The pro billiard tour consists of a series tournaments that include the world championships as well as major events. The tour's first year saw it stage the largest billiards tournament in history. The tour became financially troubled in 2006 and stopped holding major events. The IPT Ultimate 8 Ball was the catalyst for the tour's revival in 2007.
Stauch's involvement with billiards
Shari Stauch played professionally for 20 years in pool before retiring in 2004. In addition to her playing career, Stauch helped develop the billiards industry by co-founding Pool & Billiard Magazine with Harold Simonsen. She was named Sportsperson of the Year by the Women's Professional Billiard Association in 1995 and is a five-time WPBA President's Award winner. She was inducted into WPBA Hall of Fame in 2007.
Billiards has a long tradition. Players have included royalty, commoners, hustlers, and presidents. It originated in Northern Europe as a lawn game, and it evolved into the current style.
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’s manager reached out to the IPT for an alternate player. Tony Robles was invited by Pagulayan to be his replacement. Robles accepted and flew to L.A. the following night. In thrilling and close matches, he defeated Karl Boyes. The prize money paid to the players was $5,000 and $1,000.
The IPT Ultimate 8-Ball is the largest pool tour in the world and will be held 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 will have a record-breaking prize fund of $2 million and an unprecedented first-place prize of $350,000.
Women's Professional Billiards Association
Women's Professional Billiards Association offers a professional pool tournament for women. The Women's Professional Billiard Alliance was founded in 1976. The WPBA is a professional pool tour for women. Madelyn Willow, Palmer Byrd, Larry Miller are the founding members.
WPBA was an original British billiards association. It sponsored tournaments for both amateurs and professionals. The association hosted amateur and junior competitions in the beginning. Joyce Gardner and Ruth Harrison were members of the association. Gardner won seven of 14 tournaments she entered, and Carpenter and Harrison won four each. Harrison broke the record of 719 in 1937, which still stands as a record for 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 was the General Manager of Brunswick's Billiard Division and advocated for women's sections in events. Bakula became president of the Billiard Council of America (BCA), and appealed to them for funding the WPBA through grant funding. The Women's Pro Billiard Tour was eventually created.
The future of the pro-billiards tour
Pro billiard tours are in flux. The PBT, a fringe professional sport, is looking for stability, and Don Mackey is one of the people attempting to help it get there. He recently filed a federal lawsuit against Camel cigarettes, who had sponsored the PBT's 1996 tour, and later split with it and started its 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. During this time, the tour added more events to the Gulf Coast area, requiring venues with at least twenty tables. Unfortunately, many Texas-area venues were not eligible for the tour. The new tour proved to be a boon for both the game and the venues.