Three from local pool league compete in APA Junior Championships
A young pool player from Gilmer County carried his cue to St. Louis, Mo., and returned with a third-place victory in the 2022 American Poolplayers Association (APA) Junior Championships.
Gauge Crump, 11, has only been playing pool for about eight months, but he’s come a long way in that short time, confirmed his dad, Joey Crump.
Gauge normally plays in a junior league at the East Ellijay Pool Room, where his dad and brother shoot pool in the adult league.
“I started going up there with my dad and my brother,” he said. “My dad bought me my first pool stick, and I started shooting when they opened up the junior (league). As soon as I started, I liked it.”
The junior pool shooters play once a month at the pool room, and all are age 7-17. Gauge placed second in a May tournament held there, which made him eligible to compete in the APA junior nationals held July 7-10 at the Renaissance St. Louis Airport Hotel.
Two other players from the local junior league, Alex Raper and Gage Mouret, also competed in the St. Louis tournament.
“The top three players got to go,” Joey said.
Gauge, who played in the level 1-2 green tier, made it all the way to the semifinals of the championships. Just one point decided the victor of that semifinal match.
“It was a lot of pressure, but I did enjoy it while I was up there,” Gauge said. “I only played one kid who was younger than me, and he was 10. All the other players I beat were 15 to 17 years old.”
A total of 112 junior players competed in the green tier, and the national tourney featured almost 60 tables in play.
“It actually surprised me, but it was very good sportsmanship (in the tournament),” Joey said. “In the league (games), the parents help them keep score, but, in this higher level tournament, the kids had to keep their own scores. They had judges walking by at the end of each rack to verify the score was correct.”
Aside from the monthly league play, Gauge said he tries to practice a day or two each week. Rail and combo shots are among the techniques he’s learned to use to his advantage.
“A rail shot is where I have a ball on the rail, and have to barely hit it on the side and send it up the table into the pocket. A combo is where I have to hit a ball into another ball and make it,” he explained. “In St. Louis, I had to make a lot of rail shots, but I think I only did a few combos.”
Gauge’s mom, Heaven York, said her son’s willingness to tackle a challenge has helped him pick up the game of 9-ball, which is what junior players shoot at the pool room and in the APA championships.
“He likes anything that’s a challenge and makes him think and concentrate,” York said. “He works very hard to make the shots he makes, and he gives it his absolute all.”
Gauge’s third-place finish in St. Louis earned him a trophy, as well as several pool-related prizes. He’ll continue sharpening his skills at the pool room until qualifying begins for next year’s nationals.
“I plan to go back,” he said.