World Straight Pool Championship
Annual pool competition in the United States
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The World Straight Pool Championship is a top-level competition for straight pool, also known as "14.1 continuous".
History
In 1910, Jerome Keough invented straight pool as a way to increase the challenge over previous continuous games.[1] Soon after the new rules were adopted for world championship play. The championship was the most prestigious pool tournament until the late 20th century, when the game of Nine-ball surpassed straight pool as the most prominent game for professional players. Other straight pool tournaments which are still held annually such as the American 14.1 Straight Pool Championship and the European Pool Championship 14.1, have gained prominence in recent years.[when?]
In 1948, Ruth McGinnis became the first woman to enter the event.[2][3][4] On August 6, 1978, Jean Balukas became the first woman to qualify to play in the men's division of the event (she had also qualified in the women's division.) The event was held on August 12 of that year at the Biltmore Hotel located at 43rd Street and Madison Avenue in New York City.[5]
The event was revived in 2006, in part to restore straight pool's popularity in the United States.[6] The World Straight Pool Championship was sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2010.[7] The tournament continued unsanctioned from 2011 to 2019.
Ralph Greenleaf and Willie Mosconi are the most successful players having both won the tournament on 19 occasions. The oldest player to win the tournament is Irving Crane at 59 years old at the time of his victory. The youngest player to win the tournament is Ralph Greenleaf at 20 years old at the time of his first victory.[citation needed]
Format
In the most recent format of the tournament, all 64 players are divided into 8 groups where they play in round-robin format. Each match in this round is a race to 100 points. The leading 4 players in each group proceed to the next round.[8]
The games of the last-32 round are played in double-elimination format until 16 players remain. Matches are extended to races to 150 points.[8]
The games in the last-16 round are played in single-elimination format, and matches are extended, to races to 200 points.[8] The finals match is further extended to a race to 300 points (with a half-hour break occurring when a player reaches 150).[9]
Winners
- Sanctioned World Championship events
World Straight Pool Championship
Top performers
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ralph Greenleaf |  United States |
19 |
| Willie Mosconi | United States | ||
| 2 | Frank Taberski | United States |
14 |
| 3 | Luther Lassiter | United States |
7 |
| 4 | Irving Crane | United States |
6 |
| Bennie Allen | United States | ||
| 5 | Erwin Rudolph | United States |
5 |
| Jimmy Caras | United States | ||
| 6 | Andrew Ponzi | United States |
4 |
| Alfredo de Oro |  Cuba | ||
| 7 | Mike Sigel | United States |
3 |
| Ray Martin | United States | ||
| Joe Balsis | United States | ||
| 8 | Edward Ralph | United States |
2 |
| Nick Varner | United States | ||
| Oliver Ortmann |  Germany | ||
| Steve Mizerak | United States |
- In the event of identical records, players are sorted in alphabetical order by first name.
Dragon 14.1 Tournament
In 2009, Dragon Promotions created the Dragon 14.1 Tournament, later known as the World 14.1 Tournament.
| Year | Winner | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 |  Stephan Cohen |  Mika Immonen |
| 2011 | Thorsten Hohmann |  Mike Davis |
| 2012 | John Schmidt |  Efren Reyes |
| 2013 | Thorsten Hohmann (2) |  Darren Appleton |
| 2014 | Darren Appleton | Shane Van Boening |
| 2015 | Thorsten Hohmann (3) | Darren Appleton |
| 2016 | Mika Immonen | Earl Strickland |
| 2017 | Lee Vann Corteza | Thorsten Hohmann |
| 2018 | Thorsten Hohmann (4) | Tony Robles |
| 2019 | Shane Van Boening | Corey Deuel |
