The best pool table brands

Brunswick has been in billiards since the nineteenth century and sits at the furniture end of the market. What you are paying for is cabinetry, finish and a dealer network — not a fundamentally different game from other slate tables at similar specification.

That is worth saying plainly, because brand marketing in this category implies otherwise. Two slate tables at the same price with similar cushions play much the same. Where an established name earns its premium is in parts, service and resale.

For a table in a living space rather than a basement, the finish is a legitimate thing to buy.

Olhausen is one of the better-known American pool table manufacturers and competes directly with Brunswick at the furniture-grade end. They build in the United States and promote their own cushion design, which is a genuine engineering point rather than pure marketing.

In practice, choosing between the big furniture-grade names comes down to which styles you prefer, which dealer is near you, and what each is actually selling for on the day. We compare the two directly in Brunswick vs Olhausen.

Diamond builds tables for competitive play, and their reputation is built on how the tables play rather than how they look in a living room. If someone in the house plays in leagues or tournaments, this is the name they will already know.

It is a specialist purchase and priced accordingly. For a family that plays casually it is a great deal more table than the game requires.

Between the budget cabinets and the furniture-grade names sits the band where most people genuinely buy: slate, solid construction, plain but decent finish, at a price a normal household can justify.

This is where we would point most first-time slate buyers. The game is what matters, and a mid-market slate table delivers it.

Fat Cat, part of GLD Products, is the name that dominates the accessible end of home game rooms. Engineered beds, complete accessory sets, self-assembly, and — importantly — parts you can still buy in a few years.

That last point is what separates a budget brand worth buying from an unbranded table. Cloth, pockets and hardware all wear, and a table you cannot get parts for is disposable.

Imperial has been in billiards for decades and covers a wide range from accessible to premium. For a buyer who wants an established name without paying furniture-grade prices, it is a sensible middle path.

As always, judge the individual table's specification — bed, cabinet, cushions — rather than the badge on it.