FORT BENNING, Ga., (Sept. 10, 2014) -- The second single-elimination billiards tournament took place Sept. 3 at Kelley Hill's Recreation Center.
The "call your pocket" tournament, which is open to Soldiers, Department of Defense civilians and Family members, filled all of its eight contending slots using four tables as it did on the first go-around in August.
With fun as the main concept, tournament player Ashton Kelly, C Company, 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, said the players normally don't play seriously at the rec center and the tournament is as serious as they've played.
There were four first-round games, in which, Kelly won his match against Nicholas Wimmer of C Co., 3rd BSTB, by default.
Wimmer aimed his 6-ball at the top right corner and over hit it causing the cue ball to cut back and clip the 8-ball into the bottom right corner.
"I lucked out," said Kelly. "(Wimmer) usually wins."
Ironically enough Kelly met the same fate with an early 8-ball sink during one of the two semifinals matches against Gilverto Ponce of C Co., 3rd BSTB.
On the seventh round and both players only three balls deep, Kelly's 10-ball shot resulted in a cue ball backfire, knocking the 8-ball in the side pocket, which caused Ponce advancement to the final round.
The second semifinals game between Abraham Perez of C Co., 3rd BSTB, and Akirah Taylor, 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery Regiment, exhibited a straight-up game.
For the first round, Perez broke, sunk two low balls and had failed a "behind the back shot" attempt on the third.
With three balls down and a just missed 11 and 12-ball combination shot by the fifth round, Taylor sank three more high balls in the sixth round.
Perez added two more solids before Taylor banked his 11-ball in the bottom left corner pocket and attempted to walk the 8-ball in the top left.
When Taylor's 8-ball was denied, Perez caught up and sunk his last two solids, which left the cue ball hugging the rail, making a difficult shot on the eight.
Perez missed the ending shot, setting Taylor up for a clean straight shot on the 8-ball.
Taylor sunk the 8-ball and ended the game.
Perez said he had only been playing pool for two to three weeks before the tournament.
"It was a good game," he said. "I usually don't do as well as I (did)."
Taylor advanced to the final round and won against Ponce.
"(The final game) happened pretty fast, but it was fun," Ponce said.
Excelling in straight shots, he said slicing and angles are something he lacked during the game and will need to pay more attention to where he hits the ball.
Ponce, another billiards rookie with only two months under his belt, said he learned to shoot by playing and owes credit to Judson Dougan of C Co., 3rd BSTB, who was present at the tournament.
With fun and games as the motive, he said they call Dougan "Master Splinter."
"Our master is not here right now," Ponce said. "He is like the pool guru."
To join in on the fun, visit Kelley Hill's rec center the first Wednesday of the month for billiards, the second Wednesday for ping pong and the third Wednesday for foosball. Registration ends at 11:45 a.m. and the tournaments start at noon.
For more information, visit www.benningmwr.com.
Social Sharing