Vivian Villarreal The "Texas Tornado" began playing pool when she was eight years old, and she dominated local tournaments right away, compiling over 200 trophies before she was a teenager. But Vivian abruptly stopped playing to play other high school sports, where she excelled at basketball and volleyball.
Luckily, she returned to pool while in college. "I took my basic classes and thought about accounting, but I got back into pool and wound up being a professional billiards player." In the past 13 years, she has amassed 16 titles, including the 1992 National Championship and the 1996 ESPN World Championship. But the win she remembers most is the 1992 Kasson Classic, which propelled her to number one, where she remained for nearly two years. Since then, Vivian hasn't fallen out of the top ten. In 2003, Vivian gained a sponsorship from the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and since then, they have also helped her establish the Vivian Villarreal Missing Children's foundation. Her adopted daughter, Nathalie, was kidnapped by her biological mother on July 27, 1997, prompting her to start the foundation. "I will never stop looking for her. Someday, I will find her, or I hope that she tries looking for me." Villarreal has taken the hardship she has endured and used it as motivation to continually enjoy her career. "I just love the game, and I have a lot of fans. That's always motivated me, and I'm one of the most exciting players to watch." In fact, she has been voted the most exciting player, male or female, in the sport for the past four years. "Hey, when the fans are having fun, it makes me happy." Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news in the sport of billiards and pool.
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