TAMPA, Fla. — When Victoria Parker first took up the game of pool, it was purely for social reasons, but two years ago, something changed.
The Hudson High School grad was bitten by the pool bug and started playing every day.
“I just loved the mental game,” Parker said. “Because you have to have such mental fortitude in order to play.”
She joined multiple amateur leagues and started playing five hours a night, seven days a week and earlier this year all the hard work paid off.
In April, Victoria went to Las Vegas to compete in the American Poll Associations 8-ball tournament and made it all the way to the Championship Match at her level.
“I got goosebumps the morning of the finals,” she said.
By the time the event was over, the 26-year-old healthcare structural designer had won a national championship and a $15,000 first prize check in her first major tournament as an amateur.
After three days of playing and spending more than 10 hours a day on her feet, grinding out the win was about more than just a winner’s check.
“At the end of it, I proved something to myself,” Parker said. “That I can do hard things and I think going forward, I will always remember that I can do hard things and there’s nothing stopping me.”