Teams and singles play out a grid of 27 racks. It’s one match per evening. We use two tables per match and a “round robin” scoresheet. There are no prolonged races, completed one at a time, in order, on just one table. We warmup at 7pm (an hour later than other leagues). Need to work late? No problem. Make dinner plans and avoid the bulk of traffic. Matches start at 8pm and finish by 10:30 (on average). While other leagues ask for six hours, we get it done in nearly half that time. Play hard but sleep well.

More Freedom

Players and teams can join at any time. We don’t lock rosters after four weeks each session. We’re always open for business. Your first match is free of charge, as a courtesy and welcome to you. There’s no obligation for you or the team to stick with the arrangement. On your second match, you and the team are committing to each other for at least the remainder of the current session’s schedule. New teams enter tied for last place.

More Players Engaged

Rosters are unlimited in size. Teams can carry the minimum three players (so that all three compete each week). Others carry a mix of regulars and part-timers. Between three and six players can compete in a typical match. The scoresheet asks for three players to be entered as your lineup. Substitutions are allowed. If each starting player is removed for another during the match, then that’s six players engaged in the match. Our scoresheet shows you how to play four players close to evenly. One player shoots 8 racks and breaks four times. Another player shoots seven racks and breaks three times. Two players shoot six racks each and break three times each. In order to avoid a forfeit, each team must have at least two players available. Any match before the fifth week in the session is eligible for makeups. You may play the makeups any time during the session (though the sooner the better so the standings are accurately reflected).

Because our format is “round robin,” match play is highly integrated. You’ll play each player on the opposing team. You won’t lock horns with one opponent for an hour or longer. Each team will progress through a match as a unit. You won’t need to wonder when or if you’re playing. You’re likely in the starting lineup and know exactly when you’re playing. In-game rules rely on communication (e.g., calling pockets or safeties), which works in subtle ways to encourage cooperation.

A single rack between players (as opposed to a race or set of games) challenges and trains you to value each shot a little bit more — which will naturally tighten up your game. You’ll learn to confront and manage pressure. It’s not uncommon for a NOVA BCAPL match to be decided by a handful of balls made or missed. If any of this sounds scary, then please don’t worry. Our “differential” system was designed to focus players on matching their typical score (called player average) or being one ball better than it. You’ll find this is the healthiest way to understand and improve results.

NOVA BCAPL, like the Billiards Congress of America (BCA) before it, believes that the best way to improve your game is to adopt professional in-game rules (eg., to attempt to play the game as a pro would). We also think you should want to compete with players who are as good as or better than you are. We don’t offer timeouts. “Taking off the training wheels” requires you to formulate your own game and become self-reliant on the felt. Between racks, your teammates are available as sounding boards, and you’ll find that opposing players and captains are also eager to assist before and after matches. Through a friendly “trial by fire,” you’ll become a better player — and sooner. Give our group an honest effort and you’ll notice a change in your overall attitude and performance.

Players who want to improve deserve a clear, practical way to challenge themselves. In 2015, one of our co-founders (Eric S. Townsend) created a system that leverages “differential” to challenge players of all types to improve. Its basis is simple — know the average number of balls you pocket in a rack and try to beat it by one or more balls each time. The team with the more positive, cumulative differential at the end of the match adds a bonus point to their team’s score. The same system works for singles competition. Learn more at the Differential tab.

Racks are scored once, after the money ball has been pocketed. There are no complicated inning counts or safeties to tally. It’s simply 10 points to the winner and one point for each ball pocketed by the loser. In this way, the money ball (8 ball, 10 ball, etc.) is worth at least three times as much as the preceding object balls. Subtract the rack points from the player’s average points per rack (a.k.a player average or PA) to record the “differential.” For example, if a player averages 7 points, and loses a rack with 5 balls pocketed (5 points), then the differential for that rack is -2.

What It Represents

Once two weeks of scores enter the system, you receive a player average (PA). This statistic is your total points scored divided by the number of racks you’ve played. For each game in which you compete (8 Ball, 10 Ball. etc.), you’ll generally have a different PA. Very few players are equally comfortable and competent across different games.

Keeping It Fresh

Player average can change multiple times in a session, based on your recent performance. Established players see their last 100 racks factored. For players with less than two matches played in a game (8 Ball, 10 Ball, etc.), each rack score is your player average. There aren’t enough scores yet to know how you play — so we don’t yet look to weigh performance against any norms, nor do we provide any benefit that would be unfair to opponents.

If knowing where you stand among peers is important to you, then know that BCAPL players gain a unique rating that can be used to determine fair and favorable matchups between players outside of the team-based format. Many amateurs like to see how they compare against pro-am and professional players. Check the Fargo Ratings page for more on this, since we’re all plotted along the scale together. To obtain a rating, you must compete in regional or national events.

How the Points Work

Your team and your opponent each start with one point for showing up. One of the teams earns a second point for winning at least 14-13 on racks or better (again, there are 27 total racks played in a match). The third point up for grabs goes to the more positive, cumulative differential. This is calculated by rack, totaled by round then shown as a running tally throughout the match (e.g., +2 is more positive than -6). The ability to achieve a split score (e.g., 2-2) as opposed to only decisive outcomes is unique to NOVA BCAPL. Team scores will therefore be one of the following: 0-0 (double forfeit), 3-0 (one team forfeits), 2-2 (teams split the bonus points) 2.5-1.5 (one team wins on racks but the teams tie on differential) or 3-1 (one team earns both bonus points).

