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We just completed the round of 8 ball state tournaments over at Pastime Billiards in Searcy this past weekend and our own long time APPA member, always favorite to win and just all around good guy Steve Miller proved his skills once again. The masters division is known as the cream of the crop; the best of the best among Arkansas pool players and Steve managed to go undefeated in one of the toughest fields I’ve seen in a long while. His dedicated support to the organization is much appreciated and another hardy congratulation is definitely in order for Steve. Way to go!

Now the second place winner is a story in itself. Jim Mielke of Mt. Home. I’m told that Jim has worked diligently on his 8 ball game for the past couple of months and it definitely paid off. He is new to the APPA and has wasted no time making himself known. Jim played as near to “perfect” as you could ask for and the only person to beat him was the champion Steve Miller himself. I also think it’s noteworthy to mention that he did beat a champion who many thought might win the day, Monroe Jones… Not Once but Twice! What a deal! And what a welcome addition to the APPA pool world. Congratulations Big Time to Jim!

Monroe Jones took third place. As already mentioned, the only player to beat Monroe all day was Jim Mielke. Being the competitor that he is, he really wanted the first place cash but when accepting the third place plaque, Monroe told me and I quote, “Part of being a good pool player is being able to accept defeat as well as victory”. Pretty good words of wisdom, if you ask me. Congratulation to Monroe on a job well done!

Guess what? Fourth place is another story of it’s own. One of my favorite younger players is Taylor Wilson. I’ve seen him come up so fast through the ranks and winning a plaque in the Master’s division when you are still in the A division is quiet a feat! Just celebrating his 18^th birthday, this victory is an excellent accomplishment and I hope it gives him just a tad of extra confidence to accomplish whatever else comes his way. I know he will. Way to go Taylor!

Mike Cordell and John James took off fifth and sixth, while Jerry Blackstock and Russell Smith got seventh and eighth. Any of those players could have taken the whole tournament off with a roll here or a roll there. Great job!

My congratulations go out to ALL the players who were sporty enough to compete in this most prestigious event. Especially the A division and the B division players! It was a great tournament and it took everyone to make it so. I hope to see you all at the one pocket and straight pool competition.


Steve Miller - 1st Place	Jim Mielke - 2nd Place

Monroe Jones - 3rd Place	Taylor Wilson - 4th Place

FINISH	PLAYER	PAYOUT
1	Steve Miller	477.00
2	Jim Mielke	298.00
3	Monroe Jones	150.00
4	Taylor Wilson	100.00
5	John James	60.00
6	Mike Cordell	60.00
7	Russell Smith	40.00
8	Jerry Blackstock	40.00
9	Ron Allen	25.00
10	Greg Vardaman	25.00
11	Dan Briggs	25.00
12	Mat Carter	25.00

Dang! Them “Mt. Boys” from up north can flat out shoot some pool! Gary Johnson succeeded in going undefeated to win the title A State 8 Ball Champion. It was held at Beezers Fine Billiards in Russellville and the word “fine” could sure describe the day because everywhere you looked was nothing but “fine” pool shooting! Gary played rack after rack of exceptional 8 Ball and beat some of the toughest players in the league to win the title. Many Congratulations are in order for Gary! Oh, and he did it with a homemade stick! Gary is a cue maker and if you have not seen any of his work, you outta check it out. He’s putting out some awesome cues!

Larry Schultz was also in “fine” form as he played near flawless pool all day to win second place. I am not sure but Larry may have the distinction of being the APPA’s oldest player at almost 70 years young. He had a very long day and a couple of matches that were real nail biters. As long as I’ve known Larry, his game just gets slowly stronger and stronger. I guess by the time he reaches 80 he’ll be beating everybody! Way to go Larry! You did a fantastic job!

One of those nail biters I mentions earlier was with none other than Jimmy Marshall, who won the third place title and plaque. He and Larry went hill to hill. Now Jimmy is also retired and he has such a picture book beautiful style that I asked him if his game was as strong as it was when he was a bit “younger”. His response was, not really since he only started playing serious pool after he retired! How bout them apples! Just goes to show that the game of pool is a game that is a lifetime endeavor and there is always room for improvement. So, Jimmy, you done us old guys proud! Congratulations to you!

Fourth was another player that just keeps getting better and better. Vince Greer might not be in the older category, but his pool game is one to beware of at any tournament. So be careful because I believe that Vince has “arrived”! Congratulation for another win.

So young, old or in between, the APPA is the place to be in the pool shootin’ world. Next weekend, November 13^th is the Masters State 8 Ball in Searcy. If you want to compete with the cream of the crop or just spectate, come on over. Remember all members with at least 4 tournaments can play. Any division. And it would not surprise me a bit to see A or B division players do well.


