Pool Cue News and Review

In the past few years, pool players have been teased and burned by the IPT, the mythical million dollar event from that Super Billiards Expo guy that will likely never happen and of course the April Fool’s Joke on the industry otherwise known as the NACPBA. The latest news comes from Diamond Billiards founder and owner of the BCA Players League Mark Griffin, who is going to throw $200,000 in prize money at some events in 2009.

Its really tough to get excited about something like this since we’ve all been burned so many times, but Mark does have the lettuce to do this and he has a real passion for the game, so I sincerely doubt he will do a headfake on this promise.  While this is good news, there is little doubt that his involvement won’t carry some very heavy strings.

With the new Mark Griffin pro league, prepare to be doused with nonstop Shane Van Boening.  Griffin has not exactly made it a secret that he sees Van Boening as the future of pool, so I fully expect to have him turn Van Boening into his own personal Mike Tyson, keeping him exclusively for his league, setting him up to play Boxcar Willie and Tomato Can Harry, you get the idea.

Unfortunately, it seems impossible for this industry to have a tour or an association without the “I’m in it for me” factor.  Griffin makes no bones about the fact that he’s all about making it work for him.  Said Griffin in his press release, “I will welcome player input, but no entity will tell me what I have to do. We are spending considerable time, and money, on pro player behalf. To protect our investment, and the pros, we will probably have to initiate a new association where player’s ideas and concerns can be addressed.”  Its funny, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard any other sports association build a tour around the Cartmenesque “what eva, what eva, I do what I want” theory of business.  Well, maybe they do, but they aren’t so in your face about it.

At any rate, it looks like we’ve got a new league coming for 2009.  Whether it helps or hurts the industry, that remains to be seen.