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GB 9 Ball Tour Midlands Classic - Day Three Final Report
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Posted on Saturday, March 13 2010 @ 12:12:48 GMTby admin
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GB9 Ball Tour Midlands Classic
Barceló Buxton Palace Hotel
Palace Road
Buxton
Derbyshire
SK17 6AG
United Kingdom
Tel: 01298 22001
www.gb9balltour.com
www.barcelo-hotels.co.uk
www.belleza-photography.co.uk - Gallery now online!
Friday/Saturday/Sunday 12-14 March 2010
THE GB9 MIDLANDS CLASSIC | THE MAIN TOURNAMENT | THE QUARTER FINALS | Mark Gray | 9 : 3 | Michael Valentine | Tony Drago | 9 : 2 | Karl Boyes | Scott Higgins | 9 : 2 | Andy Richardson | Daryl Peach | 9 : 7 | Craig Osborne |
THE GB9 MIDLANDS CLASSIC | THE MAIN TOURNAMENT | THE SEMI FINALS | Mark Gray | 9 : 6 | Tony Drago | Daryl Peach | 9 : 5 | Scott Higgins |
THE GB9 MIDLANDS CLASSIC | THE MAIN TOURNAMENT | THE FINAL | Daryl Peach | 11 : 8 | Mark Gray |
Photographs courtesy of Andrew Warden, www.belleza-photography.co.uk
THE GB9 MIDLANDS CLASSIC | THE CHALLENGE CUP | THE QUARTER FINALS | Chris Cowie | 9 : 4 | Chris Buckmaster | Gary Bullocke | 9 : 8 | Adam Shaw | Stewart Colcough | 9 : 5 | Neil Cummings | Andrew Worthington | 9 : 4 | Mark Hughes |
THE GB9 MIDLANDS CLASSIC | THE CHALLENGE CUP | THE SEMI FINALS | Chris Cowie | 9 : 5 | Gary Bullocke | Stewart Colclough | 9 : 2 | Andrew Worthington |
THE GB9 MIDLANDS CLASSIC | THE CHALLENGE CUP | THE FINAL | Stewart Colclough | 9 : 8 | Chris Cowie |
Photographs courtesy of Andrew Warden, www.belleza-photography.co.uk
THE GB9 MIDLANDS CLASSIC | THE PRO CUP | THE QUARTER FINALS | Daryl Peach | 9 : 6 | Jayson Shaw | Karl Boyes | 9 : 8 | Kevin Uzzell | Mark Gray | 9 : 4 | Imran Majid | Tony Drago | 9 : 8 | Craig Osborne |
THE GB9 MIDLANDS CLASSIC | THE PRO CUP | THE SEMI FINALS | Karl Boyes | 9 : 7 | Daryl Peach | Mark Gray | 9 : 3 | Tony Drago |
THE GB9 MIDLANDS CLASSIC | THE PRO CUP | THE FINAL | Mark Gray | 9 : 3 | Karl Boyes |
Photographs courtesy of Andrew Warden, www.belleza-photography.co.uk
GB 9 Ball Tour Midlands Classic - Day Three Final Report
Season 3. Event 1. 144 players. Roughly 432 pool cues. 1826 total racks. 16 custom built tables. £1200 first prize. 1 winner. Daryl ‘The Dazzler’ Peach won the numbers game on the evening of Sunday 14th March 2010 at the majestic Barceló Buxton Palace Hotel in Derbyshire, beating old foe-come-friend Mark Gray by eleven racks to eight in the final of the GB9 Midlands Classic. The victory moves Peach to within just three points of current number one Gray at the top of the official British ranking list.
It was the second consecutive Dazzler/Granite final as the pair met at last season’s final tour stop in the GB9 Northern Masters in Barnsley last November, Peach also taking that match in an 11-10 victory. The result in Buxton in fact gives Mark Gray three 2nd place finishes on the spin, pin pointing the reason as to why the Peterborough shooter is considered by peers and pundits alike to be the most consistent player in Britain today.
