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Mezz Cues Baltic Pool League 2019, Tallinn - Estonia
The third stage of Mezz Cues Baltic Pool League 2019 was held in a sunny Tallinn. The host of the main event was an amazing Hill-Hill pool club. Due to the high number of athletes the first stages of U15 were held in Hill-Hill 2 pool club. This time was 9-ball on the menu. The men division was won by Mark Mägi (EST), women by Valeria Popova (RUS), oldboys by Genadijs Kaminskis (LAT) and U15 by Andrei Adziarykha (BLR).
Mägi to another stage win
The final between Andrey Seroshtan (RUS) and Mägi promised to be a close match as Seroshtan has won over Mägi 7:5 in the second round of the stage. As expected, it really was a very tense match where Mägi managed to pocket the last nine and secure a hard fought 8:6 final win. In their semi-finals both players did not really had much headache as Mägi won over Vladislav Shopik (BLR) 8:2 and Seroshtan sailed through his semi-final with a comfortable 8:3 win over Mihkel Rehepapp (EST).
Popova showed her class
In her semi-final Popova was up against none other than the last stage winner Viktoria Gurova (RUS). Popova was able to control the match in the later stage and take the title by a score 7:5. In the final she had to win Lyubov Kazachenko (BLR) who has won over this year’s first stage winner Olga Mitrofanova (RUS) 7:4. However, Popova did not have much trouble as she took the title by 7:3.
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Matchroom Pool Club pre-sale opens Monday, September 23
With seven months until the 2020 US Open 9-Ball Championship, Matchroom Multi Sport is pleased to announce spectator tickets will go on general sale on Wednesday, September 25 with Matchroom Pool Club subscribers gaining pre-sale access on Monday, September 23. The M Life and AXS pre-sale will open on Tuesday, September 24.
Tickets during all sales period will go on sale at 10am PST with both pre-sale windows closing at 10pm PST on September 24.
General sale tickets will be available via www.matchroompool.com. Pool Club subscribers will receive an email containing their pre-sale ticket link at 10am PST on September 23. Matchroom Pool Club is free to join at www.matchroompool.com/pool-club
Ticket prices start from $11 per session for the single elimination TV stage and $21 per day during the double elimination stage.
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Cyclop Pool Series Event One
Report by: Matt Hawthorn Photos by: Shaun Berrisford
On Saturday 7th September Rileys Sports Bar in Solihull welcomed 43 players to the first event of the Cyclop Pool Series. This would be the first time a Solihull 9 Ball tournament would use a handicapping system. With the GB9's annual 10 Ball event just two weeks away this was an opportunity for the players to familiarise, or reacquaint, themselves with the call ball/pocket game. As per usual, the format would be double elimination through to the last sixteen followed by a straight knockout to determine the day's winner. All races were to 7, allowing for handicaps. The winner would walk away with the top prize of £330 with all players progressing to the last sixteen collecting at least £25 for their efforts.
With the draw completed 48 hours prior to the event, matches got underway shortly after 10:30. Carl Weaver, playing in his first Solihull 9 Ball competition, advanced to the single elimination phase with victories over Alan Morgan (7-5) and Raffy Gonzales (7-2). Luke Garland turned a few heads during his debut at last month's Summer Challenge and he continued his great form here, qualifying for the last sixteen at the expense of Shane Conroy (7-4). Dave Evans, Ian McCormick, Zoltan Kojsza, Elliott Sanderson, Alan Coton and Daryl Garland are no strangers to the money stages of our events and all six men progressed without tasting defeat.
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The International 9-Ball Open Article courtesy of the I9BO Press Release
Pat Fleming will be staging his second International 9-Ball Open once again at the Sheraton Waterside Hotel in Norfolk, Virginia USA.
This will be the fifth straight year that the Sheraton will be hosting a major global 9-Ball event.
As in the past, the Sheraton will provide all of the creature comforts that you would expect from a world class hotel. Discounted rates on hotel rooms are offered for spectators as well as for contestants. An assortment of meal options will be available including food stations in the ballroom and full course menus in their City Dock Norfolk restaurant.
