Billiards Champ Brings Trophy Home to Copperopolis! Story and photo by Greg Kristapovich
“I had to play a lot of defense; a lot of tactical moves. But with a little bit of luck, and God on my side; I had a great crew of friends to help me, kind of nag me on. I had a bunch of support. My support group was great!” Those are the words of John Barioni, (who, two years ago lived in Merced) after just winning the Countywide, Calaveras Pool Tournament, May 3rd, at the 19th hole in Avery! (The tournament is held every six months.) But this day, and after nearly eight hours of pool–during which he played 15 games, John emerged the winner, and will be taking the title (And the $300 purse) back to his town, Copperopolis! 36 contestants from bars all over Calaveras were represented in the tourney, (now in its 25th year) and John played for the Outcast Bar at Lake Tulloch Resort. Indeed, it was a grueling tournament! “Basically, I lost a game, so I went to the “loser’s bracket” and then I had to beat everybody in the loser’s bracket. Then I beat the top guy twice in a row, in order to win! But, that’s what I did, and pulled it off!” John exclaimed. An interesting side note: John revealed that he covers all the pool tables for Jim Shuburt Vending, “so pretty much most of the pool tables in the county, at most of the bars; I do all the table covering, me and my fiancé, Suzie! Also, I am original inventor of Barioni Cues. I make the whole Barioni Custom Pool Cue line! And some of them are in the Blue Book of Pool Cues, and you’ll see them in some editions of Billiards Digest, and so forth!” The champ also wants to thank his fiancée, Suzie! “If Suzie never came to all my games, with all the support she’s given me over the past twelve months, I’d never have been able to do it!” The last winner of this prestigious trophy was Vince Grimes, who won it for the 19th Hole on November 2nd, 2008. Here, John is seen posing with his trophy at Nugget Bar. He came down the hill immediately after the tourney in Avery, to tell all his friends in Murphys! The next Country-Wide Tournament will be held at the Outcast Bar at Lake Tulloch in November.
