The Tribune

By ALEXANDER HAWKINS

DARIO Woodside has become the first Bahamian to win the prestigious annual VNEA International Pool Championship as he crowned a successful week in Las Vegas this month.

Woodside, 28, won the Singles 9 Ball championship at the Bally Hotel in a field of 300 players, beating John Fields, of Wisconsin, 5-3 in the final and taking the $3,300 first prize. Tyler Russell, of Abaco, finished ninth while Duran Wilson was in the top 65.

A self-employed tile-layer working for Bahamian companies such as Osprey and Cavalier, Woodside also finished impressively in the Singles 8-Ball competition, with his fifth placing in a field of 550 players earning him $1,450. Wilson was 25th and Russell 60th.

With his team, the Eliminators, including Eugene Wallace, Gowon Naim, Duran Wilson, Stario Thurston and Harold Fountain, Woodside again finished 5th/6th in the Regular Open 8-Ball team competition and shared a $3,000 prize.

Woodside discovered his love of pool at the age of eight, when his uncle purchased a pool table and said he was mostly “self-taught”. While his family is proud of his success, he said that because his tournaments are played at a late hour it limits the amount of time they can support him in person.

Woodside told The Tribune he hopes his victory in Las Vegas will help to increase the popularity of his sport. While his triumph shows that Bahamians can excel in the sport, he says that “pool needs more recognition in the Bahamas”. He said he enjoyed the international nature of the tournament, being able to meet and play against “persons from around the world”. Some 1,500 players were at the tournament.

He also was a member of the Bahamian team which finished 5-8th in the international competition and included Roosevelt Albury, Akeem Oliver, Barry Smith, Tyler Russell and Roderick Malone. The event took place between May 26 and June 4.