Billiards as a varsity sport? Stakeholder eyes sustainability for cue artists

MANILA — While Filipino billiards players continue to bring home international titles, sustaining a career in the sport can be a different game for those outside the top ranks.

Sharks Billiards Association founder Hadley Mariano said schools should consider making billiards a varsity sport, giving the new generation of cue artists a more stable platform to compete and develop their skills.

“I think we would have to have billiards as a varsity sport sa school para maging parang basketball siya,” Mariano said.

“In fact, dapat nga gumawa ng separate organization. A separate organization, ‘di siya UAAP, NCAA, na nakafocus doon sa billiards. Kasi world-beaters tayo sa sport. Consistently, we’re producing international champions,” Mariano said.

While billiards is already played in school competitions under organizations such as the Private Schools Athletic Association, Mariano pointed to a broader system that could give the sport a more established place in collegiate athletics.

In today’s landscape, aspiring players still face the challenge of earning a living from the sport, especially when tournament losses leave them without prize money.

Mariano said players who fail to reach the championship rounds often turn to money games after tournaments.

“So after the tournament, kunyari talo ka, wala ka nang mapapanalunan ‘pag natalo ka. Kailangan mag-champion ka, or mag-top 16 ka. So ‘yung players kung natatalo, nagma-money game sa labas,” Mariano said.

The dependence on money games also risks reinforcing perceptions of billiards as a gambling activity rather than a competitive sport.

“So hindi nagiging sustainable ‘yon kasi na nag-iiba ‘yung image no’ng players,” Mariano added.

“Kumbaga kung ano ‘yung ginagawa natin 30 years ago doon sa sport, gano’n pa rin ‘yung ginagawa. So kaya nga tayo nagkaroon ng Sharks para mabago ‘yon,” Mariano said.

For Mariano, a stronger collegiate system could give players another avenue to compete with institutional support behind them. 

Beyond creating more opportunities to play, formal varsity programs could help establish billiards as a sport in its own right, rather than one whose athletes are often associated with money games.

“Siguro, I think it’s about time na we treat billiards as a serious sport. Ito, hindi tayo nakakachamba. Consistent tayo rito. You see world champions, foreign players who travel to the Philippines to train,” Mariano said.