East Peoria teen wins national junior pool championship in St. Louis

But he picked up the game so fast he won a national title earlier this month.

The East Peoria High School junior was crowned champion of his division at the 2024 American Pool Players Association National Junior Championships June 29-July 1 at the Renaissance St. Louis Airport Hotel in St. Louis.

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Adair beat Alex Leck, of Hamburg, Pa., in the title match of the 73-player division called White Tier SL 4-5.

The four-division tournament included kids aged 7-18 from 32 states and Canada.

The APA is the governing body of amateur pool. It sanctions four major tournaments — the APA World Pool Championships, the APA Poolplayer Championships, the APA Junior Championships and the U.S. Amateur Championship — that combined pay out nearly $2 million in cash and prizes annually.

Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.