League Format
What Sets Us Apart
Our League Format is unique. It was developed by Ronald Deemer at Lights Out Billiards to account for the fact that many national organizations did not have team-based, individual match play for the three primary pool games with which most folks are familiar (8-ball, 9-ball, and 10-ball). Several national organizations offer team-based competition that uses a round-robin model (you play each player on the other team in a series of rounds until one team or the other scores a number of points, plays a set number of games, or wins a certain number of games). Others may offer different combinations of the three games or other variations. However, Ron was the first one here in the Metro-Atlanta area to provide this format and style of play.
We provide team-based, individual handicapped matches (each player has to win a certain number of games based on their skill level) and we believe that our races offer more game play than any other system out there (except where others have copied our model).
We also offer cash prizes for teams that finish in the top N% of teams (based on the number of active teams in the league) as well as the top 10 individual finishers each season. There is no complicated playoff structure that forces you to compete again at each tier for some elusive prize (and for which you pay again at each level) for the chance to win. All of our results are based on the regular season performance*
How Does it Work
Today, our leagues are team-based, and players are posted to play against players from another team. Leagues are normally based on a host location and night, and can range from 4 - 10 or more teams. Seasons (alternately called Sessions) are typically held 3 times a year and are normally 15 weeks of play in duration.
When teams play each other, there are usually 4, 5, or 6 matches played depending on the size of the league and the number of matches the league can support without causing undue stress on the teams. Depending on the number of teams in a league, you could play the same team 2 or 3 times in a typical season.
Lots of pool matches start with what's called a lag. You may have seen this watching pool on television or YouTube. This is where the players hit a ball from the bottom or the top of the table. It ends with the player that has their ball closest to the rail from which they hit the ball being declared the winner. That person gets to pick what game is played and they get the first break.
From there, the players play that same game until their match is complete, alternating the break each game.
Players earn points in their match for a win, for getting to the hill, for sinking the game ball on the break (8,9,10), for breaking and then pocketing all of the balls on the table required for the win (break and run) and for several other things that can occur during a match.
The players points remain with the player but are also aggregated to the team, and the team with the most points in a two-team match, wins the night. Team points are also aggregated over the session and that is what determines both team and individual placement for awards at the end of a session.