Mataya started shooting pool at age 11. Within a few years was playing exhibitions with Willie Mosconi. He then won three consecutive Michigan State Championships in 1966, 1967 and 1968. At 21, he won the 1971 Los Angeles 9-Ball Championship. Mataya won multiple titles in his career and in 1989 became a member of the Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame. In 1982, Mataya wed Ewa Svensson, of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

(who was later inducted into Billiard Congress of America's

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

as Ewa Laurance in 2004), forming pool's first "power couple". Their daughter Nikki was born in 1985. Jimmy and Ewa later divorced. Mataya enjoys other games of stake. In 1991, he was seen leaving Las Vegas in a brand-new

Cadillac The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...

, courtesy of the

Sahara Casino Sahara Las Vegas is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. It is owned and operated by the Meruelo Group. The hotel has 1,616 rooms, and the casino contains . The Sahara anchors the northern end of the Las Vegas ...

."Billy's Briefs", ''The Snap Magazine'', page 7, September/October 1991, published by OTS Publications, a division of Billiard Enterprises of Florida In that same year ''Snap Magazine'' published an "...in-depth interview with Mataya, who offered many tips for young players and talked about his vision for the future of the sport."

Professional career

* 1966 Lansing City 14.1 Championship * 1966 Michigan State 14.1 Championship * 1967 Lansing City 14.1 Championship * 1967 Michigan State 14.1 Championship * 1968 Lansing City 14.1 Championship * 1968 Michigan State 14.1 Championship * 1969 Michigan State 14.1 Championship * 1970 Michigan State 14.1 Championship * 1971 Los Angeles 9-Ball Championship * 1971 Wheaton Open Straight Pool Tournament * 1972 Dayton Open All-Around Championship * 1972 Stardust Open 9-Ball Championship * 1972 Stardust Open All-Around Championship * 1973 Nevada State Championship * 1974 Michigan Open 9-Ball Championship * 1974 Nevada State Championship * 1976 Albuquerque 8-Ball Championship * 1976 Albuquerque All-Around Championship * 1977 Dayton Open 8-Ball Championship * 1978 Pro-Celebrity 9-Ball Tournament * 1978 Port Angeles Open 9-Ball * 1988 B.C. Open 9-Ball Pro-Am Doubles * 1989 Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame

Filmography

When Mataya left the professional pool tournament trail, he was chosen to be a commentator for pool matches because of his knowledge of the game and his comedic style that entertains the audience. "To add more color to an already colorful show, Mataya was selected as a co-commentator with

Danny Diliberto Danny DiLiberto (born February 19, 1935 in Buffalo, New York) is an American retired professional pool player, nicknamed "Buffalo Danny". A veteran player from the Johnston City era, a teacher, an author, and previously working as a commentator f ...

at the 2004 Derby City Classic Nine-ball Ring Game in Louisville, Kentucky, the first ring game produced for broadcast.Billiards Club Network, 2004 Derby City Classic Nine-ball Ring Game, Louisville, Kentucky
/ref> *''Secrets of Pool Hustling'' (video, 1989), as himself *''Pool the Master's Way'' (video, 1989), as himself, with

Steve Mizerak Stephen Mizerak Jr. (October 12, 1944 – May 29, 2006), better known as Steve Mizerak, was an American pool player, considered one of the all-time greats, dominant during the 1970s and early 1980s in the game of Straight Pool, holding over 70 to ...

and Ewa Mataya *'' The Color of Money'' (1986), as Julian's friend in the green room *'' The Baltimore Bullet'' (1980), as himself *'' Vega$'': "The Usurper" Sept. 26, 1979, as himself

References

*Mataya, Jimmy; Medina, Danny. ''The Hustle'' *King, Mason. "Three-Ring Circus", ''

Billiards Digest Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . There are three major subdivisions of ...

'', March 2004 *"Ewa Mataya Laurance: BCA 2004 Hall of Fame Inductee", ''On the Break News'', 2004 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mataya, Jimmy American pool players Living people 1950 births