapp gave a detailed account of his introduction to pool at about age 8, “I would normally watch sports. I wasn’t too much of a cartoon guy when I was young. I normally watch sports. I was very interested in soccer back then. I was like, flipping channels, and then I saw this match on the TV. I’m like, what’s this game? It looks interesting, so I asked my grandmother what it is, then she told me, ‘this is pool,’ then I’m like, ‘oh, that’s interesting.’ Then, I just watched the whole thing. I still remember who it was: Tony Robles playing Santos Sambajon; I think it was the BCA Open? It was really long ago, so that was the first match I ever watched in my life. Then somehow, I just wanted to play the game, so at night when my mom came home from work, I asked her, can you bring 58

me to play this game? She’s like, I can’t because it’s in Singapore if you’re under 16 you can’t go to the pool hall, so instead, she went to find like a billiard shop or someone that knows how to bring me into something like a pool hall to learn, that’s when I first met my first coach, so I started learning at the billiard shop back then.” – Yapp said; that was at “theQshop” back in Singapore.

Yapp was adjusting to a new cue he had only a week when he just won the Bronze against the current US Open Champion. That, to me, is incredible because a lot of times, players have told me that they took about a month to adjust to the deflection of a new cue. But Yapp? He adjusted to his new cue from his sponsor, Mezz Cues, while in the tournament, and from what he has said, it seems like he loves his new cue. He said he can adjust the weight custom and even the balance point on the cue, and he said he likes a 20oz cue with a forward balance on it. Yapp showed Kathryn and I his new Mezz cue during the course of our interview with him from his room, still at the campus of the World Games, Birmingham. He said he still has every cue they’ve sponsored him with.

Toh Lian Han is Yapp’s mentor and has been instructing Yapp in many aspects of pocket billiards since Yapp was 14 years old, noticing him early as a young talent in the game. Toh Lian Han is the architect behind Yapp’s game, mental strength, and pool philosophy – the two having played all the way to the finals together of the World Cup, a two-man team event that Spain just recently won this year: “June 19th, 2022 – Spain have won the 2022 World Cup of Pool, beating Singapore in the final 11-6 at the Brentwood Centre, Essex live on Sky Sports Arena in the UK, DAZN in the USA, Canada, Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Viaplay in Scandinavia, the Baltics, Netherlands, and Poland. Singtel in Singapore. Matchroom Live in territories without a 59

broadcaster.” – https://matchroompool.com/news/spain-clinch-2022-world-cup-of-pool-title/ Lian Han and Yapp had played well throughout the World Cup. Lian Han is 50, nearly twice Yapp’s age, which is to show that pool can be played at a high level at any age. Suffice it to say, Toh Lian Han has been an instrumental ingredient in the recipe for Aloysius Yapp’s pool game.

Aloysius Yapp & Toh Lian Han at the World Cup 2022

Of his recent run, resulting in a Bronze medal against Biado, Yapp told us, “In the first match against Matt Edwards from New Zealand, I played pretty strong. To be honest, coming into this tournament, I wasn’t looking forward to too much; I just wanted to come here and have fun because I just switched to a new Cue last week.”

“In my first match, I played pretty strong. I didn’t make many mistakes. And it was just me, trying to understand my cue better. I was quite lucky; he gave me a few chances. So, I won pretty far. Yeah, 11-3. We played once before in China. He beat me pretty bad. So, I was quite lucky that I won this time. And after that, I played Francisco. And we had a really amazing match. We really played well. There weren’t many mistakes made. He made just one crucial mistake when the scores were tied at 7. That was the one that gave me the chance to pull the lead. (“You won 11-7 in that match in the quarter-finals against Ruiz?” Kathryn asks.) Yeah,” said Yapp.

After that, Yapp explains how he went to 7-7 in the semi-finals but felt as though his 60

opponent got a few lucky rolls, as is the case with 9 ball a lot of times. “...And then he kicks and makes it, with great position on the next shot…At 7-7, I played a horrible safety…my last chance came at 10-7, and I can’t remember what happened…Oh! I think he missed, and I had to play a safe. And I played a horrible safe again, so,” Yapp tells us of his Semifinals match against Sanjin PEHLIVANOVIC. So, he had a let down in his safety play against Sanjin and a little luck with the roles going PEHLIVANOVIC’s way, and he plays Filler instead of Yapp for the Gold.

