MONCTON – For the first time ever, a Maritime pool shark will represent Canada at the World 10-Ball Championship.
Stephan Doiron of Riverview will travel to General Santos in the Philippines from Feb. 15-21 for the competition and play against the best pool players on the planet.
“It’s hard to fathom,” he said, adding that the breakthrough opportunity had happened by chance.
“One person couldn’t make it. … It’s a big commitment and some people just can’t get that time off, so the invite came to me.”
Doiron is one of five Canadians who was chosen to go, but he is the only amateur from the country.
Rob Sakell, former President of the New Brunswick Billiards Association said Doiron has what it takes to compete with the best in the world.
Sakell said Doiron has a natural talent. Unlike many of the players competing, Doiron has never had a coach, instead sharpening his pool-playing skills with heart and hard work.
“Practice, practice,” Doiron said. “I always had a natural ability for it.”
He said pool is in his blood –his mother worked at Moncton’s first Dooly’s Pool Hall bar when he was a kid. He said he picked up his first cue at 17 and never looked back.
“The players here kind of adopted me because I was here so often,” he said.
Now 39, he’s ranked seventh in Canada. He’s going into February’s competition outranked — an amateur among professionals — but Sakell said that may work to his advantage.
“If you are coming in as the known player or the expected player to win then the pressure is on you to win,” he said. “Not on the guy that is just happy to be there and is going to do the best he can do.”
Doiron said sometimes it’s not about how good a player is, but how well that player can keep his cool when the time comes to make the winning shot
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