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Pool team is right on cue

Hand-picked lineup takes home second place

After competing in the Canadian Cue Sport Association Western 8-Ball Championships, a group of Powell River pool players has a second place win in the pocket.

Clay Gloslee, Derek Schwartz, Joel Auffret, Rick Gaebel, and team captain Paul Marier of the Powell River 8-Ball Kings recently made the trip to Calgary for the competition.

After coming in second in C Division at the provincial championships in Penticton earlier this year, the team qualified to compete at western championships in B Division. Their most recent win will see them bumped up to A level at their next competition.

“For a small place like [Powell River], we did pretty good,” said Gloslee, who is also the current vice president of Powell River’s 8-Ball Pool League. The win saw the team taking home winners’ plaques and $600 in prize money.

“Second place in B Division is quite a feat for us,” added Gloslee. “This is the first year we’ve played in the tournaments and we placed in BC at C Division and placed at Westerns in a higher division, so that’s kind of a notch in our cap.”

The western championship tournament was set up in round-robin style with each of the five players on the team playing five rounds each. Approximately 60 teams took part in the event in various divisions.

Auffret commended the competition level at the tournament. “In the B Division especially,” he said, “the competition was really tough and the team we faced was all ringers, all hand-picked players.”

Both Gloslee and Auffret agreed that one of the major challenges of playing on the road is the difference in equipment. “We normally play on four-by-eight tables, but when we go and do these tournaments, the tables are smaller,” said Gloslee. “With a smaller and more crowded table you have to work your way around it a little better.”

The team was clearly up for the challenge, driven by a love for the game and perhaps a slight craving for competition as well. “We’re competitive people,” said Gloslee. “We like to play and we like to win.”

Readers who would like more information on the Powell River 8-Ball Pool League can call Gloslee at 604.487.1752.