Archive Page

Record Attendance at APA Poolplayer Championships

9-Ball Shootout Black Tier Champion Dustin Gunia

World’s Largest Pool League Awards More Than $750,000

 

Poolplayers looking for yet another opportunity to make it to Vegas are finding their way there by competing in the APA Poolplayer Championships.  More than 2,500 players made their way to the Westgate Resort & Casino in Las Vegas in early May for APA’s annual spring event.
 
Poolplayers from 49 states and two countries competed for nearly $750,000 in five events: the 8-Ball Classic, 9-Ball Shootout, 8 and 9-Ball Doubles Championships and the Wheelchair Championship.
 
After five days of nearly non-stop action, 12 new champions had cemented their poolplaying legacy by taking home an APA title.
 
The final round of the 9-Ball Shootout featured four championship matches, one for each Skill Level Tier, with two shooters in each tier competing for $10,000 in cash and prizes. 
 
In the Green Tier, Robbie Schreckengost of Kearneysville, W.V., defeated Donavan Balan of Hacienda Heights, Calif. In the White Tier, Bryan Marcum of Worthington, Ohio, defeated Shareef Chandler-El of Schaumburg, Ill.  In the first year of the newly added Gray Tier, Edward Arciniega of National City, Calif., defeated Terry Lecreux of Toronto.  In the Black Tier, Dustin Gunia of Omaha, Neb., defeated William Gallagher Jr. of Atco, N.J. 
 
Each of the three Champions received a cash and prize package worth $10,000.  Runners-Up in each tier took home a prize package worth $5,000.
 
Jerry Brown of St. Petersburg, Fla., received the Sportsmanship Award in the 9-Ball Shootout.
 
More than 4,000 poolplayers made it to the Regional Level of the 9-Ball Shootout before the field was whittled down to the 483 who advanced to Las Vegas.
 
Nearly 6,000 players throughout North America qualified for Regional competition in the 8-Ball Classic, with 692 of them advancing to the championships.
 
In the finals of the 8-Ball Classic, five champions each took home a cash and prize package worth $15,000 for their performances.
 
In the Blue Tier, Karla Garcia of Miami, Fla., defeated Noemi Rodriguez of Chicago, Ill.  In the Yellow Tier, Jesse Garcia of Joliet, Ill., defeated Christian Delgado of Winter Springs, Fla.  In the Red Tier, Lawrence Samuel of Ocala, Fla., defeated Garrett Hogue of Forney, Texas.  In the Orange Tier, Nazario Aguilar of Chicago, Ill., defeated James Sevion of Montgomery, Ala.  In the Purple Tier, Abrin Schaad of Pekin, Ill., defeated David Barnes of Denton, Md.
 
First Place winners received cash and prizes worth $15,000.  Each Runner-Up received cash and prizes worth $9,000.
 
Shannon Peek of Sealy, Texas, won the Sportsmanship Award in the 8-Ball Classic.
 
In the 8-Ball Doubles Championship, Swamp Donkeys – Ralph Serode and Jeff Waterman– of Taunton, Mass., defeated Drunk Tank – Scott Esposito and Vince Boettger– of Chicago, Ill.  The victory earned them a $5,000 payday.  As Runners-Up, Drunk Tank took home $3,000.
 
In the 9-Ball Doubles Championship, PFLS – David Griffin and Henry Sevcik– of Fayetteville, N.C., defeated Kidless in Vegas – Brittany Blomlie and Wes Mancil– of Ocala, Fla.  The victory earned them a $3,500 payday.  As Runners-Up, Kidless in Vegas took home $2,300.
 
In the finals of the Wheelchair Championship, Charlie Hans of Harrison, Ohio, defeated Earl Hessbrook of Spring Branch, Texas, to take home $2,000 in prize money.  Hessbrook received $1,200 as the Runner-Up.
 
The final of each championship round was live-streamed (courtesy of PoolDawg) and can be viewed online at http://www.youtube.com/apaleagues
 
The APA, based in Lake Saint Louis, Mo., sanctions the world’s largest amateur pool league, known as the APA Pool League throughout the United States, and as the Canadian Pool League in Canada.  Nearly 250,000 members compete in weekly 8-Ball and 9‑Ball League play.  The APA is generally recognized as the Governing Body of Amateur Pool, having established the official rules, championships, formats and handicap systems for the sport of amateur billiards.
 
The APA produces four major tournaments each year—the APA World Pool Championships, the APA Poolplayer Championships, the APA Junior Championships and the U.S. Amateur Championship—that, together, pay out nearly $2 Million in cash and prizes annually!
 
