The World Straight Pool Championship is a top-level competition for straight pool , also known as "14.1 continuous".
62-444: In 1910, Jerome Keough invented straight pool as a way to increase the challenge over previous continuous games. Soon after the new rules were adopted for world championship play. The championship was the most prestigious pool tournament until the late 20th century, when the game of Nine-ball surpassed straight pool as the most prominent game for professional players. Other straight pool tournaments which are still held annually such as
124-660: A race to a set number of racks, with the player who reaches the set number winning the match. The game is currently governed by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA), with multiple regional tours. The most prestigious nine-ball tournaments are the WPA World Nine-ball Championship and the U.S. Open Nine-ball Championships . Notable 9-Ball players in the game include Luther Lassiter , Buddy Hall , Efren Reyes , Earl Strickland and Shane Van Boening . The game
186-406: A cameo appearance as Willie, who holds the stakes for Eddie and Fats's games. Mosconi's hands also appear in many of the closeup shots. The Tevis novel had been optioned several times, including by Frank Sinatra , but attempts to adapt it for the screen were unsuccessful. Director Rossen's daughter Carol Rossen speculates that previous adaptations focused too much on the pool aspects of
248-464: A "25% slice of something big is better than a 100% slice of nothing". Bert, Eddie and Sarah travel to the Kentucky Derby , where Bert arranges a match for Eddie against a wealthy local socialite named Findley. The game turns out to be three-cushion billiards , not pool. When Eddie loses badly, Bert refuses to keep staking him. Sarah pleads with Eddie to leave with her, saying that the world he
310-402: A "born loser" but nevertheless offers to stake him in return for 75% of his winnings; Eddie refuses. Eddie goes back to hustling to get the money he needs to play Fats. After hustling a local player at a pool room near the waterfront, Eddie is attacked after winning and his thumbs are broken. After Sarah helps Eddie convalesce, and when he’s ready to play, he agrees to Bert's terms, deciding that
372-551: A Leading Role . A number of observers and critics have suggested that this Oscar was in belated recognition for his performance in The Hustler , as well as some of his other Oscar-nominated performances in films like Cool Hand Luke and The Verdict . In the decades since its release, The Hustler has cemented its reputation as a classic. Roger Ebert , echoing earlier praise for the performances, direction, and cinematography and adding laurels for editor Dede Allen , cites
434-489: A decisive break with the extraordinarily feeling tough guys of the ' rebel ' era ... [b]ut he does end up seeking out his emotions" and telling Bert that he is a loser because he's dead inside. The Hustler had its world premiere in Washington, D.C., on September 25, 1961. Prior to the premiere, Richard Burton hosted a midnight screening of the film for the casts of the season's Broadway shows, which generated
496-466: A dining area that was so realistic that confused passengers sat there and waited to place their orders. Willie Mosconi served as technical advisor on the film and shot a number of the trick shots in place of the actors. All of Gleason's shots were his own; they were filmed in wide-angle to emphasize having the actor and the shot in the same frames. Rossen, in pursuit of the style he termed "neo-neo-realistic", hired actual street thugs, enrolled them in
558-421: A flip of a coin, but often by playing a lag , with both players playing a cue ball down the table, the closest to the top rail winning the initial break. After the break, if no fouls were committed, the shooter has the option to continue the rack as usual, or to play a push out . The rules on a push out are different to those of a regular shot, as the shot does not need to hit a rail or ball. After
620-426: A game. After initially falling behind, Eddie surges back to being $ 1,000 ahead and suggests raising the bet to $ 1,000 a game. Eddie gets ahead $ 11,000 and Charlie tries to convince him to quit, but Eddie insists the game will end only when Fats says it is over. Fats agrees to continue after a spectator, the professional gambler Bert Gordon, labels Eddie a "loser". After 25 hours and an entire bottle of bourbon, Eddie
682-580: A great deal of positive word of mouth . Initially reluctant to publicize the film, 20th Century-Fox responded by stepping up its promotional activities. Box office was healthy, with estimated eventual U.S. - Canada rentals of $ 3,000,000, according to Variety magazine. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes , the film has an approval rating of 94% based on 49 reviews, with an average rating of 8.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason give iconic performances in this dark, morally complex tale of redemption." Metacritic assigned
SECTION 10
#1732801690420744-399: A handful of films from the early 1960s that re-defined the relationship of films to their audiences. This new relationship, he writes, is "one of challenge rather than flattery, of doubt rather than certainty". No film of the 1950s, Mordden asserts, "took such a brutal, clear look at the ego-affirmation of the one-on-one contest, at the inhumanity of the winner or the castrated vulnerability of
