After 10 days of virtual non-stop pool tournament action, the Trenton, N.J. team of Hate Joey, Not Us was the last team standing in the finals of the 734-team 8-Ball Open Division.  Hate Joey, Not Us defeated Shark Week of Warren, Ohio, 3-1. Shark Week got on the scoreboard first, with a 5-2 victory by [...]

1st Place – Chalk and Awe From Houston, TX Juan Perez, Chris Good, Michelle Ramirez, Paul Negrete, Phillip Cano and Jim Chan    

Charlie Hans of Middletown, Ohio, won his fourth Wheelchair Challenge title Friday, Aug. 24 with a 6-1 win over Ron Bates of Coldwater, Mich.  He previously won the tournament in 2006, 2008, 2009 and finished as Runner-Up last year.  Hans latest title was worth $1,800 in prize money, while Bates settled for $900 as the [...]

Two Peas in a Pod (Christopher Stone and Lauren Kauffman) from Raleigh, N.C., won $5,000 Friday, Aug. 24 at the Top of the Riviera with a close 46-34 win over H-Cues Double Malt Scotch (Nathaniel Horsey-Sherin and Daniel Allen) of Nashville, Tenn.  The Runner-Up finish was good for $3,000 for H-Cues Double Malt Scotch. Two [...]

Pedro Celadita of Hartford, Conn., is this year’s winner in the Dr. Cue National Lag Challenge.  The victory earned Celadita a $300 payday.  In 2nd Place was Hendrik Drost of Ithaca, N.Y., winning $200.  3rd Place went to Bobby Terry of Tatum, Texas.  In 4th Place was Serafin Serrano of Orlando, Fla.  Preliminary Rounds were [...]

One of the great things about APA League play is that it brings together people from all walks of life.  A great example of that are the Hornitos from Huntsville, Ala., who are competing in the 8-Ball Open Division. The team is comprised of an author, photographer, bar owner, machinist, computer tech, personal trainer, bartender [...]

No Brakes from Buffalo, N.Y., is back at the National Team Championships this year after a 5th Place finish in 2011. They’re once again competing in the Open 8-Ball Division. This year’s team consists of Brian Hughes, Ken Blachura, Joan Blachura, Donna Hildebrandt, Eric Swain, Jason Dusel, Misty Dusel and Terry Loconte. Several members of [...]

Stu and Starr Fisher from Canfield, Ohio, are celebrating more than just making it to Vegas for the National Team Championships.  The couple, who are competing in the 9-Ball Doubles Championship which began Weds., is also celebrating their 13th wedding anniversary!  What better gift to give to each other than a championship trophy – and [...]

A couple hundred fans packed Capri 103-104 (aka the Exhibition Room) to get up close and personal with the one and only “Black Widow” Jeanette Lee. Jeanette answered questions from the crowd and took challenge matches from some brave competitors, much to the delight of the packed audience.  After the show, she stuck around to [...]

Amberlee Rossi and her mother Yvonne Buford of Milan, Ill., are competing in the 9-Ball Doubles Championship. Both have been to Vegas before, and have seen most of what it has to offer. But this trip will be different, and will likely be their best yet. You see, there are certain things in life that [...]

Two teams from the Great Lakes State were represented in the finals of the Masters Championship Wednesday night at the Top of the Riviera.  $10,000 in cash was on-the-line as Triple Threat (Lupe Rosas, Curtis Thornton and Richard Schmiegel Jr.) of Saginaw and Fantastic Four (Chad Palmer, Ezekial Kelly Espinoza, Timmy Palmer and Brenton Canine) [...]

The Bald Eagles from High Springs, Fla., have been friends for close to 40 years. They’re excited to be in Vegas competing together in the Masters Championship. All of them played pool, so it was an easy choice for them to get together and form a team. Combined, the Bald Eagles have about 200 years [...]

Latin Connection from New Bedford, Mass., is playing in the Open 8-Ball Division. Team members include Paul Massey, Julio Revera, Jose Peryera, Jose Rosario, Doug Degrace, Amanda Greene, Rory Santos and Virgilio Martinez. The team consists of a variety of cultures, some family members and a group of friends who love to play pool. While [...]

Few knew the name Florian Kohler just a few years ago.  And why would they?  At the time, the now 24-year-old from France wasn’t on the billiard scene radar.  That all changed when he became fascinated by watching trickshots from the likes of Mike Massey and “Dr. Cue” Tom Rossman.  That curiosity would eventually lead [...]

Crush for a Cure from Suffolk County, N.Y. is competing in the Masters Championship. Their team name came about because they’re playing in the tournament for a cause—cancer. They’ve decided to donate 50% of any winnings they earn at the tournament to cancer research. Each of them have been touched by the loss of a [...]

Team Captain Louis Gray of Colorado Springs has been playing in the APA since 1997, but this is the first time he’s had a team qualify for the National Team Championship.  Gray’s team, “Take a #,” are competing in the 8-Ball Open Division. “We’re very excited to finally be part of the action,” said Gray, [...]

World famous trick shot artist Tom “Dr. Cue” Rossmanwas at the National Team Championships entertaining players, signing autographs and conducting the Dr. Cue Artistic Pool Championship. Throughout the event, Dr. Cue performed daily exhibitions and autograph signings. He also was happy to take photos with players! He also conducted the Dr. Cue Artistic Pool Championship. [...]

Lucky 13 from Little Rock, Ark., is competing in the Open 8-Ball Division. They just started playing together in the Spring  Session 2012! They feel like it’s a Cinderella story that they qualified so early in their time together as a team; they were shocked when they won the trip. Lucky 13 is very close [...]

