By Jack Wynn

Rows of 9-foot-long red pool tables greet those who walk into TerpZone. They are one of the most prominent features, alongside the bowling lanes, air hockey table and televisions. 

Students and faculty members competed in a billiards tournament at the STAMP Student Union at TerpZone Tuesday night. Twelve players competed in a bracket-style tournament. Matches consisted of a best-of-five series of 8-ball games using professional rules, including calling the ball and pocket players hope to make on each shot. 

These tournaments bring out a competitive edge in participants that requires focus and knowledge of the game. 

“You have to think so much,” Blaise Ryan, manager at Terpzone and a junior cell biology and genetics major, said. “You have a total of 15 balls on the table at one time, so even if I hit a ball in the pocket, how does it set me up for my next shot, and how does it set my opponent up?”

Joseph Bair, a junior history major and pool club president, was expected to win by his competitors. Each time an opponent matched up with him on the bracket, they expressed frustration. 

“It’s awesome. I love pool,” Bair said. “I try to practice daily, and it’s a really fun game, especially if you put your time into it.” 

A few of Bair’s pool club teammates joined him in the competition, although none stood much chance as Bair won all three matchups leading up to the championship in 3-0 sweeps.

“It’s always nice playing with friends and teammates because it’s a team-building thing,” Bair said. “It’s unfortunate they don’t get to place higher, though.”

Other competitors came with optimism and the hope to learn more about pool. 

“My [pool] experience has been pretty casual playing with my friends,” Kevin Dinh, 2022 UMD alum, said. “Now I’m trying to step it up and work on my game [and] practice a little bit more.”

Dinh lost 3-2 in a back-and-forth round-one matchup. Had Dinh won, he would have faced STAMP food court manager Dan Robertson. 

Robertson was one of two faculty members at the tournament and displayed impressive pool skills, losing just one rack in his first three matches. 

“I used to play back when they had a league here,” Robertson said. “I saw the [tournament] poster. I know I’m not doing anything on Tuesday night, so I came down here to have some fun.”

After over two hours of competition, Bair and Robertson faced off in a much-awaited championship match.

At the end of the night,  Robertson was no match for Bair’s skill. In an impressive performance including two runouts, Bair swept Robertson 3-0 and was named champion.

Bair was awarded a $50 Terrapin Express gift card for his victory.

These kinds of competitions occur throughout the semester, Ryan said. He hopes to have one of these tournaments each month. Other competitive events in Terpzone include bowling and video games.

Ryan also expressed his pipedream of blocking off an entire day for a complete pool tournament involving the best of nine matches and the community’s best players.

When the next tournament comes, Bair said he will be ready to defend his title with the expectation that the competitions will ramp up as the pool community continues to grow.

“I hope more people come out and hopefully I can go a little deeper [in the tournament] next time,” Dinh said.

Featured image: Dan Robertson, STAMP food court manager, lines up his shot to start the game.