Cue-ing up: New Adelaide venue joins international sporting craze
Adelaide locals can take “tough shots” at a new city spot rolling out the world’s fastest growing professional cue sport.
A cue sport taking the world by storm and offering massive prize money is set to make its mark in Adelaide with the opening of a new specialist venue.
Heyball Nation Billiards Club on Waymouth Street was opened by Winston He in June alongside a growing group of enthusiasts who felt there weren’t enough venues offering tournament-standard Heyball experiences.
“I was very passionate to introduce this sport to all Adelaide people,” Winston tells CityMag.
“There was no place to go because all the existing venues are really full, and it’s really hard to book a table on busy nights.”
Heyball, originally known as Chinese eight-ball, is the world’s fastest growing cue sport with more than one million tables and 100 million players in China alone.
You might like
The first official World Chinese eight-ball Championship took place in 2015 in Yushan, China, before the sport was officially rebranded as Heyball for global appeal.
Since then, the sport has grown rapidly across other parts of the world with active competitive scenes and national teams throughout Asia, Europe, and parts of America.
In Australia, the competitive sport remains a relatively niche cue sport option, with traditional eight-ball and snooker remaining the top choices among casual pub-goers and professionals.
Following the June grand opening, Winston has seen the venue increase in popularity, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights, telling CityMag he has “big plans” for the space in the near future.
“I really want to expand this place, that’s my dream,” Winston says.
“That depends on how popular it is, but I hope it will become more and more popular.
Subscribe for updates
“I plan to do the first tournament in the middle of September and hope people love playing it, and love the competitive tournaments we run.”
Heyball’s growth and popularity internationally has been fuelled by its worldwide prize money already exceeding that of most other billiards disciplines, with professional tournaments now offering winnings upwards of $1.5 million USD.
The international governing body World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) is also actively campaigning for long-term inclusion of Heyball in the Olympic Games.
A World Championship tournament was even held at Nissan Arena in Brisbane last November, with WPA officials hoping the sport would catch the eye of selectors for 2032 Brisbane Olympics inclusion.
While it may look similar to eight-ball to the untrained eye, Heyball tables feature tighter shaped pockets that require players to have greater precision to pot the balls.
“The rules are quite similar, but you have to bring more tactical thinking and consistency because it needs a very accurate shot,” Winston says.
“It’s a little bit more difficult than standard American eight-ball for the beginners, because you have to make tough shots to get the point.”
But the owner has welcomed beginners and experts alike to chalk up their skills, with the new Waymouth Street hotspot featuring eight tournament standard tables designed by Joy Billiards which are the “best in the world”.
“I’m more than welcoming to all the local people to experience these tables. They are very, very good, and I think it’s the most quality table around the world,” Winston says.
Winston tells CityMag while he is a “pretty good” player of Heyball, but he is “not good enough to win major tournaments”.
Want to see more stories from InDaily SA in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily SA as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily SA". That's it.
