World’s Largest Pool League Awards Nearly $700,000
LAKE SAINT LOUIS, MO (May 14, 2018) —Thousands of APA members made their way to the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino in late April to compete for nearly $700,000 in cash and prizes at the APA Poolplayer Championships.
The Poolplayer Championships consisted of both the 8-Ball Classic and 9-Ball Shootout, as well as the 8-Ball and 9-Ball Doubles Championships and the Wheelchair Championship.
Nearly 6,000 players throughout North America qualified for Regional competition in the 8-Ball Classic, with 612 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, Blair Dickerson of Lubbock, Texas, defeated Tiffany Jones of Bakersfield, Calif. In the Yellow Tier, Lena Dommes of San Antonio, Texas, defeated Kathryn Miller of Spanish Fort, Ala. In the Red Tier, Dave Supe of Harrison, Ohio, defeated Bradley Greer of Essex, Mo. In the Orange Tier, Joe Gotch of Hillside, Ill., defeated Josh Norris of Oklahoma City, Okla. In the Purple Tier, Ernesto Bayaua of Tomball, Texas, defeated Aaron Greenwood of Baldwinsville, N.Y. First Place winners received cash and prizes worth $15,000. Each Runner-Up received cash and prizes worth $9,000. Kevin Murphy of New Smyrna Beach, Fla., won the Sportsmanship Award in the 8-Ball Classic.
The final round of the 9-Ball Shootout featured three 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, Roger Ledford of Detroit, Mich., defeated Randy Archuleta of Commerce City, Colo. In the White Tier, Kevin Jans of Puslinch, Ont., defeated Sandi Teet of Hull, Ga. In the Black Tier, Dustin Gunia of Omaha, Neb., defeated John Nickson Jr. of Swarthmore, Pa. 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. Denver Nicholas of Woodstock, Ala., 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 396 who advanced to Las Vegas.
In the 8-Ball Doubles Championship, Last Shot 1 – Bobby Harvision and Jordan Castillo – of Memphis, Tenn., defeated Michael’s 43 – Teresa Ballenger and Michael Wilder – of Jackson Miss. The victory earned them a $5,000 payday. As Runners-Up, Michael’s 43 took home $3,000.
In the 9-Ball Doubles Championship, Where Was This Last Week – Jorge Burke and David Zartler – of North Cook County, Ill., defeated Dilly Dilly 2 – Michael Soto and Eric Melando – of Middlesex County, N.J. The victory earned them a $3,500 payday. As Runners-Up, Dilly Dilly 2 took home $2,300.
In the finals of the Wheelchair Championship, Charlie Hans of Harrison, Ohio, defeated Marland Redfield of Marshall, Mich., to take home $2,000 in prize money. Redfield 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 and PoolDawg.
For more information on the American Poolplayers Association, visit www.poolplayers.com.
