Episodes

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...

In Part 2 of our four-part conversation with Austrian Pool Hall of Famer Gerda Hofstatter-Gregerson, Gerda’s story takes a bold turn—across an ocean, into the spotlight, and straight onto the American tour. Gerda recounts how a perfectly-timed connection through Jan and the legendary Ewa Mataya Laurance opened the door to her first U.S. events in early 1993. The original plan was simple: come over, play three tournaments, stay with Ewa in between, then go home. But pool had other plans. With “z...

In Part 1 of our four-part conversation, we welcome the unstoppable “G-Force”—Austrian legend Gerda Hofstätter-Gregerson—for a deep dive into the roots of a world-class competitor. Before she became a trailblazer in women’s professional pool and a WPBA & BCA Hall of Famer, Gerda was a fierce, fast-rising athlete from a small Austrian town, growing up in a bustling household with three sisters, two grandmothers, and a father who was dramatically outnumbered—but quietly influential. Gerda takes u...

In this moving final chapter of our six-part Legends of the Cue conversation, Mitch Laurance brings his remarkable journey full circle—through gratitude, reflection, and the relationships that have shaped a life squeezed for every ounce of meaning. Before we leave the world of pool, Mitch turns his attention to the people beside him—Allison Fisher and Mark Wilson—offering heartfelt thanks for what they’ve given the game and the players who love it. What follows is an unforgettable exchange of m...

In Episode 5 of our six-part life-story series with Mitch Laurance, we pick up where his improbable second act really takes flight—behind the microphone, on the biggest stage pool had at the time: ESPN. Mitch takes us back to that first broadcast, when pool commentary was still being figured out in real time… and he was, too. With the opening and closing done live and much of the commentary recorded in post, Mitch describes the surreal learning curve of watching a match like a fan—only to hear a...

In Episode 4 of our six-part conversation with actor, producer, and longtime billiards broadcaster Mitch Laurance, the story turns on a single moment in Winston-Salem that changed everything. Mitch takes us back to 1990—sent to “go play pool” at a charity night during a golf event—only to find two tables… and two legends. On one side: Nick Varner. On the other: a Swedish star with “green laser eyes,” Ewa Mataya, already at the top of her game. Mitch hadn’t come looking for love, but one glance ...

In Part 3 of our multi-part life-story conversation with American film and television actor—and longtime sports broadcaster—Mitch Laurance, we detour through the worlds that shaped him long before pool took center stage. Mitch takes us back to Los Angeles in the 1980s, when a persistent friend talked him into an early-morning tee time at Balboa. What happened next surprised him: not instant love for golf, but total fascination. Here was a ball sitting still on the ground… and he couldn’t hit it...

In Part 2 of our conversation with actor and sports broadcaster Mitch Laurance, Mitch takes us deeper into the improbable zigzags that turned a behind-the-scenes job at Saturday Night Live into a front-row seat to entertainment history—and ultimately, into a life on camera. Mitch starts where most origin stories don’t: as a production “gopher” in the early days of SNL, absorbing the chaos, the pressure, and the genius up close. But week by week, opportunity finds him. He becomes a researcher fo...

In this opening chapter of our multi-part conversation, Mitch Laurance takes us all the way back—before the bright lights of television, before the broadcast booth, before the roles that made his career a near-constant highlight reel—back to a simpler time on the south shore of Long Island. Born in Queens and raised in Hewlett, Mitch shares what it really felt like growing up as an identical twin: the built-in best friend, the constant competition, the comfort of always having someone to throw ...

In the final chapter of our four-part life story with WPBA Hall of Famer Ewa Mataya Laurance, we land where legends are forged: on the road, under the lights, and in the moments that reveal what matters most. Ewa takes us inside a whirlwind era when she was traveling 260 days a year—tournaments, exhibitions, corporate events, and the kind of surreal TV appearances that can pull an athlete away from the very craft that made them famous. It’s a candid look at success: how it arrives fast, demands...

In Part 3 of our four-part Legends of the Cue conversation with pool Hall of Famer Ewa Mataya Laurance, the “Striking Viking” hits the most turbulent—and transformative—stretch of her career. We rewind to 1990–91, the period Ewa calls her finest run: taking over World No. 1, stacking five tour titles, and earning Billiards Digest Player of the Year. But the wins came with weight. Newly divorced and raising her daughter as a single mom, Ewa describes the constant hustle—practice squeezed into ba...

