Mike Ohrel and Alphie Smith
Eleven members of the Quail Creek Billiards Club (QCBC) met on Dec. 7 in the Billiards Room of the Madera clubhouse to play the game of 8-ball.
An abbreviated double-elimination matchup allowed the competitors to finish right at lunchtime. After a first-match loss, a player is moved into a loser’s bracket, giving him one more opportunity to remain in the tournament. A single game loss in the loser’s bracket eliminates the player from the tournament.
Congratulations to Pat Nigro for taking first place and to Dave Sypkens for taking second place.
Sypkens held his own, moving him into the semi-finals and giving him the opportunity to place in his first tournament in 2024. The best of three matches was played to determine the champion.
Nigro went undefeated in this tournament on his way to the championship. He also took first place in last month’s 10-ball tournament. Both Nigro and Sypkens often play on the QCBC Travel Team.
The next in-house tournament was on Jan. 4, and it followed the 9-ball BCA (Billiard Congress of America) format.
Tournaments are open to all QCBC members. Sign-up sheets are available in the Billiards Room. If you are not a member and are interested in joining, simply go to the Billiards Room or the kiosk in the Madera clubhouse to pick up a membership form.
Mike Ohrel will be stepping down as the QCBC in-house tournament chairperson and will be replaced by Dennis Desmond for the 2025 season. Desmond is very familiar with running the in-house tournaments. He is also the QCBC facilitator for the tournaments that the Travel Team has with other retirement communities in the area. Please welcome Desmond back to the group.