Two Men Go Head To Head In Womens Pool Finals

Two Men go head to head in Women’s Tournament in Las Vegas

By Shanice Fils-Aime

Las Vegas, Nevada - The Women’s National Billiards Open, once a prestigious showcase of elite female cue sports talent, concluded this weekend with a final match contested exclusively between two male competitors. Notably, all female-born athletes were eliminated before the quarterfinals, marking the first time in the tournament’s 34-year history that no women reached the semifinals.

The final showdown featured Lena St. James and Roxy Ryder — both biological males — who swept their brackets with decisive wins. St. James, who began hormone replacement therapy in 2021, defeated last year’s runner-up, a 28-year-old woman from Ohio, with a brutal 7-0 shutout in the second round.

Ryder, a former semi-professional men’s circuit player prior to transitioning, ended the run of two-time national champion Cassandra Leung in the quarterfinals, pulling off four consecutive breaks and runs.

The women’s locker room was reportedly quiet following the final matches. One female competitor, speaking anonymously, said: “We trained for years. We earned our ranks. And we’re being pushed out by people who went through male puberty, who have larger arm spans, more upper body power, and decades of playing in male leagues. This isn’t inclusion. It’s erasure.”

Tournament officials, however, remained firm in their stance. The official statement from the National Pool Association read: “Our commitment is to inclusivity and fairness. All competitors met the current eligibility criteria, including documented gender identity and hormone levels in accordance with NPA policy.”

Critics argue that hormone level thresholds do little to mitigate the structural advantages of male physiology — particularly in sports like pool, where arm reach, muscle density, and hand-eye coordination honed through testosterone-driven development may offer concrete advantages.

“It’s not just about strength,” said Dr. Helena Morris, a sports physiologist who studies sex differences in motor skills. “It’s about years of neuromuscular patterning, spatial awareness, and competitive experience — advantages that don’t vanish with transition.”

Meanwhile, the social media fallout was swift and polarized. Hashtags like #SaveWomensSports and #LetWomenPlay trended alongside #TransWomenAreConMen. 
What remains undeniable is this: for the women who trained, qualified, and entered this national event expecting fair competition, the outcome was not only demoralizing — it was decisive. As one eliminated player put it: “We didn’t lose. We were removed.”