A big break: Brew Crew II billiards team wins 8-ball event in Vegas

What happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas.

In fact, sometimes the unfolding events in Sin City are broadcast live on a large screen at JR's Bar & Billiards in Cape Girardeau.

That was the case last month, when Brew Crew II, an eight-man pool team from Southeast Missouri, was concluding its hot roll on the tables at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino.

Playing 1,500 miles away from where their journey originated, Brew Crew hit pay dirt when Todd Scott banked in an 8-ball shot to cap a nine-match winning streak and claim the $25,000 that went with winning the 2017 APA 8-Ball World Championship.

Brew Crew prevailed among 748 teams in the competition, winning 7-2 in the final to become the first local team in 16 years to win in Las Vegas.

Ron Hammontree of the Brew Crew II warms up before league night at JR's Bar & Billiards Wednesday in Cape Girardeau.Andrew J. Whitaker

Mid America APA operator Brad Jones watched the broadcast at JR's with some of the league's vanquished. The Brew Crew already had navigated 121 teams, a journey which started by winning its weekly eight-team league division last fall. That qualified them for the 12 team Tri Cup Regional at Blue Diamond Sports Bar, where they won to advance to the 16-team World Qualifier in June at A.C. Brase Arena, which they also won to a spot in the Las Vegas field and $5,000 in travel expenses.

"That's huge. I'm proud of these guys," said Jones, who oversees APA league play in about 35 locations in Southeast Missouri.

Jones watched Brew Crew captain Eric Vines, Scott, Joey Heuring, Travis Hammontree, Ron Hammontree, Jeff Mathis, Larry Bailey and Hunter Davis finish their run of the table, which came after they dropped their third-round match that left them just one loss from elimination.

Also watching the final play out was Tracy Dietrich, the captain of Spun Off, whose team earned the trip to Las Vegas a year earlier along with the label of "team to beat" in this year's World Qualifier. His team defended valiantly but ultimately was the final obstacle for Brew Crew, whose members predominantly are from East Prairie, Missouri.

Scott also provided a big win in that match, defeating Dietrich, a friend he's played with and against over the years.

"Believe it or not, I probably played my best match ever against Todd, and lost," Dietrich said.

While he didn't like losing, he turned into a Brew Crew cheerleader. A couple of his teammates joined him to for the feat of reaching the final.

"I was watching it at home, hootin' and hollerin' for them," said Dietrich, who lives in Cape Girardeau.

In the Las Vegas final, the Brew Crew started fast, with Ron Hammontree and his son winning the first two matches, just as they had done in the semifinals. They were able to ignore the livestream's camera and commentators, also present in the room.

"At that point you were excited and had all that blocked out," Ron Hammontree said.

Heuring followed by winning his match before Scott delivered the knockout blow, ending the two-hour final.

"I told Joey, 'This is a $25,000 shot,'" Vines said before Scott's clincher. "Never a doubt in my mind. One-hundred percent of the time, when we got Todd up there, he does his job."

Scott, Vines and Heuring had played in Vegas before with their highest finish 17th place.

"You always want to finish better than you did the last time," Scott said. "I guess that was our expectation, but honestly, everybody that goes out there is trying to win it. It's tough. Every team, they're there for a reason, too."

The five other team members were making their Vegas debut.

"It was probably a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing for me," Ron Hammontree said. "I really enjoyed it. A lot of teams, a lot of pressure, a lot of good people."

The winnings would have dropped more than $10,000 with a loss in the final. Each man received $3,125 from the grand prize.

It was a good payday for Davis, who was headed off days later for Lindenwood University, where he is on the roster of the billiards team.

However, the payout was not life altering. Scott had yet to buy anything notable with his share, while others joked about bland expenditures -- Heuring "paid bills" and Mathis "gave it to my wife."

Ron Hammontree said a highlight of the trip was experiencing it all with his son, Travis.

"I didn't think we'd go as far as we did," Ron Hammontree said. "It was just a team effort. My son plays on the team, too. It was a fun thing for both of us. We really enjoyed it."

He even stopped at a tattoo parlor after the victory to get some planned ink work done, getting a tattoo to match one worn by Travis.

While the group was at the parlor, Vines was browsing about and came across a shamrock design. It's now on his arm, emblazoned with "Brew Crew 2017."

It's also on the arms of the Hammontrees and the leg of Mathis. The others did not bow to the peer pressure, which still persists.

While many people may not remember the circumstances that led to late-night body art and may later regret the decision, Vines wears his as a remembrance of the events that took place in Las Vegas.

"You just can't go out there and play good to win," Vines said. "You've got to get some rolls, some breaks. I saw that four-leaf clover and I thought it pretty well summed up our week."

jbreer@semissourian.com

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