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The current World 9 Ball Pool Champion looked to be back to his ruthless, self-controlled best over the weekend and for the rest of 2010, a year that will see Peach finally get the chance to defend his world crown, it’s a sight both Peach and his loyal fans will be pleased to see. The opposition standing in Peach’s way in the Main Event in Buxton ranged from the established to the hungry; the established being reflected in recent French Eurotour finalist Craig Osborne in the Quarter Final which proved to be Peach’s closest contest on the day in a 9-7 victory. Representing the ‘hungry’ category, Nottingham’s David Hopkin lived up to his billing as a player on the upturn and will be delighted with a 17th place finish, only falling to Peach 9-5. Completing Peach’s tale to the title, the fearless Matthew Ford was dispatched 9-3 in the last 16 and in the Semi Final, Scott ‘Butch’ Higgins of Mansfield, himself putting in another performance of note, was taken out 9-5.
The day belonged to the most recognisable of our Pool stars in Daryl Peach but putting in 9th place finishes and not to be left out of this report were Steven Petty, Chris Melling, Benji Buckley, Adam Benn Smith, Phil Burford and Alan Millership; with 5th places to Karl Boyes and returning legend, 1996 Mosconi Cup representative Andy Richardson.
Gray had no easy draw to reach his third consecutive Main Event final, prevailing over Pro Division hopeful Mark Collins 9-1; the stylish and Thailand-honed Courtney Symons 9-7; Las Vegas-bound Kevin Uzzell 9-7; Scotland’s ‘Yeti’ Michael Valentine 9-3 and finally 2003 World Pool Masters Champion, ‘The Tornado’, Tony Drago 9-6. Yet this list is overshadowed by the roll of big hitters that ‘Granite’ Gray overcame to claim the GB9 Buxton Pro Cup – So Shaw, Chris Melling, Imran Majid and again, Tony Drago in the Semi Final. As you’re all aware by now, each GB9 Tour Stop is played over three days with a staggering three separate pieces of silverware up for grabs. The elite Pro Cup Final was completed in the afternoon of Day Two and it was the formidable Gray taking home the honours and the handy £1000, with a 9-3 win against ‘Guapo’, Karl Boyes. The title gave Gray a combined wage of £1600 for his efforts in both the Main Event and the Pro Cup.
The GB9 Buxton Challenge Cup was won by Stewart Colclough who triumphed over Chris Cowie in a thrilling hill-hill encounter, nine racks to eight to claim the £750 first prize. Colclough is a player who, on his day, can gracefully glide past the sternest of opponents. A style that is now typical on the European scene, low on the cue and still as stone after delivery; Colclough’s hybrid game of Snooker precision and Pool knowledge proved too effective for not only Cowie but also Simon Clarke, Adam Collins, Mike Rogers, Courtney Symons, Neil Cummins and Andy Worthington, in the lead up to the final match. The race for promotion via a coveted top eight birth is now definitely on, with Colclough and Cowie, and it has to be said, a more determined and focused looking Chris Cowie, throwing down the gauntlet to the remaining 110 amateur players hoping for glory. The Challenge Division for the 2010 season is without doubt the hardest to predict and do not be surprised if six different faces are posing next to the sponsors’ logos come November. Based on performances in Buxton, pace setters for in the forthcoming stops are 3rd place finishers Gary Bullocke and Andy Worthington; the frighteningly consistent Chris Buckmaster and qualifier Adam Shaw, looking like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth whilst potting winning 9 Balls seemingly effortlessly.
The improvements upon seasons 1 and 2 are phenomenal. The Barceló Buxton Palace hosted nothing other than a success and the custom built Magno Pro tables from SAM Leisure had players talking of nothing else over the three days. Cut to ‘professional’ specification, the reduced pocket size caught out many players, the top boys included. The result was not a sense of lack of justice, but the response that defines the best from the rest that is, ‘I wont be missing that ball come April’. The fact is that the new equipment, paired with Simonis 860 Cloth and brand new Aramith Pro Cup TV ball sets, will without doubt harvest better Pool players. For a nation that proudly houses the current World Pool Master in Darren Appleton, the aforementioned Peach and the inaugural World Team Champions, that can only spell more trouble for the World’s elite.
