The name “Cylcop” has become synonymous with world-class billiard events throughout Asia, Europe, and the U.S., becoming the most “talked about” new product in the billiard industry.
Now, Cyclop Pool Balls have been named the “official” balls of the Texas-based Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour and the WPBA sanctioned, Gulf Coast Women’s Regional Billiards Tour.
Cyclops Pool Balls U.S. Sales Representative, Steve McDonald, had this to say about the new relationship with the Texas tours. “We are so proud to be involved with Kim and her tours, she is truly an icon and great advocate for the sport. Together we hope to put Cyclop Pool Balls on top here in the U.S.”
Cyclop joins an elite list of industry sponsors that warrants no introduction. Poison by Predator Cues, Ozone Billiards, and the APA of North Harris County have sponsored the tours for more than 7 years.
“It’s what we do best – get the word out. We use social media marketing through a number of different platforms, we believe in advertising in the right places, and we’re always recruiting new players. That’s what works for us, on all fronts”, says Poison Lone Star and Gulf Coast Tours’ owner and operator, Kim Newsome. “We believe in the Cyclop products and couldn’t be happier about the new relationship. We look forward to promoting this brand, and placing these balls in the hands of players, all across the United States.”
Since their debut here in the U.S., sporting unusually vibrant, pastel colors, Cyclop Tournament TV Ball Sets are affectionately described as “skittles” or “Easter egg” balls, which are set in 100% phenolic resin with a smooth, high tech, surface finish.
“Cyclop balls are different, and that’s not a bad thing” says Newsome. “Many new products introduced in the billiard industry in the last 20 years, which came across odd looking or different at first, became the industry standard. I could cite several examples. History has taught us, that change can be good.”
Not only was Newsome impressed with the balls, but also the story behind the color of the balls. Turns out, the colors of the balls weren’t chosen because they stood out on television, they were chosen by the daughter of one of the men behind the Cyclop brand, and the man who worked closely with Newsome to facilitate the sponsorship, Adrian Wang.“It’s not too often that a manufacturer relies upon the acumen of a small child, but in this case, it worked” she says.
With their brilliant colors and high-gloss shine, they’re not just another pretty face in the billiards industry. There is a back story, an ideology, behind Cyclop balls.
In Greek mythology, the Cyclopes were a race of strong giants who were master builders and craftsmen, and persistently pursued perfection. Like these mythological icons, the Shanhai, China-based company XhinBiing, the rubber company who created Cyclop Pool Balls, have dedicated themselves over the past decade to the pursuit of the perfect billiard ball material.
Their pursuit resulted in the development of a proprietary and revolutionary resin composite, the ultimate in durability, strength, anti-wear, and heat resistant properties, ideal for pool balls.
The newest edition to the Cyclop’s family, the new Red Dot TV edition cue ball, as seen in the 2016 Chinese World 8-Ball Championship, has exceeded all expectations, and both tours will be playing with these new cue balls, throughout their 2017 season.
Cyclop is the birth of another legendary brand for XhinBiing. These balls tout a higher percentage of true liquid phenolic resin which makes them smoother and stronger, with surface finish technology that makes them easy to clean and chalk, more sensitive with faster reaction times, and a ball shine that lasts longer than other balls.
OnePocket.org affiliate and Poison Lone Star Tour player, David Kurjan, had this to say about his Cyclop Pool Balls. “I bought a set before Derby City one year. I love the way they roll and the way they deflect off one another. When you break playing one pocket, they get great separation. They’re easy to clean, and they keep their luster. If you use Cyclop Balls, you’ll be satisfied every time.”
A common accolade by players is that the balls play “true” every time. “They’re very consistent balls”, says 2015-16 Gulf Coast Tour Champion and BCA State Champion, Ricki Casper. “Our BCA league in Houston plays with these balls, and when the BCA State tournament started using these balls in 2015, I won the event two years in a row.”Gulf Coast Tour player Loretta Lindgren owns her own set of Cyclop balls. “They’re a great set of pool balls. The hit, the roll, and the resistance to pick up debris from the table and your hands, is fantastic. I’ve been playing with them for about 3 years now.”
Although players may have something a little different to say about their experiences with Cyclop Balls, a common theme remains; consistency.The 2016 Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour Champion, and 2016 APA Singles Champion, Ernesto Bayaua, wouldn’t part with his Cyclop Balls. “They’re consistent balls”, says Bayaua, “plain and simple”.
The Cyclop balls truly are ultra-clean and pure, a real billiard ball that boasts more phenolic resin than any billiard ball on the market today, and more players in the U.S. are coming to this realization.
Along with sponsoring a number of professional billiard events including the CBSA 9-Ball International Open, Women’s 9-Ball World Championship, and World 9-Ball China Open, Cyclop sponsors a number of professional players, has been named the official balls of the 2017 World Games, and is a major contributor and vendor at the 11th China (Guangzhou) International Billiards Exhibition (GBE2017), one of the largest billiard tradeshows in the world.
“Cyclop has made its mark in the Asian markets, but it’s definitely a brand we’re going to be seeing more and more of here in the United States”, says Newsome.
To order your set of Cyclop TV Balls, contact Kim Newsome at 713.825.1411.
