JAMIE STEVENS will be chalking up his first game for Australia when he plays at the World Eightball Pool Championships in Blackpool, England, in June.
Stevens, who plays in division one of the Ballarat Eight Ball Association, has finally been given the nod after being part of a successful Victorian side which has won two of the past three national titles.
In total, the 33-year-old has played at six national titles for his state.
Stevens rates his team successes over individual accolades and is hoping for more of the same when he visits the Old Dart for the two-week tournament.
"I've made the quarter-finals in the Australian singles the last two years, but even if I'd won the Australian singles it's not near the buzz you get winning a team event because when you go away to wherever
it is you go you build a real camaraderie with your team-mates," he said.
"And it's such a good feeling cheering and supporting, feeling the pressure, watching your team-mates out there doing the same job you're trying to do.
"When you get the victory at the end it's awesome - there's no better feeling.
"The highlight for me is definitely winning the national titles with a team.
"Hopefully we can go to England and do the same there."
And he is not expecting to get much time for sight-seeing when he is there.
"From what I've been told it's pretty flat out," Stevens said.
"You're playing most of the time, so don't get much of a chance to leave.
"If you don't make the finals in singles or open teams and you choose not to watch the matches, you can go and do some stuff."
It was Stevens' love of computer games that got him involved in the sport when he was 16.
"When I was in high school I had a friend who had a pool table and I liked playing the game but I was absolutely terrible at it - I couldn't even hold the pool cue.
"I've always been a computer game head and years ago, when Electrofun used to be open, I'd go down there to play games and a couple of guys got me playing pool.
"They showed me how to hold the cue and it just sought of grew from there.
"And then Chalk It Up opened and used to offer free pool for juniors on Saturdays so I used to walk with my pool cue all the way up there, play for eight hours straight and then walk back home."
Now the continual search for the perfect game keeps the Lucas cricketer keen.
"Every frame is different - you cannot get two frames that are identical.
"It doesn't matter what your skill level is, especially if it is a single frame of pool, you could play the worst player that's ever picked up a pool cue versus the best bloke to pick up a pool cue and the
worst player can still win the game.
"It's a positive and a negative because obviously it's really frustrating.
"It's the only sport in the world you cannot participate in and lose - you can sit and watch someone break and pot-out and you don't get a say in the matter.
"It's frustrating from that point, but at the same time very challenging to try and do that to someone and have a domination."
Now Stevens has three months to fine-tune his game so he can set about helping Australia dominate the world.
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