Worlds Largest Pool League Crowns Seven Amateur Champions in Las Vegas
APA MEMBERS POCKET MORE THAN $500,000 IN CASH AND PRIZES AT NATIONAL SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIPS
Worlds Largest Pool League Crowns Seven Amateur Champions in Las Vegas
LAKE SAINT LOUIS, MO (May 10, 2013) More than $500,000 in cash and prizes were awarded to APA members at the APA National Singles Championships held April 24 – 27 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, the Wheelchair Challenge 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, Tom Williamson of Billerica, Mass., defeated Cheri Schroth of Murfreesboro, Tenn. Williamson advanced to the finals after a semifinal round victory over Kathy Tingler of Tyler, Texas. Schroth advanced to the finals as a result of a disqualification following the semifinal round. Tingler finished in 3rd Place.
In the White Tier, Eddie Conklin, Jr. of Bayonne, N.J., defeated Rodger Doyen of Brandon, Fla. Conklin Jr. defeated Mathis Martines of Greensboro, N.C., in the semifinal round to advance to the finals. Doyen advanced to the finals by defeating Erick Carrasco of Ridgewood, N.Y. Martines and Carrasco tied for 3rd Place.
In the Black Tier, David Apollos of Gallatin, Tenn., defeated Jan Mierzwa of Garfield, N.J. Apollos advanced to the finals after defeating Herb Wilburn of Longview, Texas, in the semifinals. Mierzwa advanced to the final round match after a victory over Jessica Schuddekopf of Clifton Park, N.Y., in the semifinal match. Wilburn and Schuddekopf 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 in cash and prizes.
Daniel Praty of San Diego, Calif., was awarded 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 310 men and women competing for 9-Ball crowns in each of three Skill Level Tiers.
Nearly 6,400 APA members advanced to regional competition of the 8-Ball Classic, and 489 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, Faith Rubin of Fayetteville, N.C., defeated Joe Fickett of Chicago Ridge, Ill. Rubin defeated Freida Swain of Lapeer, Mich., in the semifinals to advance, while Fickett defeated Summer Turner of St. Augustine, Fla. Swain and Turner tied for 3rd Place.
In the Yellow Tier, Steven Davis of Minneapolis, Minn., defeated Clayton Fulcher of Loganville, Ga. Davis advanced to the finals by defeating John Falco of Benton, Ark., earlier in the day in the semifinal round. Fulcher defeated Douglas Moe of Easton, Conn., in the semifinals Falco and Moe tied for 3rd Place.
In the Red Tier, David Templeton of Jackson, Mo., defeated Wilson Chung of South San Francisco, Calif. Templeton defeated Charles Swan of Pickering, Ont., in the semifinals to advance, while Chung defeated Matthew Witschonke of Seattle, Wash. Swan and Witschonke tied for 3rd Place.
In the Purple Tier, Dustin Gunia of Omaha, Neb., defeated Nathan Moore of Warren, Mich. Gunia defeated John Scudder of Portland, Ore., in the semifinal round. Moore advanced after defeating Ever Valasques of Hyattsville, Md. Scudder and Valasques 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 cash and prizes.
Michael Andrew of Oshawa, Ont., was awarded the Sportsmanship Award in the 8-Ball Classic.
In the annual Jack & Jill Doubles Championship, held during the Singles Championships, Long Shots (Jaime Guajardo & Amber Kwasigroch) of Joliet, Ill., defeated Ride the Rail (James Giorella & Evaughn Hall) of Athens, Ga. The victory earned them a $5,000 payday. As Runners-Up, Ride the Rail took home $3,000. The Jack & Jill Doubles field included 256 teams.
The Wheelchair Challenge made its debut at the National Singles Championships after being held in August during the National Team Championships for many years. In the finals, Charlie Hans of Middletown, Ohio defeated Ron Bates of Coldwater, Mich., to take home $2,000 in prize money. Bates received $1,000 as the Runner-Up. Forty-two players competed in the Wheelchair Challenge.
The APA, based in Lake Saint Louis, Mo., sanctions the worlds 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.
