Jason Sheerman
Jason Sheerman of Port St Lucie, Fla., is the 2020-2021 U.S. Amateur Champion. Sheerman went undefeated through the 117-player field in his first U.S. Amateur Championship appearance.
The U.S. Amateur Championship was held March 17-21 at Stroker’s in Palm Harbor, Fla., and was presented by the American Poolplayers Association.
After falling behind 8-1 in the Championship Final, Sheerman battled back to defeat Daniel Gambill of Hickory, N.C., 11-9.
“It was super tough, I don’t know how I did it. In my last couple matches, I was dealing with a deficit, I just tried to keep my head straight, focus on the shot at hand and do what I had to do to get out,” said Sheerman.
Sheerman sent Gambill to the one-loss side of the bracket in the hot-seat match, but Gambill forced a rematch with a victory over defending champion Blake Baker in the semifinal round. Gambill earned his second Runner-Up finish in 13 U.S. Amateur Championship appearances.
Baker dropped his first match of the tournament to Ernesto Bayaua, and battled all the way back to the semifinal round for a 3rd Place finish.
Sheerman’s name will not only be added to the coveted Larry Hubbart trophy, but he’ll move on to compete in a Pro Event in 2022 and will return to defend his title next year.
Jeannie Seaver
Jeannie Seaver of Tarpon Springs, Fla., is the 2020-2021 Womens U.S. Amateur Champion. Seaver went undefeated through the 47-player field in her first U.S. Amateur Championship appearance.
“It was a very tough field. It’s a very prestigious title to win. A lot of the great players have won it, and now I’m one of them,” said Seaver after her victory.
Seaver defeated fellow Floridian Julia Sheerman of Port Saint Lucie, Fla., 9-3 in the Championship final held at Stroker’s in Palm Harbor, Fla.
“The first time we played, she crushed me in 8-Ball. Somehow I got lucky and won a few more than Julia in that final match,” said Seaver.
Seaver sent Sheerman to the one-loss side of the bracket in the hot-seat match, but Sheerman forced a rematch with a victory over Deanna Foster in the semifinal round.
Sheerman finished Runner-Up in her first U.S. Amateur Championship appearance. Her deep run in the tournament coincided nicely with her husband, Jason’s, victory in the Open Division.
Foster finished in 3rd Place, her best U.S. Amateur Championship finish ever.
Seaver also moves on to compete in a Pro Event in 2022 and will return to defend her title next year. Her name will, of course, join a handful of others forever featured on the Womens U.S. Amateur Championship trophy.
Both championship matches can now be viewed for free on the APA YouTube channel at youtube.com/apaleagues in addition to dozens of other matches that were lived-streamed from this year’s U.S. Amateur Championship.
The entry window for the 2022 U.S. Amateur Championship is now open with the Preliminary Rounds scheduled across North America in mid-September.
The U.S. Amateur Championship is conducted by the APA, and is the only tournament produced by the APA open to both members and non-members. Preliminary qualifying rounds were held throughout the country in mid-September.
The U.S. Amateur Championship is a double elimination tournament that offers the nation’s top amateur players the opportunity to showcase their skills through a combination of 8-Ball and 9-Ball matches, in the only APA event that does not use The Equalizer® handicap system.
The APA, based in Lake Saint Louis, Mo., sanctions the world’s largest amateur pool league, with leagues throughout the United States, Canada and Japan. 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 more than $2 Million in cash and prizes annually!
The APA and its championships are sponsored by Aramith, Action Cues, PoolDawg and Valley-Dynamo.
To register for next year’s U.S. Amateur Championship, visit https://usam.poolplayers.com/.
