World’s Largest Pool League Awards Nearly $650,000
After hosting more billiard tournaments than perhaps any other venue in the world, it was only fitting that the 2015 APA National Singles Championships were the last event, of any kind, ever held at the iconic Riviera Hotel and Casino. Thousands of APA members made their way to the classic Vegas property in early May to say their final farewells while competing for nearly $650,000 in cash and prizes.
The National Singles Championships consisted of both the 8-Ball Classic and 9-Ball Shootout Singles Championships, 8-Ball and 9-Ball Doubles Championships and the Wheelchair Challenge.
The final round of the 9-Ball Shootout featured three championship matches, one for each Skill Level Tier, with two shooters in each competing for $10,000 in cash and prizes.
In the Green Tier, Kristi Spohn of Mary Esther, Fla., defeated Kennedy Cummings of Deltona, Fla.
In the White Tier, James Turner of Florence, S.C., defeated Larry Atkinson of Garden City, Mo.
In the Black Tier, James Adams of Brooksville, Fla., defeated Stefan Dehoze of Harper’s Ferry, W.V.
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.
Carolyn Burgduff of Keizer, Ore., was awarded the Sportsmanship Award in the 9-Ball Shootout. More than 3,600 poolplayers made it to the Regional Level of the 9-Ball Shootout before the field was whittled down to 303 who advanced to Las Vegas.
Nearly 5,600 players throughout North America qualified for Regional competition in the 8-Ball Classic, with 472 of them advancing to the championships. In the finals of the 8-Ball Classic, five champions each took home a prize package worth $15,000 for their performances.
In the Blue Tier, Brady Ward of Little Rock, Ark., defeated Heather Kidney-Butler of St. John’s, Newfoundland.
In the Yellow Tier, Inessa Gelman of New York City defeated Michaela DeLaCruz-Negrete of Sacramento, Calif.
In the Red Tier, Ryan Garcia of Lake Jackson, Texas, defeated Diana Wolfe of Oklahoma City, Okla.
In the Orange Tier, Ken Geragosian of O’Fallon, Ill., defeated Terry Claiborne of Bakersfield, Calif.
In the Purple Tier, Ernesto Bayaua of Tomball, Texas, defeated Ken Frauenburger of Daisetta, Texas.
First Place winners received cash and prizes worth $15,000. Each Runner-Up received cash and prizes worth $9,000.
Paul Langley of San Diego, Calif., was awarded the Sportsmanship Award in the 8-Ball Classic.
In the 8-Ball Doubles Championship, South GA Hustlers – Roderick Rentz and Stephanie Rentz – of Hazelhurst, Ga., defeated Hard Luck – Bradley Miller and Bruce Bare – of Winder, Ga. The victory earned them a $5,000 payday. As Runners-Up, Hard Luck took home $3,000.
In the 9-Ball Doubles Championship, Age Before Beauty – Billy Petty and John McCloud– of Portland, Tenn., defeated Gypsy’s Too – Mary Kester and Bill Palmer – of Niles, Ohio. The victory earned them a $3,500 payday. As Runners-Up, Gypsy’s Too took home $2,300.
In the finals of the Wheelchair Challenge, Ron Bates of Coldwater, Mich., defeated Joel Fini of Des Moines, Iowa, to take home $1,600 in prize money. Fini received $800 as the Runner-Up.
Hundreds of members were still on-hand at the hotel at Noon on Monday, May 4 as the Riviera closed its doors forever. The APA National Championships will relocate to the recently remodeled Westgate Resort & Casino (formerly the Las Vegas Hilton) for the National Team Championships in August.
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 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.
