2015 Canadian Amateur Pool Championships Event Report

Jul 19, 2015

 
Written by Kyle Richard
For the second year in a row, Fairville Shooters in Saint John New Brunswick hosted the 2015 CBSA Canadian Amateur Pool Championships from 24-28 June. Amateur pool players from across the country showed up to compete for the 5 different Championship titles up for grabs. The events being held were Amateur Men’s 8 Ball, Amateur Men’s 9 Ball, Amateur Women’s 8 Ball, Amateur Women’s 9 Ball and a Junior 9 Ball Division. Players came from the following Provinces: Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario and as far away as Saskatchewan.
The hosts Rob and Monique Connolly did a great job and they also added $4500 in total to this event. All of these events went very smoothly and had hardly any time issues thanks to the help of the Tournament Director (and former CBSA President) Steve Cooper.
Amateur Men’s 8 Ball Championship:
There were a total of 53 players who showed up to vie for the title. The field was very tough and had every different type of player in it right from a few young guns to players seasoned with age and experience. They played for $10,400 in total cash and prizes and as the event unfolded the seasoned players proved to be up to the challenge. This event had $1000 in added money from the host as well. Aldei went undefeated in this event including a tough final match with Matt Crawford where he won 9-7 to claim the title.
L to R: Aldei Doucet (winner) and Matt Crawford (runner-up) Congratulations Aldei Doucet!
Following is a breakdown of the prize money:
Winner:  Aldei Doucet $1300  + trophy + Canadian Amateur 8 Ball Championship ring valued at $500 + entry and hotel to attend the 2016 Open 8 Ball Championships valued at $550 (Total $2350)
Runner-Up:  Matt Crawford $1100 + trophy (Total $1100)
3rd Place:  Chris Ross $900 + trophy (Total $900)
4th Place:  Jean Guy Belliveau (Total $700)
5th/6th:  Paul Gordon ($500) Serge Therrien ($500) (Total $1000)
7th/8th:  Jim Taylor ($450) Rick Garant ($450) (Total $900)           
9th-12th:  Ryan Kendall ($350) Yvon Robichaud ($350) Terry Gulliver ($350)  Jon Leblanc ($350)
(Total $1400)
13th-16th: Peter Kabatay ($250) Terry Martin ($250) Dev Bhattacharya ($250) Bob Ryan ($250)
(Total $1000)
View the complete results here.
 
Amateur Women’s 8 Ball Championship:
A talented field of 19 women took part in this event. These focused competitors played for a total purse of $4275 with $3975 of it being prize money as well as a beautiful gold watch valued at $300 donated by some of the Fairville Shooter’s sponsors W.H. Smith, Scholten’s and Clintar. This event had $1000 in added money from the host also. The final match was close for about 3/4 of the battle but eventually Cathy Horgan was able to secure the 9-6 victory over Monique Connolly for the title. Also important to note, Tina Ellis played some of her best 8 Ball ever to claim the 3rd place spot.
L to R: Monique Connolly (runner-up), Cathy Horgan (winner), Tina Ellis (3rd place)Congratulations Cathy Horgan!
Following is a breakdown of the prize money:
Winner:  Cathy Horgan $1200 + trophy + gold watch valued at $300 (Total $1500)
Runner-Up:  Monique Connolly $925 + trophy (Total $925)
3rd Place:  Tina Ellis $750 + trophy (Total $750)
4th Place:  Candace Campbell (Total $500)
5th/6th:  Lisa Savoy ($300) Theresa Hunter ($300) (Total $600)
View the complete results here.
Amateur Men’s 9 Ball Championship:
This event was a phenomenal success with the first full field of 64 players in recent memory at a CBSA event. There was $11,070 in total cash and prizes up for grabs during this event. This event also had $1000 in added money from the host. After a long and gruelling 3 days of play, Kevin McGee was able to come away with a 9-5 victory over Stuart MacTaggart in the B side finals and then he used that momentum to edge, the newly crowned Amateur 8 Ball Champion, Aldei Doucet in the finals 11-8. The last two matches were recorded live by Rogers TV.
Congratulations Kevin McGee!
Following is a breakdown of the prize money:
Winner:  Kevin McGee $1400  + trophy + Canadian Amateur 9 Ball Championship ring valued at $500 + entry and hotel to attend the 2016 Open 9 Ball Championships valued at $550 (Total $2450)
Runner-Up:  Aldei Doucet $1150 + trophy (Total $1150)
3rd Place:  Stuart MacTaggart $950 + trophy (Total $950)
4th Place:  Serge Therrien (Total $800)
5th/6th:  Daryl Hatfield ($650) Chris Doucet ($650) (Total $1300)
7th/8th:  Ryan Kendall ($550) Matt Crawford ($550) (Total $1100)            
9th-12th:  Rick Garant ($450) Joll Francis ($450)  Steven Spencer ($450)  Paul Gordon ($450)           (Total $1800)
13th-16th:  Kyle Richard ($380) Nick Kaiser ($380) Joe McIntyre ($380) Todd Crawford ($380)          (Total $1520)
View the complete results here.
 