The APA and its championships are sponsored by Aramith, Action Cues, PoolDawg and Valley-Dynamo.
 
For more information on the APA Poolplayer Championships, visit https://poolplayers.com/poolplayer-championships/.

APA Members Cash In at Poolplayer Championships

World’s Largest Pool League Awards More Than $650,000

LAKE SAINT LOUIS, MO (May 16, 2016) — New venue.  New event name.  More prize money than ever before.  It all added up to another spectacular event for the American Poolplayers Association in Las Vegas.  Thousands of APA members made their way to the Westgate Resort & Casino to compete for more than $650,000 in cash and prizes at the recently renamed APA Poolplayer Championships, formerly known as the National Singles Championships.  The Poolplayer Championships consisted of both the 8-Ball Classic and 9-Ball Shootout Championship events, as well as Showdown Series events that included the 8-Ball and 9-Ball Doubles Championships and the Wheelchair Championship events.

[photo id=44710|align=left]The final round of the 9-Ball Shootout featured three championship matches, one for each Skill Level Tier, with two shooters in each competing for $10,000 in cash and prizes.  In the Green Tier, Michael Ritch of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., defeated Ron Ekman of Port Hueneme, Calif.
 

 

[photo id=44711|align=right]In the White Tier, Paul Schinkel of Pickering, Ont., defeated Hannah Martin of Spring, Texas.

[photo id=44703|align=left]In the Black Tier, Brian Parks of Bakersfield, Calif., defeated Kale Bourque of Breaux Bridge, La. Mathew Barber of Newburg, N.Y., won the Sportsmanship Award in the 9-Ball Shootout.

Each of the three Champions received a cash and prize package worth $10,000.  Runners-Up in each tier took home a cash and prize package worth $5,000.  More than 4,000 poolplayers made it to the Regional Level of the 9-Ball Shootout before the field was whittled down to the 320 who advanced to Las Vegas.

Nearly 6,000 players throughout North America qualified for Regional competition in the 8-Ball Classic, with 510 of them advancing to the championships.

[photo id=44709|align=left]In the finals of the 8-Ball Classic, five champions each took home a prize package worth $15,000 for their performances.  In the Blue Tier, Alexandra Marx-Simoncic of New York City defeated Julie Buckley of Orlando, Fla.

[photo id=44708|align=right]In the Yellow Tier, Juan Diaz of Silver Spring, Md., defeated David Brown of Stayner, Ont.

[photo id=44712|align=left]In the Red Tier, Roberto Valanzuela of Silver Spring, Md., defeated Shannon Theriot of Breaux Bridge, La.

[photo id=44707|align=right]In the Orange Tier, Howard Depascal of Pasadena, Md., defeated Gary Smith of Arlington, Texas.

[photo id=44713|align=left]In the Purple Tier, Robert Hall of Huntsville, Ala., defeated William Gallagher Jr. of Atco, N.J.  Kevin Demoss of Youngsville, La., won the Sportsmanship Award in the 8-Ball Classic.

First Place winners received cash and prizes worth $15,000.  Each Runner-Up received cash and prizes worth $9,000.

[photo id=44706|align=right]In the 8-Ball Doubles Championship, Pete and Repeat – Trey Funderburg and Jim Mullins – of Monroe, La., defeated Bank Shot Flyers – Roland Newkirk and Jeremy Brown – of Odenton, Md.  The victory earned them a $5,000 payday.  As Runners-Up, Bank Shot Flyers took home $3,000.

[photo id=44705|align=left]In the 9-Ball Doubles Championship, Ladies Please – Dereth Tahkofper and Carol Wagoner – of Lawton, Okla., defeated Terrible D’s – Robert Detuncq and Monica Detuncq – of Spring, Texas.  The victory earned them a $3,500 payday.  As Runners-Up, Terrible D’s took home $2,300.

[photo id=44704|align=right]In the finals of the Wheelchair Championship, Charlie Hans of Cincinnati, Ohio, defeated Jason Herrill of Ventura, Calif., to take home $1,600 in prize money.  Herrill received $800 as the Runner-Up.

The APA, based in Lake Saint Louis, Mo., sanctions the world’s largest amateur pool league, known as the APA Pool League throughout the United States, and as the Canadian Pool League in Canada.  Nearly 250,000 members compete in weekly 8-Ball and 9‑Ball League play.  The APA is generally recognized as the Governing Body of Amateur Pool, having established the official rules, championships, formats and handicap systems for the sport of amateur billiards.