1st Place - Gary Johnson	2nd Place - Larry Schultz

3rd Place - Jimmy Marshall	4th Place - Vince Greer

FINISH	PLAYER	PAYOUT
1	Gary Johnson	468.00
2	Larry Schultz	262.00
3	Jimmy Marshall	130.00
4	Vince Greer	80.00
5	Steve Farley	50.00
6	Shawn Price	50.00
7	Jim Mielke	30.00
8	Randy Porter	30.00
9	Wesley Davis	25.00
10	Jimbo Stabler	25.00
11	Jim Perry	25.00
12	Brock Thomas	25.00

What a great time we had at Pastime Billiards this past Saturday! And once again it was shown that the APPA is made of the finest bunch of pool players that demonstrate the utmost in sportsmanship that one could hope for. Not to mention the best players in the state. It makes me proud to be a part of it..

Darren Charles from the Camden area was in fine form all day as he went undefeated to win the title of State Champion. He may be one of the most improved players to come out of the B Division in a long time and will be a welcomed addition to the ever tuff A Division. It was no easy task though, as he had to prove himself over and over beating the second, third and fourth place winners to capture his first place plaque. And quiet handily, I might add. Congratulations are very much in order for Darren. Way to go!

Second place went to one of the APPA’s most devoted players, Chris Sword, who has struggled a lot to improve his game. Folks have told Chris Sword to just slow down a bit and concentrate a little harder and his game would be much better. Well, he took it all in Saturday and played the best pool I have ever seen him play. He told me he really wanted the first place plaque and he almost got it, but he was so proud of the well-deserved second place. And I’m proud of him for doing what I knew he could do. Hardy Congratulations to Chris!

Third place went to a fine player that we have missed for the last few years, but has decided to get back into the game. Karl Foster who once owned the Break and Run, now JC's Billiards, is coming back strong. It’s great to see you back to hitting balls and congratulations big time for such a fine finish!

Clyde Burchard who plays out of Lee’s Billiards took fourth. With all the tuff competition up there, it’s no wonder that he finished high. So congrats to Clyde for a well deserved and well earned finish!

Check out Pastime Tournament Results Page on our website to see the complete rundown and be prepared for another exciting day at the A Division Championship tournament at Beezer's Fine Billiards in Russellville next Saturday, November 8^th… 12 noon deadline!


Darren Charles - 1st Place	Chris Sword - 2nd Place

Karl Foster - 3rd Place	Clyde Burchard - 4th Place

FINISH	PLAYER	PAYOUT
1	Darren Charles	441.00
2	Chris Sword	244.00
3	Karl Foster	120.00
4	Clyde Burchard	70.00
5	Roy Wood	50.00
6	Wade Warriner	50.00
7	Jonathan Perryman	25.00
8	Leonard Smarjesse	25.00


1st Place John James and Greg Kreutzer	2nd Place James Slack and Clint West

We had a fantastic time at MacDaddy’s last Saturday where 19 teams got together to compete for the distinguished honor of being the 8 Ball State Scotch Doubles Champions! And there were plaques presented to the two top teams to prove it. It was Greg Kreutzer and John James, both from the Mt. Home area, who went undefeated through an extremely tuff field to win that honor. Now, John probably has more APPA plaques than anyone in the league, but if Greg keeps adding to his collection, heck I might even learn to spell his last name correctly. Either way, they both deserve a hardy congratulation for a job well done.

Second place honor and plaques went to none other than my friend Clint West and his partner James Slack. Looks like good ole boys from “up north” wanted to take all the honors at this tournament. Well, it was certainly deserved because they both played exceptional pool all day. Congrats to you both!

Third went to yet more northerners Gary Johnson and Vernon Fowler. They just flat out play good together. Humm. You all know that practice makes perfect…well all these guys practice together all the time and it sure does show when they come to compete. Good job guys!

At least they did not take all the honors as two of our favorite southern boys did take fourth place and some money. That would be Ron Davidson and his partner Russell Smith. Glad to see the glory spread around just a little bit. Congrats to you both for another fine job. Ron and Russell have been team partners for a long time and they compliment each other’s game as well.

You can see all the players and how they finished on our website: arkansaspool.com. By the way, I don’t know how many folks came to me and said, “hey Bob, this is the most “fun” tournament of the year. Why don’t you have more of these?” What do you think? Do ya want us to schedule more scotch double tournaments? Give me some feedback.

Keep in mind, the State 8 Ball tournaments will be here before you know it, so get your game on. The B division is November 1^st at Pastime, A division on the 8^th at Beezers and back to Pastime on the 15^th for the M division. You only need 4 qualified tournaments to qualify, so git r done, and I’ll see ya there! As always….