Earl Strickland

Earl 'the Pearl' Strickland began playing pool at the tender age of nine and after much devoted practice he entered his first professional tournament at around age 15 turning full-time professional only five years later.

Earl Strickland has many times won the prestigious Player of the Year Award and his illustrious career has included five wins at the U.S. Open 9 ball Championships - more than any other professional pool player in the world and three WPA World 9 ball Championships. In fact Strickland is the only WPA World 9 ball Champion ever to win this prestigious event two years in a row. He is also invariably invited to compete for the USA against Europe in the annual Mosconi Cup tournament.

Strickland is known for his volatile temperament and broke his own cue, smashing it against the floor in frustration after missing a shot during a match against Thomas Engert in the Mosconi cup although he did in fact go on to win the match 7-4 despite the rowdiness of the crowd who certainly were not on his side. Earl has however shown a different side to him on occasions and after heated arguments with referee Michaela Tabb during a 2003 World Championship game with Steve Davis, he bought the referee flowers by way of an apology which he brought to his next game. Because of this unpredictable temperament and his equally unpredictable style of play, the crowds inevitably will surround his table at major pool events. Achievements in 9 ball

In fact it was in 1983 at Lake Tahoe that a victory first brought Earl Strickland into national prominence. At Caesars Palace Pro Billiard Classic in Las Vegas in 1984, Strickland was said to have played "like a polished gem." He was clearly becoming a dominant force on the tournament trail and recognized as a future world champion also very notable for his speed of play. Onlookers said he had the "skill, endurance, patience, temperament, and tenacity of which champions are made. Because of his dominance, Strickland was named The National Billiard News Player of the Year in 1984.

Strickland is said to have once run 11 consecutive racks against Nick Mannino during the first PCA tournament in 1996 where there was a stipulation that anyone who could break and run 10 racks would win US$1,000,000. Apparently Strickland's last shot was a tough nine-ball combination in which Earl showed no fear and "fired it in with authority" to win the prize giving him another nickname- that of ' the million dollar man'.

Personal Background

• Name: Earl Strickland
• Known as: "Billiards Digest" or "the great Earl 'The Pearl'
• Sex: Male
• Age: 46 years old
• Date of Birth: June 8, 1961
• Place of Birth: Roseboro, North Carolina
• Country: United State of America
• Nationality: American
• Hobbies: Playing pool
• Spouse: na
• Sports: Billiard

Achievements:

• US Open Nine-ball Championship (1984, 1987, 1993, 1997, 2000)
• WPA World Nine-ball Championship (1990, 1991, 2002)
• 2003 Viking National Nine-ball Championship
• 1999 Camel Shooters Nine-ball Open
• 1999 Camel Riviera Hotel Pro 8-Ball Open
• 1995 PBT Eastern States Memorial 9-Ball Championship
• 1994 PBT Glass City Open Nine-ball
• 1994 PBT World Nine-ball Championship
• 1993 PBT Florida Flare Up
• 1993 PBT Western Open
• 1992 MPBA Los Angeles Open
• 1992 MPBA Sands Regency XVI Nine-ball
• 1991 MPBA McDermott Masters Nine-ball
• 1990MPBA Lexington All-Star Nine-ball
• 1990 MPBA Sands Regent XI Nine-ball
• 1990 WPA World Pool Champion
• 1988 PBA Tara Open
• 1988 PBA Brunswick World Open
• 1988 PBA Shoals Classic
• 1988 PBA Lexington All-Star Nine-ball
• 1988 PBA Augusta Classic
• 1988 PBA Greater Greenville Open
• 1987 PBA Bowling Green Open
• 1987 PBA Tara Open
• 1987 PBA Sands Regency Nine-ball
• 1987 PBA Charlotte Open
• 1987 PBA Fall Classic
• 1986 Bowling Green Open
• 1986 Citrus Open
• 1985 Ohio State Open
• 1985 Clyde Childress Open
• 1985 Charlotte Open
• 1985 Akron Open
• 1985 West Virginia Open
• 1984 Red's Nine-ball Open
• 1984 McDermott Masters
• 1984 Caesar's Palace Classic
• 1983 Caesar's Tahoe Nine-ball

Trivia:

• Strickland is a multiple winner of the prestigious Player of the Year Award, and his career highlights include five wins at the U.S. Open Nine-ball Championships (more than any other professional pool player worldwide), and the WPA World Nine-ball Championships. Strickland is the only WPA World Nine-ball Champion ever to win the event in consecutive years. He is also an ever-present player for the American team in the annual Mosconi Cup tournament.

