Pool players from Swift Current post solid result at Legion nationals

A quartet of Swift Current pool players represented Saskatchewan at the Dominion 8-Ball Championships in Atlantic Canada last week.

The team of Dennis Klyne, Dick Lee, Tom Zanidean, and Wayne Westbury placed fifth out of 10 teams at the national tournament from May 24-26 in Hartland, N.B.

"We've all known each other for years," he said. "We've all been Legion members for a long time. It was a good trip, I think it was successful."

Lee, competing in his second nationals, finished second in his pool falling just two points shy of a chance to compete for the national trophy.

"When you're in a tournament you don't realize how much points count (in that moment)," he said. 

Although they didn't make the finals, Lee was involved in the most talked about game that was played during the championships. He had a chance to win his division and lost the first game setting the table for an extremely rare shot in game two.

"He hooked me between two balls," he began to describe. "Down on the bottom right-hand side I have a nine ball, I'm by the side pocket on the same side of the table and there's a six ball in between us. So I have to go across the table and knock the nine ball in. When I come back across, my cue ball hits the nine, they both turn and lock right into the pocket. Everyone in the building runs over and starts taking pictures and sharing their opinion."

The referee, Lee, and his opponent had to make the ultimate call. His opponent tried to play the ball which sunk both the nine ball and cue ball giving Lee a ball in hand, allowing him to place the cue ball by his eight ball to win the second game.

"There was an appeal on the game and they wanted to play the game over again, and I wouldn't do that because he'd already won one game, so there was no win-win for me," he said.

The team from Swift Current was awe-struck at the effort the Legion volunteers put forth treating the 40 national players like celebrities for the three days.

"They took us anywhere we wanted to go," he said. "You never had to pay for a meal, three meals a day are just beautiful meals... the volunteers were just fantastic... Then you come home and have to make a peanut butter sandwich and think about it."

Lee is hopeful his team's able to qualify again next year to return to nationals.

"I don't have many more years to do this and I'm playing a good game right now," he said.