Bence Kővári, 29, from Hungary, has broken the record for the longest duration to spin a billiard ball, achieving an incredible time of 47.13 seconds.
This challenge involves using a cue stick to strike a cue ball, which then hits a second billiard ball, causing the cue ball to spin.
If the cue ball touches any of the table’s cushions during the spin, the attempt is disqualified.
The previous record of 42.20 seconds was set in 2021 by the famed French trick shot artist Florian “VENOM” Kohler.
After seeing Florian’s successful attempt, Bence became inspired to break his record.
“A friend of mine showed me a video of a fabulous pool shot done by Florian,” Bence said.
“That friend was curious how long I can spin the ball and we measured more than 30 seconds. This was the point when I decided to practise this kind of shot.”
After several weeks of refining his technique, Bence felt he was ready for his official attempt, which took place at Dallas Biliárd Club in Nyíregyháza, Hungary.
On the day, Bence practised for over an hour before performing his first official shot. He was allowed three tries to break the record, although he only needed one.
He struck the cue ball and proceeded to watch intently as it began its superlative spin.
“The ball started its spinning with incredible speed,” noted Loránd Adonyi, an amateur snooker player who acted as an independent witness to Bence’s record attempt.
After nervously staring at the ball for almost an entire minute, Bence let out a primal shout when the timekeeper confirmed his new world record.
“I deeply believe that this sport is not only for pubs, and there can be measurable results like this one.” – Bence Kővári
How to spin a billiard ball
As previously mentioned, this record was formerly held by Florian Kohler. In fact, Florian has broken the record several times.
He first did it in 2017 with a time of 23.53 seconds, then a year later he managed 27.28 seconds. Three more years passed before he broke it again, setting an astonishing new time of 42.20 seconds, which Bence has now surpassed by almost five seconds.
According to Florian, the technique for spinning a billiard ball is “quite simple.”
“You’ve got to pick a side [of the cue ball],” he said.
“The trick is to not hit it too much on the extreme because you’re gonna miscue and if you hit it too much in the centre then it’s not gonna spin enough.”
In terms of body positioning, his advice is: “go parallel to the table and follow through.”