“After that, I had less than an hour to prepare for the placing (match) with Biado. I didn’t do much. I just went back to my room and made a coffee, and then I just drank it. And I went back down to warm up, so yeah…Then, playing against Carlo, I think the last three times he won, so I was just hoping to win this time, yeah. He didn’t really start off good. So, I had a really good start, but I let a few chances slip. And then, he tied it. I can’t remember. I think it was 5-5. It was tied until 7-7 or something like that…We really didn’t give each other much chances too.” –Yapp concludes of his match with Biado. He ultimately won the Bronze.

Yapp describes the point in the match where the momentum shifted his way, “...He left himself a bit tough on the six ball…but he left me with a long, table-length bank, and I made it. And then, the next rack, he broke dry, and I ran out. So, that was when I pulled the lead for the second time.”

Also, from a recent win in his home country – Yapp’s Facebook post from two days ago, “Won this year’s National 10 Ball Championships. Been a while since I last played a national 61

tournament back home. So grateful to win it. I would like to thank my family, friends, and fans for the support! I would also like to thank my sponsors, Mezz Cues, ZAN TIP, CPBA Cloth, theQshop, Mak’s family, TE Capital, Cuesports Singapore, and Sports Singapore for the continuous support! Up next for me is the European Open by Matchroom Pool! It’s gonna be a really fun event. Hope to do my best!” – Yapp said, having won 10-6 to Chan Keng Kwang Overall, we at SPM appreciate Aloysius Yapp for taking the time to do an interview with us. He has a great game, and I’m sure we will see him in the winner’s circle for many years to come. He has also yet to win a major world event but has been placing in the top tier of events for a while now, and I believe we will be reporting more on his continued success soon.

Tallahassee Squirrel out for now.

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By Brian Pauley

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rom July 21st to July 23rd artistic pool players from all over America once again descended on the Clubhouse Bar and Grill in Lynchburg, Virginia, for the 2022 Premier Billiards US National Artistic Pool Championships presented by McDermott Cues. Players were competing for the overall title as well as the eight discipline titles. Artistic Pool is broken down into eight disciplines: Trick & Fancy (set up shots), Special Arts (speed and timing shots), Draw, Follow, Bank/Kick, Stroke, Jump, and Masse. During the preliminary rounds, players shoot five shots per discipline, ranging from a 6 point degree of difficulty to a 10 point degree of difficulty. Players are given three attempts at each shot, with the point totals differing with how many attempts need to make the shot. Once the prelims are completed, players are seeded by prelim score for the playoff rounds in a “HORSE” style format where players pick shots that the other players must duplicate. Strategy is key in these rounds. This is where a player will try to highlight their own strengths while exposing their opponents’ weaknesses.

Day one saw players go through six of the eight disciplines. Each round is broken into two disciplines. Round one saw players shoot Trick & Fancy and Special Arts. After round one, Houston’s Jamie “The Bayou Bullet” Moody lead the pack with an impressive score of 75 out of a possible 80 points. Defending National Champion Abram “Too Tall” Diaz repeated his Trick and Fancy title with a score of 37/40, while Jamie took the Special Arts title with a score of 38/40. Jamie then moved to the stream table provided by Railbirds TV for Draw and Follow to compete with reigning World Draw champion Brian “Superman” Pauley, who was second behind Jamie Moody after round one with 66 points, and returning player Jimmy “The General” Glanville. Brian fired a near-perfect 39/40 to take the draw title, while young gun Theo “The Bloodshark” Mihellis won the follow title with a 30/40 score. After four disciplines, Brian Pauley crept past Jamie Moody to lead the prelims with a score of 124 points to Jamie’s 121 points.

Group Shot of all the players

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Round three saw players shooting in the Bank/Kick and Stroke disciplines. Abram Diaz repeated as National Bank/Kick champion with a 38/40 score, while Theo Mihellis and Brian Pauley both scored 31/40 in Stroke, with Theo edging out Brian in a discipline tiebreaker. At the end of day one, through six of the eight disciplines, the top three scoring players was a tight race, with Brian Pauley in first with 174 points, Theo Mihellis in second with 170 points, and Jason “The Michigan Kid” Lynch with 168 points.