806-619: A member of the public at a charity horse race. Rossen filmed The Hustler over six weeks, entirely in New York City. Much of the action was filmed at two now-defunct pool halls, McGirr's and Ames Billiard Academy. Other shooting locations included a townhouse on East 82nd Street, which served as the Louisville home of Murray Hamilton's character Findley, and the Manhattan Greyhound bus terminal. The film crew built
868-586: A race to 300 points (with a half-hour break occurring when a player reaches 150). In 2009, Dragon Promotions created the Dragon 14.1 Tournament, later known as The World Tournament of 14.1 and the World 14.1 Championship . Nine-ball Nine-ball (sometimes written 9-ball ) is a discipline of the cue sport pool . The game's origins are traceable to the 1920s in the United States. It
930-482: A single game. He wins game after game, beating Fats so badly that Fats is forced to quit. Bert demands half of Eddie's winnings and threatens to have him beaten unless he pays. Eddie says he will come back to kill Bert if he survives, shaming Bert into giving up his claim by invoking Sarah's memory. Instead, Bert orders Eddie never to walk into a big-time pool hall again. Eddie and Fats compliment each other as players, and Eddie walks out. Pool champion Willie Mosconi has
992-583: A singles sport, the game can be played in doubles, with players completing alternate shots. Examples of tournaments featuring doubles include the World Cup of Pool , World Team Championship and the Mosconi Cup . The game was established in America by 1920, although its exact origins are unknown. Nine-ball is played with the same equipment as eight-ball and other pool games. The game of nine-ball
1054-512: A story of what it means to be a human being, couched within the context of winning and losing. Describing the film, Robert Rossen said: "My protagonist, Fast Eddie, wants to become a great pool player, but the film is really about the obstacles he encounters in attempting to fulfill himself as a human being. He attains self-awareness only after a terrible personal tragedy which he has caused — and then he wins his pool game." Roger Ebert concurs with this assessment, citing The Hustler as "one of
1116-407: Is a race to 100 points. The leading 4 players in each group proceed to the next round. The games of the last-32 round are played in double-elimination format until 16 players remain. Matches are extended to races to 150 points. The games in the last-16 round are played in single-elimination format, and matches are extended, to races to 200 points. The finals match is further extended to
1178-442: Is a 1961 sports drama film , directed by Robert Rossen . It tells the story of small-time pool hustler "Fast Eddie" Felson, who challenges legendary pool player " Minnesota Fats ". The film, which was based on the 1959 book of the same name by Walter Tevis , stars Paul Newman as Fast Eddie, Jackie Gleason as Minnesota Fats, Piper Laurie as Sarah, George C. Scott as Bert, and Myron McCormick as Charlie. The Hustler
1240-467: Is accompanied by his partner, Charlie, at a pool room in a small town. Pretending to be salesmen on their way to a convention, Eddie and Charlie convince onlookers that Eddie is a drunk blowhard, and induce them to bet on Eddie to lose a trick shot. He wins and takes their money. Eddie and Charlie arrive in Ames, Iowa, where Eddie challenges the legendary player Minnesota Fats to play straight pool for $ 200
1302-436: Is ahead over $ 18,000, but loses it all along with all but $ 200 of his original stake. Fats declares the game over. At their hotel later, Eddie leaves a sleeping Charlie without saying goodbye. Eddie stashes his belongings in a locker at a bus terminal, where he meets Sarah Packard, an alcoholic. They begin a relationship and he moves in with her. Charlie finds Eddie at Sarah's apartment and tries to persuade him to go back out on
SECTION 20
#17328016904201364-420: Is living in and its inhabitants are "perverted, twisted, and crippled"; he refuses. Seeing Eddie's anger, Bert agrees to let the match continue at $ 1,000 a game. Eddie comes back to win $ 12,000. He collects his $ 3,000 share and decides to walk back to the hotel where he discovers that Sarah has committed suicide, because of Bert's sadism. Eddie returns to challenge Fats again, putting up his entire $ 3,000 stake on
1426-403: Is often associated with hustling and gambling , with tournaments often having a "buy-in" amount to become a participant. The sport has featured in popular culture, notably in the 1961 film The Hustler and its 1986 sequel The Color of Money . Nine-ball has been played with varied rules, with games such as ten-ball , seven-ball and three-ball being derived from the game. While usually
1488-414: Is played on a billiard table with six pockets . The cue ball , which is usually a solid shade of white (but may be spotted in some tournaments), is struck to hit the nine object balls , which are numbered 1 through 9, each a distinct color, with the 9 ball typically having a yellow stripe on a white base. The aim of the game is to hit the lowest numbered ball on the table (often referred to as
1550-401: Is played on a rectangular billiard table with pockets at each of the four corners and in the middle of each long side. Using a cue stick , players must strike the white cue ball to pocket nine colored billiard balls , hitting them in ascending numerical order. An individual game (or rack ) is won by the player pocketing the 9 ball . Matches are usually played as
