Pool Professional Episodes

In this sixth episode of our interview, Hall of Fame pool legend Jeanette “The Black Widow” Lee takes us inside one of the most important turning points of her career: the moment she arrived on the professional scene and changed women’s pool forever. Jeanette reflects on the early years of the WPBA, the tensions she felt as a rising star, and the unforgettable “Yertle the Turtle” story that revealed just how unwelcome she sometimes felt among her peers. But if the reception was cold, her game w...

In the fifth installment of our conversation with Jeanette Lee, the legend begins to take shape. This is the chapter where the player becomes the persona, and Jeanette explains how “The Black Widow” was born — not as a carefully engineered brand at first, but as an image, an impression, and eventually an identity that captured the imagination of fans far beyond the pool world. Her reaction to the nickname is as funny as it is revealing, and the story behind it is pure Jeanette: skeptical, sharp,...

Part 4 is where talent meets discipline. Jeanette takes us inside the all-consuming years when pool became her life and improvement became an obsession. She talks about the players, rooms, and routines that shaped her game, including the influence of Gene Nagy, whose relentless straight-pool sessions helped sharpen her ability, discipline, and mental toughness. Day after day, Jeanette showed up and put in the work. Open to close, then more of the same. This was not glamour. This was the grind. ...

In Part 3, the story turns toward the game that changed Jeanette Lee’s life forever. After a difficult and unsettled youth, Jeanette discovers pool and is instantly captivated. What begins as fascination quickly becomes obsession. She describes walking into the poolroom, seeing the game in a new way, and feeling something click deep inside. For the first time, she had found something that demanded everything she had — and gave something back. Jeanette shares what it was like in those early days...

Part 2 of our visit with Jeanette Lee dives deeper into the turbulent teenage years that helped forge her identity. As Jeanette tells it, this was a time of rebellion, running away, surviving on instinct, and trying to make sense of a life that often felt chaotic and painful. She shares stories of taking jobs while still a child, lying about her age to get by, drifting between homes, and learning early that if a door was locked, she would figure out another way in. It is a portrait of a young wo...

In Part 1 of our conversation with Hall of Fame champion Jeanette “The Black Widow” Lee, we begin where all great life stories begin: at the very start. Jeanette takes us back to her childhood in Brooklyn, where she grew up as a Korean girl in a predominantly Black neighborhood, trying to find where she fit in while navigating racism, loneliness, and the feeling of always being different. She shares vivid memories of Korean school, family expectations, church, discipline, and the cultural values...

The final episode brings Justin Bergman’s story onto pool’s biggest stage. Here the focus turns fully to the Mosconi Cup years: the pressure, the personalities, the preparation, the heartbreak, the joy, and the chaos that can only happen when elite pool collides with a made-for-TV team event. Justin talks about the differences between his various Mosconi experiences, including the early years in Blackpool and the later appearance on a winning American side in Las Vegas. He reflects on what it me...

In Part 3, Justin Bergman opens up about something that has defined his entire career: he has never wanted to live like everybody else. Justin talks candidly about why pool appealed to him not just as a game, but as a way of life — a life outside the routines, schedules, and expectations that so many people accept without question. That independent streak helps explain both the brilliance of his career and the unusual path he chose through it. Rather than chase every tournament on the calendar, ...

Part 2 follows Justin Bergman from gifted young player to feared road man, and it is packed with the kind of stories pool fans love. Justin talks about the pros and great players who passed through his orbit while he was still a kid, including Efren Reyes and other international stars who came through Mark Wilson’s room. He explains the way he really learned to practice — not through endless drills, but by throwing out all 15 balls and playing rotation, a method he still trusts today. The conver...

In this first installment with American pool star Justin Bergman, we go all the way back to the beginning. Justin shares what it was like growing up in Fairview Heights, Illinois, just outside St. Louis, in a family where pool quickly became more than just a pastime. He talks about learning the game through his father and uncle, getting his first real table at home, and falling so deeply in love with pool that it soon crowded out baseball, basketball, and just about everything else. This epis...

The final episode brings the drama home. With the number climbing, the pressure building, and history within reach, John Schmidt and Bob Keller take us through the closing stages of the 820 run and the decisions that still linger in the mind afterward. This is where the discussion turns to the final racks, the unconventional moments, the nerve required to keep going, and the emotional reality of coming so close to even bigger numbers. John reflects on the shots he would and would not choose in m...

In part four, the series shifts into the pure mechanics of greatness. This is where John Schmidt and Bob Keller begin unpacking the actual run in a way straight pool lovers will savor. They discuss break balls, key balls, rack patterns, cue-ball precision, manufacturing insurance balls, and the many little recovery shots that separate a big run from a broken one. What becomes clear very quickly is that 820 was not a clean, carefree stroll. It was a living, breathing puzzle solved one rack at a t...

