EARL “THE PEARL” STRICKLAND

Earl Strickland is an American professional pool player and JFlowers ambassador who is considered one of the best nine-ball players of all time.

Known as “The Pearl,” he has won hundreds of titles and is considered as one of the legends of the game.

Strickland was born on June 8th, 1961, in Roseboro, North Carolina. He started playing pool at the age of nine and he participated in his first professional tournament at the age of 15. In 1983, Strickland’s name started to gain traction after winning the Caesars Tahoe Billiard Classic where he defeated Steve Mizerak in the final. His amazing career catapulted from there, winning over 100 international titles.

Strickland has won five U.S. Open titles (1984, 1987, 1993, 1997, 2000) besting all-time greats like Efren Reyes and Mike Sigel in the final. His 5 U.S. Open titles are the most in history, a record he shares with fellow American, Shane Van Boening. He has also won the WPA World Nine-Ball Championship three times (1990, 1991, 2002), the most by any player.

He’s also the only player that has successfully defended his title, winning the prestigious event two consecutive times in ‘91 and ‘92. Strickland has also received the biggest cash prize in the pool in 1996 at the PCA tournament. The Pearl won $1 million after running out 10 consecutive racks. In 2006, Strickland was inducted into the Billiard Congress of America Hall of Fame.

A true legend of the game, Strickland will forever cement himself as one of the best 9-ball players the game has ever seen.