More than $500,000 in cash and prizes were awarded to APA members at the APA National Singles Championships held April 25 – 28 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 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, James Rockwell of Columbus, N.J., defeated Kevin Hazlip of Orange Park, Fla. Rockwell advanced to the finals after a semifinal round victory over Sophina Placencia of Waianae, Hawaii. Hazlip advanced to the finals after defeating Courtney McIntosh of Round Rock, Texas. Placencia and McIntosh tied for 3rd Place.
In the White Tier, Mike Sousa of Norton, Mass., defeated Mike Hernandez of San Antonio, Texas. Sousa defeated Christopher Garza of Brownsville, Texas, in the semifinal round to advance to the finals. Hernandez advanced to the finals by defeating Sandra Ante of Florence, Ky. Garza and Ante tied for 3rd Place.
In the Black Tier, Dustin Morris of Minneapolis, Minn., defeated Levent Ertoz of Mountain View, Calif. Morris advanced to the finals after defeating James Key of Southaven, Miss., in the semifinals. Ertoz advanced to the final round match after a victory over John Torockio of Derry, Pa., in the semifinal match. Key and Torockio 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.
More than 3,600 poolplayers made it to the regional level of the 9-Ball Shootout before the field was whittled down to 292 men and women competing for 9-Ball crowns in each of three skill level tiers.
Nearly 6,300 APA members advanced to regional competition of the 8-Ball Classic, and 469 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, Connie Kraft of East Peoria, Ill., defeated Ryan Raftery of Toledo, Ohio. Kraft defeated Stefanie Macaluso of New Port Richey, Fla., in the semifinals to advance, while Raftery defeated Ruth Chappell of Coats, N.C. Macaluso and Chappell tied for 3rd Place.
In the Yellow Tier, Patrick Porter of Burlington, N.J., defeated Kenneth Suttles of Kodak, Tenn. Porter advanced to the finals by defeating Joshua Rose of Summit, Miss., earlier in the day in the semifinal round. Suttles defeated Bradley Lancaster of Bakersfield, Calif., in the semifinals. Rose and Lancaster tied for 3rd Place.
In the Red Tier, Joseph Magsaysay of Jackson, Mo., defeated Gabriel Valdez of San Diego, Calif. Magsaysay defeated Travis Fehlauer of Fayetteville, N.C., in the semifinals to advance, while Valdez defeated Josh Norris of Oklahoma City, Okla. Fehlauer and Norris tied for 3rd Place.
In the Purple Tier, Cary Cass of Miami, Fla., defeated Armando Leal of San Antonio, Texas. Cass defeated Marc Horsting of Hanover Park, Ill., in the semifinal round. Leal advanced after defeating Joseph Coleman of Joelton, Tenn. Horsting and Coleman 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 the annual Jack & Jill Doubles Championship, held in the MiniMania Room during the Singles Championships, Jason Fortun and Kim Nguyen of Terrytown, La., defeated Sean Higgins and Line Thibeault of Lewiston, Maine. Fortun and Nguyen took home $5,000, while Higgins and Thibeault received $3,000 as Runners-Up.
Sportsmanship Awards were presented to Jina Watterworth of Lapeer, Mich., and Mike Tucci of Fresno, Calif., for outstanding conduct throughout their matches in the 9-Ball Shootout and 8-Ball Classic, respectively.
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.
