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The Norwegian 9-Ball Challenge Qualifier at Rileys Victoria
Rileys American Pool and Snooker Victoria
16 Semley Place
VICTORIA
Greater London
SW1W 9QJ
Tel: 020 7259 9753
Host Club: www.rileysltd.com
Tournament Director: Big Dave Knight
More Information: Promotions@Pro9.co.uk

Saturday 1 July 2006

The Norwegian 9-Ball Challenge Qualifier Winners, Kevin Uzzell and Martinho Correia

UZZELL & CORREIA WIN ENTRY FEE, HOTEL AND FLIGHTS TO NORWAY

In a strange coincidence, just before the England vs. Portugal World Cup football match concluded on the giant screen at Rileys Victoria, at the other end of the club Kevin Uzzell from England and Martin Correia from Portugal had BOTH won their tickets to the Norwegian 9-Ball Challenge.

"Read More..." for the details.

Norwegian 9-Ball Qualifier player, Damian Overton.

Norwegian 9-Ball Qualifier player, Ali Ramzi.

Norwegian 9-Ball Qualifier winner, Kevin Uzzell.

Kevin Uzzell

Kevin is based in the Midlands and has been playing pool, with a few extended breaks, for a long time, and with a great deal of success. With several UK Pro Tour titles "under his belt" he now travels to professional pool tournaments on a regular basis.

He has lately been focusing his efforts mainly on the European Pocket Billiard Federation's EuroTour, and is amply rewarded for his efforts and ability by securing a perennial top 32 slot. He is currently ranked 13th on the EuroTour, one of his best ever rankings and is now only just behind Daryl Peach in 12th position.

Kevin's first match was almost certainly his toughest as he came up against the very experienced and always tough to beat Gareth Esprit.

Esprit has played all over the world in his quest to challenge himself against the best, and this experience makes him a wise and formidable opponent to be respected, and only after a tough battle did Uzzell manage to get the lead and over the line with a 10-6 scoreline.

In the quarter-finals, Uzzell dished out a merciless and respectful 10-1 thrashing to the only female in the event, Caroline Walch, but there's no shame for her as she beat her previous opponent by the exact same score.

Uzzell's most important match, the one that would earn him the prize, was his semi-final against German, Dirk Embacher.

Dirk is currently living and working in London and has been playing regularly on the BPPPA professional tour.

Dirk had already had a tremendous win after a particularly close match in the previous round with ex-snooker play Bob Harris, but on this occasion he was no match in the final against Uzzell who was devastating as usual.

Kevin is delighted to win this event and is now looking forward to an eventful month as he travels, first to the International 9-Ball Open in Seville, Spain, and then to Norway for the Norwegian 9-Ball Challenge.

Good luck from all of us at Pro9.co.uk.

Norwegian 9-Ball Qualifier winner, Martinho Correia.

Martinho Correia

Martin originally hails from Portugal and currently plays on the British Professional Pool Player Association (BPPPA) professional tour and has featured in three of the finals so far (The Croydon Open, The Solihull Open and The Guildford Open) and although he has yet to win an event, he is always a big threat.

Rileys Victoria, affectionately known as "home of the champions" is Martin's home club, and so perhaps he may have felt he had the home advantage, but everyone agreed that he definitely had the tougher draw of the two halves.

In his quarter-final match, with Ali Ramzi, Martin was 7-1 down, but according to Ali, "I missed one ball at 7-1, and then Martin didn't miss anything from that point onwards".

Although Ramzi rarely makes an appearance at Pro events, he is a very capable player and anyone who makes the mistake of under-rating his ability will soon regret it.

Martin's semi-final match with Courtney Symons was an even tougher affair, as Courtney was quoted as saying, "I played some of the worst pool I've ever played, and I played some of the best pool I've ever played - and that was just one rack!"

Both players admitted they got off to a slow start and were too nervous to play well, but after a few racks they settled down and turned their minds to business - and it was well worth waiting for that treat.

Toward the end of the match, with the score at 9-7 to Correia, the duo had a 20 minute safety battle of "Efren-esque" quality, when the table presented no realistic run-out opportunity. Neither player wanted to lose the advantage, with Correia "on-the-hill" the rack meant "life-or-death" for Symons.

Some absolutely awe-inspiring kicking and re-hooking taking place, with devastating accuracy and pace... Definitely some of the most enjoyable and best quality safety I've seen in a long time.

Eventually, Courtney got the best of that rack, but with Martin still on the hill, it was too much to expect a win from that position and he eventually succumbed to his fate, as Martin slotted the final 9-ball from inch perfect position into the corner pocket to take the match and the prize.

Good luck in Norway Martinho, from all of us at Pro9.co.uk.

Many thanks to all the wonderful staff at Rileys Victoria for their hospitality, and
their absolutely exemplary standard of service throughout our stay...
This is how all clubs should be run.

More info and pictures coming soon!

THE STATS

THE 17 ENTRANTS
(16 Men, 1 Lady)

Chris Billings
Caroline Walch
Kevin Uzzell
Gareth Esprite
Bob Harris
Jacob Gasior
Dirk Embacher
David Gascoigne-Owens
Courtney Symons
Nigel Francis
Daniel Watmore
Tony David
Martin Correia
Lionel Brown
Ali Ramzi
Damian Overton
Thomas Brattli

THE PRELIMINARIES
Damian Overton	10 : 5	Thomas Brattli

THE LAST 16
Caroline Walch	10 : 1	Chris Billings
Kevin Uzzell	10 : 6	Gareth Esprit
Bob Harris	10 : 9	Jacob Gasior
Dirk Embacher	10 : 3	David Gascoigne-Owens
Courtney Symons	10 : 2	Nigel Francis
Daniel Watnore	10 : 6	Tony David
Martinho Correia	10 : 7	Lionel Brown
Ali Ramzi	10 : 7	Damian Overton

THE QUARTER-FINALS
Kevin Uzzell	10 : 1	Caroline Walch
Dirk Embacher	10 : 8	Bob Harris
Courtney Symons	10 : 9	Daniel Watmore
Martinho Correia	10 : 7	Ali Ramzi

THE SEMI-FINALS
Kevin Uzzell	10 : 5	Dirk Embacher
Martinho Correia	10 : 8	Courtney Symons

THE FINAL
Kevin Uzzell	WINNERS	Martinho Correia

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