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BASICS

H-Town Central is the first and only USA Pool League operating out of Houston, TX. The home location is located at Slick Willies on Montrose at 1200 Westheimer Rd.

The league manager is Phil Trieu.

  • USAPL is a division under CSI (Cue Sports International).
  • USAPL is the amateur version of BCAPL, using BCA rules.
  • Skill levels are determined using the Fargo Rate, a worldwide rating used by professionals in competitions.
  • Game play is between teams of 5 co-ed players or 3 women players.
  • Available formats include 8 Ball, 9 Ball, and 10 Ball.
  • Yearly national championship in Las Vegas in February/March. We are a Vegas-bound league, NOT a cash league!
  • Price to play is per set (may play 1 or 2 sets per night).
  • Digital app scoring & digital pay options available.
  • No yearly dues!
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WAYS TO GET TO VEGAS:

There are 3 ways to get to Vegas in February/March for Nationals.

For all three ways, the following criteria apply:
  • Winners get a contribution for trip to Vegas.
    • Contribution goes towards: Nationals event registration, flight, and hotel stay.
    • Proof of flight & hotel registration may be required prior to fund disbursement
  • However, anyone who do not win the trip can go to Nationals by paying their own way.
  • You must be on an active team roster in that discipline (8, 9, or 10 ball) at time of competition in order to qualify.
  1. Team Format
    • Played weekly throughout the length of a session (3 sessions per year)
    • Max of 6 available spots in the Vegas Qualifier per division (two teams per session)
    • Top 2 ranked teams during a regular session gets automatic spot in the Vegas Qualifier.
    • Winning team of Vegas Qualifier wins contribution for trip to Las Vegas.
    • Team must have at least 2 original members from Fall session.
    • Players are only eligible to participate in the game in which they qualified in, as long as the 8 match minimum requirement is met for everyone.
      • All players must also remain active in the following Spring session & play at least 2 matches to retain qualification
      • You must play at least 8 weeks in one session on the same team in order to qualify
  2. Singles Format
    • Singles tournaments will be held throughout the year for players to qualify.
    • Top qualifiers in each Singles Tournament automatically get entered into Singles Vegas Qualifier.
    • Winner(s) of Vegas Qualifier wins contribution for trip to Las Vegas
  3. Ladies Team
    • 8 Ball only and Ladies only
    • Same criteria as team format with team structure of 5 ladies per team playing 3 matches.
    • Teams can be built from existing members playing 8 ball (only specifically for Nationals)
    • Does not need to meet “Original Members” criterion
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About Us:

It all started … in January 2019 when an APA member started wondering if there was a better system to league play than what was available at the time. While other formats were operating elsewhere, the only option at his pool hall was the APA system. Loving those who he played with and not wishing to change his home location, he started looking into other systems that he could bring to the pool hall.

Within the month, he came across the USAPL organization and got in touch with the Director of Operations. It did not take long for him to see that this could be the next big thing. Houston was, surprisingly, not yet on the radar for USAPL, and he knew H-Town had to be represented. After months of careful planning and promoting, the league finally came into existence Fall 2019, when the very first teams started active play.

LEAGUE MANAGER: PHIL TRIEU

Phil was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois and moved to Houston in 2009. He has been a billiards enthusiast since 2007 and was an active member of APA. He has captained many teams and played primarily in Fort Bend and Harris counties. He has dabbled in many different formats throughout the years and participated in many tournaments. His enthusiasm for the game has given him the drive to learn more about pool and he became an avid follower of the professional circuits. His charismatic personality has brought people together and his eagerness to spread the love of the game has him teaching many people about the nuances of pool.

In 2017, Phil took over operations of a singles league when the former operator of UBL fell through. It was the success of the singles league that bolstered his belief in his abilities to bring a nationally sanctioned system in.

When not playing pool, Phil loves food, friends, and cheering for anything Chicago.

LEAGUE ADMIN: PEARL TRIEU

Pearl moved to Houston in 1991 and has been here ever since. Her pool days started in the University of Houston game room where she started whacking balls at random, not knowing how the game was played. Throughout the years, billiards was an occasional pastime. It took meeting Phil in 2016 for her to really get into the game. She started by observing others play and keeping score for Phil’s team in 2017 for a year before officially joining APA in 2018 as a player and became a team captain in 2019.

In 2017, she took on the role of league admin when the former operator of UBL fell through. Since then, she has been handling all administrative aspects of league, from reporting scores to website creation. Her goal is to provide easy and informative access to any league info for all players.

Pearl enjoys travelling, loves all things puppies, and don’t get her started on spreadsheets!

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