Lifelong Jewett City resident Jamey Gray has added yetanother trophy to his display case , which now boasts as many trophies and medals as there are pool sticks in his well-stocked cue racks .

In December , the 38-year-old Norwich Tech graduate finished first among the two dozen competitors gathered in Duluth , Georgia , for the 2008 Artistic Pool World Championship , which was sponsored by the Artistic Pool and Trick Shot Association , a division of the World Pool-Billiard Association .

Sitting in the family room of his Jewett City home – a room that features trophies and a huge pool table – Gray said that he hopes this title , coupled with a good showing by him in his next tournament this March in Valley Forge , Penn ., will earn him a coveted invitation to ESPN’s Trick Shot Magic Competition . Tom Rossman , the player Gray defeated in the finals in Duluth , won the ESPN showdown this past October , when the event was held in Las Vegas .

“ I’ve been around pool all my life . We had [ a pool table ] in the basement when I was growing up , and I’ve been playing ever since I was old enough to see over the top of the table , ” said Gray . He got serious about the sport in his late teens and began competing when he turned 21 .

Since then , he’s gradually moved up the success ladder in his chosen sport . According to the organization’s Web site , www . wpa-pool . com , Gray was 11 th in the World Rankings as of Jan . 4 , 2009 .

But he played like a number one seed during the tourney held at the Pool Room Sports Bar and Grill in Duluth , starting his march to the title in the quarter finals by beating sixth-ranked Bruce Barthelette , who , incidentally , had introduced Gray to the sport a couple decades ago .

Then Gray edged third-ranked Nick Nikolaidis in the semi-finals before toppling top dog Tom Rossman , presently ranked number one in the world .

Here’s how an observer on the scene in the Georgia bar described Gray’s titlewinning shot , a shot which his opponent had just made and which Gray had to match to gain the winning points : “ The players traded the lead throughout the match until the final shot . Tom was behind and had to pick a shot that he could make with hopes that Jamey would not . Tom picked a difficult five-rail kick to pocket a ball that was placed a diamond out of the corner pocket .

“ The ball split the pocket for nine points , giving Tom a slight lead of 116-110 . Jamey ‘ The Sharpshooter’ Gray took a few moments to compose himself , checked his notes on the [ best way to make this particular ] shot and approached the table ... He fired the cue ball five rails around the table and cut the 5 ball clean in the corner to win the world championship by the score of 119-116 . ”

Gray took home $ 3 , 500 in cash , a couple of top-of-the-line pool cues and , of course , another prize for his trophy case .