Behind the eight ball: Pool league racks up
Jon Bell of Bull and Barrel Bells Boyz shoots against Fat Alberts Scandal at Fat Alberts Wednesday. / Photo by John Redmond
By John Redmond
Sub-zero temperatures, bone-chilling winds and Arctic road conditions are not enough to deter dedicated sports-minded members of the Itaewon Pool League (IPL) from making a weekly pilgrimage to their pub of choice, ready to embark on an evening of making new friends, drinking beer and shooting pool.
Entering its 17th year, the IPL boasts 23 teams from 13 pubs spread across the Itaewon, Kyunglidan and Haebangcheon neighborhoods.
The IPL plays a game more commonly known as eight-ball, which dates back to the early 1900s United States.
Eight-ball is played with cue sticks and 16 balls, including a cue ball and 15 object balls. The object balls consist of seven striped balls, seven solid-colored balls and the black eight ball.
IPL Founder Bob Denny. Denny died in 2010. / Photo by IPL
Teams play two seasons annually, winter/spring and summer/fall, comprising 20 weeks of regular season matches, followed by playoffs and an end-of-season banquet.
Each team is made up of a minimum of six players.
The league was founded in June 2000 by Bob Denny and grew from an original group of eight teams. Denny died in 2010 and there is now a special “Bob Denny Sportsmanship Award” trophy in his honor.
Though still technically a competitive sport, the aim of the IPL is to give people a midweek release from the working week and a chance to be part of a larger community.
Current president Lenny Erickson stressed that the aim of the league is to embrace younger players to learn the competitive side of the sport while learning from more experienced players and embrace a team spirit.
“My focus as the president is to build the league from the bottom up, because I know a lot of people focus on the top. I’m trying to make it friendlier, to bring more people to it,” Erickson said. “So we are stronger at the bottom of the table than the top.”
Texan native Jyoung ah Kim shoots at Fat Alberts Wednesday. / Photo by John Redmond
The IPL frequently raises money for charities, most notably the Red Cross, as well as hosting fundraisers for members facing financial difficulties due to unforeseen medical expenses.
“We often have fundraisers to help people in need,” Erickson said. “To me, that has always been the key. That’s why I’m president. To me, the people are what it’s all about.”
Denny originally saw a need to create a social event with an idea to “just have some fun and get to meet other people.” He said he wanted to focus more on the sportsmanship aspect of the game and to “let your hair down.”
When I asked about pool league membership, original web master Sheldon Arnst once responded: “As long as you can hold a stick and drink beer, you're qualified.”
How does the pool league work?
Every Wednesday night, all participating teams play a series of matches either at their home pub or away.
IPL President Lenny Erickson / Photo by IPL
The play-offs are at the end of each season, where the winners in each division try for a shot at the finals.
League membership usually works out to be about 30,000 won a person a season. This covers basic administration costs, trophy expenses, donations and the end-of-season banquet.
Matches are played on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.
For more information about the IPL, visit
.