Billiards has officially returned to the Rocky Mountain State Games (RMSG), Colorado’s Olympic‑style amateur sports festival produced by the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation, promoted by event commissioner Samm Diep-Vidal, and directed by USA Cue Sports national tournament director, Jose Burgos. This year’s Games featured more than 40 sports and took place during the third week of July, marking the first appearance of billiards in the lineup since 2019. The billiard competition was hosted at The Crooked Cue, located in the heart of downtown Colorado Springs. The venue celebrated its second anniversary that same weekend, adding to the sense of community pride surrounding the event.
On July 18th, athletes from across Colorado competed for gold, silver, and bronze medals in two unified divisions: 19+ Bar Table 8‑Ball Open and 19+ Big Table 9‑Ball Open. A total of 21 athletes registered for 8‑Ball and 16 athletes entered the 9‑Ball field. Ladies and Youth categories were originally offered, but due to limited registration, those divisions were consolidated into the open brackets.
With only two divisions, athletes were permitted to compete in both. Local regular, Lucas Taylor went undefeated in both events to claim double-gold. Taylor captured the 8‑ball title after defeating last year’s Senior State Games gold medalist, Jim Calderon of Pueblo, on the 7-footers in the top floor. Afterward, the 9‑ball finals delivered even more drama. Taylor jumped ahead 3–0 against Paul Drinnon, another Senior State Games medalist, before an unexpected miss on the 6 ball shifted momentum. Drinnon rallied to close the gap to 3-4, but Taylor regained control and closed out the set 5-3 to complete his sweep…