By Jason Bowman/American Poolplayers Association
A Chicago man is $15,000 richer after a recent visit to Sin City. But his good fortune didn’t happen in the casino. Nazario Aguilar won the 2019 APA 8-Ball Classic Pool Championship in early May in Las Vegas.
Aguilar was amongst nearly 6,000 poolplayers throughout North America who attempted to qualify for the American Poolplayers Association’s (APA) 8-Ball Classic. He was one of only 692 who advanced to the national finals at the Westgate Resort & Casino.
Aguilar competed in the Orange Tier of the 8-Ball Classic and received a prize package worth $15,000 and ultimate bragging rights upon returning home to his local poolroom. The 8-Ball Classic featured five individual tiers all based on skill level.
Aguilar is a member of the South Chicago Land APA that includes nearly 700 players and more than 120 teams.
The 8-Ball Classic, held May 1-3, was part of the APA’s Poolplayer Championships, which featured five divisions of individual and doubles competition, more than 2,500 total players and more than $750,000 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 each year – 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.
The APA and its championships are sponsored by Aramith, Action Cues, PoolDawg and Valley-Dynamo.
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Posted on May 21, 2019