Average Shot Time Data Helps Snooker Eliminate Slow Play
The number of snooker players on the sport’s global tour with an average shot time of more than 30 seconds has fallen from 12 to four over the past two seasons.
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Data was made available on snooker’s live scoring website during the 2017/18 season, showing the average shot time of all 128 players on the World Snooker Tour.
The number of players averaging over 30 seconds dropped from 12 to six during the 2018/19 season. And in the 2019-20 season so far it has dropped to just four players: Lee Walker, Rod Lawler, Martin O’Donnell and Peter Ebdon.
The 14 slowest players from the 2017/18 season all significantly improved their shot times in 2018/19. For example, Joe O’Connor quickened from 33.23 seconds to 27.27, while Mitchell Mann went from 31.38 to 25.66.
World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn said: “Two years ago we decided to make this average shot time data publicly available, in order to make this information transparent for the players, officials and fans.
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Ljubljana 9 Ball Open
On behalf of Biljard klub Ljubljana and Biljardna hiša Ljubljana, we would herby invite you to come over to Slovenia to attend the LJUBLJANA 9-BALL OPEN dated from 27.9.2019 to 29.9.2019.
We have decided to organize a tournament the way you are familiar with - tournament system, tables, cloth, balls, lights, tournament leaders... match those on Eurotour and European championships. Miha Vovko and Nikola Pešo are tournament leaders.
Event is EPBF sanctioned, with guaranteed prize fund 25.000€. Winner is guaranteed 4.000€.
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Benji puts the hurt on Kurt
Report by: Matt Hawthorn Photos by: Shaun Berrisford
On Saturday 10th August Solihull 9 Ball hosted it's Cyclop Summer Challenge event at Rileys Sports Bar, Solihull. A mixture of familiar faces and Solihull 9 Ball debutants were split into 5 groups of 5 with the top 3 from each group, along with the best ranked 4th place player, advancing to the knockout phase. Group matches were alternate break, races to 5 with our new Cyclop Zeus balls present on all 10 match tables.
With 3 players all finishing with identical win/loss records the tournament directing software's racks-won average was required to determine top spot in Group A. Danny Douane, playing in his first Solihull 9 Ball event, pipped Chris Parker and Bence Varga to pole position. Both Danny and Bence were unfamiliar to most in the room and can be extremely proud of their respective performances in advancing from a tough group. Chris Parker's quality is known to most following his successes in Total 9 Ball and 3 wins from his 4 matches saw him safely qualify for the last sixteen.
In Group B Kev Simpson topped the group with a 100% record. Elliott Sanderson advanced as runner-up with 3 wins whilst Andy Lacey's 2 victories would see him progress in 3rd place. An honourable mention too for newcomer Ross Cable, whose 5-4 win over senior tournament director Daryl Garland kept him in contention until the end. Hopefully we will see more of Ross in future Solihull 9 Ball events.
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US OPEN 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD FULL AT 256
he 256-player field for the 2020 US Open 9-Ball Championship is now full, with over seven months still to go before the event takes place at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino Convention Center, Las Vegas.
A waiting list is now available at matchroompool.com. Anybody wishing to enter the US Open 9-Ball Championship can sign up for free to join the waiting list with any spots which become available offered on a first-come, first-serve basis to players on the list. In addition, players can still enter Official Qualifying Events to win their place in the field for the $375,000 event, which takes place April 13-18 2020.
Emily Frazer, COO of Matchroom Multi Sport, said: “As anticipated, we have set an all-time record and sold out the 256 player US Open 9-ball Championship field in just 17 days. With 40 players already on the waiting list, this event is in huge demand.
“$375,000 prize money, 256 players, staged at the iconic Mandalay Bay Resort, full TV production broadcast to over 100 countries worldwide – the sheer coverage that players receive from participating in a Matchroom event has now increased tenfold. The adrenalin of playing among the best-of-the-best in a 33-table arena; coupled with the hope and determination of making it to the last-16 must be fiercely set in the sights of all the players who have signed up.
“It’s our second year taking on the US Open 9-Ball; with just over seven months to go, we can now turn our attention to the event specifics and spectators – this event will be impressive, fun and full!â€
PRO9 has established an outstanding reputation as Europe's No.1 source for information on American Pool in the UK and Europe.
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