It is billed as the largest pool tournament in the world and it certainly was unlike anything the Tap House Wolves had seen before.
That was the name of the Estevan team that played in the American Poolplayers Association's National Team Championships in Las Vegas Aug. 17-23.
The team was comprised of Nick Sereggela, Chris Ball, Dave Dayman, Russell McCleary, Duane Kuntz and Darcey Williams.
The event has teams from the United States, Canada and Japan, and is considered a world championship.
The Wolves got there by advancing from the Estevan Monday night league to provincials, then winning the provincial title in Moose Jaw.
The group is the first Estevan team to play in this tournament.
"That was kind of an honour. I've been in this league for 10 or 11 years and we've gone to provincials, but haven't come close (to winning)," said Sereggela.
There were over 700 teams at the tournament, and Sereggela said it was quite different than playing in a local bar.
"It's intimidating at times, because there are 110 tables at once of guys playing pool. But after you realize it's a pretty level playing field, it's OK."
Each player gets a ranking based on their skill level and the team's overall ranking cannot exceed 23. It's a way to even out the field.
"We had a guy who was nervous when he was racking the balls. He had to rack it six times once because he couldn't stop shaking. So the nerves get to you," Sereggela said.
The Wolves won two of their four games and finished in a tie for 257th place, which netted them $350.
"We got a first round bye to the A side. That actually kind of hurt us a little, because the teams we were playing had already played and they got the nerves and jitters out of them a bit. So we struggled in the first match, but after that we played well."
The Estevan team lost to Hog Wild from Suffolk, Va., in their first game. After that, they picked up two straight wins against No Pressure from Colorado Springs, Colo., and Clean Livin' from St. Joseph, Mich.
They lost their fourth game to The Dicemen of Fort Wayne, Ind. It was a double knockout format and a win in that game would have sent the Wolves back to the A side and into the top 125.
"At first we just wanted to win a match, because we wanted to go down there and not be embarrassed. We didn't know what it was going to be like. After we won a match, then everybody wanted to win another one and then the competition takes over. Everybody wants to win, nobody wants to lose," said Sereggela.
The size of the field wasn't the only thing different from the games in Estevan.
"There's a lot of little rules we don't really follow in the Monday night league. There's the time rule. You get 20 seconds to make a shot or 40 seconds if it's like a hook shot or something. When you get all these rules thrown at you that you're not used to, all of a sudden you're rushing or you're trying to hurry. You've got time limits on your match. Here on Monday night, you can play all night," Sereggela said.
It was a solid finish for the Wolves in their first appearance on the world stage, and they hope they can return.
"It was fun. It definitely makes you want to try to go back because you think you can do better."
