Danny O'Rourke

Danny O'Rourke won his second USBA tournament in a row at Tacoma! 

Danny, who also won the USBA Dick Takano Memorial national-qualifier tournament in December, came on strong on Sunday in the finals to capture 1st place, with a $160 prize. 

Jim Krei came in 2nd, collecting $120. 

Neal Olson was 3rd, and also won the tournament high-run prize with the first 6-run, collecting $120 for these two awards.

New-comer to our area (but obviously not to billiards), John Powers, transplanted from Massachussetts, collected the 5th place prize of $50.

Darrel (Stutes) Stutesman and Dave Law were 5th and 6th, respectively. 

Dave Law entered the tournament as a second division player, but played very well, and scored victories over first division players Stutes and Tommy Thomsen in his flight, and then added another over John Powers in the finals to firmly establish himself as one of the "big guns" in this tournament.   Congratulations, Dave!  Dave also won the 2nd Division high-run award of $20.

Top 2nd Division player not in the Tournament Championship was Kip Hocking, who collected $75.

Second place in the 2nd Division went to Al Speidel, who beat two 1st Division players in his flight.  Al collected $50 for his 2nd Division runner-up prize.  Congratulations, Al, for a well-played tournament.

Third place in the 2nd Division went to Bill Bulpin, and fourth went to Ralph Weiss, who collected $35 and $20, respectively.

The elusive, much-coveted-by-some-and-dreaded-by-others, "Best Scratch On an Out Shot" imaginary award was given to Ken Higgins by the unbiased tournament director, Ken Higgins.

The tournament contributed $170 to the Northwest Billiard Federation (aka, the Tacoma Elks billiards program), and $85 to the USBA.
Seven players renewed their USBA membership for this tournament, providing additional revenues to the USBA. 

In general, a good time was had by all.  Especially by me. 

I thank all who participated, and extend an especially sincere "thank you" to Doc Miller for his expert assistance at the scoring/scheduling table.

Next USBA tournament here in the Pacific Northwest will be in Medford, Oregon, on the first weekend in May. 

    - Ken Higgins
      USBA Director
      Seattle, WA
      425-458-1091
ken.higgins@sun.com

All Scoresheets in PDF

Original Announcement:

From Ken Higgins
USBA Northwest Region Director
425-458-1091
ken.higgins@sun.com

You are invited! USBA 3-Cushion Billiards tournament at Tacoma Elks Lodge, Tacoma , WA , on the first weekend in March, 2008.  (Friday, Saturday, Sunday: March 7,8,9) Announcement attached - please share with anyone else who might be interested.  We are expecting to have three players from the USBA Nationals this year in our tournament, including one of the Finalists from that tournament. (Congratulations, Messrs. Stutesman, Thomsen, and O'Rourke.  We're looking forward to seeing what you learned!)  So this is your chance to see how well you can do against some of the top players in the country! And, of course, other top contenders and former-glory folks, are invited, so anything is possible.  And there'll be a couple of grunts such as myself to ensure that you have some easy matches along with the challenging ones. Plus, added bonus: we'll get to see your shining faces and reminisce about snow adventures, freezing rain, trips to Hawaii , or anything else that's happened since we last met.  And, if, perchance, we've never met, then this would be an excellent opportunity to rectify that unfortunate situation. Five Verhoeven tables with Simonis 300 Rapide cloth and Aramith championship balls. Three days of billiards. And you! I do look forward to seeing many or all of you in March!

USBA 3-Cushion Billiards Tournament

When: Friday, Saturday, Sunday – March 7,8,9, 2008 

Where: Tacoma Elks #174
1965 S. Union
Tacoma , WA 98405 

Entry: $65 - 1st Division Players
$40 - 2nd Division Players

USBA membership required.
Add USBA annual membership fee if not already a member.

Cash Payout: $10 from each entry (1st or 2nd division) will go to the NW Billiard Foundation (Tacoma Elks Billiard Fund). $5 per player will be paid to the USBA. All remaining funds from entry fees will be paid in prize money. One half of the entry fees of the 2nd Division will form a cash pool eligible only to this group. The total number of awards in the Tournament payout and 2nd Division payout will be determined once all entries have been received. 

The tournament is limited to the first 24 players paid. 

Entry fee needs to be paid by March 3, 2008.
By March 5, you will be advised as to your schedule of play.

The schedule will try to accommodate a flexible Friday & Saturday schedule.
Some matches may be played Thursday evening, March 4, if players so desire. Entry fee should include name, address, phone number (or email id), and the time you can be available for play. Entries not requesting special start times
will be scheduled as best fits.

Play will start at 10:00 AM on Friday. All players will know their schedule in advance. Sunday finals will start at 9:30 AM.

Send your entry fee payable to Ken Higgins, Northwest USBA Director, at: 

Ken Higgins
19342 47 th Ave NE
Seattle , WA 98155
425-458-1091
email: ken.higgins@sun.com