The pro billiards tour is a series that includes the world championships and major events. In its first year, it hosted the biggest billiards tournament ever. The tour became financially troubled in 2006 and stopped holding major events. The IPT Ultimate 8 Ball was held in 2007 to revive the tour.
Stauch's involvement at billiards
Shari Stauch played professionally for 20 years in pool before retiring in 2004. Stauch co-founded Pool & Billiard Magazine together with Harold Simonsen. This was in addition to her playing career. 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 2007
Billiards is a game with a rich history. It has been played by many people, from commoners to royalty, hustlers and presidents. It originated in Northern Europe as a lawn game, and it evolved into the current style.
IPT Ultimate 8-Ball
In June 2008, Los Angeles hosted the first IPT Ultimate 8-Ball event. The original plan was to have a match between Alex Pagulayan of the Philippines and Karl Boyes of England. However, Pagulayan's manager contacted the IPT's management for an alternative player. As a result, Tony Robles was invited to fill in for Pagulayan. Robles accepted the invitation to fly to L.A. that night. He defeated Karl Boyes and won in thrilling, close match. The prizes for both players were $5,000 and $1,000. Plus expenses.
The IPT Ultimate 8-Ball will be held worldwide in 2006 in five cities. In 2006, IPT will distribute more than $8,000,000 worth of prize money. The North American Open 8-Ball Championship's record-breaking prize fund will be $2 million. It will also offer a $350,000 first-place bonus.
Women's Professional Billiards Association
The Women's Professional Billiards Association is a professional pool tour for women. WPBA was started in 1976 as Women's Professional Billiard Alliance. This association features competitive women's pool players. Madelyn Whitlow and Palmer Byrd were its founders. Larry Miller is also a founding member.
WPBA was founded in Britain as a billiards club. It sponsored tournaments both for professionals and amateurs. In the early years, the association ran amateur competitions and junior competitions. Joyce Gardner, Thelma Carver and Ruth Harrison were the members. Gardner won seven of 14 tournaments she entered, and Carpenter and Harrison won four each. Harrison broke the record at 197 in 1937 which is still an outstanding record for women's pool.
Jim Bakula's influence upon women's pro-billiards teams
Jim Bakula was a pioneer in women's billiards, and his influence dates back to the 1980s. While he was General Manager of Brunswick's Billiard Division, Bakula championed the inclusion of women's divisions in events. Later, Bakula was elected president to the Billiard Congress in America (BCA). In an appeal to them to provide grant funding for WPBA, he won. This ultimately led to the creation and funding of the Women's Pro Billiard Tour.
Future of pro billiards tour
The future prospects of the professional billiard tour are uncertain. The PBT, a fringe professional sport, is looking for stability, and Don Mackey is one of the people attempting to help it get there. Camel cigarettes, which sponsored the PBT's 1996 touring, was sued by Mackey. It later split with Mackey and started its own tour.
It's been ten-years since the first event of the Gulf Coast Women's Regional Billiard Tour paid out $12.330. The tour expanded its events to the Gulf Coast region, which required venues to have at least twenty tables. This meant that many Texas-area rooms were out of the running. However, the new tour was a good addition to both the game as well as the venues.