In the concluding episode of our four-part Legends of the Cue conversation with Henrik Larsson, we meet a champion who is still winning—but increasingly focused on what he can leave behind.

Fresh from another major victory in Rome, Henrik discusses why integrating wheelchair and Parasport competition alongside major professional pool events matters so deeply to him. His goal is not special treatment. It is normalization: athletes with disabilities working just as seriously at their craft and being judged for the quality of their performance rather than the circumstances of their lives.

That philosophy now drives Henrik’s work helping lead the World Pool Association’s Parasport efforts. He shares his vision for international representation, fair classification systems, a global ranking structure and ultimately the dream of bringing cue sports into the Paralympic Games. Henrik also explains why developing Parasport pool worldwide requires understanding enormous differences in culture, accessibility, resources and attitudes toward disability.

The conversation becomes deeply personal as Henrik reflects on what disability really means, quality of life, parenthood and why—at 54—he continues competing only as long as he believes his game is capable of winning. He revisits the great characters of the pool world he encountered, from Mike Sigel, Nick Varner and Jim Rempe to Earl Strickland and Keith McCready, and explains why putting the sport first remains one of Jörgen Sandman’s most enduring lessons.

Then it’s time for Alli’s Rapid Rack, where Henrik chooses 10-ball, The Hustler, Las Vegas, pizza, Earl Strickland—and, when offered the choice between being a rock star for one night or world champion once more, doesn’t hesitate: world champion.

He still wants that elusive 100-ball straight-pool run. He still wants a seventh world championship. But when asked how Henrik Larsson ultimately hopes to be remembered, the six-time world champion offers a much simpler answer:

As a good person.

Give Allison, Mark & Mike some feedback via Text.

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Follow our show and/or leave a review/rating on:

Our website: https://www.legendsofthecue.com

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/legends-of-the-cue/id1820520463

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Music by Lyrium.

About

"Legends of the Cue" is a cue sports history podcast featuring interviews with Hall of Fame members, world champions, and influential figures from across the world of cue sports—including pocket billiards, snooker, and carom disciplines such as three-cushion billiards. We highlight the people, places, and moments that have shaped the game—celebrating iconic players, memorable events, historic venues, and the brands that helped define generations of play. With a focus on the positive spirit of the sport, our goal is to create a rich, engaging, and timeless archive of stories that fans can enjoy now and for years to come.

Co-hosted by WPA and BCA Hall of Fame member Allison Fisher and Mosconi Cup player and captain Mark Wilson, Legends of the Cue brings these stories to life—told in the voices of the game’s greatest figures.

Join Allison, Mark and Mike Gonzalez for “Legends of the Cu...

What happens after you become the best—and everyone expects you to keep winning?

Part 3 of our Legends of the Cue interview with Swedish wheelchair pool great Henrik Larsson begins with that question and develops into a revealing conversation about championship pressure, rivalries, mental toughness and the changing meaning of success.

Henrik takes us inside his remarkable 2007 WPA World Championship victory, when outside expectations, conflict with an opponent and pressure from his own federation left him wanting almost anything except to play the final. His solution was fascinating: if he didn’t feel like the confident Henrik Larsson who could win the match, he would simply behave like him. It became an important lesson about fear, performance and the mind.

Then comes his great rivalry with Finland’s Jouni Tähti. After painful defeats, Henrik meets Tähti again in the 2012 world final. Facing another deficit, he decides he simply will not lose a third consecutive time—and produces what he calls one of the proudest performances of his career.

Henrik also discusses joining Predator, the growth of Parasport pool, his later world championships, and the 2016 victory that gave him his sixth WPA world title—along with the amusing role a ringing telephone played in that tournament.

But this episode becomes about much more than trophies.

Henrik explains the creation of Malmö’s Wheelchair Academy, a 13-week empowerment program designed to help wheelchair users develop practical independence in virtually every aspect of life—from transportation and employment to caring for a home and family. More than 200 people have participated in a program Henrik believes can improve both quality of life and independence.

