76 yr old Hall of Famer NICK VARNER takes on 16 yr old Jr national champion ADRIAN PRASAD in Heyball

[@thedevilinthecircuit1414]

Gotta love little Nicky Varner! From the days when pool pros didn't need to have their name on a jersey like they're some sort of football hero. You knew their names when they walked into the room.

[@allthingspool]

He is the real deal.

[@veronicahawthorne3452]

You’re right about that! 👍

[@garygwinn5818]

76 and still playing good* A true Champion and Ambassador of the Sport*

[@allthingspool]

He is a class act for sure!!

[@saltywet]

Thanks for explaining the heated tables; sounds like a unique attribute to this game that makes heyball interesting to watch

[@allthingspool]

I think so too! I was disappointed that the tables at this event were not using the heating system.

[@adamwest4212]

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Nick playing like the legend he is . Truly legendary!

[@allthingspool]

That he is.

[@veronicahawthorne3452]

Nick Varner. One of the all-time greats! At 76 he still plays amazing pool. This is truly a treat! I never noticed the tremor in his stroke arm until I read the comments. Poor guy. People said he had the tremor way back in the day. It must have been very slight, I never noticed it once. Doesn’t seem to affect his game in any way!

[@allthingspool]

I had never noticed it either. But Sitting right behind him during this match, it was very obvious. In any event, he is still an awesome player and person.

[@Jypsywednesday7833]

Please make a compilation of each players excellent shots. Seeing Nick play this good should not surprise me, but it's soooo good.

[@allthingspool]

Nick played great. There are a number of shots that stick out.

[@gavinhadley7672]

..Nick held world champion status in all 5 pool disciplines: 9 ball, 8 ball, 14-1, one pocket and banks. I was fortunate to have played against Nick back in 1969 at Purdue in the NCAA straight pool tournament…race to 75, he beat me 75 to 35 as I recall. He won the NCAA championship in ‘69 and ‘70. He was certainly one of the best all time and good dude..

[@allthingspool]

I would have like to see him play back then. It is still a pleasure to watch him play at 76

[@lindafaust1511]

Enjoyed watching Heyball for the first time between Nick and Adrian. Thanks for the commentary, Roy. It helped watching this game that has different nuances.

[@allthingspool]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@charlesfair1582]

Nick is truly old time. No low deflection shaft. No carbon fiber. He still has a 1 1/2” ferrule on his cue.

[@allthingspool]

Definitely old school and classic!!!!

[@tuc86]

great to finally find some heyball with english commentator, so informative and helpfull that you go into the rules.

[@allthingspool]

Much appreciated! Heyball is very new to us. I was coaching a group of junior players at the event for the BEF American Junior Nationals and several of my students were trying it out for the first time. We all enjoyed the game much more than I expected.

[@CptFantaztic]

Mr Varner still has a pool table repair store in his hometown of Owensboro,Ky. Couple years ago my buddy had Mr Varners company repair the felt on his table. Mr Varner called to ask if his guys did a good job. My buddy said yes and that he would be honored if Mr Varner came over to play a game on the new felt. Mr Varner said "sure" and took time outta his busy schedule to play my buddy and myself in a couple games of 8-ball. Truely a class act!

[@allthingspool]

That is a great story!! Thank you!

[@eseroma]

That authentic arm shake from the legend👏

[@GaryCollins-n2m]

Nick has always had that little shake in his arm even when he was young, it never stopped him from winning! Great champion and good person also.

[@maicolc7216]

Like Stevie Moore

[@billysikes1374]

Nick is on the Mount Rushmore of pool, right beside Efren

[@allthingspool]

He is a legend in our sport. I was thrilled to see him compete in this event.

[@roadrunner381]

Nick is an American legend!🌟

[@allthingspool]

Yes he is!!!

[@9Ballr]

Never underestimate the heart of a champion!

[@allthingspool]

Absolutely!!!

[@jadams1722]

Varner is my favorite back in the day player. I always thought he just he the ball better than everyone else.

[@brettr5188]

34:04. What a shot.

[@allthingspool]

Absolutely!!

[@seanscanlon9067]

5:18 for all of his years of pool experience, Nick played that shot like he was on a 9-ball table as if it would still go in when hitting the rail first.

