Kitchener, Ont. teen crowned national champion in junior pool
A teenager from Kitchener, Ont., is shooting his shot in the world of billiards, becoming one of the top junior pool players in Canada.
On Saturday, 17-year-old Andy Papazotos won the Canadian Junior Championship in the boys' under 19 category, held at Strokers Billiards in London, Ont.
'I was runner-up for three years in a row,' said Papazotos. 'Then this year, I finally got it. So, it felt pretty good.'
Papazotos grew up in and around pool halls. His dad, George, owned two in Waterloo Region, while his grandfather operated a pool hall in the 1970s.
'I've been around it my whole life,' Papazotos said.
'He took a liking to the game when he was young,' said George. 'We pursued it as much as we could to try to get him exposed to different environments and pool.'
While he mostly played basketball, Papazotos said he picked up billiards during the pandemic.
'When COVID started, the pool halls were closed down,' Papazotos recalled. 'We were just hanging out there a lot and just playing a lot, and I started getting better pretty quickly.'
'We were playing on teams together and I started taking him around to some tournaments, and he got a lot better really quick,' said his dad.
The teenager also credited his coach, Erik Hjorliefson, for his success.
'You could see right away from his first lesson that he had a ton of potential and was really a candidate to be one of the players that could win the national championship,' said Hjorliefson.
Now, Papazotos is looking forward to his big break in even bigger leagues as he sets his sights on the World Junior Championship in Spain this November.
'These are the best people from all around the world,' said Papazotos. 'It'll be interesting to play against those guys.'
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