2024 USSA National Snooker Tour
The 2024 United States Snooker Association National Tour will get underway on April 18th with the Texas Open at Houston’s Q Ball Snooker and Pool. Houston will also host the Houston Open on October 12th. The tour has a total of 12 stops across 10 cities, and gives US players a chance to compete in USSA ranking tournaments.
UPDATE (3/8/24) - With the recent additions of the Tennessee State Championship and the Georgia State Championships from September 21 - 22nd, the USSA Tour now has six stops in the east and six stops in the west. John Henry officially opened the Columbus Snooker Club on January 1, 2023 and is building membership and growing interest in snooker in that area of America. They have been playing in that spot since 2016 and are excited to be on the tour.
This tour starts up again after a COVID pause, and coincides with a noticeable upswing in the popularity of snooker in the US. “It is the perfect time to give US players a chance to play for ranking points that will determine who is the highest ranked player in the US. The clubs involved with this tour were excited to see it get underway again. Without their support, there would be no tour and we could not accomplish our collective goals.” said USSA Tour Director, Mike Dominguez. There are still talks with other clubs that want to join the tour. Look out for further announcements.
Delta Rocks Billiard in Alexandria, VA will host the Virginia Open on May 4th. Delta Rocks has six snooker tables and is located minutes outside of Washington DC.
UPDATE (2/28/24) - In the state of Tennessee, there is no one promoting snooker more than Zia Sheik. Nashville Snooker Academy is a great addition to the tour and they will host the Tennessee State Championship on May 11th. The east coast snooker scene is growing thanks to people like Zia.
OX Billiards will host the OX Classic on May 18th and the Washington State Championship on July 13th. OX is one of three clubs in the Pacific Northwest that will host a tour stop totaling four stops in the area. The tree-lined and cloudy skies of Washington and Oregon State are becoming a hotbed for snooker with In The Pocket Snooker Club in Rochester, WA hosting the NW Regional Championships on August 24th, and Legends Billiard Room in Beaverton, OR ending the season with the Legends Open on December 7th.
Chicago Snooker will host the Chicago Open on June 13th. Tom Tan, owner of Chicago Snooker is known for posting videos of his high breaks on social media. That should be a stop with a lot of great competition. Arizona Snooker Academy is the home of the USSA National Champion, Daren Taylor, and will host the Arizona Open on September 28th. AZSA will also boast a high quality tournament with the champ and owner Romil Azemat taking part in the competition. Ajeya Prabhakar’s PABSA Academy in San Jose will host the San Jose Open on November 21st. The PABSA Academy was also the first US club to host a Q-Tour event. As mentioned, the USSA National Tour ends with the Legends Classic in Beaverton, OR.
USSA National Tour Schedule
Texas Open, April 18 - 20th: Q Ball Snooker and Pool, Houston, TX
Virginia Open, May 4 - 5th: Delta Rocks Billiard, Alexandria, VA
Tennessee State Championship, May 11 - 12th: Nashville Snooker Academy, Nashville, TN
OX Classic, May 18 - 19th: OX Billiards, Seattle, WA
Chicago Open, June 8 - 9th: Chicago Snooker, Chicago, IL
Washington State Championship, July 13 - 14th: OX Billiards, Seattle, WA
NW Regional Championship, August 24 - 25th: In The Pocket Snooker Club, Rochester, WA
Georgia State Championship, September 21 - 22nd: Columbus Snooker Club, Georgia, GA
Arizona Open, September 28 - 29th: Arizona Snooker Academy, Chandler, AZ
Houston Open, October 12 - 13th: Q Ball Snooker and Pool, Houston, TX
San Jose Open, November 21 - 22nd: PABSA Academy, San Jose, CA
Legends Classic, December 7 - 8th: Legends Billiards Room, Beaverton, OR
Cheat Sheet for the USSA National Tour:
The tour stop hosts will be responsible for their own tournament and can run a format that fits their market and demand.
The typical snooker tournament is a round robin group stage and then the knockout stage.
As each tournament approaches, clubs will announce info on how to sign up, what the entry fees and prize money will be.
For more info on a specific tour stop, contact the club.
For more info on the tour, contact Mike Dominguez at mike@oxbilliards.com.
All participants will have to be a member of the USSA.
Each tournament will be managed by CloudSnooker.com which has the ranking system integrated into it.
Each club will be allowed to live-stream if they have the capability.
It is clear that snooker is on the rise in the US. A lot of committed people are doing their part to see snooker grow into a viable sport. Each snooker event, amateur or professional, in the US serves to inspire and motivate players towards mastery in this precision sport. The 2024 USSA National Tour will provide long term competition and motivation across the country. “The tour resumes with the purpose of creating branded tournaments with a sense of history and camaraderie between snooker clubs in America. We expect better things to come out of this in the near future.” Says Dominguez.
