I was first introduced to billiards that I played just for fun at the beginning by my dormitory mate during the first grade of university in 2004. And billiards that I played as a professional for the last 10 years continues to be among the essentials of my life since that very first game.

So, what do we really know about billiards?

Let me introduce billiards briefly. This sport that had been played as a palace sport in France in the 16^th century continues to be played in our day officially in two branches (pocket-pocketless), on three tables (pool/carom/snooker) and with various different disciplines.

The top name that introduced this game that is still much more popular in overseas to Turkey is Semih Saygıner, who is sure heard by everyone. The sportsman, who gained many titles in this branch both in Turkey and overseas, has been one of the names that helped freeing this sport from the view of being just a coffee house fun, improving this sport and establishing a new federation.

This sport that had only evoked the name Semih Saygıner in Turkey in the past is currently placed in the annual activity calendars of universities and taught as an elective course by certified trainers in high schools and private colleges of Turkey.

So, what kind of a sport billiards is in detail? Who can play billiards, how can people improve themselves in this sport?  What are the impacts of billiards to one's life? Let me answer these.

Billiards is a gentlepeople sport where people can reflect their body coordinations and intelligences to the table. To play billiards professionally, you should definitely have sharp vision, proper posture, body balance, precise arm control and stable mental state. After reaching a certain level in this sport that is based on these qualities by learning various techniques that can be applied within the game, the only things left to do are to stay stable mentally and to practice regularly.

In this sports that you have the risk to get back to where you had started if you do not practice just like a freshly learned foreign language, persistence is everything. And the role of billiards in one's professional life is impressive. I would like to explain this to you by describing the things a billiards player should do during a game to win the competition.

• Making a good opening (separating the balls). For example; a proper presentation, a result-oriented feasibility report and a good analysis are required to get the job. This corresponds to the first shot in billiards. You will succeed if you can distribute the balls on the table well and pocket the balls without making a foul and giving the turn to your opponent.

• Making the right decisions under pressure in critical moments of the game. You are in such a position that any mistake you will do can return to you as a defeat in the game, thus you should make the right decision and get the desired outcome. You can achieve victory by making the right decision and managing the process correctly under pressure in sharp turns in professional life as well.

• Waiting patiently with the confidence that it will be your turn after setting your strategy in the game. This is also a situation that you may face in professional life. In a project or contract process that you are managing, sometimes a sudden or an impulsive decision may lead to negative outcomes.

• Standing mentally stable even if things go bad in the game. We may fail due to uncontrollable factors even if we use all our talents in the professional life. We should not forget that this is only temporary and that we should stay strong and mentally stable, and we should embrace all the new opportunities.

• Losing the game and leaving the competition by congratulating your rival as a gentleperson. This is a situation that you may face both in your social and professional life. You should empathize with the people before you and never throw the chivalry to the winds even in conditions that you don't like or your mental state is bad.

I am experiencing all these in my professional and social life. I'm sure these touch some points in your lives as well.

Finally, I would like to talk about the challenges that the professional sportspeople face while doing this sport.

The personal equipments required for billiards, the hourly fees applied in places where you can practice and the long tournament calendars of both national and international organizations are among the top obstacles particularly before the billiards players, who are working in the public and private sectors.

Hoping that the value attached to billiards increases and the federation takes new good decisions in the future, I would like to clarify that I will continue doing this sport until I am physically incapable to and to invite everyone to play billiards or at least get to know this sport more closely.

Best regards,

Oytun GÜNGÖR

Aktaş Holding Sales Representative