Note that I was not informed of this rule before I played, nor was I informed of it by the organizer of the event afterwards. Instead, it was a fellow player who casually informed me of the rule after the tournament. Naturally I wouldn’t believe that — I have never heard of such a rule in any of the tournaments that I have participated in. In fact, I have not heard of such a rule in any tournament. As things stand, I cannot play in the tournament next quarter, which is something I look forward to more than anything else every quarter. 

I have discussed this rule with many other participants of the tournament, and none of them believed that the rule was right. However, I am alone in the fight for changing the rule for good because I am the only victim who suffered the injustice of it. I feel so helpless, when I should be welcomed; I feel so oppressed, when I should be encouraged; I feel so ashamed of having participated in and won such a disgraceful tournament, when I should be proud of my achievement, and of being a respected player and member of this community. As a participant, I respect the rules of the tournament, but, as I mentioned, this is a rule I was never informed of. Had I known it, I would never have participated in a tournament with such unfair treatment to one of the players. Singling out the winner and banning him from playing again is plainly wrong. That is discrimination because every student should be given equal opportunity to participate. Now I am very confused about what competition and winning means. Isn’t winning a recognition of the best talent, or is it simply an illusion because the best talent is not allowed to participate? The organizers explained to me that the policy was enacted because many players threatened to stop participating if they had no chance to win. I wondered whether they›ve ever considered other means to encourage more participation, means such as reducing the entry fee, increasing the prize money, and perhaps most importantly, letting more students know about the tournament?

Pool is already an under-recognized and fading sport here. In the presence of this rule, nobody is ever going to take this sport seriously. University Centers, in support of this rule, is making a joke out of this sport and its players. I urge the organizers from University Centers, instead of justifying themselves, to do the right thing and swiftly rectify the alarmingly unjustified policy manifested in the rules of the pool tournament, a policy that is causing harm to all and providing benefit to none.

— Edmund Wong
Computer Science Graduate Student