Day 2 saw players finish off the prelims with round 4 (Jump and Masse) as well as two rounds of quarter-final matches. The top three scoring players took to the cloth on the stream table to see who could keep their spot. Tim “The Dragon” Chin defeated Jason Lynch in a discipline tie breaker after both players shot an impressive 38/40 in jump. Abram Diaz likewise defeated Theo Mihellis in a discipline tiebreaker to win the Masse title after both scored 30/40. The prelims were then completed, with the players being seeded and ready to go head-to-head in a playoff format.

The first round of quarter-final matches saw some familiar and new match ups.

Theo Mihellis (1) defeated tournament regular Andrew “The Driver” Sozio (8) 60-21.

Abram Diaz (2) defeated Jimmy Glanville (7) 64-48 Jason Lynch (3) defeated Jamie Moody (6) 62-52 in the closest match of the quarterfinals and a rematch of last year’s semi-finals. It came down to the last shot, where Jamie Moody needed to make a ten-point shot on the first try and have Jason miss on all three attempts to send the match to sudden death. Jamie failed to make the shot on the first attempt, but this match was a great one to watch.

Tim Chin (4) defeated Brian Pauley (5) 63/15

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The Semi-Finals were set, and the last day looked to be some great matches.

Semi Final one saw veteran player Tim Chin vs. the young gun Theo Mihellis, which provided the best match of the event. Tim was down eighteen points early but battled his way back, picking shots that tend not to be played often. Tim finally took a lead late with a classic rail jump bank shot that gave him an eleven-point lead after his last shot pick. Theo needed to make this shot to continue to his last shot pick and have a chance to win. Theo missed all three attempts, hitting the side pocket point a couple of times. Theo played a great match, but the veteran persevered an early deficit, and multiple bad roll misses to get a 77-66 win.

The second semi-final match saw Lynch vs. Diaz III. Jason Lynch and Abram Diaz had met two times previously in semifinals matches with both having one win and one loss. This is a match of mirroring styles as both players like to play the same shots. Abram struggled to get going while Jason caught a gear, and that gear let Jason to take the series and this match 72-34. The finals were then set. Two veterans of the sport with conflicting styles and a rematch of the 2019 Coughlin Auto Artistic Pool Open finals. Tim started out strong, utilizing technical shots that he is known for. The gear that Jason caught in the previous match could not be regained and led to Tim Chin winning the match 68-31 and winning the title. That is now two tournament wins out of three tournaments played for Tim Chin after returning to the sport after a four-year hiatus. The Dragon is heating up and will be a dangerous competitor in the tournaments to come. This event was sponsored by Premier Billiards, McDermott Cues, Balance Billiards, and NAPA Pool League of Madison County, with the stream being provided

by Railbirds TV featuring Mark White on guest commentary.

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By Garret Troop

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W

hen you think of the perfect break, what do you think of?

Power, focus, grip, follow through, a square hit, placement of tip, timing, and execution are all key. The best breakers in the world spend much time practicing the break and all the fundamentals that go along with it.

The grip is what connects you to your cue.

Racking and breaking over and over can help you along your path, but so can the Jacoby BlackOut with the Sport Grip.

Over the last few weeks, I have had the pleasure of breaking with the Jacoby BlackOut with the Sports grip. The grip adds about an ounce and a half, and Jacoby cuts a channel into the grip area. The Grip section of the cue is 12” and is at the very rear of the cue. The sports grip has an almost basket weave design and is exceptionally grippy. The little black diamond windows Jacoby uses for decoration on the BlackOut with the Sports Grip are a nice

added feature. The cue also comes with an adjustable weight system that allows adjustment for the perfect break cue weight for how you play. See my review of the Blackout cue for more details. Review On the Jacoby Black Out break cue There are many grip options to choose from; no wrap, linen wrap, leather wrap, and a sports grip wrap; they each have their place. A lot has changed over the years, and the equipment is progressing.

Does one grip make you break harder or better than another? I personally don’t think so, but the feeling is fantastic.

Many companies also have a rubberized grip, and it’s a sturdy choice for any player with any level of experience. It’s an excellent grip for players that want that little extra connection at the last second of the break.

Most players try to hit the cue ball as hard

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as they can to get shape to keep running. The Sports Grip gives you the feeling that you can smash the rack much harder. This is a feeling you get when at the last second, you tighten your grip on the cue to make contact from the cue tip to the cue ball, the natural way most people break. At that last second, you tighten your grip; you feel you get extra power when you make contact on the break.

