Rack 'Em Up: This Week in Heyball & Pool 🎱
Oslo Just Hosted the Heyball Event of the Decade
Forget everything you know about easy pockets. From June 12–17, Oslo became the center of the cue sports universe as the World Pool Association rolled out something nobody's ever done before: a combined Junior and Parasport Heyball World Championships, all under one roof.
Sixty-two of the planet's sharpest young guns squared off against the world's best parasport cueists on tables that frankly seem designed to humble everyone.
We're talking rounded, vice-tight pockets and chunky 57.2mm balls — heavier, slower, and completely unforgiving of sloppy angles. Aggressive potting? Left at the door. This week belonged to the players who could think three shots ahead and play safety like a chess grandmaster.
Oslo didn't just host a tournament — it hosted a masterclass in precision under pressure.
Around the Circuit
The World Nineball Tour Just Went Big. Like, Really Big.
Summer's heating up and so is the schedule: the World Nineball Tour dropped an 11-event, 5-country blockbuster lineup worth north of $1.2 million in prize money.
This is the circuit's ranking gauntlet ahead of the big U.S. showdowns, and it's a total 180 from Oslo's tight-margin grind — think live rubber cushions and wide, forgiving pockets built for blistering runouts. Pros are already retooling their games, swapping the surgical precision of international tables for the fast-and-loose rhythm of classic American nine-ball.
Whiplash never looked so fun.
Snooker's Season Opener Locks In Its Lineup
Mark your calendars: the BetVictor Championship League kicks off the new ranking season on June 22 in Leicester, and the group draws are officially out.
World champs and fan favorites alike will grind it out round-robin style on the unforgiving 12-foot, napped-cloth tables that separate the legends from the pretenders. With that much table to cover and pockets that don't take pity on anyone, this one's all about long-range accuracy and early-season grit. Buckle up — ranking season is back.
Drill of the Week: The Stop Shot Ladder
Setup:
- Place an object ball anywhere on the table with a clear line to your chosen corner pocket.
- Set the cue ball directly behind it on that same line — position A, roughly one diamond away (about 30cm) to start.
The Challenge: Pot the object ball with a true dead stop — cue ball freezes the instant it makes contact, no roll, no drift — five times in a row from position A before moving back to B, then C. Reset the cue ball after every single shot; this is a rep-and-reset ladder, not one continuous run.
Stop Shot Ladder