• Strickland has engaged in back-and-forth colloquys with fans, players, referees, and tournament officials. During the 2006 Mosconi Cup, which took place at Rotterdam, Netherlands, December 7-10, 2006, the audience was loud, cheering and blowing horns when rooting for Team Europe. During a match with Nick van den Berg, someone shouted from the audience for Team USA Member Strickland to "shut up" since he had continued talking whilst opponents were taking their shots. The noise was so intense that Referee Michaela Tabb warned spectators they could be thrown out of the arena if they persisted. During Strickland's match with Team Europe Member Thomas Engert, he broke his own cue out of frustration by smashing it against the floor after a failed shot attempt during the difficult playing conditions. Strickland, however, went on to win the match, 7-4, despite the loud noise consisting of cheering and blowing horns from the audience as they were rooting for Team Europe.

• His 2003 World Pool Championship match with snooker star Steve Davis was particularly notorious, as the two engaged in mind games throughout, after Strickland engaged in heated verbal arguments with fans and referee Michaela Tabb. In response, Davis made use of his entitlement to take a break in the match, intentionally leaving Strickland to the mercy of the crowd. Strickland's tirade against Davis, the crowd, and the rules of the event, continued his tirade in a post-match interview, before visibly calming and apologising for his behaviour. He brought the referee flowers by way of an apology during his next game.

• Strickland is a major draw for pool tournament promoters because of his unpredictable style of play, and when his name is on the player roster, the crowds inevitably will surround his table. Billiards Digest described both Earl Strickland and fellow American player Keith McCready as "loose cannons" because they are vocal during competition.

• It was the 1983 Lake Tahoe victory that brought Earl Strickland into national prominence. In 1990, Earl Strickland was crowned the WPA World Champion and said he had not felt that way about a win since Lake Tahoe.

• At Caesars Palace Pro Billiard Classic in Las Vegas in 1984, Strickland played "like a polished gem." He was beginning to be a dominant force on the tournament trail and recognized as a future world champion. He had the "skill, endurance, patience, temperament, and tenacity of which champions are made." Because of his dominance, Strickland was named The National Billiard News Player of the Year in 1984.

• Strickland is known for his fast pace during competition. When he won the 1988 World Open championship, it was an event which featured a momentous final confrontation, "the great Earl 'The Pearl' Strickland and Mike 'Captain Hook' Sigel", and spectators eagerly fought for front-row seats to witness the battle. A 45-second shot clock was used to monitor each shot because the tournament was being recorded for broadcast for a seven-week series. At the conclusion, Sigel commented he could feel the pressure of being clocked. Strickland, on the other hand, said they "could have made it only 30 seconds between shots, and it wouldn't have mattered."

• At the 2004 Derby City Classic, a week-long multiple tournament event held every January in Louisville, Kentucky, Strickland was one of six competitors in a nine-ball ring game. Veteran Grady Mathews, when introducing Strickland, says when Earl Strickland is in the house, "A hush ensues, and there is an expectation," because of his brilliant shot-making capabilities.

• Strickland once ran 11 consecutive racks against Nick Mannino during the first PCA tournament in 1996 where there was a stipulation that anyone who could break and run 10 racks would win US$1,000,000. Jimmy Mataya, who was present at the event, witnessed Strickland's last shot, a tough nine-ball combination in which Earl showed no fear and "fired it in with authority" to win the prize.

Earl Strickland Rebounds from 5 Down

Earl Strickland put on a dazzling display of pool as he won nine racks back-to-back to salvage his 2007 World Pool Championship hopes at the expense of China's Li He-wen. Strickland had earlier rolled over against Malaysia's Alan Tan, 9-2, in his opening game but followed that up with a lackluster 9-6 win over Germany's Kay Reike. With the two wins to qualify and two defeats to leave the competition, Strickland, a three time winner of this event, faced Li He-wen, the studious looking Chinese who won a bronze medal at last year's tournament.

