"World Eightball Pool Federation The World Eightball Pool Federation (WEPF) is an international pool (pocket billiards) governing body overseeing international (principally British, Commonwealth, and continental European) tournaments and rankings in eightball pool (a game similar to eight-ball but played with red and yellow unnumbered balls instead of the stripes and solids numbered balls). WEPF competes for authority and membership with the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA), which produces its own tournaments and slightly different rules under the game name blackball. Each country under WEPF (World Eightball Pool Federation) has their own Referee/umpire body. Each country has their own qualification structure in"
"Eight-ball Eight-ball (often spelled 8-ball or eightball, and sometimes called solids and stripes, spots and stripes in the United Kingdom or highs and lows in Japan, is a pool (pocket billiards) game popular in much of the world, and the subject of international professional and amateur competition. Played on a pool table with six pockets, the game is so universally known in some countries that beginners are often unaware of other pool games and believe the word ""pool"" itself refers to eight-ball. The game has numerous variations, mostly regional. Standard eight-ball is the second most competitive professional pool game, after"
"body for pool including blackball in England. The hybrid game eight-ball rotation is a combination of eight-ball and rotation, in which the players must pocket their balls (other than the 8, which remains last) in numerical order. Specifically, the solids player starts by pocketing the 1 ball and ascends to the 7 ball, and the stripes player starts by pocketing the 15 ball and descends to the 9 ball. Eight-ball Eight-ball (often spelled 8-ball or eightball, and sometimes called solids and stripes, spots and stripes in the United Kingdom or highs and lows in Japan, is a pool (pocket billiards)"
"on the traditional tables are WEPF world rules (replacing old EPA rules), and WPA world-standardized blackball rules. Most amateurs play ""pub rules"", meaning the local rule variation established at that venue. Unlike the American variation of Spots and Stripes, British Pool is primarily played using 2 sets of colours, reds and yellows along with the standard black 8-ball and white cueball. These balls are 2 inches in diameter with the cue ball being either the same size or slightly smaller at 1 inch and 7/8, Aramith are the most popular brand of Pool balls used in Great Britain. English Pool"
"Blackball (pool) Blackball (sometimes written black ball), also known as reds and yellows and English eight-ball, is a pool (pocket billiards) game originating in the United Kingdom and popular across Europe, as well as in some former British colonies such as Australia. In the UK and Ireland it is usually called simply ""pool"". The game is played with sixteen balls (a and fifteen usually unnumbered ) on a small (6 ft × 3 ft or 7 ft × 3 ft 6 in) pool table with six . Blackball is an internationally standardised variation of the popular bar and club game"
"major games - run-out setup, money-shot setup and money shot). A nine-ball-inspired variant is to use the 9 and two other 1-8 balls and shoot them in ascending order, like the end of a real nine-ball game. An eight-ball practice variant is to use two solids or two stripes and the 8 ball, and shoot the 8 ball last. Other practice variants can adapt rules from one-pocket, bank pool, the bank-the-8 variant of eight-ball, and other games. Three-ball Three-ball (or ""3-ball"", colloquially) is a folk game of pool played with any three standard pool and . The game is frequently"
"similar to the solids, the 8 ball is not considered a solid because it is the only ball that is black. Some games such as nine-ball do not distinguish between stripes and solids, but rather use the numbering on the balls to determine which must be pocketed. In other games such as three-ball and straight pool neither type of marking is of any consequence. In eight-ball, straight pool, and related games, all sixteen balls are employed. In the games of seven-ball, nine-ball, ten-ball and related, only object balls 1 through 7, 9 and 10, respectively (plus the cue ball) are"
"nine-ball, and for the last several decades ahead of straight pool. Eight-ball is played with cue sticks and 16 balls: a , and 15 s consisting of seven striped balls, seven solid-colored balls and the black 8 ball. After the balls are scattered with a , the players are assigned either the group of solid balls or the stripes once a ball from a particular group is legally pocketed. The ultimate object of the game is to legally pocket the eight ball in a called pocket, which can only be done after all of the balls from a player's assigned"
