McCreery three-cushion champion of champions

McCreery three-cushion champion of champions
Tournament dates
Tournament type:	Invitation tournament / private
Tournament format:	Round robin / knockout system
Association / host:	UMB / Robert Mercer
Tournament details
Venue:	Head of the Harbor Long Island , NY
Playing time:	since 2018
Current title holder:	Frédéric Caudron
Records
Most wins: 1
Frédéric Caudron
Best GD: 1.980
Frédéric Caudron 2018
Best ED: 4,000
Kim Haeng-jik 2018
Maximum series (HS): 19
Eddy Merckx 2018
Position map
Head of the Harbor

The McCreery triband Champion of Champions (Engl. McCreery 3-Cushion Champion of Champions ) is a tri-band -Einladungsturnier was 2018 first officially discharged. With prize money of $ 600,000, it is the most highly endowed three-band tournament to date.

history

At the Verhoeven Open 2016 in New York, the news hit the public for the first time that the US billiards patron and billionaire Robert Mercer would like to host a three-cushion tournament with high prize money. After a meeting with UMB President Farouk el-Barki on January 20-22, 2018, it was decided to officially add this tournament to the calendar as a UMB tournament. The tournament should therefore take place on the private estate "Owl's Nest" Mercer. For this purpose, he had a house built especially, in which the technology, accommodation and three separately equipped billiard rooms are housed. Since Mercer is considered a withdrawn person and this is his private property, the first edition in 2018 will initially take place without an audience. But Mercer uses extraordinary TV technology to ensure that the French TV broadcaster Kozoom , with which UMB has a transmission contract, can broadcast live. Similar to the Crystal Kelly tournament organized by the Dutch IT billionaire Joop van Oosterom , all players, referees and Kozoom will be accommodated on the property. Unlike Crystal Kelly , however, the players were not allowed to bring their wives. Cell phones, cameras, etc. are strictly prohibited.

The second McCreery three-cushion Champion of Champions tournament will take place from October 11th to 17th at the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas . The tournament is increased to 18 participants and spectators are allowed. The prize money for the winner increases to US $ 200,000. The first seven players in the world rankings from December 31, 2019 are set. Another two places will be determined in a qualifying tournament from June 26 to 28 in Dublin , Ireland. 10 players below the top seven are admitted to this tournament. The other nine participants will be announced.

Naming

The tournament was named in honor of Wayman Crow McCreery (1851-1901), one of the most successful amateurs of the late 19th century. He is credited with inventing and developing three-cushion billiards as a separate discipline for tournaments and competitions in the 1870s. He was a prominent St. Louis citizen, considered one of the finest amateurs of billiards in the late 1800s. Willie Hoppe called him "one of the most skilled players in the country". The first three-cushion tournament to be won by Leon Magnus took place in January 1878 in St. Louis in the "CE Mussey's Room". McCreery was one of five participants and, in all likelihood, one of the sponsors. The first edition of the new tournament series therefore coincides with the 140th anniversary of the first three-band tournament.

Equipment and technology

The billiard rooms are separated from each other and have names.

Spaces

No.	Surname	design
1	McCreery Room	Wall covering: Oriental / Muslim braided pattern on a black background
2	The Salon	Wall cladding: Classicist coffered paneling, root wood look in red / rose / beige
3	The Club Room	Wall cladding: Like room 2

ground

The tables of the American billiards company "Roy Billiards" stand on a dark gray carpet with a light gray, table-sized insert directly under the table. This acts as a reflection surface for the lighting below. The lighting (white, yellow or red as required) is used to display the current match ball color (white or yellow) or, as a red flashing light, as a warning for the last 10 seconds of the running shot clock (additional acoustic signal <5 seconds) .

Cameras

As has long been common in snooker , there are cameras in the gang corners. In contrast to normal tournament operations, there are no cameramen. They have been completely replaced by remote-controlled cameras. In the referee and technology corner there is a fixed camera (still cam), on one long side of the room a 1-axis camera is mounted on the wall to cover the length of the table. In addition to the usual tournament lighting, there are two more cameras on the ceiling. These 2-axis cameras make it possible to track the ball lengthways and crossways.

Tournament staff

Each game is followed by two referees and a technical assistant, with one referee at the table while the other acts as a “scorekeeper” and notes the points on the game slip. After half time there is a change. The technical assistant is responsible for the video evidence, scoreboard, etc.

Commentators

The TV broadcast (2018) will be accompanied by two commentators (background comments). The specialist commentator is Bert van Manen, himself a three-volume player, specialist book author and, since 2014, author with his own column at Kozoom, the other is the American sports commentator (polo billiards and boxing) Ted Lerner. Short interviews with Kurt Ceulemans (Raymond Ceulemans' son) and US pool player Jeanette Lee will be held after the games . NBC sports reporter Todd Harris was appointed fifth on the team. A separate studio, furnished in a living room-like manner, is available for short interviews.

mode

The game is played in round robin mode (everyone against everyone) up to 40 points. At the end of this round, the first four play the finalists in a knockout system (1 against 4 and 2 against 3). The knockout games are played up to 50 points. As always in the USA, all games are played without a kick. The winner will receive US $ 150,000 as prize money.

Tournament statistics

Annual results

year	place	winner	GD	finalist	GD	Semi-finalists	GD
2018	New York City	Frédéric Caudron	1,980	Eddy Merckx	1.721	Dick Jaspers	1,868
						Semih Saygıner	1.717
2020	Las Vegas		?		?		?
							?

Web links

Commons : McCreery three-cushion Champion of Champions  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official homepage with information, schedule and results.
• McCreery 3-Cushion Champion Of Champions 2018 - Trademark Information Registration for trademark on June 19, 2018.
• Welcome to McCreery World! Official website 2020

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Frits Bakker: Top players for goldrush in New York. Kozoom , February 11, 2018, accessed August 3, 2018 .  
2. ↑ [1] , accessed on March 4, 2020.
3. ↑ About The Mccreery Champion Of Champions. Mccreery Champion Of Champions, August 5, 2018, archived from the original on August 7, 2018 ; accessed on August 7, 2018 .  
4. ^ McCreery tournament: the event of the year. UMB , August 2, 2018, accessed on August 3, 2018 .