The grip is seated on the back section of the Blackout Cue because the Blackout is a jumpbreak. I want to point out that the rear placement of the grip feels strange to me. While I understand why I still have to gripe about it a little. I usually grip a breaker at the end of the wrap section. The Sports Grip is 12” long and placed on the back section of the two-piece handle, allowing my hand to almost want to travel further towards the end of the butt. I feel that the grip placement allows me to use it improperly. If you feel that you could have the same problem, you may want to stick with the Straight Breaker, which does not have the twopiece handle section for jumping.

Jacoby and Predator are leaders in the industry in innovation and craftsmanship, so the price tag isn’t shocking. The price is up there, with this monster at $845.00. The cue and price point are comparable to Predator’s sports wrap BKRush.

All in all, the cue was bad ass before the sports grip, and now you get the feeling like you could break through a brick wall with your break. As far as claiming it makes you break harder or faster, I cannot say. It does give you a better grip exactly when you need it in your break.

The cue has a unique place in my case, and the cue and grip do what they are designed to do.

It gives you a better grip which gives you confidence in your break.

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YOU help us help the future of Billiards!

SPM Media’s market penetration includes the professional billiards community throughout the world on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, and of course www. sneakypetemafia.com. On average SPM Media has a combined reach of over 280,000 unique readers Monthly. We have the two Facebooks: Sneaky Pete Mafia Page, and the Sneaky Pete Mafia Family that you must join and become a member we have 11.5k memebers and growing daily.

YOU help

THEY ARE READING IT SO DON’T MISS YOUR OPPORTUNITY!

us help the future of Billiards!

Meet Garrett Troop with billiards instructor and player, Jackie Karol

Follow Us

Here’s what some advertisers have to say about ADVERTISING with SPM Media:

“I own a printing business and service customers all over North America. I advertised my banners in Sneaky Pete Mafia for 6 months and was very pleased with the level of service that I received from Garrett and his team. I also was able to gain customers as a result of my advertising. I would highly recommend him and SPM for your advertising needs! - Louie Campbell, owner Campbell’s Printing Service (http://www.facebook.com/ campbellsprinting)”

“Gainey Q’s Custom Pool Cues and the Amateur Billiards League are looking forward to doing more business with them in the future.”

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2022 Advertising Rates FOUR COLOR or B&W- SAME PRICE. ALL QUOTES ARE FOR EACH ISSUE: Ad Size

8x Rate

4x Rate

2x Rate

1x Rate

Full Page 1/2 Page 1/3 Page 1/4 Page 1/6 Page 1/8 Page (Biz Card) Classifieds Directory

$425 $325 $225 $125 $120 $70 $75 $20

$450 $350 $250 $150 $130 $80 $90 $30

$475 $375 $275 $175 $140 $90 $115 $40

$500 $400 $300 $200 $150 $100 $125 $50

Premium Positions, Reserved on a First Come Basis, Others on a Waiting List: Ad Size

8x Rate

4x Rate

2xRate

1xRate

Back Cover Inside/Facing Sponsored Page

$675 $575 $325

$700 $600 $350

$725 $625 $375

$750 $650 $400

DIRECTORY AD

The Directory is in the front of each issue and grouped into categories, such as Cues, Poolrooms, etc.

CLASSIFIED ADS

Classifieds may be up to 45 characters per line, and up to seven lines. Headlines may take up two or more lines at our discretion. $5 for each additional line.

BUSINESS CARD AD

(A Sponsored Page means your ad will always be on the page of the topic you choose.)

Insert your business card as an ad for as low as $150 per quarter.

*prices are per quarter every 3 months for SPM T V/Radio*

AD INSERTS

Web, SPM Radio, and SPM TV Ad Type

Small

Web Ad $150/mo SPM Radio (Audio) 8x/mo Rate 15 Sec $300 30 Sec $450 45 Sec $600 1 Min $750 SPM TV (A&V) or SPM LIVE 1x/mo Rate 15 Sec $600 30 Sec $750 45 Sec $900

Medium

Large

Custom*

$200/mo 4x/mo Rate $350 $500 $650 $800 8x/mo Rate

$250/mo 2x/mo Rate $400 $550 $700 $850 4x/mo Rate

$300/mo 1x/mo Rate $450 $600 $750 $900 2x/mo Rate

$650 $800 $950

$700 $850 $1,000

$750 $900 $1,050

EXTENDED DIGITAL SERVICES-OFFERED ONLY ON FULL PAGE ADS GOLD PACKAGE -ADD $250

The Gold package includes HOT LINKS to your website, SOCIAL MEDIA PLUGINS and SLIDE SHOW capabilities. This is an extended service and has a much greater value then a static page.