"are sometimes referred to as ""British standard pool"", ""Irish standard pool"", etc. , WEPF leagues exist in: Australia, Belgium, China, Cyprus, France, India, Japan, Malta, Morocco, New Zealand, Ireland, Reunion Island, South Africa, and the UK (with separate leagues in the Channel Islands, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales). The balls are racked with (the 8 ball) on the (or ""black spot""), in contrast with US-style eight-ball, nine-ball and most other pool games, in which the apex ball is placed on the foot spot. A ""fair break"" is one in which an object ball is potted, and/or at least 4"
"Three-ball Three-ball (or ""3-ball"", colloquially) is a folk game of pool played with any three standard pool and . The game is frequently gambled upon (typically for a twenty dollars (or equivalent) ante per round). The goal is to () the three object balls in as few shots as possible. Theoretically, any number of players can participate, in rotation, but more than five can become unwieldy. The game involves a somewhat more significant amount of luck than either nine-ball or eight-ball, because of the disproportionate value of pocketing balls on the shot and increased difficulty of doing so. In some"
"sized sets on the market are 2 inches and 2 inches (54 mm). Along with the single white cue ball, plain unnumbered (or sometimes ) and , seven of each colour, are used in lieu of the numbered and common to international eight-ball and other pool games. Many (especially North American) suppliers refer to the yellows-and-reds sets as ""casino"" balls, whether UK- or US-sized, because they were formerly used in US casino-hosted, televised, modified-rules eight-ball tournaments popular in the 1970s; the coloured rather than numbered sets were selected for their distinguishability on TV. The , however, still typically bears a"
"core. Modern cue sticks are generally long for pool while cues prior to 1980 were designed for straight pool and had an average length of . By comparison, carom billiards cues are generally shorter with larger tips, and snooker cues longer with smaller tips. In the United States, the most commonly played game is eight-ball. The goal of eight-ball, which is played with a full rack of fifteen balls and the cue ball, is to claim a suit (commonly stripes or solids in the US, and reds or yellows in the UK), pocket all of them, then legally pocket the"
"to as large as pool balls, at in. (about 57.2 mm); larger ball size requires wider pocket openings. Miniature sets also exist, for half-size home tables. There are fifteen , six (yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, and black), and one white . Usually none of the balls are numbered, though the six colour balls often are in the US, where they are easily mistaken at first glance for pool balls (the design is similar, but the numbering does not match pool's scheme). At the beginning of a frame, the balls are set up in the arrangement shown in the illustration."
"pool balls are 57 mm ( in), are used in many pool games found throughout the world, come in sets of two of object balls, seven and seven , an and a ; the balls are racked differently for different games (some of which do not use the entire ball set). Blackball (English-style eight-ball) sets are similar, but have unmarked of (or ) and balls instead of solids and stripes, and at 56 mm ( in) are smaller than the American-style; they are used principally in Britain, Ireland, and some Commonwealth countries, though not exclusively, since they are unsuited for"
"ball in-hand, and place it in baulk); the ""wrong ball first"" rule is suspended. Both the World Pool-Billiard Association (with PPPO and EBA) and the World Eightball Pool Federation currently sanction a World Championship, the WPA version is held every other year. The 2014 WPA World Blackball Champion is Claudio Cassar from Malta, and the 2014 WEPF Eightball Pool World Champion is Tom Cousins from Wales. Blackball (pool) Blackball (sometimes written black ball), also known as reds and yellows and English eight-ball, is a pool (pocket billiards) game originating in the United Kingdom and popular across Europe, as well as"
"to eight ball, straight pool and other major competition games. In recent decades, nine-ball has become the dominant tournament game in professional pool, in the World Pool-Billiard Association, Women's Professional Billiard Association and United States Professional Poolplayers Association. Matches proceed quickly, suitable for the time constraints of television coverage, and the fast-paced games tend to keep the audience engaged. The game is played on a pocket billiards table with six pockets and with ten balls. The , which is usually a solid shade of white (but may be spotted in some tournaments), is struck to hit the lowest numbered ball"
"three-cushion professional Carl Conlon was a fixture there until his death in 1997. In this variation, a solid-yellow (or dotted) second cue ball is used in place of the 1 ball, and the red ball, known traditionally as the , is used in place of the 2 ball. The use of such balls makes scoring by caroms easier, but makes pocketing balls (and scratching) more difficult because the larger balls must still be made in the ordinarily-sized pool pockets. The rules promulgated by the Manhattan Athletic Club in the 1890s diverge in a number of ways from the modern rules"
