Lucky number 13!

Rack 'em up!

After being "permanently postponed" last year due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the Wyoming Open will return to Saratoga for it's 13th year with ball in hand. The Platte Valley Community Center will, as in years past, play as host to the annual event.

Mark Osborne, organizer of the Wyoming Open, stated that there will be some slight changes compared to past events. In previous years, as the event grew in size, it required multiple locations as mini-tournaments were held in area bars alongside the main tournament.

While the Wyoming Open isn't sponsoring any mini-tournaments in Saratoga drinking establishments, Osborne said that the event is not discouraging pool players from starting a game of billiards elsewhere while they have some downtime between matches.

As could be expected, there will be some longtime favorite matches and some new events to look forward to this weekend. On Thursday, there will be a Scotch Doubles Blind Draw/Redraw tournament using Saratoga rules followed by the Saratoga Individual Tournament on Friday and Saturday.

Beginning Saturday evening and moving into Sunday, players will compete in a variation of the Rocket Runout known as Wild 11. Unlike most pool matches, this will be an offense only game in which the players will be competing through a point system rather than directly against each other. One round will be held on Saturday evening and two rounds will be held Sunday.

Despite the year gap, the Wyoming Open still holds quite the draw as it will bring five internationally known billiards players. Rodney "the Rocket" Morris will be joined by Johnny "the Scorpion" Archer, Shane "the South Dakota Kid" Van Boening, Corey "Cash Money" Deuel and trick-shot specialist Mike Massey.

The Wyoming Open begins on Thursday, April 1, and runs through Sunday, April 4. For questions or more information please contact Mark Osborne at 307-710-1447 or [email protected].