2017 CBSA Canadian Pool Championships at Black Lake Arena, Thetford Mines, Quebec. Photo by Guy Simard.
May 23-28 Canada Billiards and Snooker Association held their annual Canadian Pool Championships, this year in Thetford Mines, Quebec. Black Lake Area staged what is surely to have been the most impressive setup for a Canadian Championship yet. Players were treated to 36 Black Crown tables, felted with Simonis 860 cloth, equipped with new Duramith pool ball sets, and brand new LED lighting. Quebec promotional company Eventime was responsible for the professional layout and rigging of all the equipment, as well as setting up a “studio” on the arena floor with yet one more Black Crown table. This area operated as Show Table for live streaming of marquee matches, and provided bleacher seating for prime in-person viewing.
Alain Parent of CBSA was the tournament director for the week, assisted by CBSA president Randall Morrison and CBSA vice-president John White. Compusport was used as the online tournament bracket software, to keep players and viewers updated in real time to match results. Stations were provided on-site so players could look up their next matches, or players could choose to connect via their cell phones. The bracket software came in handy as there was lots going on. CBSA offered events in Open 8-Ball, Open 9-Ball, and Open 10-Ball, plus Amateur 8-Ball and Amateur 9-Ball, all these events having both a Men’s and Women’s Division. In addition, for the first time, CBSA held events in Bank Pool, One Pocket, Straight Pool, and Speed Pool.
Nova Scotia was represented by 11 players, who competed in a combined 30 events.
Janet Ritcey was the only NS Competitor to cash, earning $300 for 3rd place in Women’s Open 10-Ball. Ritcey also competed in Women’s Open 8-Ball (4th) and Women’s Open 9-Ball (5th). Ritcey was roadblocked by reigning Canadian Champions Naomi Williams and Brittany Bryant throughout the Women's events.
Although he didn’t cash, arguably the most impressive NS performance of the week was put in by Bill MacPherson. MacPherson finished a consistent 9th-12th in Open 8-Ball, Open 9-Ball, and Open 10-Ball. This put him one spot out of the money in each of these divisions. Beyond the consistency, what makes the set of strong finishes stand out is, of the players with multiple higher finishes, all of them have world class experience on their resume, and almost all of them have Canadian Championship titles to their name. Macpherson fit right in, playing confidently and with great focus.
Dave Boone was the busiest Nova Scotian, competing in 6 events. Boone saw action in Open 8-Ball, Open 9-Ball, Open 10-Ball, Bank Pool, One Pocket and 14.1 Divisions.
Shauna Boyle, Jason Ross, Bill Martin, John Rushton, Chris Kemp, Richard Young, Hugh MacEachern and Craig Teal didn’t place in the money, but had a great experience testing themselves against players from other provinces. Maybe next year!
A full recap of all division can be found on the ThePoolScene.com