If you dreamed of a scenario where you could combine every billiard sport out there e.g. American pool and snooker. You will get Chinese 8 ball pool. The game has rapidly grown over the last few years and most countries have had at least one participant. The increasing popularity of the game has attracted many top players from many different disciplines of billiards including top snooker players like Neil Robertson and John Higgins as well as top American 9 ball players such as Earl Strickland.
What is Chinese 8 ball pool?
Chinese 8 ball pool is effectively American 8 ball pool played on a 9ft snooker table. The sport serves a purpose to combine the rapid and attacking play of pool with the precision of snooker which suits billiard players from all disciplines. Unlike World or Blackball pool, you can pot your opponent’s balls providing you make contact with your own first because this speeds up the game so it is suitable for TV viewing. Also, there are no two shots for fouls, instead, you get ball in hand anywhere on the table, but it’s one shot only. This means that there’s no room for error.
Key rules in tournaments
The main tournament in Chinese 8 ball is the world masters that take place every January. This is the equivalent of the World Snooker Championships as it is the jewel in the crown and is the most lucrative tournament on the calendar. The majority of coverage is on CCTV5 and attracts millions of viewers from China and the rest of the world.
There are some more key rules in tournaments that aim to keep the matches exciting. For example, 4 balls must pass the baulk line after the break-off shot which means that players need to smash the break as hard as possible to avoid any penalties, 3 foul breaks would lead to loss of frame. Also, there is a 45-second shot clock with one extension to keep matches quick, for the second half, the trailing player has the option to activate fast mode which means 30 seconds per shot with one extension. Snooker, have tried to rival this format with it’s fast and furious shootout tournament that features single-frame matches with 15 seconds per shot 1st half and 10 seconds 2nd half with fouls penalized with both ball in hand and points.
Another unique feature to the game is the penalty shootout. If a match is tied after the allotted time, the match goes to a shootout. The 8 ball is placed on where the black spot would be on a snooker table with the cue ball being placed on the brown spot. A player can hit the 8 ball into any pocket they wish with one shot, if scores are level after 5 shots each, it goes to sudden death.
Global Reach
In 2012, Stephen Hendry announced his retirement from snooker to become the Global Ambassador for Joy Chinese 8 ball pool. He has played in the 2015 masters and numerous exhibitions across China. The majority of matches are available on YouTube. The game itself has attracted many active professional snooker players who mostly complete in the Star 8 ball world championships which usually takes place before the China Open. Every country now has at least one Chinese 8 ball tournament including qualifiers for the masters. It is a relatively new sport outside of China and it may take another decade or so before it can rival snooker for popularity.
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