Canadian Champion Erik Hjorleifson Joins the Straight-Pool Team

Big Red at Le  Classique Du Billard

During my time in Thetford Mines a few weeks back I had the chance to catch up with a friend of mine Erik (Big Red) Hjorleifson. We originally met a few years back at the Serge Guenette Memorial tournament in Gatineau, Quebec. During our encounters at Le Classique Du Billard  he expressed his interest in contributing his knowledge of pool through an instructional column.

So it is with great pleasure that I announce that Big Red will start to contribute these articles in the near future. He has offered to write on a bi-weekly basis and will be discussing topics which he believes all players at all levels need to be informed about to bring their games to the next level.

Hjorleifson will write these columns in various formats. Some will be written based on an "Ask the Pro" format in which he will take questions from our audience, who are invited to participate in the comment section below. The second format will be what Big Red has dubbed "Secrets of the Pro's". This will cover everything from aiming techniques to different ways of pattern racking and breaking and anything that the pro's do to give themselves a competitive edge.

Big Red is originally from Winnipeg but now lives in Toronto and has been a mainstay in Canadian professional pool since his late teenage years. He is the current Canadian 10 ball Champion and a member of the Bonus Ball team, the Toronto sharks. Hjorleifson is also well known abroad as he has competed in Qatar, the U.S.A and the Philippines. Along with his impressive Canadian record he has had top 10 finishes in major tournaments such as the World 8 Ball Championships and U.S Open Championships and several other cashes in world class events.

The debut of these columns will appear in the next few weeks, sometime before he heads to Doha,Qatar to compete in the World 9 ball Championship. If you live in the G.T.A area he does give lessons in groups or on a one on one basis. Big Red can be contacted by email at ehjorleifson@hotmail.com or through his Facebook page. Also if you are reading this on The Pool Scene, please click above on my name, it is linked to my blog and you can ask your questions there.