At 5-0 down in the race to nine match, 'the Pearl' looked dead and buried as he battled with his demons on the main TV table. He hit a gear though and returned to the imperious form that has seen him win countless titles in an illustrious career. Strickland ran five racks from the break as he controlled the table and restricted Li to occasional safety escapes.

The win saw Strickland secure a last 64 berth where he will face impressive Vietnamese shooter Luong Chi Dung of Vietnam. Other big names through on day three of the first round include Ralf Souquet who survived a scare as he lost his opener to local veteran Leonardo Andam before scoring wins over Bernard Tey Choon Kiat of Singapore and Canada's Ronnie Wiseman to make it through.

Fellow German former World Champion Thorsten Hohmann capped a disappointing season with an early exit in Manila as he lost twice to depart the competition. He lost successive matches against sensational 18 year-old Taiwanese Ko Pin-yi and then seasoned Canadian / Filipino Edwin Montal.

There was double joy for Pinoy hopes Marlon Manalo and Jeff De Luna as they both battled their way through to the last 64 stages of the 2007 Philippines World Pool Championship with two wins from two matches. With four more groups playing double elimination qualifying games today at the Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City, a further 16 players will secure spots in round two while the other 16 will depart the competition.

Manalo, of Mandaluyong City, Manila looked to be in total control as he led Li He-wen of China 8-3 but a missed ball in the 12th game let Li, a semi-finalist here last year, back to the table. Li, who earlier this year was a World Cup of Pool winner, proceeded to run out the racks as he slowly silenced the pro-Manalo crowd. With the score at 7-8, Li ran slightly out of position and attempted a risky pot on the 3 ball as he was forced to hit down on the cue ball to swerve it.

He missed and left it sitting nicely for Manalo, who cleared the table to secure victory. Li eventually went out at the hands of Earl Strickland. On Table 2, Jeff 'Bata' De Luna, who reached the last 16 of this competition in 2006 on his WPC debut, looked like he has the game to go even better this year as he gave Fu Che-wei of Chinese Taipei, something of a drubbing.

Fu, who was a bronze medalist at this tournament last year, found himself 8-0 down in no time at all, and although he mounted a comeback, the gulf was too wide to bridge as he lost 9-3. De Luna can now look forward a mouth-watering last 64 match-up with fellow Filipino star Lee Van Corteza.

There were two tremendous performances from the Australian duo of Louis Condo and James Delahunty as both advanced with a brace of victories against high class opposition. Condo, the 32 year-old from Melbourne, is playing in his sixth World Championship so he has plenty of experience at this level and he drew on it as he defeated highly rated Englishman Imran Majid 9-5 to advance to the winners� side of the bracket.

In his next match he went even better as he recorded a comfortable 9-4 victory over 2005 World Pool Championship runner-up Kuo Po-cheng of Chinese Tapei. Countryman James Delahunty, making his debut in the competition, looked good in beating 2006 Mosconi Cup player Mike Davis of the USA 9-5 and then defeated seasoned pro Ronnie Wiseman of Canada in a 9-8 thriller. Delahunty, 24, from Adelaide can now look forward to a day off before he resumes the competition in the last 64 straight knock-out.

Earl Strickland Professional Maximizer Pool Cue Stick

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Manufacturer Description:

Excalibur Maximizer Pool Cue - 99459

• Black fiberglass and graphite pool cue with stainless steel joint

• Endorsed by professional pool player Earl Strickland

• Fiberglass and graphite shaft

• 13 mm deluxe brown leather tip

• Professional 15.5-inch tapered shaft

• Super-slick shaft that never needs sanding

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Earl Strickland - 9 ball Pool Player

Earl 'the Pearl' Strickland began playing pool at the tender age of nine and after much devoted practice he entered his first professional tournament at around age 15 turning full-time professional only five years later.

Earl Strickland has many times won the prestigious Player of the Year Award and his illustrious career has included five wins at the U.S. Open 9 ball Championships - more than any other professional pool player in the world and three WPA World 9 ball Championships.  In fact Strickland is the only WPA World 9 ball Champion ever to win this prestigious event two years in a row. He is also invariably invited to compete for the USA against Europe in the annual Mosconi Cup tournament.