[@puspayanikt8902]

Ini permainan yg tidak pernah hilang demua orang deneng bermain beyar terus di pertandingkan dari fari tahun 70 hingga dekarang paling tren

[@saud6673]

Man seeing nick right hand shaking hurt me but even through this what an amazing aim control

[@allthingspool]

I was sitting there watching the match up close and was surprised to see this. I was even more surprised as to how well he shot in spite of it. It really speaks to his experience, knowledge, and skill

[@SteveR63]

He's had that tremor for at least the past 30+ years that I've been watching him. But on the final stroke it swings through cleanly. Great to see Nick play again, been a while. Certainly a contender for best all around player ever.

[@saud6673]

@@allthingspool indeed

[@saud6673]

@@SteveR63 brilliant player ❤️

[@johnwsimpson3153]

@@SteveR63 I've seen that too for many years, going back to his prime years. I assumed it was part of his preparation before stroking, but don't have inside explanation.

[@JesseCrucible]

how did he rattle that 8 in 4th frame?!?!?!?!?

[@allthingspool]

He got a bit out of position on the ball before and rattled the 8, leaving an easy shot for Adrian.

[@charlesfair1582]

I still missed (if you said ) on the break,if you make a ball, is the Ball choice still open? Or do you have to take what you make?

[@allthingspool]

Still open. Most of the Heyball rules are derived from the World Standardized 8 ball rules.

[@karl69179]

oh yaaaa good to see tricky nicky in action he was my favorite player in the 80s and 90s the ol camel series he won some good money back in the day ranked number one in the 9 ball series

[@allthingspool]

He and Mike Sigel were the first two US Players to earn $100,000 in a year. Nick still has a great stroke.

[@charlesfair1582]

Since this 8ball just for this with “pool balls “. What size are the Hey ball game balls?

[@allthingspool]

Hey ball is played with standard pool balls which are 2 1/4 inches in diameter. The normal "bar" table pocket size is 5 inches, while the Hey ball table uses snooker size and shape pockets of 3 3/8s size.

[@charlesfair1582]

@@allthingspool let me phrase it another way: are you saying that no matter what the game is; all games on the Hey Table will use a regular set of pool balls?

[@allthingspool]

@@charlesfair1582 Hey ball - as presented- uses regular sets of pool balls to play 8 ball. That is the Heyball format. Since it is essentially a 9 foot snooker table you could throw a set of snooker balls on it and play snooker, but........ Thats not heyball.

[@charlesfair1582]

@@allthingspool Sorry to be so thick headed,let me try another way; What we saw with Adrian and Nick was Hey ball exactly as it is always played. No matter If 8 ball, 9 ball,or 10ball. ( even 1-pocket,straight pool, Any thing else) It’s always with a rack of standard pool balls. Now don’t tell me you can use anything else, I mean of course you “could “throw a set of Billiard Balls or a bunch of marbles on the table. I’m just asking if what we saw is what we will always see, if we are watching HeyBall. Like asking,when we see an American 9 ball Tournament we know what we will see. Always.

[@allthingspool]

@@charlesfair1582 Heyball is often referred to as Chinese 8. It is an 8-ball game. Here are the rules in print. ihpapool.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Rules-of-Heyball.pdf

[@jubernelcollado7160]

Nick varner and efren reyes❤

[@ike376]

Adrian finished 2nd in the 22 Under Heyball juniors event.

[@allthingspool]

Thank you. You are correct. I made a mistake - he came in first in the 22u 8-ball, 10-ball, and Straight pool, and second in the 22u Heyball event.

[@johnwsimpson3153]

I wonder if this table will ever catch on with 9-ball. It's harder even than the really tight pockets being used lately on the normal tables.

[@allthingspool]

I am wondering the same thing. I attended this event as a coach bringing about a dozen juniors to nationals. I did not recommend to any of them that they sign up for either the junior or the pro heyball event. Being kids, they did anyway. They loved it and took to it right away. I was forced to change my mind and see the potential for this discipline in the US.

[@austinbai9641]

​@@allthingspool Yes, check this out: Duel King Chinese 9 Ball Masters Challengers, Gareth Pott madea record 8 consecutive break and run on the chinese table.

