Tournament Announcement: 10K Added Archer Cup May 15-18

By: Markus Noé

The anticipation is almost over, as we are now only six weeks away from one of the premier events this country has to offer. Of course I am talking about the sixth edition of the Classique de Billard des Appalaches in Thetford Mines, Québec May 15-18. Over these past few years the tournament has grown to the point in which it not only attracts the best players in the country but some of the best in the world as well.

Last year players like Thorsten Hohmann, Johnny Archer, Mike Dechaine, John Morra, Jason Klatt, Erik Hjorleifson, Mika Immonen and Alain Martel were all present, just to name a few. This year there will only be one division for the Pro's to play which will be 10 Ball. In the previous year there were two $5,000 added divisions, this year they decided to put all the added money in one division. 

Winner of the 9 Ball last year Mike Dechaine 

Because of his personal relationship with Marco Sanschagrin, along with the entire C.B.A board, Johnny Archer has been a big factor in helping to promote this event. A few weeks back he did a little tour of Québec as a part of these promotions and it was announced that the Pro event will now be dubbed the "Archer Cup."

The field this year will likely feature most of the same big names as last year. The C.B.A will also reach out to Darren Appleton and Shane Van Boening to gauge their interest.  I am told that the cut of line for this $10,000 added event will be at 32. However after speaking with Sanschagrin he did mention that if they would get up to 40 players signed up, first place would be $10,000 guaranteed. If it stays at 32 players he has guaranteed $8,000 for top prize. 

Mika Immonen at last years event

Similar to the Super Billiard Expo there will be some exhibitors set up including Cue Sport Nation, a full list will be advertised at a later date. There will also be 12 other tournaments played throughout 8 divisions with $8,000 added throughout the divisions. This includes one Semi-Pro 9 Ball division, a Junior division and a Women's division.  For players ranked B-AAA there are 9 and 10 ball divisions to play in.  An addition this year will be a scotch doubles tournament. This will feature one ranked professional paired up with a ranked semi-professional. Most of these teammates will have little to no experience with one another so it should make for some entertaining matches.    

The main tournaments do not begin until Saturday, however it has been tradition for there to be an exhibition of sorts on the Friday night. Last year there was a team event that included teams from Québec, Ontario and the U.S.A. They played a series of matches against each other and the winners walked away with $2,000. This year the C.B.A will have a series of different games such as bank pool and speed pool which anyone can qualify for. It is still being planned, but for now they are thinking of holding $50 qualifiers on the Friday afternoon. This makes it so that anyone has a chance to play against some of the best players in the world. I was told that the top 4 ranked players in the world who attend along with the top 4 from Québec will automatically qualify for these challenge matches. There will be a guaranteed $1500 in this skills competition, $1000 for the winner and $500 for the runner up. 

Stay tuned to Cue Sport Nation, as we will have a series of articles updating the progress of this event as we draw nearer. I recommend to anyone interested in playing, especially at the amateur level to reserve your spot now. As it is customary for all these divisions to sell out and some are already over half filled as I write this article. We would like to thank our sponsors the C.B.A and Chalk Cube who have made it possible for me to attend this event and cover it in person.

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