Bar billiards is a form of billiards which involves scoring points by potting balls in holes on the playing surface of the table rather than in pockets. Bar billiards developed from the French/Belgian game billard russe, of Russian origin. The current form started in the UK in the 1930s and now has leagues in twelve counties under the All England Bar Billiards Association, as well as leagues in Guernsey and Jersey where the annual world championships take place.
History
thumb|right|Table with mushroom-style skittles
The game of bar billiards developed originally from the French billard, which due to the expensive tables in the fifteenth century was played only by the French monarchy and the very rich. The game was transformed into (Russian billiards) during the 16th century for the Russian Tsars and a derivative of Bagatelle played by French royalty. taking place in Belgium. He persuaded the Jelkes company of Holloway Road in London to make a similar table. It is now a traditional bar game played in leagues in the English counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Hampshire, Kent, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex and Yorkshire, and also the Channel Islands. The game's governing body is the All England Bar Billiards Association.
Earliest versions of the game used wooden mushrooms instead of pegs which have a thin curved stalk and a flattish rounded cap. These were normally placed in front of the 50 and 200 holes often with a fourth mushroom in front of the 100 hole. This version was often referred to as Russian billiards, probably named after the very similar French and Belgian game which has a longer history, neither are to be confused with the common billiards game in Russia. There are a couple of leagues that still play this version in East Anglia in the Norwich and Sudbury areas.
Gameplay
- Bar billiards is played on a table with no side or corner pockets, but with nine holes in the playing surface which are assigned various point values ranging from 10 to 200.
- There are eight balls in all, seven white and one red.
- If a white peg is knocked over then it is a foul shot resulting in the player's break being ended and all score acquired during that break is discarded.
World Championship results history
The Bar Billiards World Championship (called the British Isles Open up to 1999) is held every year in Jersey.
|-
| 1982
| Graham Bisson ||Jersey
| Clarrie Querrie ||Jersey||
|-
| 1992
| Dennis Helleur ||Jersey
| Harry Barbet ||Jersey||
|-
| 2009
| Phil Collins ||Oxfordshire
| Paul Sainsbury ||Berkshire ||
|-
| 2016
| Matthew Jones|| Buckinghamshire
| Mark Brewster||Kent||
|-
| 2017
| Mark Trafford ||Oxfordshire
| Kevin Tunstall ||Sussex||
|-
| 2018
| Paul Sainsbury || Kent
| Phil Osbourne || Sussex||
|-
| 2019
| Kevin Tunstall ||West Sussex
| Martin Cole ||West Sussex||
|-
| 2020
| colspan="4" |Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic ||
|-
| 2021
| Mark Trafford ||Oxfordshire
| Trevor Gallienne ||Guernsey ||
|-
| 2022
| Kevin Tunstall ||West Sussex
| Trevor Gallienne ||Guernsey ||
|-
| 2023
| Matthew Jones|| Buckinghamshire
| Trevor Gallienne ||Guernsey ||
|-
| 2024
| Trevor Gallienne|| Guernsey
| Michael Wilson||Surrey ||
|-
| 2025
| Matthew Jones|| Buckinghamshire
| Curt Driver|| Kent ||
|-
|}
Multi-time world champions
- Kevin Tunstall: 7