The sharks came to play this weekend at the Student Union pub. University students tried their best to become pool sharks during a men’s 9-Ball competition. The tournament was part of a nationwide event sponsored by the Association of College Unions International.
The ACUI creates and sponsors events for unions to participate in throughout the school year. Schools across the country also held similar 9-ball competitions.
The winners of the Bowling Green tournament will move on to the regional tournament, which will be held at the University of Toledo on Feb. 15 and 16. Twenty-two colleges and universities will be participating in the regional event including Kent State and the University of Michigan.
Thirteen participants played in a double elimination tournament. Individual matches were a best-of-five playoff.
“The event really went smoothly and I think everyone enjoyed it,” said Kim Jacobs, associate director of programs and services for the Union. “I think it has been a competitive event, but also fun.”
Nine ball is played with standard pool balls numbered one through nine. The object of the game is for the player shooting the cue ball to pocket the lowest numbered ball on the table. The game ends when a player puts the nine ball into a pocket.
The two finalists for the event were Henry O’Malley and Chris Redmond. Both played in the final match on Sunday evening. The match came down to the fifth and final game with Redmond winning the tournament in a close finish.
“It was pretty stressful,” Redmond said.
The competition for the event was strong. According to Redmond everyone who played was talented. Though participants took the event seriously, they did not lose sight of the fun aspect of the event, he said.
Even after losing, O’Malley said he was more than willing to compete in a similar competition again.
“The University should keep doing this more than once a year,” O’Malley said.
Both students found out about the event from advertisements and flyers in the Union. Redmond decided to enter into the competition because he enjoys playing pool while at Bowling Green bars. He was also impressed by the uniqueness of the event.
“I had never seen anything like this at Bowling Green before,” he said. “I’m glad Bowling Green had the event.”
