Nine-ball: Difference between revisions

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 [[EfrenLuther ReyesLassiter]], [[FranciscoBuddy BustamanteHall]], [[ThorstenEfren HohmannReyes]], [[Earl Strickland]], and [[Shane Van Boening]]. The game 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 (film)|]]''The Hustler'']] and its 1986 sequel ''[[The Color of Money]]''.

The game was established in America by 1920,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cuecare.com/history.html |title=The History of Billiards |access-date=10 November 2006 |website=cuecare.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070209104931/http://www.cuecare.com/history.html |archive-date=9 February 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hickoksports.com/history/billiard.shtml |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20020223060649/http://www.hickoksports.com/history/billiard.shtml |title=Sports history – Billiards |archive-date=23 February 2002 |author=Hikock, Ralph |website=hickorysports.com}}</ref> although theits exact origins are unknown.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Billiards: The Official Rules and Records Book |edition=50th Anniversary Commemorative |year=1998 |location=[[Coralville, IA]] |publisher=Billiard Congress of America (BCA) |page=26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |first=Ralph |last=Hickok |year=2001 |url=http://www.hickoksports.com/history/billiard.shtml |title=Sports History: Pocket Billiards |access-date=13 December 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061205013523/http://www.hickoksports.com/history/billiard.shtml |archive-date=5 December 2006 |website=hickorysports.com}}</ref> Nine-ball is played with the same equipment as [[eight-ball]] and other pool games.

The game of nine-ball is played on a [[billiard table]] with six [[pocket (billiards)|pockets]] and with ten balls. The {{Cuegloss|cue ball}}, which is usually a solid shade of white (but may be spotted in some tournaments), is struck to hit the othernine balls on the table. The remaining{{cuegloss|object balls}}, which are numbered 1 through 9, each a distinct color, with the 9-ball beingtypically stripedhaving a yellow andstripe on a white base. The aim of the game is to hit the lowest numbered ball on the table (often referred to as the {{cuegloss|object ball on}}) and {{cuegloss|pocket}} balls in succession to eventually pocket the nine-ball.<ref name="rules">{{Cite web |title=Billiard Congress of America |work=bca-pool.com |access-date=6 January 2020 |url=https://bca-pool.com/404.aspx?404;http://www.bca-pool.com:80/play/tournaments/rules/rls_9bl.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041123085131/http://www.bca-pool.com/play/tournaments/rules/rls_9bl.shtml |archive-date=23 November 2004}}</ref> 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 6 pockets with no {{Cuegloss|foul}} being committed, a player's {{Cuegloss|inning}} continues. When the table passes to another player, they must play from where the balls were last positioned, except if the prior inning ended in a foul. In that case, the incoming player takes {{Cuegloss|ball in hand}}, anywhere on the table. The winner is the player who legally pockets the nine-ball, the game's {{cuegloss|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 {{cuegloss|combination}} or other indirect method.<ref name="rules" />

The break consists of hitting the 1-ball, with the attempt to pocket any ball. If the nine-ball is successfully potted, the player automatically wins the rack. This is sometimes known as a {{cuegloss|golden break}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Golden Break |work=billiardsforum.com |access-date=6 January 2020 |url=http://www.billiardsforum.com/billiard-terms-definition/golden-break |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190301014541/http://www.billiardsforum.com/billiard-terms-definition/golden-break |archive-date=1 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Additional rules in some tournaments exist, such as a number of balls having to reach the {{cuegloss|head string}}, and players can be chosen to break alternativelyalternately or whoever won 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 a single shot. This is often called a {{cuegloss|break and run}}, or running the rack.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Break and Run |work=billiardsforum.com |access-date=6 January 2020 |url=http://www.billiardsforum.com/billiard-terms-definition/break-and-run |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702060821/http://www.billiardsforum.com/billiard-terms-definition/break-and-run |archive-date=2 July 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Earl Strickland]] holds the record for break and runs, after he successfully ran 11 consecutive racks in a tournament in 1996.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Billiards Digest – Pool's Top Source for News, Views, Tips & More |work=billiardsdigest.com |access-date=6 January 2020 |url=http://www.billiardsdigest.com/new_current_issue/july_16/bb_index.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118120640/http://www.billiardsdigest.com/new_current_issue/july_16/bb_index.php |archive-date=18 January 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> The first break of a match is sometimes decided by a flip of a coin, but often by playing a {{cuegloss|lag}}, with both players playing a cue ball down the table, the closest to the top rail winning the initial break.<ref name="rules" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Starting Strong: How to Win the Lag {{!}} Pool Cues and Billiards Supplies at PoolDawg.com |work=pooldawg.com |access-date=6 January 2020 |url= https://www.pooldawg.com/article/pooldawg-library/starting-strong-how-to-win-the-lag}}</ref>

