The Sault’s Cedar Gauthier is travelling the world and attracting attention for her skill with a pool cue.
Cedar has competed in provincial, national and international billiards tournaments, playing against some of the best male and female players in the world - both juniors and adults - over the past year and a half.
And she’s only 12 years old.
Cedar is a member of Missanabie Cree First Nation. Her father Jason Gauthier serves as that community’s current chief.
She lives in the Sault and first attended Queen Elizabeth Public School but is now home-schooled by parents Jason and Natalie so she can devote much of her time to travelling and competing in billiards tournaments.
“I usually practice three to five hours a day,” Cedar told SooToday of her commitment to the sport.
She plays various forms of cue sports including 8-Ball, 9-Ball and 10-Ball billiards.
Cedar, father Jason and mother Natalie just returned from San Juan, Puerto Rico where Cedar and Jason competed in the 2024 CSI (Cue Sports International) Caribbean Championships.
Father and daughter placed third out of approximately 150 teams in Scotch Doubles.
Cedar also competed in 8-ball Singles at that tournament.
“When we were in Puerto Rico she learned how to do the grind. Usually she plays against adults," her mother Natalie said.
She was trailing this guy who was pretty seasoned. I told her to take a break because I could see she was getting upset. I said ‘here’s your choice, you can forfeit or you can go back and play it out.” She told me ‘I’m not a quitter, I’m going to go play.’ So she collected herself, went back out there and beat him. She won three in a row.”
Due to her grit, Cedar finished ninth out of approximately 150 competitors in 8-ball Singles at the Caribbean Championships in Puerto Rico.
Cedar will soon depart for Bengaluru, India to compete in the WPA (World Pool-Billiard Association) Heyball World Junior Championship to be held from Nov. 26-29.
“Heyball is not an easy sport and this is the one billiard sport that would some day be in the Olympics. Heyball is played on what would be very similar to a snooker table but this table is a nine-foot table rather than a 12-foot table," Natalie said.
Cedar has already won or placed high on the list in many tournaments and has been recognized by top cue sport players as a very promising up and coming junior.
She has placed all three times she has participated in Junior American Series pool tournaments, competing against some of the best junior players in the U.S. while representing Canada.
She has won first place at tournaments in Brantford, Mount Pleasant, Michigan and Sioux City, Iowa.
Cedar defeated a player from New Zealand to take first place in Youth Female Singles at the 2024 Annual VNEA (Valley National 8-Ball League Association) International Junior Championship in Sioux City, Iowa in July. She was also co-winner in Youth Scotch Doubles at that championship event.
The VNEA is one of the world’s largest amateur pool leagues. The VNEA event in July attracted 326 junior pool league players from the U.S., Canada and New Zealand.
Cedar has travelled widely for her sport, competing at tournaments in Virginia, South Carolina, Nevada, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Puerto Rico, Wisconsin, Iowa and southern Ontario communities such as London, Ajax, Stoney Creek and Ottawa.
She travels to London for junior league play on Sundays and trains in Scarborough. She is currently coached by Erik Hjorleifson, a professional Canadian billiards player who is ranked within the top 10 players in Canada.
“My parents took me to a tournament, then I watched the Women's Professional Billiard Association (WPBA) on TV. I thought ‘this seems like fun and I want to try it out,’” Cedar said, reflecting on the start of her billiards career.
Sports have come naturally to Cedar, who was a member of the city championship-winning 2022 Queen Elizabeth Public School girls volleyball team.
However, she prefers to compete on her own against others.
“I’m a very competitive person. I’ve played with teams but in this sport it all relies on me so if I win it gives me a lot of confidence. I’m very, very competitive,” Cedar said.
A multi-faceted individual, Cedar enjoys reading novels and said she is writing her first book.
“I still want to go to university. I want to be a journalist,” she said when asked about her future plans.
Though she said professional competition can make her feel a range of emotions, Cedar said the amount of skill and concentration needed in billiard sports makes her feel very focused.
“A lot of people say she’s the next Brittany Bryant,” Natalie said. Bryant is currently the top-ranked female pool player in Canada.
“Cedar is continuing to grow as a world class billiards player. She competes on international stages and represents our country and our community with pride and distinction,” Natalie said.