PLATINUM PACKAGE - ADD $500

This package offers the most interactivity that you can get. Your company will have HOT LINKS in the ad so when you click on it the customer is taken directly to your website, SOCIAL MEDIA PLUG-INS (takes you to any social media site that your company has available), a SLIDE SHOW in the ad itself where you can display pictures of your showcased item right in the ad, GIFs of the item showcasing performance of the item, plus VIDEO via YouTube embedded in the ad.

DISCOUNTS

• 4x and 8x Paid Upfront and In Full Receive a 10% Discount • Multiple Ads In The Same Issue Receives Additional 10% Off Agreement Rate •Unfulfilled Agreements are Re-Invoiced at Applicable Rate

BILLING TERMS

Accounts without established credit are subject to pre-payment. Unfulfilled agreements are re-billed at applicable rates. A 2% service charge is charged on past due amounts. We accept checks, money orders, credit cards, PayPal and bank wire transfers.

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*CUSTOM web ads can be any specific size including a full page ad linking to your product or service, with a hot link on home page. SPM Media has a production department to help you with creating your ad for an additional sliding fee.

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Rates for separate (loose or bound-in) advertising inserts contracted to accompany each issue are quoted based on size, number of pages, weight and frequency. Samples required to quote. Polybag inserts are available.

ADVERTISING AGREEMENTS

An Advertising Agreement is included with this kit for your convenience. Signed agreements must be faxed or mailed to our offic before being eligible for Agreement rates.

PRODUCTION COSTS

Text and graphics layout, photography, match prints, etc., are charged at competitive market prices.

Quotes available upon request.

YOU help us help the future of Billiards!

Copy Requirements Trim Size : 8.25” Wide X 11.00” High

FIRST TIME ADVERTISERS: Our art department can assist with your ad design. Call for quotes. Materials must be in-house one week before the materials deadline. Allow additional time for requests other than simple layout.

ACCEPTED MEDIA:Ads may be sent by email as PDFs or high-resolution {300 dpi} JPGs/TIFs/EPS/AI or In-Design.

Please include all fonts and graphics. Email to MarketingDirector@SneakyPeteMafia.com. You can send larger size via YouSendit.com or Dropbox.com for free in order to bypass email size limitations.

STANDARD COMMERCIAL SOFTWARE: We cannot use home software, such as Print Master, graphics in MSWord, etc. Send all fonts & graphics with your ad or embedded in the PDFs. Text files: MS Word for Macintosh or Windows. Other word processor files accepted: Save as . rtf {Rich Text Format}.

SIZE SPECIFICATIONS: Page Size Trims to 8 1/4 x 11 inches. {20.955 cm x 27.94 cm}. Bleeds: Minimum bleed size is pre-trim 8.5 inches {21.59 cm} x 11.25 {28.575 cm}. Note: Keep “live material” {everything other than background} a minimum of 1/4 or .25 inch {.635 cm} inside the trim size unless your design/graphic should bleed/trim.

COPY REGULATIONS: Sneaky Pete Mafia Magazine reserves the right to decline or reject any advertisement for any reason at any time without liability even though previously acknowledged and accepted.

PLEASE NOTE: The advertiser and the advertising agency assume liability, jointly and severally, for all content {including text representations and illustrations} of advertisements printed, and also assume responsibility for any claims arising therefrom made against Sneaky Pete Mafia Magazine. The advertiser and the advertising agency agree, jointly and severally, to indemnify and hold Sneaky Pete Mafia Magazine harmless from all costs, expenses {including reasonable attorneys’ fees}, liabilities and damages arising in any way from publication of any advertisement placed by the advertiser or the advertising agency.

Let the SPM Media Production Team take care of all of your advertising production needs for an additional fee! We offer an inexpensive and competitive monthly service fee for your businesses production needs or you can pay for each production service al-la-carte at an extremely competitive rate. Contact us at sneakypetemafia@yahoo.com

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Psst, You could be Advertising in SPM Magazine

email: sneakypetemafia@gmail.com or call 805-440-3167

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