What’s in a Name? A Pool Nickname that is...

Billiard Nicknames

Venom, Stinger, Flash Philly, Superman, Gentleman...

Do any of these mean anything to you?

Well they do to five individuals or should I say five amazing Trick Shot Artists.

For those of you that are not familiar with competitive pool, when you begin playing competitively, you pick out a pool “nickname”. This nickname can be anything that describes you and your game and something you wish to be called instead of your name.

There are five categories these nicknames usually derive from: the players geographic origin, physical attributes, similarity to a well-known person or character, occupation or playing ability.

We have asked each of these famous trick shot artists how they got their name.

Interestingly, each story is very different from the next! We want to thank each of these gentlemen (no pun intended) for participating in this week’s blog and allowing us and our readers to get to know them better.

What’s your pool name and where did you get it? If you don’t have one, what would you like it to be? Tweet us @thedelta13

1. How did you come up with your billiard name? Is there any family history behind it?

Florian “Venom” Kohler:

Absolutely. I got my nickname back in France from my parents because I was destroying felts pretty badly. One day my dad said I was a real "poison" for the table and Venom naturally came from that.

Matthew ‘The Stinger” Webber:

I put a post out on the Sneaky Pete Mafia asking what good nicknames would be. Then professional artistic pool player William "the Gentleman" Deyonker said it should be "The Stinger". For some reason that nickname just felt right. So I said why not and started calling myself along with everyone else, "The Stinger".

Steve “Flash Philly” Markle:

My billiard nickname is “Philly Flash”. This was given to me by Bruce “The Big Guy” Barthellette. I am currently the only professional player from the Philadelphia area. The flash part came about due to my style of play. I set up my shots and execute them very quickly. I also am known for my speed trick shots and move around the pool table at a fast pace.

Brian “Superman” Pauley:

I was playing in a local weekly 9 ball tournament at a pool hall and I wore a superman shirt. I played really well and finished in the top 3. I continued to wear superman shirts every week after that and people started calling me superman. There were people there that had known me for a year and didn't know my real name.

William “The Gentleman” DeYonker:

I came up with the billiard name when I was at the airport after competing in my first tournament called Dr. Cue’s Classic Artistic Cup 7. This was back in December 2013 at Lake City, Florida at the place called Pockets. When my parents and I were going through airport security, that's when they said my nickname “Gentleman”. I was like, “oh, as in “gentleman” by PSY?” I said, jokingly, as I did the dance. Hahaha.

There is some family history behind it but it mostly involves me. I was born with a sweet fun-loving personality, and I’ve been called the “Golden Child” as a young kid by my folks, so that’s how the nickname itself fits my personality.

2. What does it mean to you?

Florian “Venom” Kohler:

I am actually proud of that one. I think it fits me perfectly and shows part of my identity.

Matthew ‘The Stinger” Webber:

I feel like my nickname is who I have and am becoming in the pool world. It makes me feel unique in the pool world... It is how people can recognize me.

Steve “Flash Philly” Markle:

I love this nickname because it represents how I am as a player perfectly. I execute my actions quick and accurate and also have strong pride for where I live. Philly Flash is a nickname that I have confidence in and enjoy when my name is announced.

Brian “Superman” Pauley:

I like it. Superman is my favorite super hero so to have that as a nickname is really cool.

William “The Gentleman” DeYonker:

“The Gentleman” means to me that I have a caring and fun-loving personality with a bit of mischievous behavior that I get from my dad, Bill DeYonker.

3. How do you think other people perceive it?

Florian “Venom” Kohler:

Surprisingly enough that nickname got so popular than some people actually believe it is my real name... I think it is well perceived and 100% match my style. Never really heard anything bad about it beside the fact that people think it comes from a video game...

Matthew ‘The Stinger” Webber:

The majority of people who hear it like it and every time they hear it they smile. I also feel like it helps them remember who I am.

