Speed pool

Speedball, also called speed pool, is a solitary pool game. As its name suggests, one pockets all the pool balls on the table as quickly as possible. It can be played competitively with the aid of a stopwatch.

Rules[]

• The cue ball must not be in motion when shooting

• Object balls can still be in motion when shooting

• Ball and pocket must be called, (No fluking the balls in)
• Legal shots must be made — a 10-second penalty will be incurred for each foul.

• A legal shot involves the cue ball contacting an object ball, and driving it to a cushion, or the cue ball hitting a cushion after contact, or pocketing an object ball

• Any ball may be pocketed, except that the 8 ball must be last.

Strategy[]

Observing professionals, one can see them running madly around the table to place their next shot. Unlike most billiard games, the cue ball is mostly used with a stop shot to minimize the waiting time. Bank shots are legal, but time-consuming, and thus rare. A legal shot to just nudge the object ball for shape on a subsequent easy shot is preferred.

Tournaments[]

Because speedball is a relatively recent development in pool, there are few tournaments devoted to it. One notable event was the International Speed Pool Challenge which was broadcast on ESPN.^{[clarification needed]} The games played in this event included one based on straight pool as well as the more common version described above, which is derived from eight-ball. The object in each match was to play all games with a shorter total time than other players. Luc Salvas was the first to win this event, which had a US$50,000 winner-take-all purse that year.^{[clarification needed]}

Notable professional players[]

• Dave Pearson ("the Ginger Wizard")
• Luc Salvas
• Jeanette Lee ("the Black Widow")
• Bobby McGrath ("the Kid")

References[]