An all-star field of 48 players is ready to do battle in the American 14.1 Straight Pool Championship at the fabulous Diamond Billiards in Midlothian Virginia, beginning on October 17th and concluding on October 21st. This will be the 13th edition of the tournament and the 4th year it is played at Diamond Billiards. Players will be vying for the $10,000 first place prize from a total purse of over $41,000.
This field is loaded with some of the world’s best straight pool players. Headlining the field is the defending champion Niels Feijen, along with 2-time champion Darren Appleton and previous champions Thorsten Hohmann, Mika Immonen, John Schmidt, Johnny Archer and Bob Maidof. But all contestants will have to get past Lee Van Corteza, who is currently the hottest straight pool player on American soil with wins in the US and World straight pool championships in 2017, with the latter win coming this past week when he defeated Hohmann in the finals.
Players competing from all over the world include Jason Shaw, Alex Pagulayan, Dennis Orcollo, Ralf Souquet, David Alcaide, Chris Melling, Carlo Biado, Albin Ouschan et al. Also competing is Corey Deuel, Rodney Morris, WPBA Hall of Famer Karen Corr, and current Mosconi USA team member Billy Thorpe. There are 18 former or current Mosconi Cup participants in the field. A complete roster of players can be found at americanstraightpool.com.
The tournament begins with round-robin play consisting of 8 flights, 6 players per flight. Races are to 100 and the top 3 players in each flight advance into a 24 player single elimination format. Flight winners will receive a 1st round bye in the elimination bracket. All players making it to the elimination round are awarded prize money. Round robin play will take place Tuesday - Friday, with the elimination portion taking place Friday and Saturday.
All matches will be played on 9’ Gold Crown tables, with the exception of the TV table, which is a Diamond Pro-AM. All matches on the TV table will be streamed free of charge by Inside Pool TV. Every session of the tournament will have a streamed match. A daily stream menu will be available on AZBilliards in the 14.1 forum.
The combination of purse value and proximity to Virginia Beach VA (home of the US 9-Ball Open) makes the American 14.1 a popular tournament. The Open begins the following Sunday and is played less than 2 hours away from Midlothian. Souquet, the 2002 US Open 9-Ball champion noted that despite the major differences in the two disciplines, playing straight pool can help to get you in stroke and with refining your touch. There are 8 former US 9 Ball champions in the field this year.
The American 14.1 Straight Pool Championship is sponsored by the Dorsey family, owners and operators of host Diamond Billiards, Simonis Cloth, Aramith Billiard Balls, and numerous private donations.