1612-466: Is playing Findley, Eddie is positioned below Bert in a two shot but above Findley while still below Bert in a three shot. When Sarah enters the room, she is below Eddie in two-shot while in a three-shot Eddie is still below Bert. When Eddie is kneeling over Sarah's body, Bert again appears above him but Eddie attacks Bert, ending up on top of him. Eddie finally appears above Bert in two-shot when Eddie returns to beat Fats. The Hustler is, fundamentally,
1674-439: The ball on ) and pocket balls in succession to eventually pocket the nine-ball. As long as the lowest numbered ball on the table is contacted first by the cueball, and any one or more of the object balls are pocketed in any of the pockets with no foul being committed, a player's inning continues. When the table passes to another player, they must play from where the balls were last positioned, except if
1736-663: The American 14.1 Straight Pool Championship and the European Pool Championship 14.1, have gained prominence in recent years. The event was revived in 2006, in part to restore straight pool's popularity in the United States . The World Straight Pool Championship was sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2010. The tournament continued unsanctioned from 2011 to 2019. Ralph Greenleaf & Willie Mosconi are
1798-581: The American Poolplayers Association (APA) and other organizations. Nine-ball events worldwide are run at the highest level by the WPA. The WPA World Nine-ball Championship has events for men, women and junior players. Events are generally open to any player who can pay the entry fee, however, some events are based on qualification. The WPA hosts a world ranking schedule based on WPA events, with other ranking systems also operated by
1860-571: The Diamond Pool Tour , Asian Tour and Euro Tour . Several games have been derived from nine-ball. Six-ball is essentially identical to nine-ball but with three fewer balls, which are racked in a three-row triangle, with the money ball placed in the center of the back row. According to Rudolf Wanderone , the game arose in early 20th century billiard halls; halls charged for matches by the 15 ball rack rather than by table, so players of nine-ball had six balls left over. For this reason,
1922-485: The Screen Actors Guild and used them as extras. Scenes that were included in the shooting script but did not make it into the final film include a scene at Ames pool hall establishing that Eddie is on his way to town (originally slated to be the first scene of the film) and a longer scene of Preacher talking to Bert at Johnny's Bar which establishes Preacher is a junkie . Early shooting put more focus on
World Straight Pool Championship - Misplaced Pages Continue
1984-491: The WPA World Ten-ball Championship . The sport has featured in popular culture, most notably in the 1959 novel The Hustler and its 1961 film adaptation , and the 1984 sequel novel The Color of Money and subsequent film . In Endless Ocean: Blue World , Nineball Island, which serves as the player's home base, is won through a game of nine-ball. The Hustler The Hustler
2046-562: The 1 ball is on the foot spot , which further stops overpowered break-off shots. The general rules of the game are fairly consistent and usually do not stray too far from the earliest format set by the Billiard Congress of America (BCA). These later formed the basis of the standardized WPA rules, which the BCA follows as a member, although amateur league play may be governed by similar but slightly different rules promulgated by
2108-617: The APA and the EPBF. Other major events held by the WPA include the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship , China Open 9-Ball Championship and the International 9-Ball Open . In addition, Matchroom Sport runs major international competitions including the Mosconi Cup , World Cup of Pool and World Pool Masters . Outside those events held on an worldwide basis, nine-ball is played in continental tour series. Events are held on series such as
2170-475: The Euro Tour is that the break shot be taken from a " break box " a rectangular box smaller than the regular nine-ball breaking area. While making the money ball on breaks are still possible, they are much more difficult with the break box. This was later used on the annual international Mosconi Cup tournaments. Another Mosconi Cup rule change in 2007 called for racking such that the 9 ball rather than
2232-519: The cue ball over other balls. However, if any ball leaves the cloth at the end of a shot, it is counted as a foul. Jumping is common in nine-ball, and players often have a dedicated jump cue. As of the 2000s, the rules have been somewhat in flux in certain contexts, especially in Europe. The European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF), the WPA-affiliate in Europe, has instituted a requirement on
2294-447: The early 1980s. While not a common game, it was featured on television broadcaster ESPN 's Sudden Death Seven-ball which aired in the early 2000s. The most common derivative game is the game of ten-ball . The game is a more stringent variant, using ten balls in which all pocketed balls must be called . Unlike in nine-ball, the money ball cannot be pocketed on the break for an instant win. Due to its more challenging nature, and
2356-431: The end. He is beaten, but knows when to quit. Rossen often points out and exposes class divisions; for example, when Minnesota Fats asks Preacher, a junkie willing to run errands, to get him some "White Tavern whiskey, a glass and some ice", Eddie counters by ordering cheap bourbon, without any of the niceties: "J.T.S. Brown, no ice, no glass." Film and theatre historian Ethan Mordden has identified The Hustler as one of
