KNOWLEDGE OF THE SPORT OF SNOOKER WOULD HELP IN MAKING THIS STORY MORE INTERESTING. SOME NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED, SLIGHTLY*
Vicky Hoare made her way to the baggage carousel to pick up her luggage at Heathrow Airport. Her manager, Al 'Seedy' Seamen, was waiting for her outside in a hired car. They greeted each other, then he drove to the house they always stayed at. Al glanced at her and said,
"We've been getting plenty of media attention. If you can get through those 3 qualifiers, it'll fucking explode. Even back home."
"That's all good. Although, it'll be a miracle if I can get through those qualifiers. I've never even played a 2 session match. I need to put in some serious practice," Replied Vicky.
Vicky Hoare was a 23 year old girl from Las Vegas who had made her name as a pool player. Her success in that sport had led to some appearances in certain men's magazines. The sight of her in skimpy bikinis had only enhanced her popularity. She divided opinion amongst women. Older women thought she was trashy, flaunting her body at every opportunity. The younger generation seemed to admire her brash confidence. It was a middle finger to male chauvinism, and a thumbs up to modern feminism.
Vicky didn't have a problem with showing off her body. She'd always been used to men drooling over her. At one time, she'd even considered modeling full time. She wasn't short on offers to do photo shoots. All of them offering 6 figures. She didn't mind taking advantage of her awesome figure. But, she didn't want to be written off as a bimbo, like most girls who did glamor modeling. Just because she was a gorgeous, highly sexual woman, some people just assumed she couldn't be taken seriously. It was generally a male point of view.
Although, even without the sexy modeling pictures, that point of view would still have been a prevalent one. Vicky was a 5ft 6" blonde with big double D breasts. She was curvaceous, and had a flirtatious personality. She was a highly skilled pool player. But, her critics often cited her penchant for courting controversy. She was known for wearing revealing outfits in her matches. And her interviews were always anticipated. She rarely held back, often to the point of being blunt. She also had a habit of using sexual innuendos in her pre and post match interviews.
At the age of 21, she was making a comfortable living from playing pool and the occasional modeling shoot. Then, on a tour of Canada, she'd come across the game of snooker. She knew of the sport, of course, but she'd never really studied it, or even played the game. The table was daunting. 12ft by 6ft, and played with 21 larger balls. It was by far more tactical than pool. In fact, comparisons were ridiculous. It was like comparing chequers to chess. The more she learned, the more pool seemed like a silly game played on a toy table with bucket pockets.
When she got back to Las Vegas, she immediately invested in a brand new snooker table for $17,000. When she told Al Seamen she was interested in switching to snooker, he was aghast. He'd said,
"Nobody plays snooker in North America. We'd have to move to Europe. It's a professional game over there. And I'm pretty sure there's no money in the women's game. Let's stick to what we know. You picked up over $500,000 in total profits last year. This is a bad idea."
Of course, she knew that Al was protecting his 10 per cent.
"I'm not saying I'm going to be the world champion or anything. I just want to give it a shot. Pool's like a kids game compared to snooker. I'm not saying we switch forever. But, I want to see how far I can go. Look, for the time being, I want you to look into it, while I put in some practice and familiarize myself with the rules of the game," Replied Vicky, unwaveringly. Al had been a big help in her career. But, he was a money man. He wouldn't understand her need to achieve a sporting goal that superseded financial considerations.
Al Seamen had acquired the nickname, Seedy, because of his methods of creating media interest in his clients. There was always a perceived sexual element to their personalities. Vicky was currently his biggest client. It was his ideas that had elevated her to B list fame. He'd come up with her nickname, The Vegas Vixen. The revealing outfits had been her idea. But, it fell into line with his own plans to create a degree of notoriety. Even the website he'd had set up for her was a money maker. She had over 5 million subscribers, worldwide.
VegasVixen.com had all manner of information about Vicky Hoare. There was a weekly diary that she wrote herself. She even wrote about her personal life. Al encouraged her to include sexual innuendos. And he advised her to omit mentioning serious boyfriends. That could have a detrimental effect. A single girl was more popular than one in a relationship. There were photo galleries, calendars and even auctions for items of her clothing. In an auction for a pair of her panties, one fan had paid $2,000 for them. Some of the items weren't even genuine. Al would shrug and say, "What's the difference?"
