日本語 ｜ 繁體中文 ｜ English ｜ 한국어 ｜ Tiếng Việt
The yakitori place in Noge is always packed.
Behind the counter, the charcoal crackles and pops, and smoke drifts up toward the ceiling.
Laughter from the next table.
Shouts flying out of the kitchen.
Beer mugs clinking.
It was a summer night, and inside it was hot enough to make you sweat.
“Got a hobby?”
My boss set down his skewer and asked.
“Not really, no.”
I answered honestly.
“Movies, books, fishing, whatever. You should have something. Just work gets dull, doesn’t it?”
The next table burst out laughing again.
“What’s your hobby, then?”
“Pool.”
That surprised me.
I’d have guessed golf, or fishing.
“I’ve played at after-parties and things.”
“9-ball or 8-ball, then. What I play is a game called 14.1 — straight pool.”
“Pocket one ball, get one point. That’s it. You can go after any ball you like.”
“Sounds simple.”
“The rules are. But what’s going on is surprisingly deep.”
He took a sip of his Hoppy.
“How come you never get bored of it?”
“Too much to watch.”
“Every time a ball goes in, ‘what next?’ starts all over again.”
“Over and over, the whole way.”
“That’s why you can watch for an hour and not get bored.”
Smoke drifted between us.
“You think it’s a sport about potting balls, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Of course you pot them. But 14.1 is, more than that, a sport about thinking.”
“Thinking?”
“Which ball to leave next. What to do after that. If it goes wrong, how to put it back together. The players are shooting while thinking several moves ahead.”
“That’s why it’s fun to watch, too. Once you start thinking ‘what would I do,’ an hour goes by like nothing.”
“First, the break.”
“The break?”
“Once fourteen are in, you rack them again with just one left out. You pot that last ball and split the rack with the white. That’s the best part to watch.”
A loud voice flew out of the kitchen.
“What changes, depending on how it splits?”
“Everything. If it opens up nicely, a flow starts from there. If it doesn’t, you have to build yourself a new road.”
The charcoal popped.
“Another shot of shochu in this,” he said, raising a hand.
“So, watch from before the break. Where do they send that last one — the break ball? Where do they stop the white? They’re getting ready for it two, three balls ahead.”
“They’re setting it up that many balls ahead?”
“Reading the whole time. It’s fun to watch wondering how far ahead that player can see right now.”
“And when it doesn’t split?”
“That’s fun too.”
He smiled a little.
“The balls stay bunched. That’s called a cluster. Then you have to pot, and break them up, and set up the next one, all at once.”
“Sounds hard.”
“It is. But that’s why it’s fun. You get to think along with them — ‘where are they going to start?’”
A fresh plate of skewers arrived.
The smell of charcoal and the steam rose up.
“Watch what the white ball does.”
He went on.
“After the white hits the object ball, the two go off at ninety degrees. That’s basically how it moves. Keep that in mind, and you start to see why that pro potted it from that angle.”
“So there’s that way of watching.”
“Even if you’ve never played, anyone has a feel for ‘that one looks like it’ll go straight in.’ Take one step on from there, and watch thinking about where the white should go after the pot. That alone, and it’s a whole different view.”
The people at the next table got up to leave.
The place went a little quieter.
“So in the end, it’s not just the skill of potting balls.”
“Right. It’s logic. How to build it, where to take a risk, where to play safe. They’re thinking about that the whole time they shoot.”
“Like shogi.”
“Close. But unlike shogi, thinking out a move isn’t enough to win. Your body has to do exactly what you thought, without being off by a millimeter.”
He drained his Hoppy.
“The coolest thing to watch is when someone shoots without hesitating in a tough spot. There are moments you think, that one can see everything right now.”
“There’s a tournament in Yokohama next month.”
My boss said.
“In Yokohama?”
“You can walk there from here. Kannai. Pros are coming, and top amateurs from all over the country.”
“Can I go watch?”
“It’s free.”
He put his lips to a fresh Hoppy.
“Watch for a while, get something to eat, go home.”
“Walk around Yokohama a bit, eat something good, watch first-class 14.1.”
He paused a moment, then laughed.
“Shogi, books, movies. If you like thinking, you’ll enjoy it, I bet.”
“Not a bad way to spend a day off, right?”
The charcoal crackled and popped again.
August 14 and 15.
Yokohama 14-1 Summit 2026.
The venue is POOL LABO, Kannai, Yokohama.
Stats for every player, updated and published throughout the tournament.
Watch with the stats in hand, and the meaning of each ball comes even more into view.
Watching in person is free.
We’ll be waiting for you in Yokohama.
👉 Tournament details, streams and player info here
👉 Yokohama Open player stats
👉 Billiards resources from Japan and around the world, organized by purpose: Billiards in Depth (latest updated hourly)