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It was Obon.
I wanted to go.
But I was going home to my family.
I opened my phone.
On the tournament page, the stats were lined up.
How many points that player had scored today.
In which inning the tide had turned.
Which of the two had taken the break.
Following the numbers, I pictured that player standing at the table.
I could not cheer.
I could not watch from beside the table.
And yet the record of each ball reached me, all the way out here.
I think 14.1, straight pool, is that kind of game.
There are matches where you are looking at nothing but numbers, and still you know: “This is where it turned.”
Only numbers, and yet sometimes the very air of that day comes back.
So even from far away, you can follow a match through a screen.
What call did the player you look up to make at this point?
How is a friend from your study group faring today?
Stats cross distances.
August 14 and 15. POOL LABO, Yokohama.
Thirty-two players gather in Yokohama: professionals at the top level in Japan, and top amateurs of 14.1 from across the country.
Every ball, from every player, will be kept on record.
Even if you cannot be there, you can follow each ball from in front of a screen.
There may be a night when you watch the same match with study-group friends far away, and talk it through.
Watching billiards the way people watch shogi.
Nights like that are about to begin in Yokohama.
This summer, each ball struck in Yokohama will become a number, and find its way to you.
The tournament page is now up.
The day’s bracket, the YouTube stream and the player stats can all be found here.
We will introduce players to watch, one by one, in the weeks ahead.
Watching in person is free.
We look forward to seeing you in Yokohama.
👉 Tournament details, streams and players
👉 Yokohama Open player stats
👉 Billiards resources from Japan and around the world, organized by purpose: Billiards in Depth (latest updated hourly)