Junior Billiard Champ Eliminated
Briana Miller Finishes Third at the Super Billiards Expo Tournament.
US under 14’s Junior Champion Briana Miller failed to win the $1000 scholarship yesterday at The Valley Forge Convention Centre as she competed in the Super Billiards Expo Tournament.
The young prodigy missed out on second place as she portrayed a look of disappointment when she watched 13 yr old Jackson Jeffries nail the winning shot. Jeffries, from Raleigh N.C. still failed to achieve first prize and was defeated by 14 yr old Tyler Adolini from Franklin County.
Briana entered the tournament with 63 other boys and girls and competed in the under 14’s Junior Division with the hope that she would win the $1000 prize. Miller spoke to ‘The Morning call’ Newspaper yesterday after her loss,
‘I think I had a bad day,’ said Miller, ‘I just wasn’t shooting well at all today.’
Briana arrived at the competition, held in The King of Prussia along with her loyal fans including her Mother Jennifer Miller and grandparents’ Robert and Juanita Miller. The young potter from Allentown U.S.A. was deemed favourite yesterday but unfortunately didn’t perform well enough to achieve the star prize.
Briana shouldn’t be too disheartened after yesterday’s loss because she is certainly no stranger to success. She won the 2007 Junior National 9-Ball Championships last July and it was her first time competing on a professional level. She was crowned Junior Champ at only 12 yrs old when she beat top finisher Nicole Jaynes and won the $1000 scholarship prize. By winning this tournament, she secured herself a place in the under 19’s U.S. team and played in Germany as a participant in the World Pool Association Junior Championships.
Briana practices two hours a night after school and plays in weekly pool tournaments…often beating and outplaying most of the adult males. The young 9-ball star had high expectations yesterday and rightly so after her previous successes. Briana won her first four games on Saturday and was eliminated by Jeffries on the Sunday. Miller was aware of how close she was, however she would have been happy with the $500 runner-up prize. She spoke of her loss, ‘I was so close to getting second.’
Briana is known for her concentration levels during a game. She plays with sheer determination and is usually a highly focused player. Yesterday just wasn’t her day and now she can put the loss behind her and concentrate on the American Junior Nationals in Tuscan, Ariz where she will defend her title this July.
Briana has two more years in the under 14’s division and by the time she reaches the under 19’s she will make as big an impact as she did last July.