Behind the Rock (BTR) is a weekly national, international or world tournament played remotely from any location, state or registered country at locations with internet access like: pool rooms, bars, taverns, bowling alleys, clubs or even your home. With the re-launch of the website we will be offering more games, more divisions and more formats.
All games are played against the Ghost. This means players don’t have an opponent. It’s just you and the table. You will break, take ball-in-hand and run balls according to the game rules until you foul, miss or run-out. Once you do one of these three things that game is over. Most matches consist of 11 games, but some games may vary.
There is a new tournament every week. You are not required to play every week, or you can play as many matches in as many games, formats and divisions that you’re qualified to play in each week. Just remember you get back what you put in when it comes to working on your skills.
The divisions are:
i. Intermediate Scratch (for new players not established)
ii. Intermediate (handicaps are used)
iii. Open to All Scratch (for new players not established)
iv. Open to All (handicaps are used)
v. As we grow these divisions will be divided
Currently we offer three games to choose from: 220 (10 ball vs the Ghost with our scoring) played on the 9 foot tables, 198 (9 ball vs the Ghost with our scoring) played on the 7 foot and 8 foot tables and 176 (8 ball vs the Ghost with our scoring). New Games coming down the pipeline are: Breaking Banks, 110 (14.1 vs the Ghost), One Pocket vs the Ghost, Honolulu vs the Ghost, Billiards, Snooker and English 8 ball.
Currently, we play Singles. The weekly tournaments are always singles, but we run special events as well and the special event formats could be any of the following:
• Partners (partners could be same location or remote locations, anytime)
• Scotch Doubles (same location, same time)
• 3, 4, 5 player teams (teams can be made up of local players or remote players)
• Team events (teams can be made up of local players or remote players)
• Pro-Am Events (either all divisions vs all divisions or might be Team vs Team )
The two divisions for each game that are handicapped are: Intermediate and Open to All. When a new player starts they will participate in the appropriate scratch division until they have completed 6 matches. Once 6 matches have been played (player must establish an average in each game they choose to play), then the player will be moved to the appropriate handicapped division. Handicaps are calculated through a formula and are calculated out to 1/100th of a point. This handicapping system is the most accurate in the industry. Players will compete for prize money even when they are playing in the Scratch division for their first 6 matches. The purpose of the handicap is not to make it impossible for the more skilled players to win or easy for the less skilled player to win, but to reward the players that have a great performance no matter what their skill level. This handicap system levels the playing field and creates competition that may not be best player that wins an event, but it could be. The player that brings their “A” game in a particular week is who will usually earn a piece of the prize fund. If you don’t want to play handicapped then you can jump in and play in the Professional division which will be scratch with equipment criteria.
All players that want to participate in the tournaments must be BTR members. Membership annual dues are $35/year (may differ for higher divisions). Membership dues can vary depending on the division and entry fees may vary by event. The weekly tournament entry fees are typically $10 plus card swipe fee. Fees and entries are paid by debit or credit card through your cell phone or whatever device you’ll be scoring on such as: laptop, iPad, tablet, Kiosk Stations, android or iPhone. Once the tournament entry fees are paid the Skorbord will open on that device for your match. Options for devices to stream on is anything with internet access, a camera, Windows 10, and the Chrome browser.
BTR has 16 professional Team Captains. Each team will have their own Team webpage that only their team has access to. The Captains and/or Assistant Captains of each team will mentor the players on their team with the chat room, drills, videos or whatever tools they choose to use for their team to achieve success. Throughout the year we will have Pro-Am events where there will be no divisions, but handicaps will be used. These events will be fun and exciting for all. There will be a minimum number of matches that the players will have to play within a certain time period to participate in these events. We will have other surprise events with the Pros as well. Your team captain may choose to run a team only competition for $ and/or prizes.
BTR is a great way to rate your skill level, practice and compete all at the same time.