April Larson is a 21-year-old female National Champion pool player. Her nickname is “The Grinder.” April comes from a family of billiards players on her father’s side. Larson is originally from Bloomington, Minnesota, where her billiards life began, playing with her dad David Larson.
April spent a lot of time with her father’s side of the family to keep her from fighting with her sister when she was younger. Separating April Larson and her sister was supposed to be a punishment to stop the bickering and fighting. “This is the best thing that could have happened to me!” states April Larson! “Spending time with my dad’s side of the family was not a punishment. I loved hanging out with them!”
April was about nine years old when first introduced to the billiards life. Larson started picking up a cue the following year. She first started playing on her family team, “Nascar Crew,” she thinks was the name.
April discusses the main league she grew up in, with sponsor Scott Barrett and the IBA pool League. IBA is the only pool league that Larson has ever played.
After asking April where she is today in her billiards career, Larson revealed that she would play at the 2021 Mosconi Cup! “My biggest dream that I never ever thought would be possible came true, and I am going to be involved in the Mosconi Cup,” states April Larson’ The Grinder.’ “I grew up knowing that women aren’t involved unless you earn your spot in the men’s rankings. It wasn’t a possibility unless you are God on a table for a female. It was a goal in the back of my mind to someday prove everybody wrong.”
“So, the World Pool Championships were in June, and the US Open was in September. Emily Frazier said if I competed in the US Open, I would have a chance at getting invited to play at the Mosconi Cup Warm Up Match in December at Alexandra Palace in London,” stated April Larson, “The Grinder.”
Jennifer Barretta will be April’s teammate at the 2021 Mosconi Cup Warm-Ups. Mosconi Cup 2021 will be the first year to have women playing. Team US, Barretta, and Larson will be playing against Team Europe, Kristina Tkach and Kelly Fisher.
Larson talks about two billiards players she admires. Allison Fisher took Larson in around the age of 15 or 16 and helped Larson grow. Larson truly admires Fisher as well as forms a special bond with Alison. “Allison Fisher is an incredible person and an amazing pool player,” states April Larson. For men, Larson looks up to Alex “The Lion” Pagulayan, who was Larson’s partner in South Carolina, and they got third. She states that Pagulayan brings fun back to the game, plus he is an incredible player, said, Larson.
April has played many big billiards pros. When asked what it was like to play against Jeanette Lee, Larson states it was terrific. Larson discusses Lee’s Black Widow Camp for the Atlantic Challenge Cup. Larson shares how Lee has helped her grow as a player. Lee stayed and watched a Larson’s Match in South Carolina and stayed till 2 am. Lee came up to Larson after the Match and complimented her playing, which meant a lot to Larson.
Larson loves to get down in a match, and this is how she got the name ‘The Grinder.’ Larson starts freewheeling, and let’s go. Larson explains how when players get down to like 8-0 some players tap out. But this is quite the opposite for Larson. She receives a small lapse of pure focus and grinds back!
Larson talks about her sponsors; her number one sponsor is Pechauer Custom Cues, and April states they have been with her the longest and are like family to her. Jam Up Apparel is another one of Larson’s Sponsors and makes all of Larson’s custom shirts. Larson boasts on the dope fade style that Jam up creates for her! She has five of their shirts that have an excellent fade.
TNT Billiards, out of Minnesota, has been with April like Pechauer. Dunnski Dungeon is a billiards influencer that April represents, and Dominic Dunn was hosting her while she was in Florida for the Interview. Clinkers Ultd is a new sponsor, and April is part of their stable. Kamui is Larson’s tip and chalk sponsor.
Castillo Leather Goods makes her cases. Castillo is making her a particular case right now! April likes having a lot of Sponsors and wearing them all proudly on her shirts! Larson claims that many people look at her like a Nascar driver with different sponsors on her shirt! One more of Larson’s big sponsors is IBA Pool Leagues. April feels that having many avenues of sponsors helps in taking care of her needs.
April recently moved to represent Stixx and Stones Billiards out of Lewisville, Texas. Stixx and Stones is Larson’s newest sponsor, and she moved to Lewisville to represent the Billiards Hall and practice and play there to bring in more pool players. Larson also moved to Texas to play with Chris Reinhold. Who besides being a great pool player also does a lot of Larson’s professional photography. You can find Chris Reinhold Photography on Facebook. Reinhold has a separate page for his athlete page: Chris Reinhold Pool Player.
April’s favorite Pool Cue is her Pechauer Custom Cue that she had made just for her and has used for the last six years! Larson states that she had a ton of pearl and abalone put into her cue. Pechauer has offered to make April a new custom cue, and she tells them No, Thank you. “I am so happy with the cue I have; it is the cue of my dreams. Why would I want another one?” states Larson. Larson will be taking her Pechauer Pool Cue to the Mosconi with her!
When asked what her favorite game of pool to play is, Larson responded that her favorite is straight pool right now! She loves to see balls going into a pocket! Who doesn’t? Larson also likes rotation games like 9-ball or 10-ball.
When asked if Larson works, Larson says she considers Stixx and Stones her job right now. She goes there every day to practice and bring people in to check the place out. Larson loves the cleanliness of the Stixx and Stones! “It is so refreshing to come in and have a clean table every single time,” states Larson! “Granted, Stixx and Stones is a bar, but the bar is always wiped and dry and there is never a mess. It is always so clean,” states April Larson, “It is beautiful!”
When asked what her goals are for the next five years, “I would like to win a WPBA event; I think that would be huge under my belt. Just making the team, and obviously, I would love to win the World Games! Just making the team would be great, then I can concentrate on winning! “Larson is a gal that has strong goals! I want to make it on to the World Games’ Team USA’, at some point in time, whether it is 2022 or 2025 or 2026 since it got pushed back because of COVID.”
When asked if Larson saw herself having kids, her answer was super-fast, and she replied, “absolutely not!” She is a family person and has a strong relationship with her family but does not see kids in her future.
April has a fond memory of a tournament she went to while attending College for Finance at Lindenwood University. She was at Ho Chuck Casino in Wisconsin. This was her first pro-event while at Lindenwood. Two of her friends walk into the joint wearing Grinder’s Security Team on their shirts. Larson states how she played out of her mind that night. She played Seming Chen, ranked number one, and April won 7-5 or 8-6. She can’t remember the score exactly, but she had her own security team as well as her dad!
April will be getting a bachelor’s in Finance from Lindenwood. This amazing young lady will go far in the billiards world! When asked if her dream job would be in Finance or to be a professional pool player and without a doubt, Larson will be a professional pool player!
April has toured in Austria, Italy, Russia, London, China, Taiwan, South Africa, Germany. She remembers Germany and staying at a Ski Resort on the top of a mountain during a snowstorm and how all the houses resembled Gingerbread houses as they drove up the hill to the Ski Resort they were staying at. She was 12 years old at the time!
Look out Mosconi Warm-Ups 2021. Here comes April Larson the Grinder!
You can find April on Instagram under “The Grinder.” Larson can also be found on her two Facebook pages. You can find April on Facebook at April Larson Pool, or at April Larson.
This story was written before we found out that they had canceled the women's warm-up matches. It would have been a fantastic event! Let's hope that April will play in the 2022 MOSCONI CUP.!