L-R-Mike Miller, Thang Le, Sabino Manriquez,Craig Powers, Fred Lamers, John Logan, Mazin Shooni, George Ashby

Mazin Shooni Winner

CLICK HER TO SEE PHOTO’S OF ALL 32 PLAYERS & PRELIM CHARTS

  Gary Scharf on Right proud winner of the Schuler cue donated by Noel Mendoza on left

  Paul Frankel (Professor-Q-Ball) proud winner of the Tiger Cue donated my Mickey Campbell

It’s Billiard Season Again in Rushville, IL

By Rick Shryack

On Oct 12^th -15^th, over thirty 3 cushion billiard players from all over the Midwest will be at Rushville Billiards to compete in the Professor-Q-Ball 2017 Rushville Fall Tournament. Previous Rushville tournaments have included former national billiard champions and players from both coasts.

Most everyone thinks of pool or billiards as the same game. In the pool/billiard world, there is pocket billiards and carom billiards. 3 cushion belongs in the carom category. Pocket billiards is your normal home/bar games where you shoot balls into a pocket.

For this article I will abbreviate 3 cushion billiards as 3c. The last article didn’t explain the game of 3c, so I’ll do that now. 3c is usually played on a 5 foot x 10 foot table with no pockets. There are 3 balls: a white cue ball, a yellow cue ball and a red object ball. There a 5 dots on the table where balls can be spotted depending on the situation.

Games are usually played to 15 points and higher. One player always shoots the white cue ball and the opponent always shoots the yellow cue ball. The object of the game is to make your cue ball contact at least 3 cushions and both object balls. You cue ball must contact at least 3 cushions before it strikes the 2^nd object ball. Example: you shoot the white cue ball into the yellow ball, your cue ball contacts 3 cushions and hits the red ball. That is a point. It does not matter in what order the 1rst object ball and cushions are struck. You could go cushion, cushion, cushion, 1st object ball then 2^nd object ball. There are many possibilities. Hitting the same cushion 3 times on the shot is perfectly acceptable but difficult. If your cue ball hits the 2^nd object ball before it contacts at least 3 cushions, your turn is done.

The rails have “diamonds” evenly spaced all around the table. There are systems for shooting your cue ball toward a specific diamond and knowing where it will end up. There are multiple systems depending on the number of cushions your cue ball needs to hit. Most 3c players learn multiple systems. Most systems are fairly easy to learn and can be used on a pocket table with some minor adjustments. YouTube has hundreds of 3 cushion videos and diamond system instruction videos if you want to learn more.

Tournaments are usually held in March and October at Rushville Billiards. Admission is free to watch the tournament. All ages are welcome as the atmosphere is fun, friendly and you can meet some great people and watch some fine 3 cushion.

There are multiple sponsors involved with these Rushville tournaments. Consistent Rushville sponsors are the Green Gables Motel and Los Charros restaurant. Sponsorship is always appreciated by the staff and players. For upcoming tourney and sponsorship info- r9ball@mtcnow.net

If you are interested in more info about this tourney or 3 cushion billiards, visit sponsor Professor-Q-Ball’s website. https://www.usba.net/upcoming-tournaments/eventdetail/299/professor-q-ball-fall-2017-3-cushion-classic-rushville-illinois

Rushville Billiard Club is located at 333. N Monroe St. Rushville, IL 62681