World’s Largest Pool League Crowns Seven Amateur Champions in Las Vegas

APA members took home more than $450,000 in cash and prizes at the APA National Singles Championships held April 27 – 30 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 (Skill Levels 1-3), Nicole Goin of Danville, Ill., defeated Veronica Ovens-Head of Largo, Fla.  Goin advanced to the finals after a semifinal round victory over Megan Fraser of Fletcher, N.C.  Ovens-Head advanced to the finals after defeating Apryl Green-Wilds of Kansas City, Mo.  Fraser and Green-Wilds tied for 3rd Place.
 
In the White Tier (Skill Levels 4-5), Troy Cooper of Anoka, Minn., defeated Kyle Coleman of Niles, Mich.  Cooper defeated Liming Luan of Nashville, Tenn., in the semifinal round to advance to the finals.  Coleman advanced to the finals by defeating Gloria Villa of Seattle, Wash.  Luan and Villa tied for 3rd Place.
 
In the Black Tier (Skill Levels 6-9), Alex Olinger of Kettering, Ohio, defeated Nick Chirco of Fort Hood, Texas.  Olinger advanced to the finals after defeating Andrew Lawson of Fairmount, Ill., in the semifinals.  Chirco advanced to the final round match after a victory over Omar Gutierrez of Whittier, Calif., in the semifinal match.  Lawson and Gutierrez 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 3,400 poolplayers made it to the regional level of the 9-Ball Shootout before the field was whittled down to 277 men and women competing for 9-Ball crowns in each of three skill level tiers.
 
More than 6,200 APA members advanced to regional competition of the 8-Ball Classic, and just over 460 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 (Skill Levels 2-3), Duane Green of Willingboro, N.J., defeated Kevin Belue of Athens, Ala.  Green defeated James Rockwell of Columbus, N.J., in the semifinals to advance, while Belue defeated Christopher Gloerson of Stratford, Conn.  Rockwell and Gloerson tied for 3rd Place.
In the Yellow Tier (Skill Level 4), Patrick Wheeler of Manhattan, Ill., defeated Julio Delvalle of Trenton, N.J.  Wheeler advanced to the finals by defeating Alfredo Garcia of Tuckahoe, N.Y., earlier in the day in the semifinal round.  Delvalle defeated Robbie Engesether of Fridley, Minn., in the semifinals.  Garcia and Engesether tied for 3rd Place.
 
In the Red Tier (Skill Level 5), Michael Jaeck of Whitehouse, Ohio, defeated Sait Gurer of Irwin, Pa.  Jaeck defeated Mark Pfahler of Davenport, Fla., in the semifinals to advance, while Gurer defeated William Simmons of Drummonds, Tenn.  Pfahler and Simmons tied for 3rd Place.
 
In the Purple Tier (Skill Levels 6-7), Steve Knoll of Sarasota, Fla., defeated James Silva of Los Angeles.  Knoll defeated Jeff Anderson of Shelbyville, Tenn., in the semifinal round.  Silva advanced after defeating Dale Fazenbaker Jr. of Lonaconing, Md.  Anderson and Fazenbaker Jr. 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, Daryl Lane Jr. and Keira Graves of Nashville, Tenn., defeated Jason Fortun and Louisiana Le of Terrytown, La.  Lane Jr. and Graves took home $5,000, while Fortun and Le received $3,000 as Runners-Up.
 
Sportsmanship Awards were presented to Miguel Rodriguez of Ocala, Fla., and Jim Legothetis of Pekin, Ill., 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.