THE
BEST PLAYERS IN THE WORLD
"The Wizard of Ivory"
Place of Birth
Ciudad Juarez
Chihuahua
Mexico
Date of Birth
April 14, 1954
Michael "Mike" Massey (born April
9, 1947) is an American professional pocket billiards (pool) player,
best known as atrick shot artist since the late 1970s, and has given
substantial visibility to the sport by traveling the globe to perform
exhibitions and compete in a variety of disciplines. He has won
professional national and international tournaments in trick shot
competition, nine-ball, eight-ball, straight pool (14.1 continuous),
andone-pocket, but has been even more influential in the sport as an
accomplished instructor, consultant and fund raiser. From 1989 to 1991
he served as a contributing editor for The Snap Magazine. Massey has
been nicknamed "Tennessee Tarzan", but lives in Park City, Utah.
Mike Massey is the best known and most accomplished trick shot artist in the game of pool. He was inducted into The Billiard Congress of America (BCA) Hall of Fame during a special ceremony in Las Vegas on April 7, 2005. For 2007, he was ranked #8 in Pool & Billiard Magazine's "Fans' Top 20 Favorite Players" poll.
Mike has been consistently voted number one by his peers for over 20 years, and was voted Best in the History of the Game by Billiards Digest. He has performed exhibitions in 50 states and over 25 countries. Mike currently holds the title of World Artistic Pool Champion and won ESPN's Trick Shot Magic Championship 2004.
When the great Minnesota Fats made his trick shot video, Mike was hired to set up the shots.
Mike has performed exhibitions in Las Vegas at Caesar's Palace, The Mirage, Imperial Palace, The Sahara, Bally's, The Riviera, and the Sands convention center. He has also performed at Foxwood Casino in Connecticut, Caesar's Tahoe, Sands Reno, Fitzgerald's in Mississippi, Isle of Capri in Louisiana, plus casinos in Bregentz, Austria and Sun City, South Africa.
Mike had the honor of being chosen to perform an exhibition for the dinner show when Willie Mosconi and Jimmy Caras played their last challenge match, hosted by the Birkbeck twins, Tom and Dan. Mike has performed exhibitions at the Spirit Awards for independent films.
Mike has played or taught pool with many movie stars and sports celebrities, such as Johnny Cash, Sugar Ray Leonard, Billy Bob Thornton, Dean Cain, Stephen Baldwin, Scott Baio, Jennifer Tilly, James Tolkan, Paul Sorvino, Jason Gedrick, Danny Aiello, David Arquette, and others.
Mike Massey is the best known and most accomplished trick shot artist in the game of pool. He was inducted into The Billiard Congress of America (BCA) Hall of Fame during a special ceremony in Las Vegas on April 7, 2005. For 2007, he was ranked #8 in Pool & Billiard Magazine's "Fans' Top 20 Favorite Players" poll.
Mike has been consistently voted number one by his peers for over 20 years, and was voted Best in the History of the Game by Billiards Digest. He has performed exhibitions in 50 states and over 25 countries. Mike currently holds the title of World Artistic Pool Champion and won ESPN's Trick Shot Magic Championship 2004.
When the great Minnesota Fats made his trick shot video, Mike was hired to set up the shots.
Mike has performed exhibitions in Las Vegas at Caesar's Palace, The Mirage, Imperial Palace, The Sahara, Bally's, The Riviera, and the Sands convention center. He has also performed at Foxwood Casino in Connecticut, Caesar's Tahoe, Sands Reno, Fitzgerald's in Mississippi, Isle of Capri in Louisiana, plus casinos in Bregentz, Austria and Sun City, South Africa.
Mike had the honor of being chosen to perform an exhibition for the dinner show when Willie Mosconi and Jimmy Caras played their last challenge match, hosted by the Birkbeck twins, Tom and Dan. Mike has performed exhibitions at the Spirit Awards for independent films.
Mike has played or taught pool with many movie stars and sports celebrities, such as Johnny Cash, Sugar Ray Leonard, Billy Bob Thornton, Dean Cain, Stephen Baldwin, Scott Baio, Jennifer Tilly, James Tolkan, Paul Sorvino, Jason Gedrick, Danny Aiello, David Arquette, and others.
Pool Trick Shot Artist
Born
17 October 1988.
TRICK SHOT POOL
This 22 year old was born in France, speaks 3
languages, is a licensed Optometrist and holds a black belt in Judo.
Forgot to mention that he is also a pool phenom, redefining the sport of
trick shot poolthough a combination of artistry and breathtaking skill.
The Insiders is proud to
introduce Florian Kohler (better known as "Venom"), with an
extraordinary blend of unique billiard talent and spectacular shot
execution. Venom is trick shot poolat its best.
When you watch Venom gracefully
defy the laws of gravity and motion, it’s hard to believe that someone
so young can possess such advanced skills. Trick shot pool typically
takes years to master – most of the top names have been playing since
they were 3 or 4 years old.
Yet Venom first picked up a pool cue and began
"fooling around‟ at the age of 18, when he received a mini-pool table
for his birthday. He learned his first trick shots from videos on the
Internet, watching and imitating what he saw.
Not satisfied, Venom quickly moved
on to inventing his own, modern version of old trick shots. Within two
years, Venom was competing against trick shot pool pros that had been
playing since before he was born. He hasn’t looked back since.
This trick shot pool phenomenon
has since racked up a sting of "firsts". First to achieve a twin masse,
double masse, triple masse, and double jump. Youngest player to ever win
an Artistic Cup. Youngest trick shot pool player featured on ESPN.
Youngest trick shot artist with a best-selling DVD.
THE BEST IN ARTISTIC BILLARD
