The inaugural CueSports International Expo has just concluded and truly lived up to being thee best pool experience in the world! From February 22nd for nearly two weeks players from all around the world came to Las Vegas Nevada in order to compete, watch, talk and shop everything billiards. All under the roof of the Rio All-Suite hotel and casino both amateur and professional players came to compete in the USA Pool League, BCA Pool League, ALFA Las Vegas Open, and the Predator World 10-Ball championship.
Many of our local players out of Lakewood California came out to compete for a multitude of teams during the 2 week event and performed exceptionally well running deep into their brackets under various disciplines whether it was singles, doubles, or teams. SoCal USA Pool League came out to represent the territory, provide info on the USAPL, and meet with industry leaders like Salotto and the MOB Hitlist to partner with and provide even more perks for our members! League play resumes again March 12th to finish the last 3 weeks of play for the end of the Winter session and we look forward to seeing many of you back after our minor hiatus to attend this special event. As league members of the USAPL look forward to more perks and benefits in the near future as well our plans for the second session for the Summer session starting in early May.
Among the expo floor attendees could catch their favorite pro wandering through the crowd to chat, take pictures and even play a few racks! Mike Massey partnered with Meucci cues to take on challengers in the halls between ballrooms for their chance at a new cue in a series of raffles. The Tennessee Tarzan could also be spotted at our SoCal USAPL booth for signed autographs of his trick shot book taking the time to chat with fans about his other passion – singing and song writing. His work can be found and streamed on Reverbnation.
Other than legacy players and current professionals in the field there was an abundance of promising young talent in attendance this year at the expo with more junior events being held! Of the juniors a standout competing in the Women’s world open 9-ball tournament was Savannah “The RoadRunner” Easton. At just 13 the young pool prodigy could be found prepping for her match at the Salotto booth taking on challenges in between school work! The future of pool looks bright with the next generation being ushered in and one of our very own, Keegan “K9” Badour out of Good Times Billiards, is starting out on that wave competed in his second major event in the Alfa Las Vegas Open. Badour had tough competition right out of the gate cutting his run short having to go against the 2019 USA Mosconi team member Billy Thorpe however the experienced gained from this matchup will pay dividends for what surely will not be his last appearance in major tournaments.
The USA Pool League is ever growing and we aim to continue the growth of pool as a sport by encouraging our younger players to come out and compete with their friends and family! If you reside in California and are interested in starting your own division for your area or have an existing league and want to be part of something bigger reach out to John English, Marcos Hernandez, Arnold Castellanos, and Garrett Fuerte at [email protected] and we will help coordinate with you to establish your new or existing league to be a part of CueSports International Leagues!