Championship

Overview

Championship, LLC is a distributor of billiard table fabrics, cushion rubber, chalk, table covers, and component parts. It holds a dominant market share in billiard fabrics, serving both home (70%) and commercial/coin-op (30%) markets. The company operates from facilities in Bensenville, IL; Macon, GA; and Chandler, AZ, with fabrics produced at a mill in Santiago, Mexico.

History

D & R Industries, Inc., predecessor to Championship, was founded in 1961-1963 by Dennis Ruber and Richard Utanoff as an amusement industry parts distributor from Chicago. By the late 1960s, it expanded into coin-op billiards and consumer markets, partnering with Santiago Textile in Mexico to focus on billiard fabrics. In 2011, it acquired MBS Group, adding brands like DFS Table Covers, Cin-Caro Plastic Parts, and MBS Cushions Rubber, becoming a full-line distributor. Recently, it acquired Silver Cup Chalk.

Product Lines

Manufacturing

Billiard fabrics are produced at a mill in Santiago, Mexico, built in 1888 and owned by the fourth generation of the Urrutia family. Table covers are manufactured in-house. Other products like cushion rubber and parts are sourced through acquisitions.

Notable Products

• Championship Billiard Fabrics - Range of tournament-grade and performance cloths produced in Mexico.
• Silver Cup Chalk - Cue chalk acquired in recent years for billiard play.
• MBS Cushion Rubber - Replacement rubber for billiard tables from 2011 acquisition.
• DFS Table Covers - Custom vinyl covers for billiard tables and other uses.
• Cin-Caro Plastic Parts - Component parts for billiard table maintenance.

Reputation

Championship is recognized by billiard professionals for its dominant share in fabrics and reliable full-line distribution after key acquisitions. Enthusiasts value the quality of Mexican-made cloths and Silver Cup Chalk for consistent performance. Some note a shift from parts distribution to textiles, with in-house covers as a practical addition.