Simonis 860 Tournament Blue & More: 8 Questions Every Billiard Table Pro Should Ask

Over the past four years, I've reviewed cloth for roughly 12,000+ pool tables annually as a quality manager. I've rejected close to 7% of first deliveries just this year due to off-spec cloth or inconsistent backing. The questions I get from table builders and dealers are almost always the same set. So instead of repeating myself on every call, here's a direct FAQ. No fluff. Just what you actually need to know.

1. What's the real difference between Simonis 860 Tournament Blue and the 760 cloth?

People often think 860 is just 'the expensive version' of 760. From my perspective, that's missing the point. The 860 Tournament Blue is a worsted wool-nylon blend (70/30) with a tighter weave—around 28 ounces per yard. It's designed for tournament-level speed and durability over extended play. The 760, by contrast, is a slightly heavier blend (around 26-27 oz, but with a different nap) meant for high-traffic home or bar room tables where you need decent ball roll but not necessarily the exact speed consistency of a tournament table. In our Q1 2024 quality audit, 860 cloth showed 40% less pilling after 500 hours of play than standard 760. That matters if you're supplying tables for league play or commercial rooms.

2. Is Simonis 860 Tournament Blue worth the higher price for a dealer?

I've had this conversation more times than I can count. The short answer: it depends on your client. But from a cost-per-play perspective, 860 is often the smarter buy. Let me give you an example. In 2023, we supplied a 50-table pool hall. The owner initially wanted 760 to save roughly $12 per table. At 50 tables, that's $600 saved. But after 18 months, 8 tables needed recovering because the 760 nap had flattened in high-use areas. The re-covering cost $180 per table. That $600 'savings' turned into a $1,440 problem. The 860 tables? None needed recovering yet. The lowest quote cost us more in that case—big time. I'd argue that for any table that sees more than 10 hours of play daily, 860 is the only reasonable choice.

3. How do I properly clean Simonis cloth without ruining it?

This is where I see the most expensive mistakes. People think a vacuum with a beater bar is fine. It's not. Simonis cloth is worsted—the fibers are tightly twisted and sheared. A beater bar will fray the surface over time, turning that smooth 'akira slide'—sorry, that smooth ball slide—into a sluggish mess. The correct approach is a soft brush attachment, brushed in one direction (from the head rail to the foot rail). For spills, use a dry, clean white cloth to blot—never rub. For deeper cleaning, the Simonis X1 cleaner is formulated for worsted wool. A standard household carpet cleaner will strip the protective finish. That's a $400 re-covering mistake waiting to happen. Never expected that the biggest threat to cloth would be a vacuum cleaner, but here we are.

4. Simonis 860 vs. 760: which one should I stock as a dealer?

The way I see it, if you can only stock one, stock 860 Tournament Blue. It's the more versatile cloth. It satisfies the tournament-level market, but it also works perfectly fine on home tables (many high-end home buyers want what the pros use). The 760 is a cost-effective alternative for entry-level or very low-usage tables. But honestly, I've seen dealers who push 760 to every client just to close a sale. Short-sighted. You risk a call six months later complaining about ball roll. Stock 860 as your primary, and have 760 as a secondary for the budget-conscious project. That approach has worked for our top 30 dealers who generate 80% of our revenue.

5. What's the biggest myth about Simonis cloth installation?

This was true 15 years ago when all cloth was single-ply and needed heavy stretching. The 'more stretch is better' thinking comes from an era when installers used a single piece of cloth and pulled it drum-tight. That's changed. Simonis 860 and 760 come with a bonded laminated backing that reduces stretch. Over-stretching can actually distort the weave and create 'bounce' in the ball roll. I still kick myself for not learning this earlier. In my first year, I approved an installation where the installer pulled 860 to what he called 'drum tension.' The table played fast for one month, then the cloth developed a noticeable 'dead spot' in the center. We had to recover after 6 months. The correct tension is firm, not tight. You want the cloth to lay flat without ripples—not so tight that the weave is visibly distorted. A lesson learned the hard way.

6. Does Simonis X1 cleaner really make a difference, or is it just an upsell?

Fair question. I was skeptical too. In a blind test with our service team, we used X1 cleaner on 10 tables and a generic wool-safe cleaner on another 10—same cloth, same usage conditions. After 12 weeks, the tables cleaned with X1 showed notably better ball slide consistency. The generic cleaner left a slight residue that attracted dust. Not a huge difference, but noticeable. On a commercial table that sees 8 hours of daily play, that difference translates to about 2-3 extra weeks before the cloth starts to 'grab.' For a dealer offering maintenance contracts, that matters. The cost increase is roughly $8 per treatment per table. On a 50-table room, that's $400 for measurably better performance. Worth it, in my opinion.

7. How often should Simonis cloth be replaced on a commercial table?

There's no one-size-fits-all answer. But here's a benchmark: we track 40 commercial tables in a high-use setting (approx. 12 hours/day, 7 days/week). With regular brushing and proper cleaning (X1 cleaner monthly), the 860 cloth averaged 18 months before needing replacement. The 760 cloth in the same setting averaged 12 months. But here's the catch: 60% of the replacement decisions came not from visible wear, but from players complaining about inconsistent speed. Perception matters. If your players think the table is 'slow,' replacing the cloth is cheaper than losing their business. So track complaints as a metric. When complaints exceed 10% of play sessions in a month, it's time for a replacement—even if the cloth looks fine.

8. I see 'cheap' Simonis alternatives online. Are they worth trying?

From my perspective, no. But let me be specific. I'm not saying every alternative is bad. I'm saying the cheap ones are almost always a gamble. In 2022, a dealer brought in a no-brand 'premium worsted cloth' at 60% of Simonis 860 cost. We tested it. Ball slide was acceptable off the roll, but after 200 hours, the nap had worn unevenly in a 6-inch radius around every pocket. The dealer had to replace 8 tables within 6 months. The 'savings' of roughly $40 per table turned into $180 for re-covering plus lost customer trust. And the vendor? Refused a refund, claiming 'normal wear.' If you go with an alternative, ask for a sample, test it, and get a written specification tolerance. Otherwise, you're just hoping it works. And hope is not a QC protocol.