World-famous Hard Times Billiards to host WPBA Regional Tour Championships

The Women's Professional Billiard Association will hold the 9th Annual Regional Tour Championships at the world-famous Hard Times Billiards in Bellflower, CA, on February 19th – 21st, 2010.   Sixty-three women from across the country, and one from Taiwan, have earned a spot in this exciting event from their respective Regional Tour point standings. The battle will determine who will become the 2009 Season Regional Tour Champion and win free entry into all 2010 Classic Tour events.

The WPBA is globally recognized as the premier competitive tour for professional female players.   Women come from all around the world to compete on the WPBA tour.  The WPBA's “Top 10” currently includes players from England, Ireland, Korea, China, Sweden, and the USA.

In order to qualify to play in a WPBA event, players must “graduate” through a qualifying system.   There are currently 11 WPBA-recognized Regional Tours across the country.   These Regional Tours are the grass-roots program for the WPBA organization, providing up-and-coming female players with a competitive circuit to sharpen their skills and earn the right to play in WPBA events.

In 2001, the WPBA created the Regional Tour Championships, a tournament where the best players from each regional tour come together to decide who is the cream of the crop.   The idea behind the Regional Tour Championships is to recognize the importance of our Regional Tour system and to reward the winner for being the best of the bunch.  The prize they are competing for?   This year, the top 9 finishers at the Regional Tour Championships will earn their Exempt status for the 2010 WPBA Classic Tour season, and additionally, the Champion will receive paid entries into all the WPBA Classic Tour events for 2010.

Hard Times Billiards in no stranger to women's pool.  In the past, they have hosted numerous qualifier events as well as California State Championships.  This year, however, they are thrilled to welcome the Regional Tour Championships and play host to the top non-professional female players in this prestigious competition.  Owner Eddie Arreguin is looking forward to meeting all the players and welcoming them to the Hard Times family.

Mike Howerton, founder of AZbilliards.com, will be on-hand to stream the event live.  The link to the streaming will be available at www.wpba.com.

Hard Times Billiards is located at 17450 Bellflower Boulevard, Bellflower, CA 90706-6604.  Phone is (562) 867-7733. Visit their website at www.hardtimesbellflower.com , or for more information on the tournament, please visit www.wpba.com.    If you have questions about the event, email Melissa Herndon at Melissa@wpba.com.