Steve “Flash Philly” Markle:

I feel that Philly Flash is a very catchy nickname and people seem to really like it. Right off the bat it labels me as a Philadelphia based player. This tends to be an excellent conversation starter as well. When I travel and perform shows it has become a common occurrence to hear audience members scream “flash” after one of my entertaining speed shots.

Brian “Superman” Pauley:

I think most people like it since they know I am a big geek.

William “The Gentleman” DeYonker:

Some may see it as not much of a marketable name compared to “The Stinger” or “Venom” and some may see it as a throwback name because of how it reminds them of past pool players that have similar names compared to mine.

4. If you could pick a different name, would you? What would it be?

Florian “Venom” Kohler:

I absolutely love my nickname and have no intention to change it, ever :)

Matthew ‘The Stinger” Webber:

I wouldn't pick a different name if I could.... But if I had to it would be Matthew "hardluck" Webber. (My older brother actually likes that more than stinger but I don't care lol).

Steve “Flash Philly” Markle:

I feel that there are too many players today that are choosing their own nicknames. I have always felt these should be given to you by your colleges and based around their judgement of you. Philly Flash is a nickname that I’d like to be known as for the rest of my billiards career. In the past though fellow player and friend Florian “Venom” Kohler has joked around and called me “The Eel”. He believes with my tall and thin body build and the way I move is similar to an eel. I just laugh it off but can admit that I see how this could make a great backup nickname.

Brian “Superman” Pauley:

I don't know if I would pick a different nickname. If I could have another nickname it would probably be stone cold since I tend to be lazer focused in events.

William “The Gentleman” DeYonker:

Yes, if I could pick a different nickname, my choice would be Dead Pool. Haha. No reason just because his name has the word pool in it, and I’m a fan of Dead Pool.

5. What pool player’s nickname do you like most? Other than your own of course..

Florian “Venom” Kohler:

I think some players have really cool and perfect nickname such as Efren 'The Magician' Reyes, Scott 'Freezer' Frost, Jeanette 'The Black Widow', etc...

Matthew ‘The Stinger” Webber:

The nickname I wanted for awhile but eventually found out I shouldn't use was "The scorpion" but it turns out, another person named Johnny Archer has it.

Steve “Flash Philly” Markle:

I have always liked 2015 world champion Gabi Visiou’s nickname which is “Mr. Perfect”. This was given to him at one of the events after scoring a perfect discipline (making all five shots in a given discipline on the first attempt). He wears this nickname confidently and his entertaining personality makes it a great fit for him.

Brian “Superman” Pauley:

It is a tie between Efren Reyes' "The Magician" and Jeanette Lee's "The Black Widow." Both nicknames fit them so well and they very cool as well.

William “The Gentleman” DeYonker:

My favorite pool player’s nickname would have to be “The Stinger”, and it was one that I picked for Matthew Webber on getting his start in trick shots.

William also wanted to share with the readers a little more about himself and his billiard nickname.

Not many people know I was born on the Autism Spectrum back when I was diagnosed 20 years ago. If you were to see me how I was back then, I would be speaking gibberish, flapping my hands around frequently, and not making much social contact with others. I didn’t have much of a life growing up because I never knew how to develop a social life and I felt like I was a young Forrest Gump who was disabled and faced similar hard times during his childhood.

As I grew up, I was raised as a village child like Forrest, and he had an innocent and kind-hearted personality like me and is always thinking of others. Everything else that Forrest went through is similar to my background as an autistic kid. I've always been helped and raised by not just my parents, Bill and Sue, but by other people from school, work, friends, and family members. They've all given me support because of my kindheartedness and innocence. Even if there were things that I like that are really bizarre to most people in the world, they were still able to look past that because of my golden heart.

I always look at life in a curious way like Forrest, and never doubted a single thing in his life. That’s how I’ve been called as a “gentleman” way before I even started pool trick shots at 14. And that’s where my pool nickname came from.

Now it’s time we hear from our readers! Can you relate to any of these pool players stories? Which nickname do you like best? Tweet us @thedelta13

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