![]() Nick closed out the year by winning the WPA World 9-Ball Championship in Alicante, Spain. Early in the year, he won the World Bank Pool Championship in Louisville Kentucky. In route to Player Of The Year honors, he won the world 8-Ball Championship and the Challenge of Champions. In 1994, Nick finished the year as the number one player on the Pro Billiards Tour and captured Player Of The Year Honors for the fourth time. In July 1992, he was inducted into the Billiards Congress of America Hall of Fame. In 1992, he was ranked #1 All-Around Player and #1 9-Ball Player by his peers in the Men's Professional Billiards Association. Writer Ben Lucien Burman, probably summed it up best after watching Nick perform at the Players Club in New York, when he said "To watch Nick Varner at a pool table is like watching a portrait being painted by Rembrandt." Since 1980, Nick Varner has racked up over 80 tournament championships, including 8 World Championships. His skill, strategy and and cue ball control are legendary. Throughout his career, Nick Varner has established himself as one of the all-time greats of the game. Two of his Championships in 1989 included the World Championship and the US Open 9-Ball Championship. This record is one that may never be equaled. He won everything in sight, including 11 Pro Tour Events out of 22. In 1986, Nick again won the World Championship in Philadelphia, which ESPN televised.ġ989 was a dream year for Nick. ABC Televised the tournament on Wide World Of Sports with Howard Cosell as commentator. However, in 1982, Varner captured the World 9-Ball Championship in Atlantic City. 1981 was a heart-breaker for Varner, when he narrowly missed repeating by finishing second in both tournaments. Three months later, he also won the 1980 BCA National 8-Ball Championship, prompting Billiards Digest to name him Player Of The Year. In August 1980, his lifetime dream of winning the World Championship came true in New York City. Later, Balsis remarked to the press, "Nick has a lot of potential."Īfter college, Nick took his "potential" on the road playing an aggressive schedule of tournaments and exhibitions. During a game between Balsis and Varner, Nick ran 58 balls, beating Joe 150-148. In 1970, Nick received another boost to his confidence as a player when top pro Joe Balsis visited Purdue for an exhibition. In 1969 and in 1970, he won back-to-back National Collegiate Championships. Even though he had not played in months, Varner trailed Baumgarth by only four games after two hours of play.ĭuring the next three years, Varner practiced daily, and his game improved. Richard Baumgarth, soon to National Collegiate Champion, stepped forward. However, one day early in his second semester, Varner dropped into the billiard room and asked if anyone wanted to play. By the time he graduated from high school, Varner had become a top local player.ĭespite his home town reputation, Varner avoided pool rooms during his first semester at Purdue-figuring a farm boy would be outclassed. ![]() The young farm boy soon became a familiar sight in the pool room pulling a coke case around the table so that he could reach the shots on the table. Like many other businesses of the period, overwhelming debt, soaring costs and a downturn economy forced Viking Cue to close its doors in 2010.Currently considered by many the world's Best All-Around and Best 9-Ball Player, Nick Varner picked up his first pool cue at age five when his father, Nicholas, bought a small pool room in Grandview, Indiana. ![]() The late 2000’s was a low point for Viking Cue. Over the next two decades, Viking Cue became an industry giant and proudly served its distributors and players throughout the world. In 1986, the Martin Scorsese film, The Color of Money, experienced great success and created a boom in the billiard industry that led to sky-rocketing sales of Viking Cues. Production capabilities expanded and the company grew steadily over the next two decades as Viking Cue sold cues throughout the United States and abroad. Demand increased in the late 60’s, the old poolroom was sold and Viking Cue moved to a bigger location in Madison, Wisconsin- the home of Viking Cue for 48 years. As popularity gained it was apparent that Viking Cue was outgrowing its subterranean confines. In a short period of time, Viking Cues became popular and attracted some notable top players. Founder Gordon Hart would travel to various tournaments peddling his unique style of hand-made cues. In the early 1960s, Viking Cue started in the basement of a poolroom in Stoughton, Wisconsin.
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