We also explore his Swedish Parasport Hall of Fame recognition, a third-place finish against Sweden’s standing players, his pursuit of a 100-ball straight-pool run and the arrival of Heyball.

Part 3 reveals a champion whose greatest challenge eventually became larger than winning matches: how to use everything pool had taught him to empower others.

Give Allison, Mark & Mike some feedback via Text.

Support the show

Follow our show and/or leave a review/rating on:

Our website: https://www.legendsofthecue.com

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/legends-of-the-cue/id1820520463

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Za0IMh2SeNaWEGUHaVcy1

Music by Lyrium.

About

"Legends of the Cue" is a cue sports history podcast featuring interviews with Hall of Fame members, world champions, and influential figures from across the world of cue sports—including pocket billiards, snooker, and carom disciplines such as three-cushion billiards. We highlight the people, places, and moments that have shaped the game—celebrating iconic players, memorable events, historic venues, and the brands that helped define generations of play. With a focus on the positive spirit of the sport, our goal is to create a rich, engaging, and timeless archive of stories that fans can enjoy now and for years to come.

Co-hosted by WPA and BCA Hall of Fame member Allison Fisher and Mosconi Cup player and captain Mark Wilson, Legends of the Cue brings these stories to life—told in the voices of the game’s greatest figures.

Join Allison, Mark and Mike Gonzalez for “Legends of the Cu...

In Part 2 of our Legends of the Cue interview with Henrik Larsson, the aspiring Swedish pool player arrives in Stockholm at age 19 with no elaborate career plan. As Henrik puts it, he was simply addicted to shooting pool—playing until the last poolroom closed at five in the morning, sleeping late and starting all over again the next day.

But Henrik quickly realized that becoming a great player also required finding a way to finance the journey.

What follows is a fascinating story of entrepreneurship in professional pool. Henrik teaches juniors and beginners in exchange for free table time, develops corporate pool programs, forms an entertainment business and eventually performs more than 2,000 trick-shot exhibitions. He and his partners go on to own two major Stockholm poolrooms—one built around rock-and-roll and live music, another designed as an upscale, multi-level billiards and corporate-entertainment venue.

Then we turn to the competitive career.

Henrik recalls being at the forefront of wheelchair pool in Europe, competing successfully against Sweden’s standing players and winning an early championship in Berlin in 1993. A year later, he travels to America and takes on formidable American wheelchair star Aaron Aragon, scoring a breakthrough victory that Henrik still considers one of the most important of his career. He explains the physical realities of elite wheelchair pool—the reach, table height, bridge shots and pattern choices—and why straight pool became his favorite discipline.

By 1999, wheelchair competition is being staged alongside the European Championships. Henrik begins an extraordinary run of European titles.

And in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2003, everything changes: Henrik captures both the WPA 8-Ball and 9-Ball World Championships.

From Stockholm poolroom obsessive to double world champion, Part 2 traces the years when Henrik Larsson turned opportunity, creativity and relentless practice into international greatness.

Give Allison, Mark & Mike some feedback via Text.

Support the show

Follow our show and/or leave a review/rating on:

Our website: https://www.legendsofthecue.com

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/legends-of-the-cue/id1820520463

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4Za0IMh2SeNaWEGUHaVcy1

Music by Lyrium.

About

"Legends of the Cue" is a cue sports history podcast featuring interviews with Hall of Fame members, world champions, and influential figures from across the world of cue sports—including pocket billiards, snooker, and carom disciplines such as three-cushion billiards. We highlight the people, places, and moments that have shaped the game—celebrating iconic players, memorable events, historic venues, and the brands that helped define generations of play. With a focus on the positive spirit of the sport, our goal is to create a rich, engaging, and timeless archive of stories that fans can enjoy now and for years to come.

Co-hosted by WPA and BCA Hall of Fame member Allison Fisher and Mosconi Cup player and captain Mark Wilson, Legends of the Cue brings these stories to life—told in the voices of the game’s greatest figures.

Join Allison, Mark and Mike Gonzalez for “Legends of the Cu...