The APA produces three major tournaments each year—the APA World Pool Championships, the APA Poolplayer Championships and the U.S. Amateur Championship—that, together, pay out more than $1.5 Million in cash and prizes annually!

The APA and its championships are sponsored by Aramith, Action Cues and PoolDawg.

For more information on the American Poolplayers Association, visitwww.poolplayers.com.
 

2013 NAPA Nationals Again a Big Success

All Chalked Up – from Cincinnati, Ohio

The North American Poolshooters Association (NAPA) holds a yearly singles championship for all qualified NAPA players. The NAPA Nationals is a championship tournament that defines the best NAPA players from North America in each skill level class. All NAPA player's qualify for the NAPA Nationals directly from their home town without having to play in regional events.
 
Tunica Mississippi was the location of NAPA’s 3rd annual Nationals event. Held at the beautiful Harrah’s Casino Midsouth Convention Centre, the event had 1097 qualified entrants, double that of last year’s event. NAPA President, Jeremy Jones, again made sure the players had the best equipment, with 65 Diamond tables to compete on. Bad Boys Productions directed the tournament and refereed as needed during matches. Brackets are viewable online at: http://www.napaleagues.com/page.php?page=nationals
 
Players could compete in 8­ball, 9­ball and 10­ball, and a team event. League Operators and players from all over the United States came with their game faces on, and every player showed up at the table, making the competition enjoyable. This year’s event was live streamed online by OSPN via their web site at www.onsitepool.com.
 
The team event began June 21st with 25 teams entered. The double elimination bracket was chalk­full of stiff competition. First place went to “All Chalked Up” from Cincinnati, Ohio along with $2500.00 and the NAPA Diamond Cup. Standing 53 inches tall and weighing 60 pounds, the Diamond Cup is the NAPA’s top prize. The Diamond Cup will be housed at the Whiskey Barrel for the next five months and then Michael’s Billiards for the following five months, both in Cincinnati, Ohio..
 
In the 10 ball event, which began June 23rd, there were 165 entrants. The double elimination bracket again was full of capable players who showcased their skills. First place in the Grandmaster/Master/Class A bracket was taken by Alex Olinger out of Cincinnati, Ohio. His winning’s totalled $1216.00. Second place was won by Dave Ward out of Springfield, Missouri. Third place was won by Julio Delpozo out of Orlando, Florida. All three took home the NAPA Silver Cup which is given to the top three spots in each Class championship.
 
In the B­C­D­E bracket the first place winner was Brian Thompson out of Des Moines, Iowa. Mr. Thompson took home a pot of $1424.00. Second place was won by Brandon Howard out of Cincinnati, Ohio. Third place in this bracket was Wayne Capps out of Memphis, Tennessee with a nice take home of $534.00.
 
The 9 ball event was exciting to watch as well! This double elimination event, which started on June 25th, had 341 competitors. In the Grandmasters/Masters bracket first place and $1026.08 went to Julio Aquino out of Orlando, Florida. Second place went to Alex Olinger out of Cincinnati, Ohio and third went to Darryl Davis out of Fayetteville, North Carolina.
 
In the 9­ball A class bracket, first place went to Chris Jenkinson out of Columbus, Ohio, second place went to Dale Eury out of Hillsboro, Ohio and third place went to Daniel Cossit out of Little Rock, Arkansas. Mr Jenkinson won the top prize of $1456.00.
 
In the 9­ball B class bracket, first place went to Lawrence Rowlett out of Henry, Georgia, second place to Lee Robinson out of Austin, Texas and third place went to Charles Bennett out of Cincinnati, Ohio. Mr. Rowlett’s winnings were $1582.00 for first place
 
In the 9­ball C­D­E bracket, first place went to Butch Marinelli out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a winning pot of $1344.00. Second place went to Karthik Subbaiah out of Cincinnati, Ohio and third place was taken by Dave Hilbert out of Toledo, Ohio.
 
On June 27th, the 8­ball double elimination brackets began with 566 competitors! This was certainly the most attended event during the nationals; a real nail­biter for sure. In the Grandmaster/Master bracket first place wastaken by Alex Olinger out of Cincinnati, Ohio with the first place prize of $1472.00. Mike McClain out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania took second place and Julio Aquino out of Orlando, Florida took the third place spot.
 