1st Place: Nailed It – Myrtle Beach, SC – Daniel Woods, Andrew Joyner, Ashley Graham, 2nd Place: Scratch ‘N Burn – San Francisco, CA – James Haslip, Aja Hernandez, Greg Sensibaugh, Darrel Haslip, Eddie Vives, Melvin Ming, Gabriel Tun and Ahmed Fituri  

If you’ve never heard of Townsend, Montana, you’re in the majority.  Most people outside the state of Montana probably haven’t.  The town, with a population of just under 2,000 residents, sits approximately 35 miles outside of the state capitol of Helena.  It’s a friendly community with great hunting and fishing according to the locals.  Some [...]

  Action Shots from the Finals             5th Place - Gilbert’s Bar & Grill – 9 - From Louisville, KY Front - Joe Hughes, Pam Bell, Joanne Davis, Everett Bratcher Back - Bell Devers, Jack Bell, Kerry Smith, Todd Mettling 5th Place – Rollin’ Deep from West Haven, CT (No Photo Available) Christopher Gloerson, Glenn Everlith Jr., Ari Santos, Sean Zipper, David Grenthal, Sinead Cordon, [...]

The finals of the Ladies 8-Ball Division featured a nail-biter of a finale.  Down 2-0 in the match, and with their opponent on the 8-ball for the win, the ladies of I’m a 7 at Drinkin from Matthews, N.C., mounted  a comeback that will not soon be forgotten.  I’m a 7 at Drinkin defeated Take [...]

 1st Place: Ladies Luck of Temple, TX Brenda Stewart, Carime Deieon, Frances Guerra, Vicky Yacquian, Wendy Gilleland, Cindy Gilleland, Patsy Lawrence    

I’m With Stupid (Justin Wales and John Provost) from Belchertown, Mass., defeated the Fight Club (Jimmy Coleman and John O’Donnell) of Woodbridge, Va., in the finals of the 8-Ball Doubles Championship Saturday, Aug. 18 held at the Top of the Riviera. I’m With Stupid quickly got on the scoreboard first, but the Fight Club evened [...]

Over 1,000 APA members turned out for the first of two annual PoolAPAlooza celebrations held poolside during the APA National Team Championships at the Riviera.  Players hit the dance floor and played games including Plinko as they took a break from the tournament action. The combination of Ladies 8-Ball, Open 9-Ball and 8-Ball Doubles teams, [...]

Sometimes it’s not as important who’s on your team, as much as who’s in the stands rooting for you.  For Team Marshall Geddert that plays out of Chubby’s Bar & Grill in Atlanta, Ill., this couldn’t be more true. This past spring session, team member and key player Ralph McCormick was diagnosed with cancer.  Barely [...]

Cue Tips from St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada are in Vegas for their very first National Team Championships competing in the 9-Ball Open Division. The team has been together for a year now and team members include Team Captain Evan Hannam, Co-Captain Jonathan Pretty, Andrew Stuckey, Stephen Stuckey, Perry Clemmens, Brogan Derrington, Rick Mixer and Jill [...]

One of the highlights of attending the APA National Team Championships is the opportunity to browse thousands of billiard related products offered by the various vendors at this year’s event.  From cues and cue cases to billiard apparel and everything in between, you could find the perfect billiard accessory for you or the poolplayer in [...]

Gary Ramsey, Team Captain of 9 Is Rhyme Time of Fairfax, Va., has been playing in the APA for over 7 years.  And though he qualified for the 8-Ball Classic in 2010, where he got engaged to his wife whom he met while playing in the APA, he’s never been able to guide his team [...]

It’s not uncommon to find a husband and wife team competing in one of the Doubles Championships.  However, it’s rare you see an 8-man roster comprised of four sets of husbands and wives! That’s the winning combination that got Still At It from Greenville, S.C., all the way to Vegas.  And they’re hoping it takes [...]

Practice tables were available in the Capri Rooms 24 hours a day! This provided the perfect opportunity for players to spend some time on the table before moving to the Main Tournament Room for competition. Tables were also available in the Main Tournament Room during specified dates and times which could be found in your [...]

There are teams with great chemistry on the table, and teams with great chemistry off the table.  For the Untouchables of Springfield, Mo., who are competing in the 9-Ball Open, they’ve got both! The team is led by team captain Pam Burgess.  It takes only a few moments talking to her to understand just how [...]

The Pocket Princesses from Davenport, Iowa, are the first team ever to represent the Quad Cities APA in the Ladies 8-Ball Division, and they couldn’t be more proud of the distinction. “We’re so honored to be competing at Nationals representing the Quad Cities APA Ladies Division.  While we may be the team competing, we couldn’t [...]

The 2012 National Team Championships are officially underway!  APA President Renee’ Lyle opened this year’s competition following the singing of the Japanese, Canadian and American national anthems, performed by local singing sensation Lisa Smith. Players in the 8-Ball Doubles, Ladies 8-Ball and Open 9-Ball Division will be first to crack the racks this week.  Nearly [...]

Ray Dean Mohammed and Carolyn Goodland from Ontario, Canada, are competing in the 8-Ball Doubles Championship. Their team name is What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas. In November 2011, Ray and Carolyn met in the CPA. They’ve been a couple ever since. Just 12 weeks after meeting, they won the 8-Ball Doubles tournament, which [...]

After nearly five days of hanging lights, setting up spectator and participant seating and leveling pool tables, last minute preparations are being made here at the Riviera for the opening of the 2012 National Team Championships tomorrow afternoon.  Nearly 250 Valley pool tables have been brought in for this year’s tournament extravaganza which begins at [...]

We will be interacting with our Facebook Page throughout the event so make sure you hop on over and “Like” us on Facebook! Our page is located at http://www.facebook.com/poolplayers. After the tournament is over you’ll continue to receive the latest APA updates in your News Feed!