2418-418: The fact that there is no publicly known technique for reliably pocketing specific object balls on the break shot, there have been suggestions among the professional circuit that ten-ball should replace nine-ball as the pro game of choice, especially since the rise of the nine-ball soft break, which is still legal in most international and non-European competition. Ten-ball has its own world championship known as
2480-699: The few American movies in which the hero wins by surrendering, by accepting reality instead of his dreams". The film was also somewhat autobiographical for Rossen, relating to his dealings with the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). A screenwriter during the 1930s and '40s, he had been involved with the Communist Party in the 1930s and refused to name names at his first HUAC appearance. Ultimately he changed his mind and identified friends and colleagues as party members. Similarly, Felson sells his soul and betrays
2542-493: The film Two for the Seesaw . Rossen offered Darin the part after seeing him on The Mike Wallace Interview . When Taylor was forced to drop out of Seesaw because of shooting overruns on Cleopatra , Newman was freed up to take the role, which he accepted after reading just half of the script. No one associated with the production officially notified Darin or his representatives that he had been replaced; they found out from
World Straight Pool Championship - Misplaced Pages Continue
2604-437: The film "strays a bit" and that the romance between Newman and Laurie's characters "seems a mite far-fetched", nonetheless found that The Hustler "speaks powerfully in a universal language that spellbinds and reveals bitter truths". American Film Institute Lists: Paul Newman reprised his role as "Fast Eddie" Felson in the 1986 film The Color of Money , for which he won his one and only Academy Award for Best Actor in
2666-401: The film a weighted average score of 90 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". The film was well received by critics, although with the occasional reservation. Variety praised the performances of the entire main cast but felt that the "sordid aspects" of the story prevented the film from achieving the "goal of being pure entertainment". Variety also felt the film
2728-491: The film as "one of those films where scenes have such psychic weight that they grow in our memories". He further cites Eddie as one of "only a handful of movie characters so real that the audience refers to them as touchstones". TV Guide calls the film a "dark stunner", offering "a grim world whose only bright spot is the top of the pool table, yet [with] characters [who] maintain a shabby nobility and grace". The four leads are again lavishly praised for their performances and
2790-477: The film is summed up as "not to be missed". Carroll and Rossen's screenplay was selected by the Writers Guild of America in 2006 as the 96th best motion picture screenplay of all time. In June 2008, AFI released its " Ten top Ten "—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. The Hustler was acknowledged as the sixth best film in
2852-408: The game is often played with the balls numbered between 10 and 15, with the 15 ball as the money ball. Seven-ball is also similar to nine-ball, though it differs in two key ways: the game uses only seven object balls, which are racked in a hexagon, and players are restricted to pocketing the money ball on their designated side of the table. William D. Clayton is credited with the game's invention in
2914-411: The loser". Although some have suggested the resemblance of this film to classic film noir , Mordden rejects the comparison based on Rossen's ultra-realistic style, also noting that the film lacks noir's "Treacherous Woman or its relish in discovering crime among the bourgeoisie, hungry bank clerks and lusty wives". Mordden does note that while Fast Eddie "has a slight fifties ring", the character "makes
2976-421: The lowest numbered ball, pocketing the cue ball, or not making contact with a rail with the object ball. A foul shot for any reason offers the opponent ball in hand , which means they can place the cue ball at any location on the table. A player making three successive fouls (for any reason) awards that rack to the opponent. Unlike some other cue sports, such as snooker , players are allowed to jump
3038-452: The most successful players having both won the tournament on 19 occasions. The oldest player to win the tournament is Irving Crane at 59 years old at the time of his victory. The youngest player to win the tournament is Ralph Greenleaf at 20 years old at the time of his first victory. In the most recent format of the tournament, all 64 players are divided into 8 groups where they play in round-robin format. Each match in this round
3100-499: The object balls placed in a rack and one player playing a break . The object balls are placed in a diamond-shaped configuration, with the 1-ball positioned at the front on the foot spot , and the 9-ball placed in the center. The rack used to position the balls may be either triangle-shaped, as is used for eight-ball and other pool games, or a specific diamond-shaped rack that holds only nine balls may be used. Racks are usually made of wood or plastic. A template that lies on
