Can you believe it’s Saptember already? For this Labor Day weekend, we will be open at 5pm on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. No league play on Sunday night. Also, there will be no Karaoke Monday night. But it is still half-price Monday! 1/2 price on table time all night!

Regular hours resume Tuesday at 4pm!

Have a fun but safe weekend!

The weekend of July 17-18 was a big one for Diamond Eight, as we celebrated 10 years of our annual Edward M. Skawinski Memorial Golf Tournament, to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region!

On Saturday, July 17th, we held a Scotch Doubles 9-Ball Tournament which saw 7 teams compete for cash prizes and trophies. Congrats to winners Tracie Aldous and Scott Winchell, who edged out Audre Hartman and John Robinson in the final match. It was a great day and fun was had by all!

On Sunday, July 18th, our 10th Annual Memorial Golf Tournament saw 55 golfers compete in the best-ball scramble format. Congrats to Sean Kiernan, Bill Kiernan, Dean Halpin and Ted Rudzinski and Bob Badger, Jim Campone and his son, Michael. Both teams tied at 12 under par, but since Sean’s team birdied hole #4 and Bob’s team parred it, the tie was broken!

Congrats to Colleen Knapik who won the Vizio LCD HDTV! She is one happy lady! And special thanks to Kathleen Hill who won the 50/50 on Sunday but donated her half back to Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region! Thank you!

Photos are now posted on our flickr site!

A BIG THANKS to everyone who supported us this weekend and all of our great helpers! Special thanks to Julie, Kim and Tracie for their help all weekend!

Congratulations to Tom Acciavatti who avenged his 2nd place showing 2 years ago to take first place in the 2010 14and1.com National Championship. Congrats also to Roger Bouchard, who played in the Diamond Eight league, for his 5th place showing. Thanks to everyone who has played this past year and we are looking forward to another successful year in Straight Pool!

From 14and1.com: When the test of skills that only 14.1 can produce was completed, our 2008 runner-up Tom Acciavatti representing Diamond Eight Billiards in Latham, NY proved to be to tough this year, besting Angelito Carpio playing out of D&D Family Billiards in Thorndale, PA in the finals. Andy Walker out of Fenton, Michigan finished a strong 3rd this year besting his 4th place finish last year. Ray Hart playing out of Hippo’s House of Billiards in Yorkville, NY finished out the top 4 with a great showing.

14and1.com Nationals Top 8 order of finish 2010

1) Tom Acciavatti – Latham, NY
2) Angelito Carpio – Thorndale, PA
3) Andy Walker – Fenton, Michigan
4) Ray Hart – Yorkville, NY
5+6) Joe Stern – Thorndale, PA
5+6) Louis Johnson – Thorndale, PA
7+8) Roger Bouchard – Bennington, VT
7+8) Coby Atkins – Thorndale, PA

Diamond Eight once again hosted the APA of Albany’s Local Team Championship, the culminating event of the league year. Teams who qualified during the 2009-2010 season competed in both 8-ball and 9-ball formats. In 8-Ball, Diamond Eight’s “Gone Shootin,” (John Stock) were able to hold on against Diamond Eight’s “Odd Balls” (Ryan Brown) in an extremely tight final match and punch their ticket to Las Vegas, where they will compete in the APA National Team Championships.

The final battle saw “Gone Shootin” ahead 2-1 with the following matches played in a sudden death 1-game format. Tom easily broke and ran the 4th match, putting the teams tied at 2. Scott Winchell then battled Steve Smith in the final and deciding game. (no pressure!) Both players looked at a very difficult table and traded shots until only 3 balls remained. Steve made his last ball, but his draw shot veered short and to the side to sit nearly touching the 8-ball. Steve miscued while hitting the 8-ball which boded well for Scott until the 8-ball ended up blocking Scot’s 7-ball from the corner. Scott played an amazing safe to force Steve to try to kick in the 8. Steve’s shot looked good, but too powerful and the 8-ball landed between the corner and side pockets. Scott made the 7 easily but left himself a tough cut shot in the side on the 8. Somehow the 8 fell and the “Gone Shootin” are gone to Las Vegas!

1st: Gone Shootin: John Stock, Chris Titterton, Ryan Dean, Craig Eagleson, Tracie Aldous and Scott Winchell

2nd: Odd Balls: Captain: Ryan Brown, Scott Lendin, Sanita Baggetta, Tom Acciavatti, Mccrea Manning, Steve Smith, Adam Banker

Monday Madness is better than ever!
Half-price pool all day!
Happy Hour from 5-7pm, including free Nacho bar and drink specials!
Monday Night Karaoke with Mark the Shark starts at 9pm!
New improved Team Trivia!
And did we mention 1/2 price pool all day?

Ladies enjoy 1/2 price table time every Thursday from 4pm ‘til close!

Plus: Don’t miss our new and improved Happy Hour every weekday from 5 to 7pm. Free nacho bar and drink specials!

Get Happy!

Diamond Eight is making you happier than usual with our newly expanded Happy Hour! Free Nacho Bar! $2. off 16oz. Well Drinks and $.75 off all 16oz. Draft Beers! Every Monday through Friday from 5 to 7pm!

The APA-sponsored U.S. Amateur pre-qualifier tournament held at Diamond Eight on Saturday, April 24th saw nine of the top players in the area compete for the $100-added prize money. Tom Acciavatti played expertly throughout the day to once again prove his dominance in the league format. Frank Rich also played strong to finish 2nd, while Scott Winchell held on to 3rd place.The event was notable for two main reasons: great practice for the upcoming U.S. Amateur Championship Preliminary Rounds, to be held nationwide September 17-19, and an introduction to the Masters league format which will start up at Diamond Eight in the Fall.

U.S. Amateur

Winners of the preliminary rounds advance to the 2010 U.S. Amateur Championship, to be held in early November at Strokers in Tampa, Florida. The Men’s Championship: is scheduled for Nov. 5-7, while the Women’s Championship will be held Nov. 6-7.

APA Masters Division

The Master format is a no handicap format, with three team players participating in each week’s matches. A fourth member can also be added to the roster. Each individual match is a race to 7, which can include up to eight games of 9-ball and five games of 8-ball. Contact APA of Albany league operator Matt MacPhail at 518-708-9567 for more information.

Diamond Eight is featured in this cool video from the Times Union Night Cam series! Great to see so many regulars featured! Thanks to the Times Union for producing the spot!

Save the Date for Sunday, July 18, 2010!

The 10th Annual Edward M. Skawinski Memorial Golf Tournament will be held on Sunday, July 18th at the Fairways of Halfmoon, with reception, awards ceremony & raffles at Diamond Eight Billiards starting at 2pm. The tournament benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region.

We have some exciting plans for our 10th Anniversary so stay tuned!