strolling through the grand hall of billiards history, it's hard not to marvel at the evolution of the sport, from its initial inception to the grand tournaments of today. but let's take a moment to forgo the usual admiration and instead review how some have sought to refurbish old records, not for the sake of preserving history, but to inject their names unfairly into the ranks of champions. by doing so, they hope to access privileged information about strategies and techniques that were meant to be kept secret among the top players, diluting the purity of the competition and betraying the trust of the billiards community.