1999 Camel 8-Ball Classic in Review
With more excitement, more intensity and more players shooting for the title than ever before, 257 poolplayers from across the continent left Las Vegas in
April knowing exactly why the $200,000 Camel 8-Ball Classic is THE premier amateur singles event this sport has to offer.
More than 27,000 poolplayers attempted to qualify for the event, and paid $15 entry fees to do so. In addition to receiving free travel and lodging for the event, all national qualifiers earned a minimum of $350 and up to $15,000 each in cash and prizes.
When the dust settled at the Las Vegas Riviera Hotel & Casino, Ritchie Idrovo, a Skill Level 7 from Chicago, Illinois, returned home with the most extra baggage, totaling $15,000 in cash and prizes. He defeated Fairhope, Alabama's Curtis Cooper, Jr., a SL 4, 5-1 in the 5-2 race.
Pamela Burgon, a 6 from Clinton, Connecticut, held off Kathleen
Kemp, a 3 from Manchester, N.H., in the Ladies Division final.
Like all APA-sanctioned national tournaments (except for the U.S. Amateur Championship), The Equalizer® handicap system was in effect. Being one of the nation's most skilled shooters was not a requirement, apparent by the distribution of skill levels in the final standings.
Though a SL 7 and 6 won their respective divisions, a 4 and a 3 took 2nd Place and another 3 earned 3rd in the Ladies Division. Of the top 16 overall, 10 of the winners were rated as 5's or lower.
"What's so awesome and very true about the APA is that anybody really can win," Burgon said. "I mean look, we had a 6 and a 3 here in the finals match,
and it came down to the last shot again. That's what really makes the game fun for everyone."
Having the APA pay for airfare and lodging makes the tournament even more enjoyable - not to mention the amateur game's largest singles tournament purse. National qualifiers earn the free trip to Vegas by winning eight-person local qualifier boards and advancing through regional competition. This year, two Mens
Division participants were disqualified after being caught sandbagging.
Though the APA's mission is to provide a forum for poolplaying fun, the intensity of the tournament-particularly during the final matches-could not be contained. After outlasting Shreveport, Louisiana's Joe Pierce in the semifinals, Idrovo seemed to once again be on top of his game. Cooper had the balls rolling his direction in the semis
as well, which ended Medford, Massachusetts' Brian Collins' run at the final on an apparent 8-Ball bank winner that dramatically ended when the cue ball scooted into the far corner pocket.
Idrovo, undoubtedly one of the nation's top amateur shooters and a member of the APA since 1989, was making his eighth appearance in an APA national championship event. He had placed as high as 3rd in the U.S. Amateur
Championship and his team took 2nd at the Camel 8-Ball Team Championships a year ago, but he had never placed higher than 33rd in the Camel 8-Ball Classic. After racing to a 4-0 lead in the 5-2 final match, Idrovo finally felt the pressure as the crowd sided with the underdog and his opponent rediscovered his game.
Cooper, a 26-year-old and five-year APA member, didn't seem to have too many cards stacked in
his favor. He had come through the one-loss side of the bracket, took five tries to win a local qualifier board and had been to Vegas just once when his team lost both matches in the 1996 Championships. But Cooper did have poise-and the crowd behind him-when he battled back to the hill, leaving just the 15 and the 8 perched upon the felt.
"I could feel the people in the crowd pulling for me to come back, and
I guess it's because there are more of us 4's than there are 7's out there. And anytime you play a 7, especially a guy like Ritchie, you'll probably feel like the underdog," Cooper said. "But I knew I would have a chance; I just missed a couple shots I wish I could have back."
Idrovo, a 29-year-old student at the University of Illinois-Chicago, passed up serving as a Midwest representative in the ACU-I
Collegiate Championships that weekend in favor taking his chances in the APA event. His quest for the Championship would not be denied, especially after coming so close to winning it all in the team event just eight months earlier. After missing a bank on the 8 and watching Cooper barely miss in the side, Idrovo tasted victory and made good on his second chance, burying the 8 in the corner.
"I waited a long
time for this," Idrovo said. "My friends and family were always telling me I eventually was going to do it, and to do so in such a prestigious tournament like this is absolutely amazing. Even when I come to events alone I feel like I'm surrounded by family, and everyone out here makes you feel like you're on top of the world."
Though few who qualify for the Camel 8-Ball Classic play anywhere close to the
caliber of the pros, they are made to feel that way. Considering the fact that Idrovo's package equaled that of what Francisco Bustamante earned for winning the Columbus 10-Ball Open, and Burgon made 28 percent more than Allison Fisher did for winning at the Super Billiards Expo, APA players do earn the big bucks when they follow the road to the Camel Championships.
On the Ladies side, Burgon shut out Kemp
in their 5-2 finals race. After placing fifth in the 1998 singles championship, she set her goal at the top in 1999. But like any national championship event, pressure would pose a formidable chAallenge.
"These tournaments are much more nerve-wracking than weekly League play because of the intense competition," Burgon said. "Pool is such a mental game anyway, and with the added pressure of wanting to win
more than anything else, it's just really overwhelming."
When Burgon and Kemp stepped to the table for that final match, most spectators in the standing room only crowd could notice an obvious difference in playing abilities between the opponents. With Kemp required to win just two games to Burgon's five, the champion knew she would be forced to play her best game.
Burgon dominated the first two games, winning in three innings. Game 3 lasted four innings and featured a handful of strategically defensive shots, indicating that Kemp was beginning to cope with the pressure and make her run. A five-inning Game 4 really got the crowd into the match, as the competitiveness peaked.
"I was scared to death from the
time the music started and the introductions began to when it was all over," Kemp said. "But what really made the event fun is the fact that every opponent I played was the nicest, kindest and most professional you could hope for. I thought they'd have an attitude like, 'I'm here for the money and that's it,' but that wasn't the case and I was thrilled."
Though more of a veteran at big-time competition,
Burgon was not immune to the pressure of the National Championship herself. "With the added pressure of wanting to win more than anything else, a match like that can really be overwhelming," Burgon said. "I was nervous at first since I didn't have any open shots, so she had me worried for sure." After Kemp's scratch on the 8-ball put the match on the hill and set up a quick Game 5 en route to the shutout, the nervousness was finally over and the celebration began.
Burgon's $9,000 package included a 14-karat gold championship ring, a $1,000 commemorative championship Viking cue, a $750 Jim Walker Original cue case, a championship jacket and a JVC electronics package consisting of a 20-inch TV, stereo system and camcorder. She earned a cash award of $4,500. Kemp's package totaled $5,000 in cash and prizes in addition to the free airfare and lodging.
Some of the items in Idrovo's prize package included: a 14-karat gold championship ring, an $1,800 Viking commemorative championship cue, a Jim Walker Original cue case, and a JVC electronics package consisting of a 61-inch projection TV, stereo system, camcorder and cordless headphones. He also walked out of the Awards Banquet with $7,500 cash in his pocket.
To complement the serious amateur action, APA members were treated to a handful of special exhibitions with APA Fan Favorites J.R. Calvert, Tommy Kennedy and Ray Shultz. The young stars from the Camel Pro Billiards Series did trick shots and beat-the-pro competitions, culminating with Calvert's Challenge the Pro exhibition in between the semis and final matches. Rich Coleman, from Key West, Florida, somehow beat Calvert and earned
an autographed poster of the Fan Favorites and a limited edition Falcon Cue. George Spears and Rhonda Zuraff won the Best of Sports Awards.
Cngratulations to all the Camel 8-Ball Classic National Finalists, and good luck on returning again next year! | 