[@austinbai9641]

Yes, check this out: Duel King Chinese 9 Ball Masters Challengers, Gareth Pott madea record 8 consecutive break and run on the chinese table.

[@maicolc7216]

Seems similar to Brazilian sinuca

[@austinmoore1689]

Nick for mosconi cup they need him

[@allthingspool]

Nick and Earl would certainly make it a great team

[@vebnew]

Interesting

[@PaulCourville]

The reason why Pool will never be as marketable as other sports is because of NO standardized rules… There’s not 10 different sets/variations of rules for Tennis, Basketball, Baseball or many other sports but Pool has 50 different rules for each single game…

[@allthingspool]

There are accepted World Standardized Rules. wpapool.com/rules/ Heyball is a new game/discipline. As such it should be expected that they will have a set of rules, just like 8 ball or straight pool

[@jerrypriddy9928]

I 😂😢

[@charlesfair1582]

If Nick (or anyone out of turn) knocks in the 8 ball, is it a loss of game?

[@allthingspool]

Yes. Most of the rules for 8 ball are similar to the World Standardized rules for play.

[@LantsLane]

Prasad will be world champion in 7 years' time

[@allthingspool]

He certainly has the talent and the drive to do it.

[@maicolc7216]

Is heyball similar to brazilian sinuca?

[@allthingspool]

I am not familiar with Brazilian sinuca. Do you have a link to view?

[@maicolc7216]

​@@allthingspoolbaianinho

[@sdickinson5234]

There's no need for the 3 or 4 point break rule in pool. Some players are not capable of hitting it hard enough. The old rule of hitting four balls to the rail opens up the rack just fine. The idea that you should be required to smash the rack as hard as possible is ridiculous.

[@allthingspool]

I personally agree with you. The Heyball tables are designed to be heated, like a 3 cushion billiard table. They were not hooked up for that at this event so it is hard to tell how much different it would be. I can only guess that it would be much faster and that the 3 or 4 point rule would be much easier to make.

[@charlesfair1582]

His point was that there should be NO rule at all. I agree.

[@allthingspool]

@@charlesfair1582 I also believe that the requirement of hitting 4 balls to a rail is sufficient. It is important to note that the World Standardized Rules do not require that we use the 3 point rule. It is only an option for the TD. In Heyball not only is it a requirement, but it was expanded.

[@JB_BLESSED]

I want to buy one of those joy tables…someone contact me

[@allthingspool]

They are starting to come into this country. I will try to find some info and post it onto our new Facebook page All Things Pool facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561278823618

[@JB_BLESSED]

@@allthingspool ill buy one of the tournament tables. What city are they in?

[@allthingspool]

@@JB_BLESSED This event was in Quincy Illinois - but the tables were already pre sold and shipped out. I will try to find out more information. I want one too.

[@veronicahawthorne3452]

No diamonds on these tables?? Weird 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@allthingspool]

These tables are, in essence, 9 foot snooker tables. The cushions do not come to a point, they have about a half inch flat surface. I did not get to spend too much time on one but can only imagine that banks and kick systems would have to be adjusted.

[@veronicahawthorne3452]

@@allthingspool ...ah yes. I didn't think about that.

[@Csharpflat5]

It’s Chinese 8 ball.

[@allthingspool]

Yes. Heyball is also called Chinese 8 ball

[@tgh223]

that is the ugliest table ive ever seen

[@allthingspool]

LOL. That was my initial impression as well. But, after spending a little time at this event, I want one.

[@BMWLDRider]

Twice as boring as 8-ball.

[@allthingspool]

It is like anything else, it is exciting to watch anything that is done well. When I was young - and black and white TVs were the standard- Straight pool was regularly watched on TV and there were pool shows on prime time. Straight pool fell out of TV favor because it was considered too slow paced and promoters focused on 9-ball. In my opinion the best games are the ones that are call pocket, call safety. Games that frown upon slop and the "spray and pray" style of play. However, in the end it is all pool and I just appreciate that people are watching any cuesports.

[@joellastname5975]

But back in 1994 US open 9ball championship finals the "Nick varner Rank # 1 in the world" defeated by the magician Efren bata reyes. Epic match for two Goats in Pool billiard.

[@allthingspool]

Both gentlemen can still hold their own at the table!