During the 8­ball A bracket, spectators watched some amazing shots and displays of true sportsmanship. First place in this bracket went to Dale Eury out of Hillsboro, Ohio. Eury took the winning prize of $2058.00. Second place was taken by Charlie Hans out of Cincinnati, Ohio and third place was won by Tim Frazee out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
 
In the 8­ball B bracket, first place was taken by Paul Yarborough out of Columbus, Ohio. Second place went to Nate Reno out of Hillsboro, Ohio and third place went to Wayne Capps out of Memphis, Tennessee. Yarborough took home $2331.20.
 
The 8­ball C­D­E bracket was a great competition to watch as well. First place winner Dave Hilbert out of Toledo, Ohio took home $1842.00. Second place was Shannon Ludington out of Cincinnati, Ohio and third place winner was Butch Marinelli out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
 
The matches were exciting to watch, but that’s not all there was to do at the NAPA 2013 Nationals. With many local attractions, a huge casino floor, several swimming pools and great places to eat, there was non­stop fun for everyone who attended. Many vendors were in attendance including Robert Meucci of Meucci Cues. Mike Massey performed some of his classic trick shots to amuse the crowds as they shopped in the vendor booths. CueGator gave away lots of great items as well from their online store located on the web at www.cuegator.com . In the evening there were lots of mini tournaments to participate in as well.
 
This entire event was smooth, relaxed and well organized. The entire team of NAPA, from the office help to the president and vice president, to the CEO himself worked tirelessly to ensure every player had an amazing experience.

 

Apa Members Pocket More Than $500,000 In Cash And Prizes At National Singles Championships

Purple Tier Winner Dustin Gunia of Omaha, NE

LAKE SAINT LOUIS, MO (May 10, 2013) — More than $500,000 in cash and prizes were awarded to APA members at the APA National Singles Championships held April 24 – 27 in Las Vegas at the Riviera Hotel & Casino.  The National Singles Championships consisted of both the 8-Ball Classic and 9-Ball Shootout Singles Championships, the Wheelchair Challenge and the Jack & Jill Doubles Championship.
 
The final round of the 9-Ball Shootout featured three championship matches, one for each Skill Level Tier, with two shooters in each match competing for $10,000 in cash and prizes. 
 
In the Green Tier, Tom Williamson of Billerica, Mass., defeated Cheri Schroth of Murfreesboro, Tenn.  Williamson advanced to the finals after a semifinal round victory over Kathy Tingler of Tyler, Texas.  Schroth advanced to the finals as a result of a disqualification following the semifinal round.  Tingler finished in 3rd Place.  
 
In the White Tier, Eddie Conklin, Jr. of Bayonne, N.J., defeated Rodger Doyen of Brandon, Fla.  Conklin Jr. defeated Mathis Martines of Greensboro, N.C., in the semifinal round to advance to the finals.  Doyen advanced to the finals by defeating Erick Carrasco of Ridgewood, N.Y.  Martines and Carrasco tied for 3rd Place.
 
In the Black Tier, David Apollos of Gallatin, Tenn., defeated Jan Mierzwa of Garfield, N.J.  Apollos advanced to the finals after defeating Herb Wilburn of Longview, Texas, in the semifinals.  Mierzwa advanced to the final round match after a victory over Jessica Schuddekopf of Clifton Park, N.Y., in the semifinal match.  Wilburn and Schuddekopf tied for 3rd Place.
 
Each of the three Champions received a prize package worth $10,000.  Runners-Up in each tier took home a prize package worth $5,000.  Third Place finishers each received $3,000 in cash and prizes.
 
Daniel Praty of San Diego, Calif., was awarded the Sportsmanship Award in the 9-Ball Shootout.
 
More than 4,000 poolplayers made it to the Regional Level of the 9-Ball Shootout before the field was whittled down to 310 men and women competing for 9-Ball crowns in each of three Skill Level Tiers.
 
Nearly 6,400 APA members advanced to regional competition of the 8-Ball Classic, and 489 of those players advanced to the championship in Las Vegas.
 
In the finals of the 8-Ball Classic, four champions each took home a prize package worth $15,000 for their performances.
 
In the Blue Tier, Faith Rubin of Fayetteville, N.C., defeated Joe Fickett of Chicago Ridge, Ill.  Rubin defeated Freida Swain of Lapeer, Mich., in the semifinals to advance, while Fickett defeated Summer Turner of St. Augustine, Fla.  Swain and Turner tied for 3rd Place.
 
In the Yellow Tier, Steven Davis of Minneapolis, Minn., defeated Clayton Fulcher of Loganville, Ga.  Davis advanced to the finals by defeating John Falco of Benton, Ark., earlier in the day in the semifinal round.  Fulcher defeated Douglas Moe of Easton, Conn., in the semifinals.  Falco and Moe tied for 3rd Place.
 
