Allen Hopkins (pool player)

Allen Hopkins (born November 18, 1951 in Elizabeth, New Jersey) is an American professional pocket billiards (pool) player, professional billiards color commentator and BCA Hall of Fame inductee. He promotes multiple annual pool events and still competes as a professional contender.

For the football (soccer) sportscaster, see Allen Hopkins (soccer commentator).
Allen Hopkins

Amateur days

At seven years old, after watching many tournaments on television, Allen began to play pool on a small table his parents bought for him. As an amateur, at the age of 12, Hopkins ran a prodigious 110 balls and took this talent to play against grown men.

Pool career

By the age of 17, he went professional and took 5th place in the 1969 US Open Nine-ball Championship.

In 1977, Hopkins earned the title in that event again as well as the PPPA World Nine-ball Championship and the World Straight Pool Championship. By 1981, he won the US Open Nine-ball Championship. In both 1986 and 1987, Hopkins was the champion of the Japan World Open.

Hopkins' professional career began in the 1970s and spanned over three decades. He served on the board of the now-defunct Professional Pool Players Association as well as president of the MPBA.

At the 1979 PPPA World Open 14.1 Pocket Billiard Championship in New York City, New York, Hopkins posted the largest victory margin in the event, defeating Richie Florence, 150-1.[1]

In 1993, he saw victory in the Challenge of Champions.[2]

Allen Hopkins has had a high run of 410 in straight pool (14.1 continuous),[3][4] and has run 15-and-out three times, in the game of one-pocket.[4]

In 2002, Hopkins triumphed in the Denver Ten-ball Open, defeating Earl Strickland, Filipino champion Jose Parica, Corey Deuel, David Matlock, and faced Shannon Daulton in a thrilling double-hill finals.[5]

In 2008, he was inducted to the BCA Hall of Fame by the Billiard Congress of America.

Titles
  • Champion of Champions, 1973
  • Garden State Open, 1973
  • New Jersey State Open, 1974
  • World Open 14.1 Champion, 1977
  • US Open Nine-ball Champion, 1977
  • PPPA World Nine-ball Champion, 1977
  • PPPA World Nine-ball Champion, 1979
  • Baltimore Bullet Nine-ball Champion, 1980
  • US Open Nine-ball Champion, 1981
  • River City Nine-ball Champion, 1984
  • Meucci World Nine-ball Champion, 1987
  • Japan World Open Champion, 1988
  • Valley Forge Classic Champion, 1989
  • Legends of One-pocket Champion, January 1991
  • International Challenge of Champions, 1993

Sportscasting and event promotion

Allen Hopkins Productions started the Super Billiards Expo, each year held in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, which has since become the biggest consumer-oriented expo in the Billiards industry trade show in the world, with multiple tournaments for amateur, seniors, women and men professional player levels.[6]

He has combined efforts with Billiards International and promoted pocket billiards exhibitions like the Skins Billiards Championship, the Texas Hold'em Billiards Championship, and two short-lived competitions, the Million Dollar Nine-Ball Shootout,[7] and (with business partner Mike Andrews) the Team DMIRO tour.

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References
  1. "About Those Tournament Stats," by Bruce Venzke, page 14, The National Billiard News, November 1979. Retrieved May 18, 2007
  2. Allen Hopkins Player Profile Archived 2007-04-02 at the Wayback Machine, IPT Member Allen Hopkins Player Profile, InternationalPoolTour.com. Retrieved May 20, 2007
  3. FSN New York broadcast of 2007 Texas Hold 'Em shootout, final round (February 12, 2007). Allen Hopkins states his own high run as 410 balls.
  4. "Player Profiles," by Elaine Smith, John Lewis, and Suzanne Weinstock, The Snap magazine, page 34, March/April 1991, OTS Publications, a division of Billiard Enterprises of Florida
  5. "Q&A with Allen Hopkins" Archived 2007-10-08 at the Wayback Machine by Missy Capestrain and Brian Halter, 8ball.org. Retrieved May 20, 2007
  6. Super Billiards Expo
  7. Million Dollar Nine-Ball Shootout official website. Retrieved May 20, 2007. Archived August 24, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Mike Sigel		 US Open Nine-ball Champion
1977		 Succeeded by
Steve Mizerak
US Open Nine-ball Champion
1981		 Succeeded by
David Howard
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