WATCH: Pool runs in Glen Marais SA captain’s family
He can clear the table with a single break of the poolball pyramid.
A game of pool between Glen Marais resident Nantes Vermeulen (22) and his dad Christo doesn’t last for more than five minutes as they simply sink one ball after the other in a friendly game.
Since he was in fifth-grade, Nantes was taught by his dad, who once was a South African pool player himself, how to play pool. Nantes has now made the cut for the SA team for the sixth year since 2013.
He is also captain of the SA u-23 team.
“I enjoy the game very much. Where people would normally get furious after losing a game of pool, I’m not quite like that,” said the ex Hoërskool Kempton Park learner.
He also said he predominantly plays doubles and was victorious in 2018 when he and his partner, Theo van Rooyen, won the SAs. Unfortunately, Van Rooyen is too old to qualify for the SA u-23 team once more, leaving Nantes to be on the lookout for a new partner.
Nantes was also named the best player of 2018 in Eastern Gauteng, and he shares the award for best doubles team with Van Rooyen.
This is his last year in the SA u-23 team. Next year he will play in the open section which is for all ages.
Nantes shared some of his earliest memories that made pool such a big part of his life.
“Some days when I got home from school, my grandmother had the table ready and had set the balls neatly stacked and ready to break so we could play.”
It’s just always been in the family.
One of his special pool skills is sinking all the balls from a single break of the pyramid.
When he is not in the pub playing a couple of sets or busy in tournaments, Nantes spends a lot of time away on business. He is an engineering project manager.
His dream job would be to become a flight attendant since he loves flying and being in the air. For Nantes, travelling and playing pool are much better than having to be stuck in a corporate office environment.
Christo told Express: “When Nantes decides to do something, he always gives 100 per cent and enjoys absolutely everything he does.”
Nantes and his SA pool team will compete at the nationals in Middelburg at Pienaarsdam Lodge from September 21 to 28.
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