2025-11-15 09:00

As a lifelong sports enthusiast and former competitive billiards player, I've always found myself explaining to friends why they won't see my favorite sport in the Olympic Games. Just last week, while watching the PBA finals, I heard Rain or Shine Elasto Painters player Mocon express something that resonated deeply: "There's always a chip on my shoulder, whatever team, Rain or Shine or Phoenix. I just have to prove, not to anybody, but to myself na I have a value and I can still play at a high level." That statement captures the competitive spirit I've witnessed in billiards tournaments worldwide - yet this incredible display of skill and mental fortitude remains absent from the Olympic stage.

The Olympic movement has historically prioritized sports with measurable physical metrics - running times, jumping distances, lifting weights. Billiards faces what I call the "athletic perception gap." When people think of Olympic sports, they imagine swimmers covering 100 meters in under 48 seconds or marathon runners maintaining sub-5-minute miles for 26.2 miles. Meanwhile, the average professional billiards match involves players walking approximately 2-3 miles around the table during a 4-hour session, with heart rates consistently elevated between 110-140 bpm due to intense concentration and pressure. The physical demands are different but substantial - just less visibly dramatic to casual observers.

Having competed in both academic billiards tournaments and local athletic competitions, I've experienced firsthand how this perception affects funding and recognition. The International Olympic Committee's evaluation criteria specifically mention "universality" - meaning a sport must be practiced by men in at least 75 countries and women in at least 40. While billiards technically meets this with professional tours in approximately 90 countries, the concentration of elite players remains heavily skewed toward Asia, Europe and North America. Compare this to athletics or swimming, which have genuine global participation - and you begin to see the structural challenge.

The financial aspect cannot be overlooked. As someone who's organized local tournaments, I can attest that producing high-quality billiards broadcasts requires significantly different infrastructure than Olympic staples. A single professional-grade billiards table costs between $15,000-$30,000, whereas a swimming lane or track requires maintenance but not replacement after each Games. The viewing experience also presents challenges - while devoted fans appreciate the subtle strategies, casual viewers might find the pace slower than sports like basketball or volleyball. During test events for potential Olympic inclusion, broadcasters found that the average viewer retention rate for billiards was approximately 23% lower than for established Olympic sports during the first 15 minutes of coverage.

What many people don't realize is that billiards actually appeared in the 2001 World Games, which serves as a testing ground for potential Olympic sports. I attended those events and witnessed incredible performances that would have captivated Olympic audiences. The precision required to consistently sink balls while managing complex positional play involves cognitive demands comparable to chess - another non-Olympic activity recognized as a sport in many countries. The mental calculation, the pressure management, the physical steadiness - these elements combine to create an athletic discipline that deserves greater recognition.

The governance structure of cue sports presents another hurdle. With multiple international federations sometimes working at cross-purposes - the World Pool-Billiard Association, International Billiards and Snooker Federation, and others - the unified front needed for Olympic inclusion becomes challenging. I've seen how sports like rugby sevens successfully rebranded and consolidated their governance to gain Olympic status in 2016. Billiards organizations could learn from this approach, though personality conflicts and competing interests have historically hampered such efforts.

Looking toward future Olympics, I'm cautiously optimistic. The IOC has shown willingness to embrace new sports - skateboarding's inclusion in Tokyo 2020 demonstrated that. Billiards could potentially feature in the 2032 Brisbane Games as a local favorite, given Australia's strong pool culture. The key will be presenting the sport in ways that highlight its athletic and dramatic elements - perhaps through shorter formats, enhanced camera technology showing spin and English on balls, or mixed gender team events that would align with the IOC's gender equality initiatives.

At its heart, billiards embodies the same human drama that Mocon described - that need to prove one's value at the highest level. The click of balls, the intense focus, the strategic complexity - these elements create moments of genuine sporting theater. While the path to Olympic recognition remains challenging, the sport continues to evolve. With younger players bringing new energy and technological innovations improving spectator experience, I believe we'll eventually see billiards take its place on the Olympic program. Until then, those of us who love this beautiful game will continue competing with that same chip on our shoulders, proving our sport's value one perfectly executed shot at a time.