Mike Sigel

Michael Sigel (born July 11, 1953) is an American professional pool player[1][2] nicknamed "Captain Hook." He earned the nickname from his ability to hook his opponents with safety plays.[3] Sigel has the ability to shoot pool both left-handed and right-handed and has a high run of 339 balls in Straight Pool. Mike Sigel is widely considered one of the greatest pool players of all time. In the year 2000, Sigel was voted "Greatest Living Player of the Century" by Billiards Digest Magazine.[4]

Mike Sigel
Sigel at 2003 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships in Chesapeake Beach, Virginia
Personal information
Born (1953-07-11) July 11, 1953
Rochester, New York, U.S.
OccupationPool player

Early life

Sigel is Jewish, and was born in Rochester, New York.[1][2][5] His mother Ruth was aggravated with him at times, because as she said "he wouldn't go to Hebrew school because he was too tired from playing pool nights."[6]

Professional career

Sigel has won over 100 professional pool tournaments in his career as well as over 40 major titles, making him one of the most successful players of all time winning 6 world pocket billiard championship titles, in divisions including Nine-ball and Straight pool. Including 3 U.S. Open Nine-ball Championship tournaments, as well as the U.S. Open Straight Pool Championship and U.S. Open One-Pocket Championship as well as a 4-time winner of the Sands Regency Open.

Sigel turned pro in 1973 at the age of 21 years old.[7] Within a few years Sigel established himself as one of the best players in the world.

He played himself in the movie Baltimore Bullet in 1980. He was also the technical advisor, instructor, and sports choreographer for the shots made by Paul Newman and Tom Cruise in the Academy Award-winning film The Color of Money in 1986.[8] Sigel was a dominant player in the 1980s and has been on the cover of numerous trade magazines such as Billiards Digest, Pool and Billiards, InsidePOOL, Billiard News, and Bike Week. He has been featured in Sports Illustrated, Life, People, NY Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Playboy, Parade, Baltimore Magazine, Orlando Sentinel, Silver Screen, and Cigar Aficionado.[9]

Sigel was named "Player of the Year" three times in 1981, 1983 and 1986 by Billiards Digest and Pool and Billiards Magazine.

In 1994, at the age of 41, Until returning in 2000 to compete in the U.S. Open Straight Pool Championship where he lost to Efren Reyes.

In 2005, Sigel won the IPT World Eight-ball Championship, a challenge match between him and Loree Jon Jones. The victory earned him $150,000.[10] That same year, he was seeded in the final of the King of the Hill Eight-ball Shootout, the next event of the IPT. There he met Efren Reyes, who played his way through the tournament. In the match, Reyes bested him with little trouble. Reyes took home $200,000 and Sigel got $100,000 for second place.[11]

Today, he lives near Orlando, Florida, and his focus is to play pool and instruct.

In December 2015 Sigel launched his official website, www.mikesigel.com, dedicated to offering private lessons, Mike Sigel branded cues and new instructional videos to the public.

Records
  • Sigel set a record for being the first player to win $100,000 in a season on the pro tour, from the mid-1986 to mid-1987. Nick Varner would later go on to achieve this in 1989 to 1990.
  • Sigel set a record for winning the largest first place prize in a pool tournament at the time, winning $40,000 in 1986.
  • Sigel set a record for winning a streak of 11 first-place finishes in a row, Jean Balukas also shares this record achieve the same feat in 1987.
  • Sigel set a record for being one of the first pro pool players to win 100 professional tournaments in pocket billiards, in 1994, in his 20-year career.
  • Sigel holds the record for being the youngest ever male to be inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame at 35 years old, in 1989.

Career titles

Filmography

References
  1. Dawn Meurin (1993). Billiards: Official Rules & Records Book. SP Books. p. 133. ISBN 9781561712106. Retrieved 2013-01-07.
  2. "Michael Sigel". Jewishsports.net. 1952-07-11. Retrieved 2013-01-07.
  3. "Mike Sigel aka Captain Hook", www.Billiards.About.com, Retrieved 11 December 2011.
  4. BCA Hall of Fame Archived 2007-11-18 at the Wayback Machine, BCA-POOL.com. Retrieved June 17, 2007
  5. "Mike Sigel". Rochester Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2013-01-07.
  6. "The Poet of Pool | Celebrities". Cigar Aficionado. Retrieved 2013-01-07.
  7. "The Poet of Pool", by Kenneth Shouler, Cigar Aficionado Magazine. Retrieved June 17, 2007
  8. "Sigel's web site". Mikesigelbilliards.com. Retrieved 2013-01-07.
  9. Player Bio Archived 2007-08-04 at the Wayback Machine, InternationalPoolTour.com. Retrieved June 17, 2007
  10. "Sigel wins IPT 8-Ball Championship". AzBilliards.com. August 21, 2005. Archived from the original on June 13, 2011. Retrieved October 1, 2008.
  11. "Reyes crowned King of the Hill". AzBilliards.com. December 4, 2005. Archived from the original on June 13, 2011. Retrieved October 1, 2008.
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