Part three gets inside John Schmidt’s head, and it may be the most revealing episode of the series. John talks candidly about self-doubt, aging, criticism, pride, and the internal switch he flips when it is time to chase a giant number. He explains that for him, straight pool is no longer about trying harder or focusing harder. It is about seeing the game so clearly that entire racks begin to unfold almost automatically. Bob Keller confirms that point in unforgettable fashion, saying there are o...

What does it really take to run 820 balls? In part two, John Schmidt and Bob Keller pull back the curtain on the conditions, equipment, routines, and tiny details that made this historic straight pool run possible. This is the laboratory episode. John walks us through the Gold Crown table, legal five-inch pockets, Simonis cloth, Predator Arcos balls, modern chalk, donut rings, polished balls, fatigue mats, Hoka shoes, and even the nutritional routine that helped him feel stronger and fresher tha...

On this special five-part series of Legends of the Cue, we welcome straight pool great John Schmidt back to the show after his stunning 820-ball run, with Bob Keller joining us as the man behind the camera, the rack, and the support system that helped make it happen. In this opening episode, John explains why this run almost never happened at all. After the emotional weight of his 626, the backlash that followed, and Jayson Shaw’s run past his number, John says there were many days he wished he ...

In the final chapter of our seven-part conversation with WPBA Hall of Famer Mary Kenniston, the story comes full circle. Mary reflects on the closing years of her competitive career, the health battle that changed everything, and the determination that carried her back to the table playing better, in some ways, than ever before. With candor, wit, and hard-earned perspective, Mary shares how she rebuilt her game after serious illness, teaching herself how to swing her arm again, refining her fun...

In Episode 6 of our seven-part conversation with WPBA Hall of Famer Mary Kenniston, the story moves from championship pool to one of the most beloved rooms in the game’s history—and then to a life-altering challenge that few champions ever face. Mary reflects on the late 1980s, when she stepped away from the tour at the height of her powers to open Cue-Topia in Las Vegas. What began simply as a place for players to gather soon became something legendary. Inspired by a Philadelphia poolroom whos...

In Part 5 of the Legends of the Cue conversation with WPBA Hall of Famer Mary Kenniston, the road stories, rivalries, and tournament triumphs keep coming. Mary takes listeners back to the mid-1980s pool scene in Los Angeles, where action, personalities, and opportunity collided in smoky poolrooms and late-night gambling sessions. From becoming the house pro at a bustling barroom to matching up with future stars like Kelly Simpson (later Kelly Oyama), Mary recounts the hustling culture that help...

In Part 4 of our seven-part conversation with WPBA Hall of Famer Mary Kenniston, the road keeps rolling and the stories keep getting better. Mary takes us deep into the action-heavy pool world of the early 1980s, from Houston to Fayetteville, Rocky Mount, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area. With her trademark honesty and sharp wit, she recalls the thrill of finding games, protecting her cover, and learning how to survive in a world where toughness, timing, and table smarts meant everything. Whether ...

In Part 3 of our conversation with WPBA Hall of Famer Mary Kenniston, the stories get even richer as she takes us deeper into pool’s road era—when instinct, nerve, and a well-kept spot book could mean the difference between surviving and going broke. Mary shares her unforgettable friendship with the late Grady Mathews, from first meeting him in New Jersey to their daily phone calls during his final illness. Along the way, she paints a vivid portrait of Grady’s charm, intelligence, and larger-th...

In Part 2 of our conversation with WPBA Hall of Famer Mary Kenniston, the road opens up and the stories get even better. Mary takes us back to the years just after college, when shorthand, typing, bookkeeping, and supermarket checkout speed hardly seemed like preparation for life in pool — yet all of it formed the determined, sharp-witted competitor she would become. From the earliest days of the women’s game in the Northeast, she recalls a time before a true professional tour existed, when pla...

In this first installment of our conversation with WPBA Hall of Famer Mary Kenniston, we begin at the beginning—Long Island roots, a fiercely competitive childhood, and the natural athletic gifts that made her a standout long before she ever picked up a cue. Mary takes us back to growing up in Suffolk County, where sports came as naturally as breathing. A tall, fearless tomboy with a sharp mind and a gift for competition, she excelled in nearly everything she tried—basketball, softball, field h...

In the final installment of this four-part conversation on Legends of the Cue, Austrian Hall of Famer Gerda Hofstatter-Gregerson reflects on the closing chapters of her competitive career and the deeply personal choices that shaped the life that followed. Joined by Allison Fisher, Mark Wilson, and Mike Gonzalez, Gerda looks back on more European and Austrian titles, her 2009 straight pool success, and her final professional victory at the 2010 San Diego Classic. This episode goes far beyond the...

In Part 3 of our four-part conversation with Austrian Pool Hall of Famer Gerda Hofstatter-Gregerson, the stories are as rich as the accomplishments. Gerda joins Allison Fisher, Mark Wilson, and Mike Gonzalez for a candid and often hilarious look back at one of the most memorable stretches of her career—when world-class pool, relentless practice, international travel, and lifelong friendships all came together. Gerda reflects on the challenge of balancing instinct with technique, and how exposur...