Jerry Forsyth, the doyen of pool journalism, has written in this website his obituary on 9-ball as a competitive game and on the coming and inevitable rise of Ten Ball. (I adopt in this column Jerry's typographic use of "Ten Ball" and "9-ball" to distinguish the two games.) He attributes 9-ball's falling star to its diamond-shape rack and the horrid soft break. I will only add to his fine analysis the fact that the quality of play today – fueled partly by new cue and ball technology – has made mincemeat of the old game. This wasn't the case during Willie Mosconi's time.

In introducing the new game to the world, WPA president Ian Anderson declared: "The game of Ten Ball has rapidly grown in popularity over the last few years and the WPA felt compelled to bring this game into official status and to eliminate any confusion concerning the game format by releasing a uniform rule set that players from all corners of the world may reference and use as a common playing platform.

We at the WPA look forward to witnessing the growth of the game of Ten Ball. As the governing body of pool the WPA is always excited by developments such as this that will help expand the horizons of our sport and bring in even more players and fans."

In the Philippines, believe it or not, the pros and amateurs, for years now, have been playing Ten Ball almost entirely in their gladiatorial money duels. 9-ball is hardly played. When asked why, the uniform answer is: Ten Ball is more competitive and challenging. 9-ball erases the gap between players of varying abilities, making the matches chancy. In the US, the verdict is much the same. A great deal of challenge pool here is Ten Ball. There are now many tournaments devoted to the game. It's plain that when experts confidently declare that Shane Van Boening is the best American player today, it's because of his dominance in Ten Ball. 9-ball tournaments in contrast come up with different winners from week to week.

The rest of Asia and Europe are also moving into the new game, if not quite as fast. While European pool officials are just starting to look at Ten Ball, many European pros like Ralf Soquet already see it as the game of the future. The bigger-bodied Caucasians salivate at the return of the power break to competitive pool. Many Asians are turning to Ten Ball, too, in their money matches. I suspect the Taiwanese, who have played nothing but 9-ball for over a decade, are already inputting Ten Ball into their computerized approach to pool.

Why does one added ball make such a huge difference?

I believe it is because the added ball brings enormous complexity, myriad possibilities and some treasured pool sights that have been missing for years.

To start with the missing, Ten Ball restores the POWER break into the lexicon of pool, which 9-ball has sent into exile. Its triangle-shaped rack forces players to use power in the break. No more fussing over the tightness of racks and infinitesimal advantages. The new game also restores the outright win on the break ("golden break", we call it in Manila) when the 10-ball goes in. This was discouraged by Matchroom in 9-ball through the simple strategem of tapping the ball in place.

With respect to complexity and possibility, the added ball can lead to difficult layouts and runouts more often than not. While in 9-ball players are usually faced with easy layouts after the break, in Ten Ball clusters and difficult positions multiply no end. Filipinos love this side of pool because it resembles the complicated layouts of Rotation with all 15 balls in play. Pool smarts, safety play and table management come into play, instead of just pocketing skills.

The new WPA rules for Ten Ball take this challenging discipline even further. Pool's governing body has opted to make it a call-shot game. No more lucky shots. No more divine intervention. You reap what you deserve.

Dennis Orcullo says that Ten Ball assures far more than 9-ball and other games that the better player will win at least 95 percent of the time. You have to be in the same class to beat another player. To joust with a player of much superior ability would be like tilting at windmills.

In the Philippines, the Billiards & Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) will adopt Ten Ball this year in its annual National Championship for men and the forthcoming six-city Philippine Pool Tour. Raya Sports, the promotions group responsible for bringing the World Pool Championship to Manila the past two years, is fully shifting to Ten Ball in all its events this year, which include the six-leg San Miguel Asian Pool Tour and the first WPA World Ten Ball Championship slated in November.

I foresee the same sense of quickening here in North America now that WPA is on board. The buzz that Ten Ball is the real game of the pros will be irresistible to promoters and players alike. Dragon Promotions under Charlie Williams, which has done so much to promote Ten Ball in the US and Asia, will have a field day mounting events. And it's just a matter of time before the entire world of pool tunes in as well.

Looking down the road, I agree with the experts' prognosis that Ten Ball will displace 9-ball in three years' time, perhaps even sooner. It will become the TV game. Men will lead the way, but women will also adopt the game to show that they can stand toe to toe with men. But it is likely that the successful women's tour here in America will stay with 9-ball.

This huge transition is part of the necessary and inevitable evolution of our sport. Changes come over time. Tastes seek new flavors. And there's no turning back the clock.