Welcome to 3-Cushion Billiards
Five-time National Three-Cushion Champion Allen Gilbert was a colorful character, and a good friend and mentor as I learned the game. He told me dozens of anecdotes from his billiard travels around the world, but this one is my favorite.
Read more: Allen Gilbert Left It Spinning and Got Outta Dodge!
Tran Quyet Chien has found 2018 to be the perfect moment for reaching top form on the International 3-Cushion Billiard scene. Beginning in February when he won the Ho Chi Minh World Cup in front of thousands of adoring home town fans, to his most recent victory in the LG U+ Cup 3Cushion Masters, this talented young man proudly represents the future of 3-cushion billiards.
Read more: Vietnam's Tran Quyet Chien A Rising Star in 3-Cushion Billiards
If you talk to the majority of professional billiards players about earnings, they will promptly inform you that it’s tough to earn a living. Generally speaking, prize money has risen significantly in recent years, thanks in part to the rise of the PBA, but it is still something of a slog when you are not at the very top of the sport. Dick Jaspers might make a comfortable living from 3-cushion billiards, but many others do not.
Read more: Professionals Vs. Amateurs on the Table: The Big Question Raised in 2021
As Hitchcock said, the length of a movie must not be in conflict with the capacity of the human bladder. Two hours is a good limit for a 3-cushion match; upping the pace around the table will benefit us all. The senior citizen image of the sport is one of our main problems. Swift, spectacular, attacking 3-cushion in the top leagues and in the World Cups will appeal to the younger generation and bring in more spectators, possibly even new sponsors. We can’t inject our players with a dose of fast & furious, but at least our rules and formats should contain pepper, not valium.
Read more: The Belgians use a chess clock, and so should we all