National Qualifier

March 3-4, 2012

Trish Bida - Houston, TX

Thanh Vu Qualifies in Houston

Six players attended the Houston Qualifier at Trish Bida. Tenth place Nationals finalist from 2011, Thanh Vu, Doral Tour B winner Dung Nguyen and four challengers Phuc Le, Jason Tran, Khanh Ly and Hung Chong. The winner was Thanh Vu who went undefeated at 5-0. Thanh also won high run honors, taking the $100 prize donated by Doug Deitel, USBA Director with a run of 9! In fact, Thanh ran 9 twice... in his first and last game. 

Special thanks to Marcus Norwood who showed up with his video equipment and recorded the final game between Thanh Vu and Dung Nguyen. Dung Nguyen took an early lead and if he held on could have had an upset win and first place. But when Thanh Vu ran 9... he signaled he was ready for Las Vegas and cruised home 25-16 in 23 innings. Marcus has the popular YouTube channel "Forcefollow".

Ranking Points to be awarded for this tournament (must be a USBA Member):

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Trish Bida

2012 USBA National Qualifier

Houston, Texas

March 3-4, 2012

Sat-Sun

Where: Trish Bida - 11130 Beechnut St. - Houston, TX 77072

Equipment: 7 Gabriels Imperator tables; all 7 with Simonis 300 Rapide cloth.

Players' Meeting: Saturday, March 3, 2012 at 10:00 AM!

Entry Information: Entry fee $110. You must be a current USBA member to participate (membership or renewal $50/year). Please bring cash to the tournament ($110 current members or $160 new joining members.) YOU MAY PRE-REGISTER TO ENSURE A SPOT – SEE BELOW! The minimum number of players will be 5. For every 5 players entered, one will qualify for paid entry and expense money to participate in the USBA National Championship at the Tropicana in Las Vegas May 6-10. (Value = $500!) The format will be determined after all the entries have been received. Play will begin immediately after players' meeting on Saturday and will complete on Sunday.

$750 in cash prizes in addition to entry in the national championship!

Cash Distribution: $10 from each entry goes to the USBA as sanction fees. The remaining $100 per entry for each 5 players goes to the qualifying player(s) (actually, to the USBA for safekeeping) to be used as follows: $300 as paid entry into the national championship and $200 for expense money. Expense money will be presented to the player(s) attending the national tournament upon arrival. By rule, if any player who qualifies does not attend the nationals, the USBA will retain this money for use, at its discretion, to support the tournament. All other money and the added prize money will be awarded to the 5 or more players based on the number of entries. Prize distribution will be announced at the players' meeting.

Remember: One will qualify for the national championship for every 5 entered!

Please Note: Players at the USBA National Championship must be able to represent the United States in the World Championship Tournament. Therefore, in addition to being a current member of the USBA, a player must either be a citizen of the United States or a legal permanent resident alien of the United States.

For further information, to join USBA or to pre-register for the tournament contact:

Doug Deitel USBA At-Large Director (713) 319-5335