Montgomery brings home Illinois billiards title

Rochelle pool player wins state men's senior singles championship

Russell Hodges
Posted 3/30/17

Rochelle pool player Mitch Montgomery was just one shot away from a state championship, but after battling through nearly nine matches and playing for roughly 12 consecutive hours, he admitted he found it difficult to clear his mind and focus on the final

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Montgomery brings home Illinois billiards title

Rochelle pool player wins state men's senior singles championship

Posted
  1. CHARLES — Rochelle pool player Mitch Montgomery was just one shot away from a state championship, but after battling through nearly nine matches and playing for roughly 12 consecutive hours, he admitted he found it difficult to clear his mind and focus on the final ball in front of him.

It didn’t matter in the end, as Montgomery sunk one last ball to bring home the 2017 American CueSports Illinois State Association Men’s Senior Singles Championship on Wednesday, March 15 at Pheasant Run Resort. The victory brought plenty of relief to Montgomery, who first picked up a cue ball as a child and has been playing the game for nearly 50 years.

“When I was about 12 years old, some of my friends’ parents bought them a pool table for Christmas,” he said. “I spent a lot of time at their house learning how to play pool and I really liked the game. As time went on, the more I played and the more I learned about it, the more I liked it.”

After winning by a score of 4-2 in the losers bracket finals, Montgomery was tasked with taking down an opponent who beat him 4-2 earlier in the tournament. But the veteran player had found his stroke by the time he reached the championship finals, and after taking the first set 4-2, Montgomery won the second set 3-1 to get his revenge and finish first overall.

“When I got down to the last set I had to really block everything out and not think about what I was playing for,” Montgomery said. “I simply had to think about making each ball and trying to win each game… As soon as I raised up I thought to myself, ‘Wow, it’s over. I can’t believe I’m the state champion.’”

While the game of pool may not appear to require much physical skill, Montgomery said some of the most important aspects of pool revolve around how a person’s body is positioned before each shot. And considering he only received one 30-minute break during his championship run, having enough stamina is also important in order to power through.

“You have to have a good foundation,” he said. “You have to develop a good stance so you’re stable at the table and you have to develop what’s known as a ‘good bridge,’ which means your front hand is closest to the cue. Having a solid bridge will help keep the cue in line when you’re making your shot… Some people have a very difficult time just getting the basics down.”

Having learned from some of the best pool players in the world including David Matlock, who also goes by the nickname “King of the Bar Table,” Montgomery was able to formulate his game over time while competing against some of the best players around. He recalled playing a seven-game set with Matlock back when the two met for a tournament in Quincy, and despite falling by a score of 7-6, the experience gave Montgomery a renewed sense of confidence moving forward.

“I was so close to beating one of my mentors in pool,” Montgomery said while laughing. “How often in life do you get to spend time with someone who’s the greatest in the world at anything? To be able to spend a whole summer with and around him… The things I learned were tremendous.”