Part 2 picks up as Ewa Mataya Laurance—“The Striking Viking”—plants her feet in America with one goal: play pool, and nothing else. From home in Michigan to road trips with her friend Vicky Frechen (Paski), Ewa relives the hustle behind the highlight reels: waitressing shifts, a brief—and doomed—stint in an insurance office (“How did you get here?”), and even landing a job at a Playboy Club, learning the bunny dip while trying to run racks on a bumper-pool table in costume. But the real story i...

In this first chapter of our four-part life-story series, we welcome one of the most captivating figures ever to pick up a cue: Pool Hall of Famer Ewa Mataya Laurance—the iconic “Striking Viking.” From her earliest days in Sweden, Ewa takes us back to a childhood defined by energy, independence, and a love of sport. She was a goalkeeper in soccer, a force on the basketball court, and—by her own admission—a “control freak” who quickly realized team sports couldn’t match her appetite for precision...

In the powerful final chapter of our four-part Legends of the Cue conversation with Jerry Briesath, we arrive at the heart of a life devoted not just to playing pool—but to teaching it, elevating it, and preserving its future. Widely regarded as the most influential instructor in billiards history, Jerry reflects on how the modern game has evolved—from the decline of nine-foot tables and the rise of technology, to the dramatic sophistication of safety play and break mechanics at the professiona...

In Part Three of our four-part conversation with Pool Hall of Famer and BCA Dean of Master Instructors Jerry Briesath, we dive deep into the heart of what made Jerry one of the most influential teachers the game has ever known: mechanics, curiosity, passion, and an unrelenting desire to help others get better. Jerry explains timeless concepts that still confound players today—why banks on balls near the rail come up short, how sliding changes everything, and why “easy” banks must be overcut. Th...

In Part 2 of our four-part Legends of the Cue conversation with Jerry Briesath, we dive deep into the heart of his instructional philosophy—and the ideas that forever changed how generations of players approach the game. This episode is all about process over results. Jerry explains how his teaching evolved from instinct to system, anchored by one deceptively simple concept: the cue ball on the spot. From that single reference point, he reveals how the cue tip tells the entire story of a player...

In this opening episode of a special four-part series, Legends of the Cue begins the remarkable life story of Jerry Briesath, widely regarded as the father of modern pool instruction and the longtime Dean of the BCA’s Master Instructor program. Born in 1937 in Winona, Minnesota, Jerry’s story starts far from championship tables and teaching platforms. He grew up working at his father’s one-man gas station, pumping fuel for 23 cents a gallon, checking oil by hand, and learning the values of disc...

In this powerful and deeply human conclusion to our multi-part conversation, Pat Fleming reflects on a life spent giving more to the game of pool than he ever took from it. Known worldwide as the founder of Accu-Stats, Fleming opens the door to the values, decisions, and moments that shaped both his career and his character. The episode begins with gratitude—gratitude for fans across generations who discovered pool history through his lens, and for a team so committed to the mission that they’d...

In Part III of our in-depth conversation with Pat Fleming, the Hall of Famer and founder of Accu-Stats pulls back the curtain on the pivotal chapter that reshaped both his life and the future of recorded pool history. Pat walks us through the emotional and practical decision to separate Accu-Stats’ legendary video library from its production arm—a move born from personal loss, hard-earned perspective, and a desire to focus on what mattered most. The result? One of the great win-win stories in c...

In Part 2 of our in-depth Legends of the Cue conversation with Hall of Famer and Accu-Stats founder Pat Fleming, we dive deeper into the ideas, inventions, and relentless curiosity that forever altered how the game of pool is played, studied, and preserved. Pat takes us behind the scenes of Accu-Stats’ evolution—from single, stationary cameras and silent VHS tapes to groundbreaking commentary, moving cameras, and a production standard that reshaped the sport. He shares the unlikely story of how...

In this opening chapter of a multi-part Legends of the Cue conversation, we sit down with Pat Fleming—the meticulous mind whose lifelong obsession with numbers would ultimately reshape how the game of pool is measured, understood, and preserved. Pat’s story begins far from television lights and world championships, in Paterson, New Jersey, where a young boy spent his days counting cars from a fire hydrant, tracking patterns, and recording results simply for the joy of understanding them. That i...

In this third installment of our multi-part conversation with Hall of Famer Mike Sigel, we dive deeper into the mind of one of the most electrifying champions in cue sports history. With characteristic candor, humor, and razor-sharp recall, Sigel leads us through the gritty realities of the pool circuit—from the early ’70s through his era of dominance—while revealing why only a select few ever truly separated themselves from the pack. Sigel unpacks how conditions, equipment, and formats have re...