3162-417: The one person who really knows and loves him in a Faustian pact to gain character. Rossen also takes aim at capitalism, often showing money as a malign and corrupting influence. Eddie, Bert and Findley are all shown to be perverted by their pursuit of money. Of the pool hall inhabitants, only Minnesota Fats, who never handles money himself, focusing only on the game he is playing, is uncorrupted and undamaged by
SECTION 50
#17328016904203224-400: The pool playing, but during filming Rossen made the decision to place more emphasis on the love story between Newman and Laurie's characters. Despite the change in emphasis, Rossen still used the various pool games to show the strengthening of Eddie's character and the evolution of his relationship to Bert and Sarah, through the positioning of the characters in the frame. For example, when Eddie
3286-402: The preceding rack. The break is often the most crucial shot in nine-ball, as it is possible to win a rack without the opponent having taken a single shot. This is often called a break and run , or running the rack. Earl Strickland holds the record for break and runs, after he successfully ran 11 consecutive racks in a tournament in 1996. The first break of a match is sometimes decided by
3348-457: The prior inning ended in a foul. In that case, the incoming player takes ball in hand , anywhere on the table. The winner is the player who legally pockets the nine-ball, the game's money ball , regardless of how many balls have been pocketed beforehand. This can happen earlier than the nine-ball being the sole remaining object ball on the table if it is pocketed via a combination or other indirect method. Each rack begins with
3410-448: The push out, the opposing player has the option to play the shot that has been left, or to force their opponent to play on from that location. In early versions of nine-ball the push out could be called at any time during the game, but is now only for the shot after the break. If a player misses potting a ball on a shot, or commits a foul shot, then their opponent plays the next shot. A foul shot can involve not making first contact with
3472-472: The road. Eddie refuses and Charlie realizes he plans to challenge Fats again. Eddie learns that Charlie had money he could have used to rebound and beat Fats. Eddie dismisses Charlie as a scared old man and tells him to "lay down and die by yourself". Eddie joins a poker game where Bert is playing. Afterward, Bert tells Eddie that he has talent as a pool player but no character. He figures that Eddie will need at least $ 3,000 to challenge Fats again. Bert calls him
3534-487: The script "strains hard to give an air of menace and criminality to the pool hall" and also declares it "full of pseudo-meaning", Kauffmann lauds Rossen's "sure, economical" direction, especially in regard to Gleason who, he says, does not so much act as "[pose] for a number of pictures which are well arranged by Rossen. It is the best use of a manikin by a director since Kazan photographed Burl Ives as Big Daddy." A. H. Weiler of The New York Times , despite finding that
3596-469: The sports genre. The Hustler is credited with sparking a resurgence in the popularity of pool in the United States, which had been on the decline for decades. The film also brought recognition to Willie Mosconi , who, despite having won multiple world championships, was virtually unknown to the general public. Perhaps the greatest beneficiary of the film's popularity was a real-life pool hustler named Rudolf Wanderone . Mosconi claimed in an interview at
3658-539: The story and not enough on the human interaction. Rossen, who had hustled pool himself as a youth and who had made an abortive attempt to write a pool-themed play called Corner Pocket , optioned the book and teamed with Sidney Carroll to produce the script. According to Bobby Darin 's agent, Martin Baum, Paul Newman's agent turned down the part of Fast Eddie. Newman was originally unavailable to play Fast Eddie regardless, being committed to star opposite Elizabeth Taylor in
3720-435: The table during the break has also come into use. The break consists of hitting the 1 ball, with the attempt to pocket any ball. If the 9 ball is successfully potted, the player automatically wins the rack. This is sometimes known as a golden break . Additional rules in some tournaments exist, such as a number of balls having to reach the head string , and players can be chosen to break alternately or whoever won
3782-800: Was a major critical and popular success, gaining a reputation as a modern classic. Its exploration of winning, losing, and character garnered a number of major awards; it is also credited with helping to spark a resurgence in the popularity of pool. In 1997, the Library of Congress selected The Hustler for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The Academy Film Archive preserved The Hustler in 2003. A 1986 sequel, The Color of Money , starred Newman reprising his role as Felson, for which he won his only Academy Award . "Fast Eddie" Felson
SECTION 60
#17328016904203844-419: Was far too long. Stanley Kauffmann , writing for The New Republic , concurred in part with this assessment. Kauffmann strongly praised the principal cast, calling Newman "first-rate" and writing that Scott's was "his most credible performance to date". Laurie, he writes, gives her part "movingly anguished touches" (although he also mildly criticizes her for over-reliance on Method acting ). While he found that
#419580