At least nine teams from the New Providence Valley 8-Ball Association and the Hard Times Billiards League made the trip. The competition was held at the Radisson Hotel in Miami.
From the Valley 8-Ball League, the Millies Place Strokers became only the second team from the Bahamas to win the Florida Championship which is no small feat considering players from all of Florida's major cities including Orlando, Jacksonville and Miami took part in the competition.
Billiards is a game of angles and one where players must remain composed when under pressure.The Strokers demonstrated that quality. After losing in the early rounds, they had to fight back from the losersà bracket, beating the previously unbeaten Florida Crazy Eights twice before they could claim the title.
Michael Demeritte, Cedric Farqhuarson, Arlington Lowe, Nyugen Culmer and Everette Munroe led the Strokers.In fact, Munroe came up big for his team in the end when he ran a skunk in the final match to seal the victory for the Strokers.
Members of the Strokers had lots of praise for their teammate Culmer after he made the "shot of the tournament." He executed a jump bank shot for a 10-0 score in his match. Jimmy Chea sponsored the Strokers.
Also in the State Division, the Chesapeake Bad Boys finished fourth. The V-8 Splash team won the Masters Division. Desmond 'Dance' Burrows took the overall title in the Masters Singles category. Donald Rahming was fourth.
Other members of the Masters Team included Abraham Adderley, Roosevelt Moss, Brian Bastian, Joey Knowles and James Lockhart.Bahamians also played in the Expert Division and the Millie Silver Bullets got second place. The team included Cardinal McPhee, Julian Seymour, Lynden Armbrister, Roscoe Darville, Jason Knowles and team Captain Elvin McClain.
The Base Road Eagles were fourth in the Expert Division.The Valley 8-Ball Association will send two teams from the newly established Hard Times Billiards League to Las Vegas for the BCA 8-Ball Championships. Hard Times President Marcio Smith will lead that team.
Some of the players in the individual competitions are expected to leave for Las Vegas this week, while those in the team competitions are expected to leave for Las Vegas on May 28.
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