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    Sean Brazendale, representing Horsham team ‘The Mixtures’ in division five, was one of 370 players to compete in the tournament. Picture: KAREN REES
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    Kayce Brown, of Mt Gambier team Reloaded, aims. Picture: KAREN REES
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    Black Widows team members, from left, Simon Widows, Brad Conway, Alison Rose, Darren ‘Deadly’ Duncan, front, Brendan McEwan, Kyal Thackeray and John Park, of Colac. Picture: KAREN REES
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    Phill Barnard competing with Horsham Wolves in division four. Picture: KAREN REES
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    Joseph Evans competing for Stawell in division one of the Wimmera Friendly Eight-Ball Invitational at the weekend. Picture: KAREN REES
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    Roger Kotz competes with Horsham Wolves in division four. Picture: KAREN REES

Growing turnout at Wimmera eight-ball competition

By Colin MacGillivray

The Wimmera Friendly Eight-Ball Invitational looks poised to continue its growth after attracting about 370 pool players to Horsham at the weekend.

The tournament, which draws teams from across Victoria and interstate, was in its eighth year, and competition director Darren ‘Deadly’ Duncan said its growth had been steady.

“We ended up with 51 teams, not 54 teams, because a couple of them pulled out late, but we were still a bit above what we were last year in terms of numbers,” he said.



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“The tournament is still gradually increasing. We had probably about 370 players and we were closer to 350 last year.”

Local players saw success at the tournament, with a Stawell team winning division one while Stawell’s Zach Blachford played with Melbourne-based team-mates in the Any Danger side that won division two.

A team from Horsham’s White Hart Hotel won division three, with Melton and Bendigo-based sides claiming divisions four, five and six.

Mr Duncan said the tournament had run smoothly despite the last-minute withdrawals of three sides, and that local businesses had benefitted.

“There were people lined up for coffees all day for both days,” he said.

“All the stubby holders we ordered sold in the first half an hour, so we probably should have ordered double what we did.

“We had one incident of poor behaviour on Sunday where a woman was vaping in the venue, which is against the law, but apart from that everything went well.”

Mr Duncan said two of Horsham Lanes and Games’ pool tables were streamed online, allowing players to replay their matches.

“One table was dedicated to division one and the other one was split across the rest of them, so a lot of the Horsham teams had a chance to get on it,” he said.

“A lot of Horsham players got an opportunity to go back and look at their own games and review their good shots and look at how to fix their bad shots.”