Interview:
Kevin Welling,
director,
"The Tale of Texas Pool"
![]() Kevin Welling was not born with a pool cue stick in his hand but few people know cue sports as well as the Leander-based director of the documentary The Tale of Texas Pool. After taking up pool in his late teens, Welling won the 1994 Southwest 8-Ball League Texas State Championship. He founded G Cue Billiards, which now operates as Skinny Bob's Billiards & Sports Bar in Round Rock. Every late summer, Skinny Bob’s hosts the Texas Open 9-Ball Championship, the prestigious state tournament Welling competed in before he ret. And Welling co-founded the Texas Billiards Hall of Fame, which inducted its first class in 2024. So who better to document the history of pool in the Lone Star State than Welling? In addition to tracing pool back to Texas’ founding in 1845, Welling’s The Tale of Texas Pool examines the rise in importance and influence of the Texas Open in advance of the 51st anniversary tournament at Skinny Bob’s in 2024. He highlights the life and career of the late Bob Vanover, widely considered to be the best pool player Texas has produced and the inspiration behind the founding of the Texas Billiards Hall of Fame. Welling also interviews many of Vanover’s rivals and peers, including Buddy Hall, Jeremy Jones, Gilbert Martinez Jr., and Steve Hall, and offers a portrait in courage of James Davis Jr. as he prepares to return to the sport after suffering a life-altering brain injury. The Tale of Texas Pool, which represents Leander-based director Kevin Welling’s directorial debut, is now available for digital and on-demand viewing. Aired: Jan. 15, 2025. Web sites: https://www.texaspoolmovie.com/ https://www.facebook.com/texaspoolmovie |
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