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Three-cushion billiards

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Three-cushion billiards
Three-Cushion World Cupgame
Highestgoverning bodyUnion Mondiale de Billard(UMB)
Nicknames3-cushion
Characteristics
ContactNo
Team membersIndividual
TypeCue sports
EquipmentCue stick,billiard balls,billiard table
VenueBilliard hall
Presence
Olympicno
World GamesYes (three-cushion billiards)2001– present

Three-cushion billiards,also calledthree-cushion carom,is a form ofcarom billiards.The object of the game is tocaromthecue balloff bothobject ballswhile contacting therailcushionsat least three times before contacting the second object ball. A point is scored for each successful carom. In most shots the cue ball hits the object balls one time each, although hitting them any number of times is allowed as long as both are hit. The cue ball may contact the cushions before or after hitting the first object ball. It does not have to contact three different cushions as long as it has been in contact with any cushion at least three times in total.

History

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Three-cushion dates to the 1870s, and while the origin of the game is not entirely known, it evolved fromone-cushion billiards,which in turn developed fromstraight rail billiardsfor the same reason thatbalklinealso arose from straight rail. Such new developments made the game more challenging, less repetitive, and more interesting for spectators as well as players, by thwarting the ability of highly skilled players to rack up point after point at will by relying onnurse shots.

Wayman C. McCreery,popularizer and possible inventor of three-cushion billiards

It is undisputed thatWayman Crow McCreery,the Internal Revenue Collector of the Port ofSt. Louis, Missouri,born June 14, 1851, in St. Louis,[1]popularized the game.[2][page needed][3]At least one publication categorically states he invented the game as well.[4]

The first three-cushion billiards tournament took place January 14–31, 1878 in C. E. Mussey'sbilliard roomin St. Louis, with McCreery a participant. The tournament was won byNew YorkerLeon Magnus. The high run for the tournament was just 6 points, and the high average a.75.[5]The game was infrequently played prior to 1907, with many top carom players of the era[who?]voicing their dislike of it. However, after the introduction of the Lambert Trophy in 1907, the game became increasingly popular both in the United States and internationally.[2][page needed][6]

By 1924, three-cushion had become so popular that two giants in other cue sport disciplines agreed to take up the game especially for a challenge match. On September 22, 1924Willie Hoppe,the world'sbalklinechampion (who later took up three-cushion with a passion), andRalph Greenleaf,the world'sstraight pooltitle holder, played a well advertised, multi-daymatchto 600points.Hoppe was the eventual winner with a final score of 600–527. The game's decline in the United States began in 1952 when Hoppe, then 51-time billiards champion, announced his retirement.[2][page needed][7][8][9]Over time, three-cushion completely supplanted balkline billiards, once the world championship carom game.

Three-cushion retains great popularity in parts of Europe, Asia, and Latin America, and is the most popular carom billiards game played in the United States today, wherepoolis far more widespread.[2][page needed]The game's slow resurgence in United States popularity is due in part to the introduction of theSang Lee International Opentournament inFlushing, New York,in 2005, with first-place prize money up to US$25,000. The game has also seen increased coverage in cue sports publications based in the United States, such asBilliards DigestandPool & Billiard Magazine.

Records

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Three-cushion billiards is a very difficult game. Averaging one point perinningis usually national-level play, and averaging 1.5 or more is world-class play. An average of 1 means that for every turn at the table, a player point success rate is 50%. An average of 2 means a success rate of roughly 67%.

Result sheet of Jérémy Bury's run of 24

The high run at three-cushion billiards for many years was 25, set over two games (fourteen and out and starting with eleven in the next game) by the AmericanWillie Hoppein 1918 during an exhibition in San Francisco.[citation needed]In 1968Raymond Ceulemansimproved the record to 26 in a match in the Simonis Cup tournament. In 1993Junichi Komoriset the record to 28 in a Dutch league match, a feat repeated by Ceulemans in 1998 in the same league.[10]In 2012Roland Forthommetied the record in Zundert.[11]In the 2013 European Championships in Brandenburg, Germany,Frederic Caudronbecame the fourth member of the "28" club.[12]Ceulemans reputedly had a high run of 32 in a non-tournament, non-exhibition match.[10]The highest run so far in aWorld Cup matchis 26, set byTorbjorn Blomdahlon 26 May 2023 inHo Chi Minh City,Vietnam.(see result sheet on the right).[13]When allowing for interruptions by opponents starting new games, the current record high run is 34 by the DutchmanDick Jaspers:in his 2008 European Championship Final match against the SwedeTorbjörn Blomdahl,played in three games of 15 points each, he ended Game One by going 13 and out, ran 15 and out in the only inning of Game Two (started by Blomdahl), and ran six in his first inning of Game Three.[14][15]

The best game at the standard 50 points in a league is six innings (8.333 average) byEddy Merckx(count:4-9-26-7-0-4) in the German Bundesliga in 2011.[16]The best such game in a tournament is nine innings (5.555 average) byTorbjörn Blomdahlin 2000, while South Korean and later U.S. national championSang Leescored 50 points in four innings (count:19-11-9-11, a 12.5 average) in ahandicappedgame at Sang Lee Billiards inQueens, New York.[2]

