![]() A dozen years after the original 314 shafts became available to consumers, Predator introduced the second generation of low-deflection shaft technology – featuring a lighter and improved 10-piece spliced construction, which resulted in better wood grain consistency throughout. Four years later, a reengineered break cue called the BK2 would hit the market with an improved grip, phenolic and carbon fiber tip plate and improved shaft design. Predator released the first BK break cue in 2001, equipped with a balanced weight design as well as a tip and ferrule developed to transfer maximum energy. “Every time we made it to the top, we thought “how do we better ourselves?” In a company that was created by pool players, it didn’t take long for the team to realize there was more to playing proficient pool than simply minimizing deflection. “However, the goal is to always challenge the standards of the industry – then design a completely new standard.” said President Karim Belhaj, who rose from company intern in 1997 to owning the company today. It would have been easy to sit back and be satisfied with creating the billiard cue shaft which revolutionized the industry. “They’re selling design, we’re selling performance with design.” “When we received our first cue and shaft combination way back in 1998, we knew immediately that Predator was an innovative and technology-advanced cue manufacturer,” said Sid Kreis of Seybert’s Billiard Supply, one of Predator’s leading distributors. “There’s all the cue makers and then there’s us,” said McCarty. The company has grown into the largest billiard cue manufacturer worldwide – thanks largely to the people who work for and with the company. What started as two guys fighting to educate the industry on their research findings now has evolved into the industry trendsetter in pool and billiards technology. ![]() Put simply, this new technology made it easier to pocket balls using English and helped players progress faster. Predator’s cutting-edge shaft technology reduced the error factor called “cue ball deflection”, where the mass of the shaft pushes the cue ball off the aiming line when using English or side spin. ![]() That desire to design and develop a superior performing product led to Predator’s initial product creation – a multi-splice shaft introduced as the original 314 shaft in 1994. They toiled away in their Clawson, Michigan shop for about a year and a half, ultimately creating a six-piece spliced wooden shaft. This helped them to develop a product which would deliver more consistency and accuracy. Together, the two constructed a mechanical arm for testing billiard cues named Iron Willie. ![]() McCarty teamed up with Steve Titus, a self-made engineer he’d met at a tournament a couple of years before. McCarty lost the match, walking away from the experience lighter in the wallet and questioning how these two seemingly identical shafts could play so differently. He switched out that shaft for his reserve and immediately struggled to make balls. A frequent player who had dabbled in developing inventions, McCarty was leading his opponent during a billiards match when his tip loosened and popped off of the ferrule. Out of all the billiards shafts, cues and components that Predator Group has been associated with over the last 25 years, none may be more important than the tip that was on Allan McCarty’s cue in the early 1990s.
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