The publicity machine is cranking overtime in the United Arab Emirates, alerting people to the World Eight-Ball Pool Championship which commences tonight in Fujairah’s Al Bustan Centre.Sixty-four players from forty countries of the world are expected to participate in the eight days of action (1-8 March). Two of the players will be representing the UAE.
This is the third time that the emirate of Fujairah is hosting the Championship.
Before you get rolling down to the Al Bustan Centre, here is a quick reminder of how the game is played:
* The game of Eight-Ball Pool is played with a ‘cue ball’ which is white.
* There are fifteen ‘object balls’ consisting of two groups of colour balls: a group of seven red balls (numbered 1-7) and a group of seven yellow balls (numbered 9-15)
* The ‘Eight-Ball’ is the black ball.
* Players strike the balls with a ‘cue’.
* The table has six ‘pockets’.
The object of the game is to win by being the first player to ‘pot’ a group of coloured balls in any order and in any pocket and then ‘pot’ the 8-Ball in any pocket.
It is a fast game. A player has a maximum of sixty seconds from the time the balls have stopped to play the next shot.
It is a simple game but check out the World Eight Ball Playing Rules if you want to understand the differences between a ‘standard foul’, a ‘non-standard foul’, a ‘serious foul’ or a ‘frame foul’.
Like all games there is some jargon to fathom. The same web site will get you up to speed on being ‘snookered’, making a ‘fair break’ or knowing how to ‘spot the ball’.
Geoff Pound
Image: One of the many publicity pool balls in Fujairah.
