What's the Difference Between Pool Balls and a Cue Ball?
The cue ball is made to the same material and size standard as the rest of the set — the Arcos II cue ball uses the same 99% phenolic resin as the object balls. The difference is the work it does. Every shot starts with the tip striking the cue ball, while object balls (the numbered balls) only take ball-on-ball contact, so the cue ball has to hold up to tip contact, English, and repeated draw and follow shots without losing its true roll. That's why cue ball wear, like chalk marks and surface dulling, shows up well before the rest of the set needs replacing.
Is Predator Arcos II Made by Aramith?
Yes. Predator pool balls are built with Aramith, using Aramith's proprietary 99% phenolic resin formula. Predator designed the high-contrast color palette and the black-triangle training cue ball, and every ball gets a proprietary polishing process that resists chalk buildup and holds its shine.
What Are the Best Pool Balls?
The best pool balls are made from high-purity phenolic resin and held to tight tolerances for weight, size, roundness and hardness across the whole set. That consistency produces tighter racks, better breaks and a truer roll.
The Predator Arcos II Reserve set is built with Aramith's 99% phenolic resin formula, hand-inspected across eight performance measures, and is the official ball of CSI, the BCA Pool League and the USA Pool League.
What Are Pool Balls Made Of?
Modern tournament-grade pool balls are made from phenolic resin — a dense, impact-resistant material that holds a true, consistent roll far better than the clay, polyester or early plastic composites used in cheaper sets. Phenolic resin balls last up to 5x longer than polymer or polyester balls and resist burn spots. The Predator Arcos II Reserve set uses Aramith's proprietary formula of 99% high-quality phenolic resin, cured multiple times over a longer period for a harder, more durable ball.
Regulation Size and Weight
Regulation pool balls measure 2.25 inches (57.15mm) in diameter and weigh approximately 6 ounces (170g) each. Consistency across the full set matters more than any single ball's spec — a set with even small size or weight variance between balls will play unpredictably, especially on break shots.
What's in a Standard Set?
A standard pool ball set includes 16 balls: one cue ball, seven solids (1–7), seven stripes (9–15), and the 8 ball.
What Colors Are Pool Balls?
A standard set follows a fixed color order: the 1 is yellow, 2 blue, 3 red, 4 purple, 5 orange, 6 green, 7 maroon and 8 black. The 9 through 15 are striped versions of the same colors in the same order, so the 9 is yellow, the 10 blue, and so on through the 15 in maroon.
How well those colors contrast matters more than most players realize. Predator Arcos II pool balls use a high-saturation palette spaced far apart on the color wheel, so you can tell a 2 from a 10 at a glance, mid-shot or from across the table.
How Do You Clean Pool Balls?
We recommend cleaning Predator pool balls with a microfiber cloth and a non-wax cleaner, such as Aramith ball cleaner, to maintain their brilliance and color. Avoid wax-based products and anything containing abrasives, which can dull or scratch the balls.
1. Shake the bottle well;
2. Apply the cleaner on the ball;
3. Rub well;
4. Make the ball shine with a microfiber cloth, a dry cloth, or an electric ball buffer.
A ball buffing machine may be used, provided that the pads are in good shape and do not scratch the balls.
What Is a Training Cue Ball?
A training cue ball has markings, such as dots, rings or shapes, that give you aiming reference points and show how the ball rotates after contact. Those markings turn every shot into feedback on where you hit the cue ball and how much spin you applied.
The Arcos II Reserve cue ball uses black targeting triangles for sharper aiming points and a visual read on how much English you put on the ball. It is made from the same tournament-grade phenolic resin as the rest of the set.
What Pool Balls Do Leagues Use?
CSI, the BCA Pool League and the USA Pool League use Predator Arcos II as their official ball set, and it's also the official ball of the Predator Pro Billiard Series. Arcos II is legal for league and tournament play. Practicing with the same set you compete on means the roll, weight and colors you see in a match are the ones you trained with.
