Pine Grove resident wins national pool championship
May 14—LAS VEGAS — A Pine Grove resident is $10,000 richer after a recent visit to Las Vegas. But his good fortune didn't happen in the casino.
Eugene Melocheck won the 2023 American Poolplayers Association 9-Ball Shootout Pool Championship held April 28-30 in Las Vegas. Melocheck is a member of the local APA League in Pine Grove, where he plays pool regularly.
Melocheck was among nearly 6,000 poolplayers throughout North America who attempted to qualify for the APA 9-Ball Shootout. He was one of only 690 that advanced to the national finals at the Westgate Las Vegas.
Melocheck competed in the White Tier of the 9-Ball Shootout and received a cash and prize package worth $10,000. The 9-Ball Shootout featured four individual tiers all based on skill level.
The 9-Ball Shootout was part of the APA's Poolplayer Championships, which featured 12 divisions of competition, nearly 3,000 total players and more than $800,000 in prize money.
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 four major tournaments — the APA World Pool Championships, the APA Poolplayer Championships, the APA Junior Championships and the U.S. Amateur Championship — that, together, pay out nearly $2 Million in cash and prizes annually!
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