9-Ball league overview
About 15 years ago I quit playing competitive pool. It really for me became boring! Upon reflection 4 things seemed to be wrong with every pool league I played in. First the season lasted too long- sometimes 30 weeks. Second, the matches lasted too long, many times over 3 hours. Third, even with a handicap system many matches were totally one sided, favoring the better players. Fourth, there seemed to be too long of a time gap when I was waiting to shoot. In addition many leagues were run for profit; i.e. APA with very little being returned to the players. I looked around and could not find any rules that would adequately lessen my objections. So what I have done is to make a set of rules that will make it fun for players of all competitive levels. So read on and relax, it’s the nine ball league.
First the league will run 3 times per year, lasting between 10 and 14 weeks. Second we will shoot teams with 3 rounds. Round 1 as a single game, round 2 and 3 are a race to two. We are asking that everyone who signs up to play is A) on time and B) ready to shoot when it is their turn. The single game in the first round is necessary to cut the match time to an acceptable level.
The handicap system at first seems complicated but it really is quite simple. A player’s win/ loss ratio (winning percentage) is his handicap. If player one has a winning percentage of 600 and player 2 has a winning percentage of 400, the winner of the match wins the value of his opponents winning percentage for his team. The team with the highest score wins the round and or match. A players winning percentage is calculated as follows: 1 win or loss for round one, 2 wins or losses for rounds two and three, then do the math. A player will have an average after shooting two weeks. Every player will have a 600 average until they have played two weeks.
The value of the rounds and the match are as follows: One point for round one, two for rounds two and three, four points for the match.
The league fee per night will be $8, $5 of this will go towards a 100% returned prize fund. $2 will go towards pool (the table is open) and $1 will go towards the end of season tournament.
The best 16 players in season winning percentage qualify for the tournament. A player must have played at least 75% of the time to be eligible for the tournament. The tournament will be handicapped by winning percentage and will be a race to a predetermined number. First place will be worth 40% of the prize fund, 2nd place 30%, 3rd place 20%, Fourth 10%. Each team will pay a sponsor’s fee of $25 (paid for by the bar you play out of). This money will also go into the end of season tournament fund to make it more interesting.
We will be around to answer any questions you may have so don’t worry if you don’t understand everything just yet.
Marty
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