Every Match Has a Story

NOVA BCAPL matches have a dual heartbeat — who’s winning the racks and whose performance is more impressive than usual. By the end of the night, the story will be clear. If you’re looking carefully, you’ll know when the tide turned and what you need to do to correct in real time (or the next time) to achieve better results. The system works equally well for teams, singles, or doubles.

While we don’t take ourselves too seriously, we do take pride in who we are as players. In addition to the fact that we compete in a challenging format, it’s also nice to know that the best in the game don’t cringe or snicker at what we represent. They compete with us side-by-side at our highest level events — sometimes in their own division or sometimes mixed in with us (e.g., in open events, at regional tournaments, or at the BCA World Championships). If you’re committed to your game, or you’re at least “improvement curious,” then we’re the pool league for you.

BCAPL is a product of Cue Sports International (Las Vegas). There are more than 500 BCAPL-sanctioned leagues in more than eight (8) countries with a total membership over 50,000 players. It was created in 1978 by the Billiard Congress of America (BCA) to unify independent leagues around the world. In 2004, the BCA decided to sell the league portion of its business. CSI has since produced top-flight regional and national events for professionals and amateurs alike. These have included: Ohio BCAPL State Championships (Columbus OH), Southwest Regional Championships (Scottsdale AZ), New England Regional Championships (Ayer MA), 20th Annual Western BCA Regional 9-Ball Championships (Lincoln City OR), 2017 CSI Oklahoma Regional Championships (Lawton OK), Colorado Regional Championships (location varies), Florida Regional Championships (location varies).

To learn more about history, read about about the transition from BCA to BCAPL or explore a billiards timeline for key milestones like when the pool cue, tip, table specifications and more were created.

Overview

Formerly BCAPL Nationals, it’s been called “the greatest pool tournament in the world.” Staged mid to late July at the Rio (one week after the World Series of Poker Main Event completes there), the venue is Las Vegas’ only all-suite hotel‎ and casino. The event accommodates the most popular pool games (8 Ball, 9 Ball, 10 Ball, etc.) in a variety of formats (singles, doubles, teams). Events are catered to a broad range of skill levels. The competition is played on over 300 Diamond 7-foot tables. The tournament boards are interactive touch screens. Pros compete alongside amateurs in open events and also compete in challenges against each other for attendee viewing. Pro matches are streamed in each hotel room as well as projected in the players lobby outside the main room. Major and minor billiard manufacturers and vendors are positioned around the perimeter of the playing areas. Small-board, open tournaments are staged each night in one of the side parlors.

Costs

There’s an entry fee per event. Singles events start at $100 per player. Doubles and team event entries start at $50 per player. Unless you’ve earned money from NOVA BCAPL for being a top finishing team, then also expect to cover these expenses at Worlds: flight, cost of sharing a suite (Rio only offers suites), food/drink, and spending money. It’s entirely possible to live comfortably and compete on a team for $1,000 or less per player for a 4-5 day stay in Las Vegas. Bringing some amount of food (e.g., granola bars, fruit bars, energy shots and the like) can dramatically reduce your trip’s cost.

Basic NOVA BCAPL Membership

New members pay annual dues ($25) and a greens fee ($10 per match played). You get an hour of warmup, 2.5 hours of match play and generally some amount of free time on the tables after the match. If you don’t compete in your team’s match then there’s no greens fee for that night. If you play 4 racks or less, then it’s $5 for your greens fee.

Participation in BCAPL Worlds

If you choose to enter one or more events at the BCAPL National Championships, then there’s an entry fee for each that varies. Singles events start at $100 per player. Doubles and team event entries start at $50 per player. Unless you’ve earned money from NOVA BCAPL for being a top finishing team, then also expect to cover these expenses at Worlds: flight, cost of sharing a suite (Rio only offers suites), food/drink and spending money. It’s entirely possible to live comfortably and compete on a team for $1,000 or less per player for a 4-5 day stay in Las Vegas. Bringing some amount of food (e.g., granola bars, fruit bars, energy shots and the like) can dramatically reduce your trip’s cost.

What It’s For

NOVA BCAPL puts up a portion of the money we collect from greens fees as prize money for top-finishing players. This cash pool is specifically earmarked for use in competing at BCAPL Worlds. We currently award first and second place team finishers, by session.

New For 2017

In 2017, we moved to an earn-by-session model. Our previous end-of-year tournament was eliminated and money became immediately earned as of the final night of each session. This has allowed teams to organize and plan sooner (as opposed to waiting for all sessions to close and the end-of-year tournament to wrap up). The First Place prize pool is currently $650 per session. Second Place prize pool is $250 per session. There are three sessions each year that qualify toward Vegas. That means a perennial first place finisher can earn $1,950 cumulatively. Tiebreakers are in this order: head-to-head match record, then better overall score inside the head-to-had matches. If neither of these breaks a tie, then the money is split between the tying teams for that place in the standings.

Please note: as of 2020, Vegas money will be disbursed in January or February (with BCA Worlds moving to February and March).