"group have been cleared from the table. The game of eight-ball is derived from an earlier game invented around 1900 (first recorded in 1908) in the United States and initially popularized under the name ""B.B.C. Co. Pool"" (a name that was still in use as late as 1925) by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company. This forerunner game was played with seven and seven s, a , and the cue ball. Today, numbered and are preferred in most of the world, though the British-style offshoot, blackball, uses the traditional colors (as did early televised ""casino"" tournaments in the United States). The game had"
"have issued international rules. The older of the two sets in British-style pool are the World Eightball Pool Federation (WEPF) rules (often called ""World Rules""). The majority of WEPF members come from the UK and Ireland, and from current and former Commonwealth of Nations countries, plus a few leagues elsewhere. A competing but very similar set of rules has been promulgated by the larger World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA), under the game name ""blackball"" to better distinguish it from the American-style game (for which the WPA also promulgates the world-standardised rules). It was intended that ""blackball"" would unify the various existing"
"eightball pool (a.k.a. eight-ball pool or 8-ball pool), closely related to the originally American and now professionally internationalised game eight-ball. The two main sets of playing rules are those of the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA, the International Olympic Committee-recognised governing body of pool) and its affiliate the European Blackball Association (EBA), known as ""blackball rules"", and the older code of the World Eightball Pool Federation (WEPF), often referred to as ""world rules"" or the ""eightball pool rules"". Eightball pool (and thus its standardised form, blackball), like international-style eight-ball, is derived from an earlier game invented around 1900 and first popularised"
"of the rack, resulting in solids being on all three corners. This is not a legal rack in World Standardized Rules, nor any other notable league ruleset other than APA. In the United Kingdom, eight-ball pool (and its internationally standardized variant blackball) has evolved into an overall rather different game, influenced by English billiards and snooker, and has become popular in amateur competition in Britain, Ireland, Australia, and some other countries. As with American-style eight-ball, there are multiple competing standards bodies that have issued international rules. Aside from using unnumbered object balls (except for the 8), UK-style tables have pockets"
"Snooker players may attempt an hour or more to score a single three cushion point, without even managing an accidental score. There are many variations of games played on a standard pool table. Popular pool games include eight-ball, nine-ball, straight pool and one-pocket. Even within games types (e.g. eight-ball), there may be variations, and people may play recreationally using relaxed or local rules. A few of the more popular examples of pool games are given below. In eight-ball and nine-ball, the object is to sink object balls until one can legally pocket the winning eponymous """". Well-known but waning in"
"pool balls. The 61.5 mm size are more common. They are typically colored as follows: Pool balls are used to play various pool (pocket billiards or pool billiards) games, such as eight-ball, nine-ball and one-pocket. In North America and Asia, they are referred to simply as ""billiard balls"" (except among carom and snooker players). These balls, used the most widely throughout the world, are considerably smaller than carom billiards balls, slightly larger than British-style pool balls and substantially larger than those for snooker. According to WPA/BCA equipment specifications, the weight may be from with a diameter of , plus or"
"Pool (cue sports) Pool is a classification of cue sports played on a table with six pockets along the , into which balls are deposited. Each specific pool game has its own name; some of the better-known include eight-ball, eightball pool and its variant blackball, nine-ball, ten-ball, seven-ball, straight pool, one-pocket, and bank pool. The generic term pocket billiards is sometimes also used, and favored by some pool-industry bodies, but is technically a broader classification, including games such as snooker, Russian pyramid, and kaisa, which are not referred to as pool games. There are also hybrid games combining aspects of"
