Dear Friend,

For however long, you’ve watched me play, train, teach, and chase this game. You may have been with me since the Hollywood Billiards days. You might have found me through Zen Pool, the Pro Pool Academy, or a YouTube stream at 2 a.m. Either way, you have meant something to me.

I write this now with something simple and direct.

My grandfather Charles Eberle was a great pool hustler from Ohio. He travelled the country during the Great Depression and sent his winnings home to his wife and kids. My father Rob later picked up a cue too, aspiring to turn pro before life took a different turn.

When Grandpa won the Dover, OH city championships in 1981, my uncle Dave got second and my cousin Danny got third. I was nine years old, just learning the game. By twelve I knew I wanted to be a professional pool player. By thirteen I’d won my first tournament. At fifteen I won my first adult tournament in Dover — defeating my own grandfather in the finals. The story made the National Billiard News under the headline “Eberle Beats Eberle.”

Three years later I won the BCA Junior Nationals. Back-to-back National Collegiate titles followed. Then the US Open 9-Ball, then the world. I’ve since won nearly 1,000 tournaments, beaten 21 sanctioned world champions and dozens of legends, held a top-5 world ranking for two straight years, entertained the US Military on two DOD overseas shows, and competed on ESPN and live across 33 countries. I’ve had the privilege of meeting, knowing, and teaching legends from sport, film, and commerce — Joe Rogan, Pete Rose, Michael Jordan, and Jeff Bezos among them.

The biggest one came in 2013 at the Derby City Classic Straight Pool Challenge — the only year it was played on 10-foot Diamond tables — where I beat three reigning World Champions (Pagulayan, Feijen, Orcullo) in succession to take the title. You can still find the match on YouTube.

It’s been a great ride, yet the best part is yet to come.

Twenty‑plus events across eight countries on three continents. The biggest stages our sport has — the US Open ($500,000), UK Open and Florida Open ($225,000 each), Arizona ($125,000), the PBS 10-Ball Series, nine WNT ranking events, and the Mosconi Cup race. I’m currently ranked USA Mosconi Cup #10, a signed pro on the World Nineball Tour, and a top-20 USA player on the BCA list.

This is the year I take another serious shot at hoisting a major championship trophy. The flights, hotels, entry fees, coaching, training time, and equipment add up fast — and that’s where you come in.

Independent professional pool is one of the only major sports where players still fight for their own travel funding. A handful of corporate sponsors are coming online, but the runway between “ranked pro” and “running at majors” is paved by the people who actually care about the game.

That’s you — and the 10,000+ pool players in this community who’ve been with me for years. Any support you can give — $25 or $25,000 — goes straight to the campaign: tournament entries, international flights, hotel stays, Uber rides, training time on the table, and the content I make to grow this sport for the next generation.