The best tournament match average is 5.625 (45 in eight innings over three games; i.e. only five misses), scored by Dick Jaspers in the above-mentioned European Cup finals inFlorange,France, in 2008. His opponent Blomdahl averaged 3.0 in his losing effort.[17]The highest average at an international tournament is 2.537 (345 caramboles in 136 innings) by Dick Jaspers in 2002 at a seven-match Crystal Kelly tournament inMonaco,[18]while Jaspers reached a record average of 2.666 (200 caramboles in 75 innings) at a four-match national tournament inVeldhovenin 2005.[19]

Raymond Ceulemansfrom Belgium has won 21UMB World Three-cushion Championships.[20]

Governing bodies

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The principal governing body of the sport is theUnion Mondiale de Billard(UMB). It had been staging world three-cushion championships since the late 1920s.[21]It is a member organization of theWorld Confederation of Billiard Sports.From 1985 to 1999, theBilliards World Cup Association(BWA) organized theThree-Cushion World Cupwith UMB, but later shut down due to financial problems, with UMB assuming full responsibility for the tournament.[22]

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The game was featured in the 1959 animatedDisneyshort filmDonald in Mathmagic Land,in which Donald Duck attempts to learn the game by mastering thediamond system,which uses the diamond markings on the rails as a guide for calculating where the cue ball will strike based on player aim andcueing technique.The game also features prominently in the 2007Goya Award-winning Spanish filmSeven Billiard Tables(Siete mesas de billar francés), about a woman who inherits a troubled billiard hall and is searching for her missing husband. An opening theme for an anime ofLupin IIIshows Lupin and Jigen playing three-cushion billiards.

See also

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References

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  1. ^U.S. Passport Application for Wayman Crow McCreery dated May 30, 1895. Accessed through Ancestry.com on May 29, 2009
  2. ^abcdeShamos, Mike(1999).The New Illustrated Encyclopedia of Billiards.New York: Lyons Press.ISBN9781558217973– via Internet Archive.
  3. ^New York Times Company (September 21, 1902).Billiards Players Busy.Retrieved January 2, 2007.
  4. ^Thomas, Augustus (1922).The Print of My Remembrance.New York, London: C. Scribner's Sons. p. 117.
  5. ^Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company (1909).Modern Billiards.New York: Trow Directory. p. 333.RetrievedMay 27,2009.
  6. ^New York Times Company (January 6, 1911).Magnus Plays Poor Billiards.Retrieved January 2, 2007.
  7. ^New York Times Company (September 15, 1924).Hoppe–Greenleaf Match Is Clinched: To Meet in 600-Point Contest at 3-Cushions.Retrieved February 21, 2007.
  8. ^New York Times Company (September 26, 1924).Greenleaf Beaten by Hoppe, 600-527: Balkline Star Takes Final Block in 3-Cushion Match at the Strand, 50 to 44.Retrieved February 21, 2007.
  9. ^New York Times Company (October 17, 1952).Hoppe, 65, Leave Cue Competition; Three-Cushion Ace Will Play Exhibitions — Won 51 Titles During 46-Year Span.Retrieved January 2, 2007.
  10. ^abBilliard Congress of America, R. A. Dyer,Billiards: the official rules & records book,p.189, Lyons Press, 2005
  11. ^"- BC De Deken".Bcdedeken.be.Retrieved10 August2018.
  12. ^"Magical run in a sensational match".Kozoom.com.Retrieved10 August2018.
  13. ^Frits Bakker,Jérémy Bury: gorgeous run of 24,Kozoom Mag, September 7, 2013
  14. ^"Joueur de Billard Français Carambole Dick JASPERS".Kozoom.com.Retrieved10 August2018.
  15. ^"European Championships 2008 - Torbjörn Blomdahl".Tblomdahl.com.Retrieved10 August2018.
  16. ^"New World 3-C Record - Courtesy Bert van Manen - AzBilliards.com".Forums.azbilliards.com.8 October 2011.Retrieved10 August2018.
  17. ^Billiard Pulse,Dick Jaspers wins European Three Cushion Championship with record-breaking play,June 11, 2008
  18. ^"Classement et résultat de Billard Français Carambole - 3 Bandes - Tournoi Crystal Kelly - Monaco (MON) - 03/06/02 au 09/06/02 - Kozoom".Kozoom.com.Retrieved10 August2018.
  19. ^"Dick Japsers - Professional 3Cushion Billiard Player".Dickjaspers.nl.Retrieved10 August2018.
  20. ^Sports123.com (2000–2007).Men: World 3 Cushion ChampionshipArchived2009-02-04 at theWayback MachineRetrieved February 5, 2007
  21. ^"List of UMB World 3-cushion Champions".Archived fromthe originalon 2009-02-04.
  22. ^"List of BWA World 3-cushion Champions".3cushion.com.Retrieved10 August2018.
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