Amateur Women’s 9 Ball Championship:
There were 15 determined women who took part in this event. These competitors were searching for the lion’s share of the $3350 in prize money as well as a beautiful gold watch valued at $300 donated by some of the Fairville Shooter’s sponsors W.H. Smith, Scholten’s and Clintar. This event had $1000 in added money from the host. The final match was a close affair but eventually Lisa Savoy was able to secure the 11-7 victory over Sarah MacQueen for the title and handed Sarah her only loss during this event.
L to R: Monique Connolly (3rd place), Sarah MacQueen (runner up) and Lisa Savoy (winner)Congratulations Lisa Savoy!
Following is a breakdown of the prize money:
Winner:  Lisa Savoy $1100 + trophy + gold watch valued at $300 (Total $1400)
Runner-Up:  Sarah MacQueen $850 + trophy (Total $850)
3rd Place:  Monique Connolly $600 + trophy (Total $600)
4th Place:  Emmaly Allison (Total $400)
5th/6th:  Cathy Horgan ($200) Jennifer Ross ($200) (Total $400)
View the complete results here.
 
Junior 9 Ball Championship:
There were only 4 players in this event but that didn’t mean it would be easy. This event had $500 in added money and the CBSA also donated a $750 cue to the Junior player cause to help them generate even more expense money. These 4 junior players played for the estimated $3000 in expense money with heart and determination. Stuart MacTaggart played nearly flawless pool with wins over Daniel Martin 9-2, Nicholas Ridley 9-2 and again versus Nicholas Ridley in the final 11-2 to earn the title of Canadian Junior 9 Ball Champion. Stuart MacTaggart and possibly Nicholas Ridley will be representing Canada at the World Junior 9 Ball Championships in Shanghai, China later in the year. I would also like to mention that Stuart also finished in 3rd place in the Amateur 9 Ball division and this shows how strong his game is becoming.
The CBSA was asked to make a decision to allow a young man, by the name of Daniel Martin from New Glasgow Nova Scotia, to participate in this event. It is not very often that such a simple decision to let someone play a sport could have such a lasting and profound effect on so many people. I absolutely think that by us saying yes and giving this fine young man the opportunity to play has done just that. Daniel, who has autism, needs a little instruction from his parents (Billy and Tammy Martin) in order to help him stay on track and maintain some of the etiquette required during play. The CBSA spoke with Daniel’s parents and determined it would be a non-issue in this case.
After a small explanation to everyone in attendance it was extremely nice to hear the huge round of applause that Daniel received before his first match began. Daniel lost that match 9-2 to the eventual tournament winner Stuart MacTaggart but it was clearly evident that he loved the game right from when he began to practice. After that match he headed to the B side to face Griffin Higgins. In this match Daniel trailed 7-2 but fought back to a 7-6 score line before Griffin was able to seal the deal with a 9-6 win. The joy that Daniel has for the sport is immediately shown as soon as he picks up his cue and heads to the table.
His mother passed on to me a story that shows what this means to Daniel. The only time he wasn’t brimming with happiness was when he stopped the cue ball once with his cue stick because it was going to scratch. He handed the cue ball to his opponent but afterwards his father explained the etiquette to him. He told Daniel that he must not touch it with his cue and he has let it stop rolling on its own or let it go into the pocket before he picks it up or touches it. For a brief moment, he became angry with himself because he tries so hard to play by all of the rules and be respectful to everyone. To his credit though, as soon as it was his turn next he went right back to business as usual, smiling and giving his 100% effort.
There were times when the crowd applauded for people making difficult shots on nearby tables and he wasn’t quite sure what to do, until it was explained to him, at which point he enthusiastically joined in. The first time the crowd applauded one of his shots he was kind of shocked until someone in the crowd hollered “the applause is for you Daniel!” What a moment! His smile had enough energy to light up the entire room for days. Daniel received another great round of applause for his efforts after his match, a CBSA certificate and he took some pictures with the other junior players. Well done Daniel, it was a pleasure to have you and we hope to see you again!
I would also like to mention that all of the junior players showed great sportsmanship and etiquette, they performed well beyond their years in this respect, during all of their matches. Great work Stuart, Nicholas, Griffin and Daniel!

