Hey everyone,It’s come to my attention that there are people now playing in the league who deliberately keep themselves out of the ‘10’ (professional) rating in order to play in big money amateur competitions that they would be disbarred from should they attain a status of 10. They do this by selectively losing matches in ranking competitions. These individuals will now be eligible to play in our own tournaments. It seems to me that this is very much against the spirit and intention of our league which is established for ‘fun’ and as ‘amateur’. Here is the current wording according to rule 1.11
The Itaewon Pool League is organized as an amateur league. It is the
objective of the league to maintain an atmosphere of amateur competition.
Players that have a professional standing by nature of national or international
rankings, by sponsored participation in national or international tournaments,
or by other recognized pool/billiard organizations are not allowed to play in
league matches.
I suggest that we widen the scope of ‘professional standing’ to include those that are rated ‘8’ or ‘9’ or have been rated ‘8’ or ’9’ within the last two years. I further suggest that it should be the captain’s responsibility to verify the status of any players that he or she introduces. Teams and captains that field such players should face sanction including being disbarred and that decision should be taken by the league officials or if necessary at an ordinary or extraordinary meeting of team captains.
Let’s keep it fun, let’s keep it amateur!

Hey Charlie,I agree with you about keeping this league an amateur league. But, I believe you have some miss information. Or, you really don't understand the AMATEUR rating system here in Korea.First of all, anyone with a rating, which Korean players call a handy, is an amateur player. Keeping that in mind, anyone with a handy of 8, 9, or 10 is an amateur and not a professional. Professionals are not denoted with a number. They are just professionals. Any professionals that gives an amateur a handicap in a match will give them one or more games on the wire like a race to 9 where the pro will have to go to 9 wins and let's say myself (which I'm an 8) will have to go to 7 wins. That doesn't mean that the better player is a 9. He's just trying to make money.Now, with that all said, the amateur rating system does not have any standards. There is no chart nor tests. The 8, 9, and 10 ratings are a matter of opinion. I'll give you an example. If we changed the rules to not allow anyone with a 8 or above amateur rating I've made a list (a quick list) of all the players who played this year that would not be allowed to play any more.YoungJidongAmbushDeweyZeusBhoyJohn carterMetroMr wooTexMidasAtomJaesukSteve GirdlestoneAnd of course this is by opinion you could includeGreg AntrimJeff PotterOk JinCreole Pit BullMatt WestAnd I know of one 9 and two 8's that play for Jr's. I know them if I see them but not by name. This was just a quick list. I hope you get my point.Brian Prekler

Thanks Brian,I understand that better now. I appreciate you explaining that system to me.I think the principle of my objection stands up though. I've heard that there are players, who joined the league recently,who avoid going professional because they are making more money being amateurs and who regularly make serious money in large organised events. That does not apply to most of the people on the list you drew up but it may apply to some.Steve G plays every week with his mates, has a few drinks and enjoys himself, he never bets and plays because he loves playing. I have no problem with him at all, in fact I think its great that we have players of his quality in the league and he's #1. It's not the quality I object to.There's other players of a very high quality that make a few bucks here and there and play in mini-weekly tournaments at Bulldog and elsewhere; I have no problem with them either.But I think if people are regularly making money in large scale organised events elsewhere then I call them semi-pros and I don't think they should be in our league. I think that they contravene the spirit if not the letter of the above ruling.If I'm the only person who feels this way then I'll shut up and go away.

I don't know why this league didn't implement APA rules like this:Each APA member is given a ranking between 2 and 6, and the total ranking for an all-male or co-ed team for all members can't be higher than 23.So, to begin each season, each team would have maybe two 1,600 players, two 1,700 players, and two 1,800+ players. No more 15-0 (total joke) matches. Every team would have a decent shot of winning it all, instead of the same 3-4 teams winning it year in and year out. I don't play in the league anymore, so I'll just shut my face.

Charlie,I also do not want to play in a league with the kind of players you mentioned (play in large organized events regularly, players who basically play pool for a living). However, how can we determine who is one of them and who isn't? Dewey was certainly one of those people (according to the description you gave) for years and he has been a great member of this league and a friend to many. The problem is: where do you draw the line? Who determines where that line is drawn? Who determines who has played in too many big events, has made to much money, has too high an amateur ranking? It becomes a very tricky situation. The line has already been drawn..."No professionals" and I am fine with it, as I am sure that many others are as well. The league is not flooded with those type of players.

IPL is known for an amateur pool league and IS one. I see a lot of good players joining the league every season but they are not professionals (they do not play pool for living). Okay, I just wanted to make a point here and suggest an idea for an "even playing field" if that is what everyone's debating about.

Since IPL is a recreational activity where players of all skill level can participate, I think we can adopt a division system. For example, we can have an open division, an advanced division, and a masters division. That way, every player can compete within their own skill level.

But for real, I like what we have right now. (I secretely enjoy beating Matt, Greg, andother good players LOL)