National championship glory beckoning for Western Gauteng 8-ball pool teams
Fundraisers and individual competitions help to sharpen the skills as they aim for success at national event.
Western Gauteng’s best 8-ball pool players are chalking up their cues for nationals.
In preparation for the 2023 South African 8-ball pool championship, Western Gauteng 8-ball Pool and Snooker Federation held a Top 10 Shootout between their four teams travelling to Cape Town for the tournament starting on September 24. At Ballbreakers, the Premier division players racked up against the Veterans team while at Radicals in Helderkruin, the A division played against their B division counterparts.
The players from each team had an opportunity to play every other member of the opposing team with the most wins bagging the prize money. At Ballbreakers, Adri Venter and Christo Venter came second and third while premier player Drisden Crooke came out on top. It was a tight contest at Radicals, with Santesh Ramkissoon, Keanan den Tandt and Russel Pitchers, coming third, second and first, respectively.
The Western Gauteng teams have been busy in recent weeks, raising funds for the trip to the Western Cape as well as in-house competitions. It has been a successful few weeks for Chris Janse van Rensburg who has won the Western Gauteng men’s singles championship as well as the men’s doubles and mixed doubles championships. John Graaff helped earn the men’s doubles title while Nadia Herbst was Chris’s partner for the mixed doubles win.
Chairman and veteran division player Pierre Walters has been driving efforts on and off the tables.
“Preparations have been intense as everyone wants to bring home a trophy from nationals. These are talented teams so I am excited to see how we do,” said Pierre, who also qualifies to play for the premier team. Welcoming the social aspect as well as the competition, Pierre added, “The atmosphere at our events is electric and I hope that translates into results.”
