World stage next for Dunedin team

Dunedin pool players Guy Whati, Danny Ryan, Stef Crowl, Neil Whalley and Peter Weeda will...
Dunedin pool players Guy Whati, Danny Ryan, Stef Crowl, Neil Whalley and Peter Weeda will represent New Zealand in Las Vegas next year. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
Dunedin's top pool players have beaten New Zealand's best and will soon be winging their way to Las Vegas.

The five-strong side, which plays under the team name ``Only Fools N Horris'', won the New Zealand BCA tournament in Auckland earlier this month.

The team is headed by captain Danny Ryan who plays alongside Guy Whati, Stef Crowl, Neil Whalley and Peter Weeda.

The Otago side downed teams from around the country to win the national competition and the first prize of $10,000 in travel to Las Vegas to compete in the BCA world championships.

The tournament is based on a handicap-style points system, which restricts teams from being stacked with too many highly rated players.

Three players play at a time and Ryan, Crowl and Whalley played most of the early games.

Come semifinal time, veterans Whati and Weeda were called in and their brilliant play sent the team to the final.

``I think Guy and Peter turned the clock back a few years and they really played out of their skins to win that semifinal,'' Ryan said.

Ryan, Crowl and Whalley stepped back in for the tournament's final and blitzed their opposition thanks to a brilliant start.

``We were pretty excited as a team. There was a lot of fist pumping and jumping up and down and there were probably a couple of tears here and there, too.

``It was a real team thing. Everyone just stood up during the day's play.''

The team now has more than a year to tune up its shooting skills before heading to Las Vegas. The group plans to do some fundraising as their prize covers travel costs for only four of its five players.

Ryan's win with the team came as somewhat of a bonus.

Although he is a long-time pool player, he has recently been concentrating on the Dunedin darts scene and competed in the Dunedin BCA qualifying tournament only to keep his eye in.

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