Strickland is known for his volatile temperament and broke his own cue, smashing it against the floor in frustration after missing a shot during a match against Thomas Engert in the Mosconi cup although he did in fact go on to win the match 7-4 despite the rowdiness of the crowd who certainly were not on his side.  Earl has however shown a different side to him on occasions and after heated arguments with referee Michaela Tabb during a 2003 World Championship game with Steve Davis, he bought the referee flowers by way of an apology which he brought to his next game. Because of this unpredictable temperament and his equally unpredictable style of play,  the crowds inevitably will surround his table at major pool events. Achievements in 9 ball

In fact it was in 1983 at Lake Tahoe that a victory first brought Earl Strickland into national prominence. At Caesars Palace Pro Billiard Classic in Las Vegas in 1984, Strickland was said to have played "like a polished gem." He was clearly becoming a dominant force on the tournament trail and recognized as a future world champion also very notable for his speed of play. Onlookers said he had the "skill, endurance, patience, temperament, and tenacity of which champions are made. Because of his dominance, Strickland was named The National Billiard News Player of the Year in 1984.

Strickland is said to have once run 11 consecutive racks against Nick Mannino during the first PCA tournament in 1996 where there was a stipulation that anyone who could break and run 10 racks would win US$1,000,000.  Apparently Strickland's last shot was a tough nine-ball combination in which Earl showed no fear and "fired it in with authority" to win the prize giving him another nickname that of ' the million dollar man'.

Cuetec Dumps Earl Strickland (finally!)

Well, it only took 16 years, but Cuetec has finally fired BCA Hall of Fame Member Earl Strickland. Strickland endorsed Cuetec cues from 1990 through January 2007 but with the sale of J-S Sales (Cuetec’s parent company) to Imperial USA, that relationship came to a grinding halt.

It seems that the new owners of Cuetec didn’t want pool’s version of John McEnroe attached to their cue line. As far as I’m concerned, this should have happened years ago. Strickland is a continuing stain on the game of pool. His antics are childish and more importantly, completely played out. It was entertaining at first, but after seeing “the pearl” throw a tantrum at every event, the act grew real old real fast. He clearly has no respect for the game, the industry or the players.

Strickland, never known to take responsibility for anything, continued his impressive run of being a horse’s ass by blaming the fact that he can’t win anymore on Cuetec. “If they [Cuetec] made a better cue, I’d still be winning. But I was handicapped with that cue.” He then went so far as to compare himself to Tiger Woods. “J-S sent me an invoice for $3,000 for stuff I got from them. You think Tiger Woods would ever get an invoice from Target?” Well Earl, maybe the difference between you and Tiger is that Tiger is a consistent winner who isn’t an embarrassment to his sponsors and the game he plays. You might also consider the fact that golf has a slightly bigger audience than 9 Ball.

Meanwhile, the quality of Cuetec cues doesn’t seem to be bothering pool’s real version of Tiger Woods: The Dutchess of Doom, Allison Fisher. She once again took home a truckload of Player of the Year honors and is still the most consistent pool player in the business. All that with a cue that was a “handicap” according to Strickland. As they say, it’s a poor carpenter that blames his tools, especially when someone builds a mansion with the same tools you used to create the crapshack you’ve turned your career into.

Hasta La Vista Earl. Here’s to hoping that no cuemaker is ever foolish or desperate enough to sign you up as a sponsor.

Groups Announced For IPT World Open Championships

The International Pool Tour announces the official player groupings for the IPT World Open 8-Ball Championship. The tournament starts Sunday, September 3, 2006 at 10am in Reno, Nevada at the Grand Sierra Resort.

This historic event boasts the biggest prize fund in the history of the sport. $3,000,000 is the total prize purse, and the winner of the tournament will win an historic $500,000!

Here are the official groupings:

Group 26:

Strickland, Earl
Ouschan, Jasmin
Storm, Tom
Acosta, Roland
Fusco, Pete

World Cup of Pool 2006

Matchroom Sport is announcing the first ever PartyPoker.com World Cup of Pool, which will be held at the Newport Centre, Newport, Wales, from Tuesday, August 22 to Sunday, August 27.

The event features 32 two-man teams from around the world and includes some of the sport's greatest players.

Former 9-ball World Champions and longtime rivals Earl Strickland (USA) and Efren Reyes (Philippines) are in the fold. While snooker stars Steve Davis, Tony Drago and Ronnie O'Sullivan will also be joining.