Chris Melling - Part 4 (“The Magician” — Viral Shots, Derby City, Ultimate Pool & Legacy)

Michaela Tabb never planned to become a professional referee. In fact, her extraordinary career began when husband Ross McInnes told a tournament organizer that Scotland already had a referee—and Michaela suddenly needed to become one. In Part 2 of Legends of the Cue, Michaela tells the remarkable story of creating a referee CV despite never having officiated American pool, studying two pages of nine-ball rules and arriving at Matchroom’s St Andrews Cup hoping she knew enough to survive. She ...

Before Michaela Tabb became one of the most recognizable referees in snooker and pool, she was a fiercely competitive player representing Scotland on the international stage. In Part 1 of our Legends of the Cue conversation with Michaela, she takes us back to the beginning—from being born in England and growing up in Dunfermline, Scotland, to childhood gymnastics, playing bassoon and cornet, an unlikely ambition to become an air traffic controller, and her brief experience at Glasgow Universi...

Tony Chohan’s second career may be even more remarkable than his first. In the final installment of Legends of the Cue’s four-part conversation with “T-Rex,” Tony reflects on the championship run that cemented his place among the great One Pocket players in history. He revisits his second U.S. Open One Pocket Championship in 2022, his victories at Buffalo’s and the International Open, and the title that had eluded him for years: the 2023 Derby City Classic One Pocket Championship. Tony descri...

Tony Chohan’s story took a dramatic turn in 2009. In Part 3 of this four-part Legends of the Cue interview, Tony speaks with remarkable candor about the choices that led to his incarceration, the fear of losing years of freedom and prime playing time, and the lessons he carried home when he was released in 2015. Tony refuses to frame what happened as bad luck. His words are simple: it was a “wrong choice, wrong time.” He talks about surviving prison, taking college courses, staying out of tro...

How does a talented young pool player become one of the most fearless gamblers and creative One Pocket players of his generation? In Part 2 of Legends of the Cue’s four-part interview with Tony “T-Rex” Chohan, Tony explains what drew him to the action side of pool—and why he believes playing with something at stake helped sharpen his game. He remembers gambling for small amounts as a teenager, putting cues up when he went broke, watching serious action in Reno and learning through trial and e...