NBL Mission: To instill standardization, organization and professionalism in the billiards industry of America, promoting all billiard entities while providing a platform on which men, women and juniors of various skill levels can all compete against one another, thus elevating billiards to a higher standard across the board and providing feasible accessibility and a viable income for both the casual part-time weekend warrior competitor as well as players seeking a professional full-time career.
Don’t let the word, “League” mislead you. The NBL is a series of 2-stage tournaments with 8 stage 1 qualifiers and 4 quarterly Pro/Am main events designed as a nationwide tour and organized as a league.
Think of the National Billiards League (NBL) in the same regard as the National Football LEAGUE (NFL) or Major LEAGUE Baseball (MLB) or the National Hockey LEAGUE (NHL) which are all recognized as the official professional league of their sport in America. Same objective with the NBL for pocket billiards as well.
STAGE 1 QUALIFIER FORMATS
Amateurs Only (BCA ranked 201 or higher/719 Fargo and below) *these are subject to change in the future
Limited to 32 Players
$150 Entry Fee
World Rules 10-Ball / Word Rules 8-Ball (WPA-pool.com)
True Double Elimination
Alternate breaks
Top 25% get their entry fees back plus whatever additional money is raised/added varying at each location. (Ask TD for details)
10% from each qualifier goes towards a national top amateur prize purse awarded to those who finish outside the main payouts!
The winner will have their $1,000.00 ENTRY SLOT INTO THE MAIN EVENT PAID, TOUR CARD WITH PRO PRIVLEGES TO BUY INTO MAIN EVENTS & 2 PERSONALIZED UNIFORM JERSEYS (last name & state on back) with a full field, TREVEL EXPENSES AND HOTEL ARE ALSO COVERED! – a $2,500.00 prize package on top!
10% TD fee. Remaining balance covers travel & lodging where applicable, main prize purse, production & operational costs
10-BALL EVENTS:
The Outsville Accu-Rack Template will be used to ensure a consistent tight rack
One set pattern for 10-Ball events (no pattern racking; everyone gets the same exact rack to start)
Designated break spot (same break for all players)
First round is a race to 5 (This allows more opportunity for the underdogs to win)
All winners side matches are a race to 9
All one-loss side matches continue at races to 5
(This format balances out the time of play & the number of racks are required to get to the finals from both sides!)
1st set of the Finals are a race to 9 and if it goes to a 2nd set, it’s a race to 5
8-BALL EVENTS:
Racked using a traditional triangle with a solid head ball and alternating pattern of opposite group balls on the corners
Break from anywhere behind the headstring
First round is a race to 4
All winners side matches are a race to 6
All one-loss side matches continue at races to 4
1st set of the Finals are a race to 6 and if it goes to a 2nd set, it’s a race to 4
Stage 2 Main Event
At STAGE 2 – The Main Event, all Qualifier winners will play each other in the first round! This guarantees 1/2 of them advance on the winners’ side!
The Professionals that buy in for $1,000.00 will also play each other in the 1st round sending 1/2 of them to the B side.
EVERYTHING LEVELS OUT FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE LESSER PLAYERS until the 2nd round where advancement depends on play. Amateurs and professionals alike, will all have opportunities of winning cash prizes as the top 1/3 pays out at the main event!!!
Stage 2 Main Events follow the same format as Stage 1 Qualifying Events but with races to 7 in the first round and on the 1 loss side of the charts and races to 11 on the undefeated side of the charts for 10-Ball and races to 5 & 7 for 8-Ball events.
WINNING FORMULA: (Our goal to grow into) 32 Locations x 32 Players @ $150 Twice each quarter = A $200,000.00 Prize purse, NO $1000.00 Entry Fee, NO Travel expenses, NO Lodging expenses, CASH in hand at stage 1 (Qualifiers), Tour Card for the year to be exempt from qualifying in stage 1 and go directly into stage 2, Two official NBL uniform jerseys to wear during competition personalized with last name and home state on back.
Pretty much in a nutshell, 32 players (open speed and under- no pros) enter a stage 1 qualifying event for $150.00. The top 8 win cash that day and the 1st place winner also gets the big prize package: the $1000 entry into the main event, paid flight, paid hotel, 2021 tour card to bypass qualifiers for events 2, 3 & 4, and 2 official NBL competition jerseys personalized with their last name, the qualifying state and venue on back.
The main event is projected to have a $200,000.00 total prize purse paying $30,000.00 to 1st place and all the way out to 48th place at $1,000.00 once we build up to filling the fields at all locations.
This will eventually occur 4 times a year: stage 1 qualifiers in Jan & Feb for the main event in March. S1Qs in April and May then Event 2 in June. So forth and so forth. Players will have 2 chances to qualify into each quarterly event. Pros are exempt from qualifying in (nor may they play in a qualifier) and can simply buy in the main event at the $1,000.00 entry.
Stage 2 – Main Event $200,000.00 Total Prize Purse (projected & pro-rated for smaller field size events)
Prize Purse Break Down
1st $30,000.00
2nd $25,000.00
3rd $20,000.00
4th $15,000.00
5th/6th $10,000.00ea. (x2)
7th/8th $8,000.00ea.(x2)
9th-12th $5,000.00ea. (x4)
13th-16th $2,500.00ea. (x4)
17th-24th $2,000.00ea. (x8)
25th-32nd $1,500.00ea. (x8)
33rd-48th $1,000.00ea. (x16)
The NBL welcomes ALL LEAGUES and TOURS to advertise with us by TRULY SPONSORING their players and awarding their amateurs a spot in a Stage 1 Qualifier (pay their $150 entry) and THEN slap a patch on them. Sponsorship of professionals will require ACTUAL sponsorship as well! Only 3 sponsor patches max: 1 for paying their $1000 entry fee, 1 for paying their flight and 1 for paying their hotel. THAT’S sponsorship. The NBL is raising the value of a pool player as well. Now they will have a defined minimum market value!
NBL Article Links
AZ Billiards forum news article
Billiards Buzz Cover Story