Besides your every day run-of-the mill shots, the game of three cushion billiards has fostered its own unique form of dazzling and challenging cue and ball magic. With a 10-foot table, 61.5 mm balls and the object of making a 3-cushion carom, the Trick Shot Showman of the carom table will amaze and amuse you with their skill and artistry.
Trick shots have been around since the first 3-cushion billiard player figured out he could make the cue ball do magical things. Here is some historic footage circa 1940 and later. Ivory balls, wool cloth, no heaters, but wow... these guys could still shoot the lights out! The WIlle Hoppe Story is included, which finishes with some of his original trick shots.
Martin van Rhee is a talented master of Artistic Billiards from the Netherlands. His use of extreme force follow, draw and masse make his cue ball spin and fly wildly around the table - and he still makes the billiard! Here is a compilation by Martin of some of his most amazing shots.
Miguel Torres was the 2008 USBA National Champion. Born in Colombia, he now resides in North Carolina where he has opened a new billiard room - MT Billiards in Charlotte. With his powerful yet precise stroke he is a master at artistic shots. Very much the showman, when in competition he will often select a shot with flair or follow or spin to wow the spectators. He has a high run of 19 and a best game of 5.00. Here are just some of the amazing shots in Miguel's arsenal.
Player, Publisher, Promoter, Prestidigitator and Trick Shot Artist!The efforts of Paul Frankel (aka Professor-Q-Ball) in promoting three-cushion billiards in the United States have made him one of the most recognized and admired players in the billiard community. In May 2013 he gained the attention of popular cue sports web site AZBilliards who published a wonderful article about Paul's love affair with carom. (Read the original article on AZBilliards.)
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to play three-cushion billiards, but it sure can help if you are. And being a former executive of a company full of rocket scientists is even better. (Original story published January 4, 2013 courtesy of Andy Janquitto)
Semih Sayginer, Mr Magic, the Turkish Prince. Whatever you call him be sure to include World Champion (2003) 6-time World Cup Winner and 14-time Turkish Champion. His skill in competitive play is matched by his crowd-pleasing three-cushion billiard Trick Shot exhibitions, where he truly performs his "magic".
Thomas Ahrens is one of the world's great artistic and trick shot artists. A native of Germany, he won his first German championship title in 1991. Since that time he has dominated the German Artistique billiards scene winning title after title. In addition to his sixteen national titles (through 2012), Ahrens has won numerous national and international Grand Prix tournaments in this difficult, challenging and beautiful sport. Ahrens holds all the records in German Artistique billiards. Here is a great video of 51 incredible shots on the 3-cushion billiard table.