The Spring flight of Diamond Eight’s Straight Pool league came to an exciting close on Thursday, May 10, 2012 as Steve Hathaway was able to edge Ernie Mumford by 8 balls to take 1st place by 1 point (!) over Brian Struwe. This left Ernie in 3rd place by 1 point(!!!)

Congratulations to Steve (pictured, left) our Straight Pool league Spring Flight Champion!! (Ernie Mumford, 3rd place, on the right)

A few points back was Mike Fitch, who finished 4th. Jim Graziane and Frank Bogardus rounded out the field. Congrats to all the players on a great flight!

Brian, left and Mike on the right

This Saturday, May 19! Scotch Doubles 9-Ball to benefit the American Cancer Society!

Practice at Noon, play starts at 1pm.

$20 entry fee per person includes buffet. See rules below

Non-players are welcome! Enjoy the buffet for a $5 donation!

Plus prize and 50/50 raffles!
Proceeds from buffet and raffles go to the American Cancer Society’s “Relay for Life” efforts!

Scotch Doubles (partners alternate shots not turns). Semi-random draw for partners (players will be divided by skill level, then drawn to make field as even as possible). Tournament director’s decisions are final. Race to 4 on winner’s side. Race to 3 on one-loss side. Call the 9-ball to win. Cash prizes determined by number of entries. One timeout (coaching) per game.

Download the tournament flyer!

Friday nights at Diamond Eight are hot! We feature Karaoke with Sal every Friday night starting at 9:30pm. While you have a few (whatevers) to relax your vocal cords, you can play pool on one of our 7-foot bar-size pool tables, or choose our full-size tables to practice those extra tough shots! And if pool is not your game, there is still plenty more to do! Play foosball, darts, video games or QuickDraw, or just cozy up to the bar and watch the game on one of our many TVs.

Metroland readers again voted Diamond Eight the top pool room in the Capital District! (We have been voted #1 so many times we lost count!)

Metroland’s write-up was concise but clever: “It wasn’t by a long shot, but Latham pool hall Diamond Eight put the most votes in the pocket.”

Thanks to everyone who voted, and everyone who has helped make Diamond Eight the best pool room in the area! We strive to be the best, but it is only through your support and loyalty that we can approach our goals. Thanks again everyone!

Once again, our friends Chris and Ann Smith returned to Diamond Eight from “across the pond” (England) to sponsor the Trans-Atlantic Challenge II! The field of 12 players formed into 6 scotch doubles teams to compete in the double-elimination format. Chris and Ann were the early favorites, but were sent to the 1-loss side by Amanda and Brian who took advantage of a few bad rolls.

Chris and Ann were able to bounce back after a challenging match against 3rd place finishers John Stock and his nephew Shane. The match went to the hill, with the 7-8-9 left for John and Shane. Shane made a nice shot to pocket the 7, but left John a long cut shot on the 8. John made a great shot to pocket the 8, but the cue ball found its way into the corner pocket, and gave ball-in-hand on the 9 to Ann, who made it to win the match.

In the meantime, Amanda DeCelle and Brian Struwe got through their bracket without losing a match to set up the final rematch with Ann and Chris.

Having barely survived the previous match, Ann and Chris lost a little steam and Amanda and Brian were able to pull ahead to a 4-1 victory to stay undefeated, win the match and earn the tournament championship.

Congrats and thanks to all the teams for a great afternoon!

Congratulations to Arkley Mastro who took 1st place in a small but competitive field to win the 2011 Fall Flight of Diamond Eight’s Straight Pool league. Ernie Mumford made a strong showing by placing 2nd with Ron Palka and Jerry Argay rounding out the field.

The final standings:

1. Arkely Mastro
2. Ernie Mumford
3. Ron Palka
4. Jerry Argay

Diamond Eight’s 10th annual Toys for Tots 8-Ball Tournament was another great success, thanks to all of our very generous players! Eighteen players came together to play in the scotch doubles tournament and donate toys to the local branch of the U.S. Marines Toys for Tots initiative. Many others stopped by to participate in the raffles and enjoy the delicious home-cooked buffet. Two over-filled boxes of toys were collected and over $200 was raised, which will be used to purchase more toys for donation.

Congratulations to Kelly Castle and John Robinson, who narrowly defeated Del Robinson and Dave Kruger in a dramatic final match. Del and Dave had successfully come back from deficits throughout the day to advance to the finals. When Kelly and John jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the race-to-4 final match, everyone wondered if Del and Dave could battle back one last time.  With confidence they strung together three wins to bring the match to the hill. The last game was a nail-biter, with good shots back and forth. Del was left with a reverse bank on the 8-ball in the side. After much thought, Del stroked the cue nicely to bank the 8, and then watched as the cue ball ran two rails to get position for the 9, only to see the cue ball scratch in the side. John made the 9 with ball in hand to seal the game, match and title. Tied for third were Frank Rogers and Angela Skawinski, and Audre and Darius Osborne.

Kevin won the 50/50 raffle while his daughter Kelly won a few great raffle prizes. Thanks to everyone who came out to support Toys for Tots! You can see photos from the event on our Flickr page.

Thanks to an overwhelmingly positive response, we are extending this great deal Four players on one table for only $20 per hour! Five players? $20 per hour! Six players? How about $20 per hour! That’s right, four or more players on one table is $20 per hour! See you soon!

A small dedicated team (with lots of support from all of you!) walked 3+ miles as part of the 2011 Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk in Washington Park, Albany to benefit the American Cancer Society. Diamond Eight raised $400 through league night 50-50 raffles and the efforts of Julie Levenberg and the Skawinski Family. Many other walkers joined us after the event for a delicious homemade buffet (and football)!

The walk was held on Sunday, October 16, 2011. There is still time to make an online donation: Diamond Eight Making Strides Team Page.

Congratulations to Rich Kriz, longtime league member at Diamond Eight, who edged out Ed Littell to win the 2011 Summer Flight of the 14and1.com Straight Pool league by 1 point. Rich finished with 57 points, with Ed coming in second with 56. Both players are now qualified for the 2011 14and1.com National Championships, to be held at Diamond Eight Billiards over the September 24th weekend. Ron Palka made a strong showing at 3rd place, with 52 points and Frank Bogardus rounded out the top 4 with 48 points.

The final standings:

1. Rich Kriz (57)
2. Ed Littell (56)
3. Ron Palka (52)
4. Frank Bogardus (48)
5. Ed Skawinski (47)
6. Ernie Mumford (41)
7. Jerry Argay (32)