The pro billiard tour is a series of tournaments, including the world championships and major events. The tour hosted the first ever billiards tournament. But, by 2006, the tour had fallen into serious financial trouble, and was forced to cease hosting major events. In 2007, the IPT Ultimate 8 Ball was staged, and the tour was resurrected.
Stauch's participation at 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. In 1995, she was named Sportsperson-of-the Year by Women's Professional Billiard Association. She is also a five time winner of the WPBA President's Award. She was inducted into WPBA Hall of Fame on July 7, 2007.
Billiards has an extensive history with players that range from royalty to commoners, hustlers or presidents. It was first played as a lawn game in Northern Europe in the 15th century and evolved into the style we know today.
IPT Ultimate 8 Ball
The IPT Ultimate 8-Ball's first event was held in Los Angeles, California in June 2008. Originally a match between English player Karl Boyes and Filipino player Alex Pagulayan was scheduled. Pagulayan's manager approached the IPT to find an alternative player. Tony Robles was invited as a replacement for Pagulayan. Robles accepted the invitation and flew to L.A. during the night. In a thrilling match, Robles beat Karl Boyes to win the match. The prize money for the two players was $5,000 and $1,000, plus expenses.
The IPT Ultimate 8-Ball is the largest pool tour in the world and will be held in five cities in 2006. The IPT will offer more than $8 million worth of prize money in 2006. The North American Open 8-Ball Championship will boast a record-breaking prize pool of $2 Million and a first-place award of $350,000.
Women's Professional Billiards Association
Women's Professional Billiards Association provides professional pool tours for women. WPBA, which was originally the Women's Professional Billiard Alliance in 1976, features female pool players. Its founders include Madelyn Whitlow, Palmer Byrd and Larry Miller.
The WPBA was originally a British billiards association. It sponsored tournaments both for professionals and amateurs. In its early years, the association sponsored amateur competitions and junior contests. Joyce Gardner, Thelma Carver and Ruth Harrison were the members. Gardner won seven of the 14 tournaments that she entered, while Carpenter, Harrison, and Harrison won three each. Harrison broke the record of 197 in 1937, which remains a record for women's billiards.
Jim Bakula's influence over women's pro-billiards
Jim Bakula's influence on women in billiards goes back to the 1980s. Bakula, the General Manager of Brunswick’s Billiard Division was a strong advocate for including women’s divisions in events. Bakula became president of the Billiard Council of America (BCA), and appealed to them for funding the WPBA through grant funding. This ultimately led to the creation and funding of the Women's Pro Billiard Tour.
The pro billiards tour is in its future
The future of the pro billiard tour is up in the air. Don Mackey, an amateur fringe sport in billiards, is helping to stabilize the PBT. Camel cigarettes, the sponsor of PBT's 1996 Tour, was recently sued by Don Mackey. They later split and created their 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. Since then, the tour has added events to the Gulf Coast. Venues must have at minimum twenty tables. Unfortunately, many Texas-area venues were not eligible for the tour. The new tour was a positive for both the venue and the game.