Cyclop 賽樂普這個名字現在已經與包含亞洲、歐洲以及美國所舉辦的世界級台球賽事齊名，也成為了在台球市場中討論度最高的新產品。
如今，賽樂普台球已經被在德州為主的毒孤星台球巡迴賽 (Poison Lone Star Billiards Tour)，以及由WPBA所認可的墨西哥灣女子地區台球巡迴賽 (Gulf Coast Women’s Regional Billiards Tour) 正式啟用為官方用球。
賽樂普台球美國銷售代表Steve McDonald為這個新的合作關係發表談話「我們很榮幸能夠參與到Kim的巡迴賽事，她是這項運動極具指標性的提倡者。我們希望能夠一起將賽樂普在美國發揚光大。」
賽樂普被納入一份對於為被採用的產品有核准的菁英贊助商清單中。毒孤星賽事已經由美洲豹、Ozone台球以及北哈里斯地區的APA所贊助超過七年的時間。
「這就是我們全力在做的－將消息散播出去。我們透過不同的社群平台做商業推廣，我們相信要在正確的地方做廣告，並且不斷的在招收新的球員。這個方式對我們而言在所有的商業推廣中很有效果。」毒孤星與墨西哥灣巡迴賽的老闆與主辦人，Kim Newsome說到，「我們非常相信賽樂普的產品，而且對於我們新的合作關係感到非常高興。我們期待能夠將這個新的品牌推廣出去，並且將這些球送到美國所有的球員手上。」
自從賽樂普在美國的第一次亮相之後，運動總很活躍的，賽樂普的電視賽事專用球組的粉亮色彩，被形容成 “Skittles”或是復活節彩蛋，用的是100％的酚醛樹酯，球體是非常平滑、高科技技術完成的光滑表面。
「賽樂普的球是不同的，但這並不是壞事」Newsome說到，「在過去20多年來，很多被引進台球產業的新產品，在最初都呈現不同的樣貌，但是到最後都成了產業的標準。我能夠舉出幾個例子。歷史的經驗告訴我們，那樣的改變可能會是好的。」
Newsome對賽樂普台球的印象深刻並不止於球本身，還有球體色彩背後的故事。球體的色彩選擇並不單是因為在電視轉播上可以突出，色彩的選擇是由賽樂普品牌某位人員的女兒所決定的，這位人員與Newsome密切合作促成了這次贊助。他就是 “Adrian Wang”。Newsome說到：「製造商依賴小孩的敏銳度這樣的事情並不多見，但是在賽樂普身上，這很成功。」
賽樂普亮麗的色彩與光滑的球體表面，讓賽樂普在台球產業中不只是一個新面貌的出現。在賽樂普的背後，是一個故事，一個想法。
在希臘神話中，賽樂普是一個巨人族群，專精於製造工藝，且不斷的追求完美。就像神話寓意般，基地在中國的上海欣秉橡膠有限公司，在過去十多年來生產賽樂普台球的過程中，也是不斷的在生產原料的品質上要求完美。
他們的追求，呈現出來的，就是在樹酯材料上的特有性與革命性。最終呈現出來的，就是吹合適於生產台求得材料所展現出來的耐用性、強度、抗磨損以及耐熱的特性。
賽樂普產品中最新版本，電視比賽專用球所用的紅點母球，就如同2016年於中國世界八號球錦標賽中見到的，已經超越了所有的期待。在2017年的賽事中，兩項賽事也都將使用這個新的母球。
賽樂普也算是欣秉公司另一項傳奇品牌的誕生。球的生產是使用更高純度的液態酚醛樹酯，可以讓球體更加平滑、堅硬。利用表面處理技術，讓球更容易清潔，球體的反應表現更突出，球體的亮度也可以維持的更久。
隸屬於 OnePocket.org，也是毒孤星賽事的參賽球員，David Kurjan對於他自己所擁有的賽樂普球組發表了意見：「我在一年前於德比賽事前買了一組賽樂普的球，我非常喜歡球滾動和球與球之間反應的感覺，當你在衝球的時候，球的分散非常想。球本身也非常容易清潔，而且光澤度保持的很久。如果你使用賽樂普的球，相信你隨時都會很滿意。」
在球員之間最普遍的讚譽，就是賽樂普的球總是表現出最「真實」的反應。2015-16年的墨西哥灣賽事冠軍，同時也是BCA洲際冠軍，Ricki Casper說到：「這是一組非常堅硬的球。我們在休士頓舉辦的BCA賽事都是使用這組球，而且在2015年BCA賽事開始使用這組球之後，我已經連續兩年贏得賽事。」墨西哥灣巡迴賽的參賽球員Loretta Lindgren也擁有她自己的賽樂普球組。「這是一組非常好的球，球的撞擊、滾動，以及對於球台布或是手上的灰塵的抗性，也是非常驚人的。我已經用這組球打了有三年之久了。」
雖然每個球員之間都有些對於賽樂普台球不大一樣的經驗分享，但是一個最普遍的意見就是：堅實。2016年的毒孤星賽事冠軍以及2016年APA單人賽冠軍，Ernesto Bayaua無法捨棄他的賽樂普台球球組，他說到：「這是一組非常堅實的球組，樸實而簡單。」
賽樂普台球確實是一組純度極高，一款比現在市面上所有台球都含有更高純度酚醛樹酯的台球產品，在美國也有越來越多的球員了解到這一點。
隨著一些世界級賽事的贊助，如CBSA九號公開賽、女子九球世錦賽，以及中國世界九球公開賽，賽樂普也贊助了幾位職業選手，且賽樂普也已經被指定為2017年世錦賽的官方用球，也是第十一屆（廣州）中國國際台球展覽，世界上最大台球展會之一的主要展商。
Newsome表示，「賽樂普已經取得在亞洲的名譽，當然也會是我們在美國越來越多見的一個新品牌。」
Written by Kim Newsome