Vicky started putting in the practice at home on her new table. She had to knock out a wall to place the table in an accessible position. Initially, knocking in long pots was almost impossible. After playing pool for so long, a snooker table seemed gigantic. The worst thing was not having anyone to practice with, because no one she knew even played the game. She soon realized the problems she would have in a match. At 5ft 6" she would have trouble reaching some shots. Instead of constantly using the rest implement, she started playing some shots left handed.
Women who played pool and snooker generally couldn't generate the same kind of power as a man. The problem was magnified on a 12ft table. Vicky had a 2 piece cue built for her specific needs. All cues had lead weights inside the butt end. She had a single lead weight inserted inside the entire length of the butt end. This made the cue much heavier, and she could generate power without putting her whole upper body into thrusting the cue. She really needed a practice partner, though. Playing on your own soon became tedious.
Al Seamen soon returned with his report on the professional set up.
"Well, it's not going to be easy. There's no money or coverage of the women's tour. A couple of women have got onto the men's tour. I don't think any of them got beyond the second round in any tournament. One interesting thing is the guy who runs the World Snooker Tour. His name is Barry Hearnia, and he's all about expanding the sport and bringing in more revenue. He used to manage that ginger guy, Davis. He's someone I can deal with. The Vegas Vixen could generate a lot of interest in the snooker world," He said, pensively.
One month later, Barry Hearnia received an email from the USA. He leaned back in his office chair as he read it. Vicky Hoare? He'd heard of the girl. Some kind of glamor model who played pool. It was an interesting story. Apparently, she now had ambitions of playing on the World Snooker Tour. And not the women's tour, either. Hearnia had been a promoter, and he could see the possibilities. Although, it would be a moot point if she couldn't play. He did a quick internet search on her. Wow! She was media gold. She had sex appeal coming out of every pore. He began typing a reply to Al Seamen's email.
The next day in Las Vegas, Al Seamen drove to Vicky's house. She opened the door, cue in hand. By now, she'd found a practice partner. He was a guy named Jim who played in a pool hall. The place had one snooker table, and Jim was easily the best player there. She was willing to pay him for his time. But, he knew who she was, and he was more than happy to spend a couple of hours every evening playing her. Vicky had to dress down for his visits. Too much flesh on display seemed to hinder his ability to concentrate.
Al walked in and looked at the table. Every time he saw this huge snooker table, the whole idea seemed insane. He eventually said,
"I got a reply from Barry Hearnia. He's not opposed to the idea. Obviously, it all boils down to your ability. The WST would love to crack the North American market. But, at the moment, it's a hard sell. They need a foothold, and you could help achieve that. Hearnia wants to see a video of you playing, before he commits to anything. But, as chairman of the governing body, he can hand out a tour wildcard."
Vicky was potting consecutive balls as her break reached 32. Jim respotted the black ball as she walked around the table, and replied,
"We can organize the video. My best break is up to 48. I haven't beaten Jim yet. But, I will. I just wish I'd taken the game up as a kid."
"So, what do you think, Jim? Has she got any potential?" Asked Al.
"Definitely. The transition from pool is huge. You don't play trick shots in snooker. It's all about cue ball control. I've been playing for years, and Vicky's nearly as good as me, already. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect," He replied, seriously.
Vicky missed a black on 41. She cursed, clearly frustrated. Her game was rapidly improving playing against Jim. He loved the game, and was a very good player. That was fairly impressive, given the fact that no one at the pool hall could even give him a decent game. They usually played about 5 frames an evening. Once she started winning frames, she decided they would play best of 5. As an added incentive, she would give him a blowjob if he won. She definitely didn't want him going easy on her. That would guarantee his best performance.
A month later, they were evenly matched. Jim arrived at her house after work. Before they started, Vicky suddenly said,
"Ok, Jim, let's make it more interesting. We'll play a best of 5 match. If I win, you'll have to wash and wax my car...naked. If you win, I'll give you a blowjob."
His eyes widened in surprise. Was she joking? He finally replied,
"There's no need for extreme stakes like that. Besides, I've got a girlfriend. Maybe we can play for something less provocative."
Vicky could see his mind weighing up her offer. Smiling, she said,
"A girlfriend, huh? You can't see much of her. I don't want to upset your relationship with her, and it won't. As long as you can keep a secret. I thought men liked cheating on their partners."
Jim was thinking about what he wanted to do, and what he should do.
"Look, I just want your best game. And this will guarantee it. I can see your brain ticking over. Let's be honest, Jim, you're definitely up for it. Unless you're religious, or morally uptight, I don't see a problem," She added casually, as if it was an unimportant issue.
Jim went silent for quite a while, before he eventually mumbled,
"Ok, we'll see how it goes."
