The Tribune

WITH their president Dario Woodside making his presence felt at the 43rd US Open 9-Ball Championships, the members of the Nassau Valley Billiard Association are hoping that they can get some local recognition.

Having concluded their season in October, vice president Meko Evans said they have watched how the other sports in the country have gotten their share of the spotlight, but they want to bring more awareness as they prepare for the start of the 2017 season on November 6.

"Right now, we have about 24 registered teams playing and the competition is keen every night. We play on Mondays and Wednesdays," said Evans of their games that are spread around various venues in New Providence.

Out of the teams, Trevino Carey, a player and a member of the fundraising committee, said there are more than 222 players listed and they expect the numbers to increase this year.

"This year, it's projected to be even bigger," Carey said. "We just want some publicity because we want to show everybody how competitive this sport is and that it is not just for the bar room. "We play very hard in this league. We spend a lot of time away from our families and all we want is some recognition. Our president was playing in a big tournament and many of us go to tournaments in Tampa and Las Vegas and we do very well on the world level."

The Budget Meat Market Bad Boys won the league title with the Game X Eliminators as the runners-up. The 007 Propellers finished third in the top eight teams in the A division. The Carpet World Dark Knights were the pennant winners.

The middle eight teams in the B division was led by the Island Game Alliance as the champions with the Sneaky Hustlers taking second, while the Outpost Made Men took the C division for the bottom eight teams - the first time that it was initiated.

Alfredo Rolle of the Carpet World Dark Knights was the most valuable player (MVP). Rashad Brown of the Seaman Lounge Sharks was the Rookie of the Year.

The top 32 players in the league participated in the All-Star Classic with Dario Woodside emerging as the top player. Former pro boxer Alpachino Allen of the Island Game Alliance and Duran Wilson of the Game X Eliminators were second and third respectively.

And on the ladies' side, Cleomie Charlow won the title with Teddie Ferguson as the runner-up. They both represented the Perfect Racks.

The league also presented three trophies for the ERO (earned runs out). While Dario Woodside emerged as the winner, Ferguson of the Eliminators got second, Donald Rahming of the Magnificent Seven was third, Gawon Nairn of Game X Eliminators was fourth and Meko Evans of Carpet World Dark Knights completed the top five.

Woodside, who is currently in Virginia where the US Open is taking place, won his first match 11-4 over American Richard Kapela, but lost his next two matches to Radislaw Babica from Poland and John Schmidt from the United States, who is one of the top ranked players in the world. Woodside is one of 139 players from around the world competing in the tournament that started on Sunday and will wrap up on Saturday.