Budding rivalry: Pair of teenagers continue going toe-to-toe in major pool championships

QUINCY — Sofia Mast and Savannah Easton cannot seem to avoid each other.

Their prowess on the pool table has led to what Mast estimated to be upwards of 50 encounters in the last four years.

“We’re going to be playing for a lot of years,” said Mast, a 17-year-old from Tampa, Fla., whose nickname is The Pink Dagger. “It’s always so close.”

Their most recent clashes came at the USA National Pool Championships at the Oakley-Lindsay Center in the Billiard Education Foundation 18U Girls 8-Ball and 9-Ball divisions. Before besting Easton 7-4 in the quarterfinals of the 9-ball tournament on Wednesday, Mast rallied from down 3-0 to beat Easton 6-4 and capture the 8-ball national championship on Tuesday.

In need of a reset, Mast took her break after dropping the first three games.

“I knew I needed to focus because she was shooting well,” Mast said. “I wasn’t shooting that bad, but I would miss the last ball and leave her a wide open table, so she ran those three racks.”

After her break and a momentum-turning shot to end the next game, Mast found her groove.

“I came back to make it 3-3 and was shooting really well,” Mast said. “We kind of went back and forth and had a little bit of a safety battle. To go up 4-3, I banked the 8-ball longways, and that gave me confidence.”

Easton felt like she left some opportunities — literally — on the table in that match and in the 9-ball quarterfinal match later that day.

“She was making everything,” said Easton, a 15-year-old from Las Vegas, Nev., whose nickname is The Roadrunner. “I hate to blame it on this, but there were a couple rolls that could have changed the game. I’m not saying I would have won, but it could have been closer, maybe like 7-6 or 7-5, but she played well, and I made a couple safety errors that cost me the match.”

Easton may be able to get some revenge on Mast come Thursday. Both youngsters are in the semifinals of the women’s open 8-ball bracket. Mast will face April Larson at 9 a.m., while Easton will duel Melissa Helland for a spot in the title match, which will begin at approximately 2 p.m.

“I hope we get a rematch,” Easton said.

Mast would not mind that rematch, either.

“There might be some revenge there, but hopefully I can keep going and have that train just keep moving,” Mast said.

Since Mast and Easton met in 2021, they have squared off in several high-stakes matches in addition to their multiple battles this week in Quincy. In 2023, Mast beat Easton twice to capture her first professional tournament win at the Texas Open 9-Ball Championship in Round Rock.

Mast’s run to the championship match in that tournament almost ended as early as it possibly could. In the double-elimination bracket, Mast lost her first match to Teresa Garland, meaning she had no wiggle room the rest of the tournament.

“My dad was like, ‘You just have to win 10 more,’ so I did,” Mast said.

That title gave Mast the belief she could compete with the big dogs.

“That was my first big one, and I knew I could play with the women,” Mast said.

Mast and Easton crossed paths again a year later, this time on an international stage at the 2024 Predator WPA Junior World 10-Ball Championships in Hamilton, New Zealand. The two sharp shooters made their way through the 16-player bracket featuring competitors from countries such as Poland, Chinese Taipai and Sweden to meet in the final, which Mast won 6-5.

“Go figure, that one goes hill-hill,” Mast said. “I played a good safe on the 6-ball, she missed the kick, and then I ran out. It was a crazy feeling.”

While Mast got the better of Easton on the world’s biggest stage, Easton has a gut feeling she will get another crack — or two or three or more — at Mast before it is all said and done.

“I know we’ll be going back and forth for a long time,” said Easton, a seven-time BEF Junior Nationals champion.

Mast believes the intense, close matches bring out the best in both players.

“We always play really well against each other,” Mast said. “We always come back on each other, and it’s always so close. She makes me better, and I think I make her better.”

Another championship battle between The Pink Dagger and The Roadrunner in Quincy would only be fitting.