Masse Shots
Masse shots are ones where the cue ball is loaded up with lots of spin, deviates from its obvious straight line path and curves on its own without hitting a rail or an object ball. This includes pique shots which are very similar to masse shots, but the cue ball come backs against the directional stroke.
Masse-Jump shots are where the cue ball jumps over an obstruction and makes a curve around the object balls or other props on the table.
Andy's Three Rail Masse
Sometimes I may not be good with coming up for new names for trick shots, but this will do for now. Andy Segal created this shot for the UTS tour, and this shot has a better performance when applying silicone to the cue ball. I placed the butt stick near the short rail in case the cue ball doesn't reach the 5 ball. It's another favorite of mine, but give it a try if you are up for masse shots.
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Two-Way Masse
I called it that way because I can't think of a better name myself. Andy Segal and Gordon Hedges were near the end of their UTS match and Gordon pulled this out on Andy just to challenge him on a shot that he's never done before. The first is to masse the cue ball into the corner pocket while the object ball replaces the other object ball hanging near the edge of the pocket. Afterwards, go over to the other cue ball and do a double masse around the bottle. Just remember that both shots are considered as a full attempt for each time you use it in tournaments.
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Three Rail Masse
This shot is set up the same way Steve Markle had when he competed with Team USA for World Cup of Trick Shots 2013. The balls along the long rail are blocker balls and you have to have the cue ball hit the gap and travel two more rails to hit the Delta Rack and pocket the object ball. Markle made the shot, but Folrian found it too easy to make and he made it on his first attempt. Talk about taking a step backwards wouldn't you say?
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The New Mission Impossible
Team Europe from WCOTS 2013 did a partner shot where Gabi masse's the cue ball and have it hit the short rail and then off the object ball to spin back and make the object ball into the pocket. They both failed to complete the shot, but Team USA didn't had much luck either which made Team Europe the winning champions. The shot is pretty but challenging, so my best bet is to start off with easier masse shots or maybe apply silicone for this type of shot.
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Jump Masse*
This shot was part of the 2003 WPA World Artistic Pool Championships in Kiev, Ukraine where Mike Massey taught Andy on how to execute the trick shot whereas Andy had little luck of executing the shot during practice sessions. The shot is beautiful and indeed hard to execute. That's why I used my Crown masse cue for a shot that requires jumping over a row of balls. I love this shot so much because of how flawless it looks on video, minus the grainy mosiac look.
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The Split Masse
It was just a concept Andy pulled up randomly at the UTS tour, and he was just experiementing on a pool tablewith this simple trick shot here. He masse the cue ball whereas the two balls are frozen to the cue ball. The two balls go into the corner pockets while the cue ball spins out of the way. It's pretty simple when you view it. I think Andy has a creative 3-D mind when it comes to trick shots, but I bet he can update this shot in the near future. He might try, but this is just a concept of an experiment that he was experimenting earlier.
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Vertical Masse Jump
This shot here has been around for years in the Artistic Pool industry. The cue ball jumps out of the rack and spins back to pocket the hanging ball. Sometimes, it's best to have a cue stick to guide the ball down in case if you hit the long rail to hard and miss the gap for the cue ball to pocket the ball. I reccomend this for you if you are learning this shot for the first time and want the shot to be easy for you.
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Scratching with Style
A standard masse shot from the book program, but a classic one. The cue ball curves around the 8 ball and is pocketed in the corner before the 8. To make it even trickier, you can add a bottle for the cue ball to swerve around not only the 8 ball as well as the bottle. In the video, I used a throwback Mountain Dew bottle, but you can also use other objects like a bowling pin, an action figure, etc.
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Venom's Double Rainbow
Now this is a classic Venom trick shot right here, and it really is a beauty to watch what Florian does for trick shots. For shots like this one, it really takes trick shots to the next level because it shows greater difficulty as well as skill, but they encouraged you greatly to perform them. Florian really has outdone himself in the last few years for creating endless amount of new trick shots. He might be what you call a trick shot ambassador! Watch this shot that'll prove why he is one.
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Masse Jump Escape
I've seen this shot for many years by Ppooler since 2007, but now was the time to understand how the shot is done. It is indeed hard, and you have a slim chance of getting the cue ball out because of how much room and elevation for the cue ball to fly and spin around the wall of balls. My biggest concern is that this is a shot can be very hard to execute because it non-practicable, but cool looking. My firend Pavel can create some really cool shots, but sometimes he has to think of the advantage of having other people execute the shot as well with ease if you are going to use it in a tournament. So, this shot may not be used for future tournaments in my book, but it's worth looking at a trick shot my friend created years ago. Have fun with this shot!
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