"just larger than the balls. More than one type of is typically used. Most tables do not have s on the rails, and consequently the racking spot is on the not at the second-diamond . The rules significantly differ in numerous ways, including the handling of fouls, which may give the opponent two shots, racking (the 8 ball, not the apex ball, goes on the spot), selection of which group of balls will be shot by which player, handling of balls and s, and many other details. The English Pool Association is recognized by the Sports Council as the governing"
"minus . These are often referred to as balls. The balls are numbered and colored as in the table. In baseball pocket billiards, the ball set is extended to 21 balls, in which the 16 ball is black and white, while balls 17 through 21 have no special design, but look exactly like balls 9 through 13, respectively, except for their numbers. Balls 1 through 7 are often referred to as and 9 through 15 as though there are many other colloquial terms for each of balls (highs and lows, etc.). Striped balls were introduced around 1889. Though it looks"
"only four balls, the cue ball and three numbered balls, the 1, 3, and 5. The balls have a set opening placement: The 1 ball is placed on the ; the 3 ball on the ; and the 5 ball on the . As in the game of snooker, pocketed balls are immediately respotted to their starting position. Beginning with from the – the area behind a pool table's head string – the incoming player must contact the 3 ball first. If the player fails to do so, the opponent may either force the player to repeat the , or"
"of 3.5m to 5m and goals (heavy metal buckets with a diameter of about 40 cm) at the bottom of the pool. Two teams (blue and white), each with six players (plus six substitutes), try to score a goal by sending the slightly negatively buoyant ball (filled with saltwater) into the opponents’ goal. It is a fast and exhausting game; therefore, the subs replace their players on the fly. The ball may be passed in any direction but must not leave the water. It ""flies"" about 2m or 3m before water resistance stops it. This makes good tactics and good"
"8 ball, while denying one's opponent opportunities to do the same with their suit, and without sinking the 8 ball early by accident. In the United Kingdom the game is commonly played in pubs, and it is competitively played in leagues on both sides of the Atlantic. The most prestigious tournaments including the World Open are sponsored and sanctioned by the International Pool Tour. Rules vary widely from place to place (and between continents to such an extent that British-style eight-ball pool/blackball is properly regarded as a separate game in its own right). Pool halls in North America are increasingly"
"or a touchscreen device. Several game rules are available including eight-ball (including both US and European rules), nine-ball, ten-ball, six-ball, seven-ball, snooker, speed pool, and killer. The rules of eight-ball pool can be customized to reflect many different variants. There are three versions of snooker: a full game with fifteen reds, and a shorter game with either ten or six reds. Players can choose from a selection of game types such as ""Practice Mode"", ""Single Player Quick Game"", ""Two Player"", ""Tournament"", ""Bar Challenge"" and ""Multiplayer"" mode. The game is set in a fictional club featuring a range of themed bars"
"number ""8"" (a holdover from kelly pool), though numberless variants are not unknown. British pool tables come in 6 × 3 foot (1.8 × 0.9 m) or 7 × 3.5 ft (2.12 × 1.06 m) varieties, with 7 feet being the regulation size for league play. The table has pockets just larger than the balls and rounded, as in the game of snooker, whereas the international-style (or ""American-style"") table has pockets significantly wider, with pointed . Tournament rules may require the presence of more than one type of (mechanical bridge), as in snooker. There are two competing standards bodies that"
"awarded, see below). If a player fails to pot a ball ""on"", whether a red or a nominated colour, the other player will come into play and the balls ""on"" are always the reds, as long as there are still reds on the table. The alternation between red balls and colours ends when all reds have been potted and a colour is potted after the last red, or a failed attempt to do so is made. All six colours have then to be potted in ascending order of their value (yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, black). Each becomes the ball"
"purple (10 points). The orange spot was midway between the pink and blue, while the purple spot was midway between the brown and blue. If a frame ended in a tie, the purple was re-spotted on the black spot. The extra colours allowed a maximum break of 210. This variant failed to gain popularity but has appeared in some video games such as the ""World Snooker Championship"" series. There were three competitors, Joe Davis, Fred Davis and John Pulman, competing for prize money of £750. Matches were of 25 frames over 2 days. Each played the other, three times. All"