What is the established and recognised size for league and tournament specification pool tables? It varies for both English and American styles, and can vary even more if the event is being televised.
"So, one of the really common questions we get all the time from customers coming to the showroom or ringing us up is, "What is the standard size of pool table that they use in pubs or for pool leagues?"
Well, that's quite simple. If it is a pub where they're playing pool leagues, then all the pool leagues will basically specify, you need to have a 7-foot sized table. So, we've got an example here. This is a Signature tournament table. Loads of pubs buy these. That's a 7-footer. We've got the Sam Atlantic here. This is used in the BAPTO tournament each year. That's a 7-foot sized table. Supreme Winners, we do those in 7-foot. It's a very popular commercial grade table. So, if it's a pool league, if it's a tournament, they'll be using a 7-foot sized table.
There's one small exception to that, which is, sometimes, on televised World Cup of Pool events for the World Championships, they have sometimes used an 8-foot sized table for that, and that's purely because it looks better on TV. Very seldom is an 8-foot table used. It's always 7-footers.
The only thing I would say is, don't take it as a rule of thumb that your pub will, therefore, definitely have a 7-foot table, because if they don't have pool leagues playing there, they may, or potentially, just have a 6-foot table because that fits the amount of space they've got. So, if you wanted to get the same sized table that your local pub has got, and you're not too sure, take your measuring tape down, give it a measure, and make sure that you're picking the right one if you want it to be the same size as your local pub one.
Just in terms of American pool, they always play on a 9-foot sized table. So the Mosconi Cup, the World Cup of Pool, they are both televised on Sky, they're always using a 9-foot sized table, and that's what you're seeing on the TV. Without exception, 9-foot is where it's at if you're playing American pool.
So, hopefully, that clears it up for you and you know what sort of size table you're going to find in your local pub. Basically, it's a 7-footer."