Some hands were gloved, some hands baby-powdered and some hands dripping with Raising Cane’s sauce — but all hands were on deck as the 5C Billiard Club hosted its “Heartbreak Tournament” in Pomona College’s Walker Lounge on Sunday, March 3, just a short 18 days after Valentine’s Day.
The 8-ball tournament’s round of 16 kicked off with four 1v1 matches while four competitors — three of the club’s presidents and one long-time member — received automatic byes to the second round, meaning that they played the winners of the first round. Each matchup was played best out of three, starting with a rapid-fire round of rock paper scissors to determine who breaks.
The nerves and intensity of the room were cut by Whitney Houston’s “How Will I Know” blasting on a speaker and the dance moves of Aaron Wu PO ’25, one of the club’s four presidents, quickly stole the show.
Hunter Thu PO ’25, another one of the club’s presidents, explained that these happenings positively added to the tournament’s environment.
“It was a little chaotic, in a good way,” Thu said. “I think people made friends and the vibes were good, the music was good and I think it was a good time.”
The 5C Billiard Club meets every Sunday from 1-3 p.m. in Walker Lounge, where the competition took place. Thu explained that the formation of the club in 2022 started from friendly competition and has since blossomed into a multi-campus wide organization. He said that for the club’s presidents — Thu, Wu, Abimbola Adekoya PO ’25 and Daniel Velazquez PO ’25 — their love for the game came first and the club second.
“We were just kind of playing off and on throughout freshman year and then over that summer we decided that we should put together a pool club,” Thu said. “There wasn’t [already one] so we decided us four would be co-presidents.”
Sunday’s tournament prizes were a cue for first place, a pool glove for second and a “Valentine’s Day surprise” — revealed early on in the tournament to be chocolate-covered strawberries — for third, all working along with glory and bragging rights to create a fierce competition.
Wu emphasized that the benefits of playing pool extended beyond just the prizes and community.
“It’s a really good way to … just relax from school,” Wu said. “You have to focus on it and it makes you not focus on school.”
The matchups spanned across the lounge’s three pool tables, all with their own charm. One table featured a particularly uncooperative pocket that fell out multiple times before the players defeatedly left it on the ground. Another table’s long rail was warped, the presumed cause of one particularly wild shot resulting in the 8-ball flying up off the table.
Bailey Williams PO ’26, an active member of the club, spoke on the club’s hope for improved facilities.
“I think Pomona should put more money into our pool facilities because it’s a thing that not only us but also the students that aren’t in pool [club] spend a lot of their past time socializing and playing at the same time,” Williams said. “It would be really cool if we can make that a stronger thing on campus.”
Following games filled with bank shots, behind-the-back shots and only one joking accusation of “unsportsmanlike conduct,” the bracket of players dwindled.
The four finalists were Thu, Wu, Adekoya and Williams. However, Thu said he found this unfair and the three club presidents decided to withdraw themselves from the competition and play a separate presidents’ tournament at a later date. This meant that the players whom Thu, Wu and Adekoya beat would instead be playing in the semifinals.
The semifinal matchups were as follows: Emmanuel Negash PO ’26 versus Williams and Devran Orens PZ ’26 versus Max Feng PO ’26.
After a blur of solids and stripes, the semifinals concluded with Williams and Feng coming out victorious.
In the first game of the final match, Feng started strong, winning the first round, pocketing the 8-ball while Williams could only pocket three. Unfortunately for Feng, this lead didn’t last long as Williams soon evened out the score to 1-1.
Before the tie-breaking game, Wu departed with both his dance moves and speaker, leaving only the buzzing of fluorescent lights and tapping of pool balls to soundtrack the match. Williams and Feng moved in sync around the table and the spectators’ eyes stayed glued to the slate as balls slowly disappeared into pockets.
With one ball left each, Williams was up. Knocking his in, only the 8-ball stood between him and a brand new cue. After taking a moment to relieve his nerves, he lined up and took his shot — the glory was his.
Williams’ victory is a special one considering he just missed out on first place in the club’s previous tournament in October. He spoke of the relief and surprise that came with winning.
“In the final game, [Feng] hit some crazy shots,” Williams said. “I’m glad I won because second place again would have been heartbreaking. It’s definitely unexpected. I played people who probably should’ve won.”
With another tournament in the works before the semester ends, the club hopes to continue growing its community.
“We try to make it very casual, very accepting of all skill levels is a big thing too,” Thu said. “Whether you are pro or have never picked up a cue, we just try to make it fun for everyone.”
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