The Road to Vegas!

The initial focus of any new APA team should simply be to get out and have fun playing pool on a regular basis. Get the rules down, get the scorekeeping down, and "gel" as a team. Once you get your feet under you and rack up a few victories, you'll undoubtedly start wondering, "OK, so where can we go with this? Can we make the Playoffs? Can we take first in the division? Can we make it to the next Tri-Cup? Can we win the next Tri-Cup? Can we make it to Vegas???"

 

Yes, you can.

 

Obviously, one of the ultimate goals in the APA is to get to Vegas - either as a team or as an individual. It's truly awe-inspiring to walk into the main tournament room at The Westgate and see 300+ pool tables... all in play by people from all over the U.S., Canada and even Japan.

 

National competition is intense. If you keep winning, you'll play an entire session worth of team matches within a few days. The pressure builds as time goes on, of course, but the adrenalin will probably be pumping plenty with the very first match.

 

With the APA, you have to earn your way to Nationals. You can't just "buy in" like you do with some other leagues. If you earn your way, you'll receive travel assistance that covers most of your travel and lodging costs.

 

So how does your team earn a trip to Vegas? 

 

 

There are three sessions per year - Summer, Fall and Spring (refer to the diagram above). The League Year starts with the Summer Session and ends with the City Championships, which is held shortly after the conclusion of the Spring Session. The City Championships determines the team(s) advancing to the APA Team Nationals in Las Vegas. Please note that the schedule shown in the diagram is approximate and may vary slightly - the City Championships could be held in late May at some point, for example.

 

Compete during the league sessions. The top teams of every division at the end of each session (per point standing) receive trophies and preferred seeding for the season-ending playoffs. There are no "ties" - any point standing ties between teams will be broken in accordance with the tie-breaking rules in the Official Team Manual.

 

First place teams from divisions with six or more teams advance directly to Tri-Cup. Other teams as well as a Wild Card team play a Playoff Match. The number of teams participating in the Playoffs at the end of a session depend on division size (see Bylaws). The Wild Card team is determined by random draw of remaining teams in good standing (current on their fees, etc). Playoffs are single “do or die” team matches to determine which teams advance to Tri-Cup. Each player must have played at least four matches with their team during the session in order to be eligible to play in the Playoffs. Please refer to the Official Team Manual and Local Bylaws for additional eligibility requirements.

 

Tri-Cup Tournament. Tri-Cup Tournaments are an opportunity for teams to compete for cash and/or qualify for the City Championships. Four teams from each Tri-Cup advance to City Championships. Tri-Cup Tournaments are single elimination tournaments. Each player must have played at least four matches with their team during the corresponding session in order to be eligible to play in the Tri-Cup Tournament. Please refer to the Official Team Manual and Local Bylaws for additional eligibility requirements.

 

All teams that haven’t qualified for the City Championships have a “last chance” opportunity to qualify by participating in the Best of the Rest Tournament. Like the Tri-Cups, this is single elimination. The number of teams qualifying for LTC may vary but will be announced in advance. Eligibility requirements for this tournament are the same as they are for Tri-Cup Tournaments.

 

Winner(s) of City Championships (otherwise known as Local Team Championships or LTC) go to Vegas! The City Championships is somewhat similar to a Tri-Cup, but differs in a couple of significant ways. Instead of being Single Elimination, the City Championships is a Modified Single Elimination event, meaning that every team is guaranteed to play at least twice. The City Championships also has stricter eligibility requirements - each player must have played at least ten APA matches within that last two years to ensure proper handicapping.

 

The number of teams going to Las Vegas in a given format (8-Ball or 9-Ball) depend upon the total number of teams in that format in the Sacramento APA. As the league grows, more and more teams will be sent to Vegas... so the odds of going will always stay about the same (roughly 1 in 20-25).