In the Red Tier, David Templeton of Jackson, Mo., defea Ted Wilson Chung of South San Francisco, Calif.  Templeton defeated Charles Swan of Pickering, Ont., in the semifinals to advance, while Chung defeated Matthew Witschonke of Seattle, Wash.  Swan and Witschonke tied for 3rd Place.
 
In the Purple Tier, Dustin Gunia of Omaha, Neb., defeated Nathan Moore of Warren, Mich.  Gunia defeated John Scudder of Portland, Ore., in the semifinal round.  Moore advanced after defeating Ever Valasques of Hyattsville, Md. Scudder and Valasques tied for 3rd Place.
 
First Place winners received cash and prizes worth $15,000.  Each Runner-Up received cash and prizes worth $9,000.  Third Place finishers each received $4,000 in cash and prizes.
 
Michael Andrew of Oshawa, Ont., was awarded the Sportsmanship Award in the 8-Ball Classic.
 
In the annual Jack & Jill Doubles Championship, held during the Singles Championships, Long Shots (Jaime Guajardo & Amber Kwasigroch) of Joliet, Ill., defeated Ride the Rail (James Giorella & Evaughn Hall) of Athens, Ga.  The victory earned them a $5,000 payday.  As Runners-Up, Ride the Rail took home $3,000.  The Jack & Jill Doubles field included 256 teams.
 
The Wheelchair Challenge made its debut at the National Singles Championships after being held in August during the National Team Championships for many years.  In the finals, Charlie Hans of Middletown, Ohio defeated Ron Bates of Coldwater, Mich., to take home $2,000 in prize money.  Bates received $1,000 as the Runner-Up. Forty-two players competed in the Wheelchair Challenge.
 
The APA, based in Lake Saint Louis, Mo., sanctions the world’s largest amateur pool league, known as the APA Pool League throughout the United States, and as the Canadian Pool League in Canada.  Nearly 270,000 members compete in weekly 8-Ball and 9‑Ball League play.  The APA is generally recognized as the Governing Body of Amateur Pool, having established the official rules, championships, formats and handicap systems for the sport of amateur billiards.
 
The APA produces three major tournaments each year—the APA National Team Championships, the APA National Singles Championships and the U.S. Amateur Championship—that, together, pay out nearly $1.5 Million in cash and prizes annually!
 
The APA and its championships are sponsored by Aramith, Action Cues and PoolDawg.
 
For more information on the American Poolplayers Association, visit www.poolplayers.com.

Hans wins GSBT bar box 8-ball in Ohio

Shannon Daulton, Charlie Hans, Lucas Hawkins, & Mike Medley (owner of Michael’s BIlliards)

Charlie Hans, a C-player, worked his way through a late bunch of A and B players in the $1000-added, 8-ball, bar box event on the Great Southern Billiard Tour on the weekend of July 14-15, and came away with the win. The event, held concurrently with a separate, $1,000-added 9-ball tournament, drew 44 entrants to Michael’s Billiards in Fairfield, OH.

By the time this 8-ball event had been reduced to 12 players, Hans was the only “C” standing. Among the winners’ side final four, he squared off against Rick Gymati (B), as Lucas Hawkins (A) met up with Leo Campos (B). Hans survived a double hill match against Gymati, and in the hot seat match, faced Hawkins, who’d survived his own double hill struggle versus Campos. Hans chalked up another double hill victory in the hot seat match and waited for Hawkins to come back.

Campos moved over to pick up Corey Morphew (A), who’d defeated Gary Link 6-3 and Justin Lazaro, double hill, to reach him. Gymati drew Brad Gibson, who’d gotten by Joey Koontz and Leo Kincannon, both 5-3. Morphew and Gymati advanced to the quarterfinals on the heels of double hill wins over Campos and Gibson, respectively.

Gymati chalked up his second straight double hill win in the quarterfinals against Morphew, and then ran into a determined Hawkins in the semifinals. Hawkins shut Gymati out to earn a second chance against Hans in a true double elimination final.

Hawkins gave up only a single rack in the opening set to force a second. Hans, though, turned the tables on him, giving up only a single rack in the second set to secure the event title.

Tour representatives thanked the ownership and staff of Michael’s Billiards for their hospitality, as well as sponsors Andy Gilbert Custom Cues, Nick Varner Cues and Cases, Mike Davis Exterminating, Tiger Products and Delta-13 racks.