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 the APA and the EPBF.<ref>{{Cite web |title=European Pool Rankings |work=europeanpocketbilliardfederation.com |access-date=6 January 2020 |url=http://europeanpocketbilliardfederation.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EPBF-Sanctioned-Events-Ranking-2019.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=WPA Ranking |work=WPA Pool |access-date=6 January 2020 |url=https://wpapool.com/ranking/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923130458/http://www.wpa-pool.com/web/rankings |archive-date=23 September 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> Other major events held by the WPA include the [[U.S. Open Nine9-ballBall Championship]], [[China Open (pool)|China Open 9-Ball Championship]] and the [[TurningInternational StoneOpen Classic(pool)|International 9-Ball Open]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.azbilliards.com/2000storya.php?storynum=8892 |title=Statement From Barry Behrman and Shannon Berhman Paschall-Exclusive to AZB |date=7 July 2011 |access-date=15 July 2011 |first=Barry | last=Behrman |publisher=AzBilliards.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716070132/http://www.azbilliards.com/2000storya.php?storynum=8892 |archive-date=16 July 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In addition, [[Matchroom Sport]] runs major eventsinternational suchcompetitions asincluding the [[Mosconi Cup]], [[World Cup of Pool]] and [[World Pool Masters]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pool |work=Matchroom Sport |access-date=6 January 2020 |url=http://www.matchroomsport.com/our-events/pool/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224072636/http://www.matchroomsport.com/our-events/pool/ |archive-date=24 December 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Shamos 1999_JXJy2">{{Shamos 1999|page=89-90}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Shamos 1999_JXJy2" /> For this reason, the game is often played with the balls numbered between 10 and 15, with the 15-ball as the money ball.<ref name="Shamos 1999_JXJy2" />

[[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 the early 1980s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Shamos |first=Michael Ian |year=1993 |title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Billiards |publisher=Lyons & Burford |location=[[Manhattan|New York, NY]] |pages=[https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000sham/page/206 206] |isbn=1-55821-219-1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc0000sham/page/206}}</ref> While not a common game, it was featured on television broadcaster [[ESPN]]'s ''[[Sudden Death Seven-ball]]'' which aired in the early 2000s.<ref name="Shamos 1999_JXJy2" />

The sport has featured in popular culture, most notably in the 19561959 novel ''[[The Hustler (novel)|The Hustler]]'' and its [[The Hustler (film)|1961 film adaptation]],<ref>Rossen, Robert (1972). Three Screenplays: All the Kings Men, The Hustler, and Lilith. New York, Anchor Doubleday Books. LCCN 70-175418.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Review: Hustler, The |work=preview.reelviews.net |access-date=7 January 2020 |url=http://preview.reelviews.net/movies/h/hustler.html}}</ref> and the 1984 novel sequel ''[[The Color of Money (novel)|The Color of Money]]'' and subsequent [[The Color of Money|film]].<ref>{{Cite web |title='The Color of Money': Three Men and a Sequel |work=The New York Times |access-date=7 January 2020 |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/98/06/07/specials/price-color.html}}</ref> In ''[[Endless Ocean: Blue World]]'', Nineball Island, which serves as the player's home base, is won through a game of nine-ball.