Congratulations Stuart MacTaggart!
Following is a breakdown of the prize money:
Winner:  Stuart MacTaggart $500 in expense money to travel to World Junior 9 Ball Championships + trophy + certificate + estimated profit from cue donation $1000 (Total $1500)
Runner-Up:  Nicholas Ridley $500 in expense money to travel to World Junior 9 Ball Championships + trophy + certificate + estimated profit from cue donation $1000 (Total $1500)
3rd Place:  Griffin Higgins + trophy + certificate
4th Place:   Daniel Martin + certificate
View the complete results here.
To highlight the positive and upward trend of the CBSA please note: For the entire 2015 season of events the CBSA has handed out over $77,000 in cash and prizes and our website traffic is up 153% so far this year and there are still 5 months left to go! 
The CBSA would like to mention that over $32,000 in cash and prizes were handed out at this fantastic event! There were a total of 155 participants in all 5 divisions. For the first time in a number of years we had a full field of 64 players for the Men’s Amateur 9 Ball Championships.            
The CBSA also had some excellent exposure at this event. There were over 600 spectators during the week of the event. The CBSA live stream had nearly 13,500 views. The CBSA website had 12,000 views and the CBSA Facebook page had a total reach of 3,500. We also had multiple newspaper articles in the Saint John Telegraph Journal. Also Rogers TV live recorded the final 2 matches of the Men’s Amateur 9 Ball Championships to be shown over the next year!
The CBSA also sold raffle tickets for a $900 cue and a set of Aramith balls signed by three Canadian Champions John Morra, Jason Klatt and Erik Hjorleifson and those winners will be announced at a later time. There was over $850 raised for the CBSA with this raffle. Thanks to everyone who purchased tickets and became a “Friend of the CBSA”!
The CBSA would like to send out a huge “THANK YOU” to all of these people for making this great event happen!
All of the participants and spectators!
Rob and Monique Connolly!
The Fairville Shooter's staff!
Steve Cooper Tournament Director!
All of the Fairville Shooter’s sponsors including their major sponsors Moosehead, Hyundai and Snow Fox Vodka!
2015 Canadian Amateur Championships Event Facebook page!
Ron Barry of the Telegraph Journal
Rogers TV for live recording the event!
Bob Hargrove and Ideal Amusements for the trophy donation!
Rob Galbraith, Wilson Galbraith as well as Stanley James for the live streaming coverage!
Mike Henderson, Shannon Brake and Candace Campbell for commentating with Rogers TV!
All of the CBSA volunteers!
All of CBSA Provincial Associations!
All of the CBSA sponsors!
Tiger, Diamond , Simonis , Aramith ,Kamui, Chalk Cube, FG Bradleys, Jostens, Think Green Industries
 
Please visit our website for more information and please help us to keep pushing cue sports in Canada in the right direction!
Kyle Richard
CBSA Vice President