The evolution of American Pool in Great Britain looks to have finally been jump-started by the GB 9 Ball Tour’s work over the past three years. The days of two unfulfilled talents slugging out a ranking final and hitting each other with 7 packs on tables with more beer stains than Oliver Reed’s wardrobe and pockets big enough to be a viable option of water storage during a hosepipe ban, can now be retired into their rightful place; stuff of legend. Perish the thought that those days be forgotten but make no mistake whatsoever, those days are gone. This is a new era. The game is 9 Ball and the word is professional.
Event 2, the GB9 Paul Medati Trophy will begin on Friday 23rd April and will continue through to Sunday 25th April. To watch Live Stream coverage of the event visit www.cuesport.tv. For Live Scoring and for information on the GB 9 Ball Tour visit www.gb9balltour.com.
The GB 9 Ball Tour is supported by Barceló Hotels, SAM Leisure, Mezz Cues, Aramith, Simonis and Flexirest.
THE GB9 MIDLANDS CLASSIC | THE MAIN TOURNAMENT | THE PRIZE FUND | 1st | £ 1,200 + trophy | 2nd | £ 600 | 3rd - 4th | £ 300 | 5th - 8th | £ 200 | 9th - 16th | £ 150 | 17th - 32nd | £ 100 | | TOTAL PRIZE FUND = £ 5,800 |
THE GB9 MIDLANDS CLASSIC | THE CHALLENGE CUP | THE PRIZE FUND | 1st | £ 750 + trophy | 2nd | £ 375 | 3rd - 4th | £ 200 | 5th - 8th | £ 125 | 9th - 16th | £ 75 | | TOTAL PRIZE FUND = £ 2,625 |
THE GB9 MIDLANDS CLASSIC | THE PRO CUP | THE PRIZE FUND | 1st | £ 1,000 + trophy | 2nd | £ 500 | 3rd - 4th | £ 250 | 5th - 8th | £ 125 | | TOTAL PRIZE FUND = £ 2,500 |
GB 9 Ball Tour Midlands Classic - Day Two
GB 9 Ball Tour Midlands Classic - Day Two
The new surroundings are clearly having a positive effect on the players because I have not seen the tables full at 8.30am, with the remaining field in the Challenge Cup looking to find the requisite sharpness needed to take down this tough competition. The opening matches on Friday evening were understandably quite tentative affairs but with everyone now having a game under their belts on the new tables, the quality is really rising to the top.
The Pro Cup resumed at the last 16 stage and it was Mark Gray who came out smelling of roses as he took out So Shaw 9-1, Chris Melling 9-5, Imran Majid 9-4, Tony Drago 9-3 and ultimately, in the final, Karl Boyes by a 9-3 score. Gray picks up £1000 for his efforts and lets us all know that, just in case we’d forgotten, the man is a potting machine.
It was the classy Stewart Colclough claiming a long overdue trophy in the Challenge Cup. He held his nerve in the final to see off a leaner and clearly meaner Chris Cowie 9-8. Both players had a pretty comfortable path through to the final with no one coming closer than 3 racks come the conclusion. Plaudits will naturally and rightly go to Colclough and Cowie, taking home £750 and £375 respectively. Another performance of note was Mark Hughes, reaching the quarter final stage and at 4-0 to the good against Andy Worthington, looked like going all the way. The massively experienced Worthington fought back to take nine straight racks and the match 9-4, leaving Hughes to settle for 5th place.
As if that wasn’t enough competition for one day, the 144 man Main Event kicked off in the evening. Proving there’s no hiding place for the top players, Chris Melling put one over on his old English 8 Ball pal Mick Hill 9-7; and Tony Drago did the same to the returning Martinho Correia 9-5, both matches were third round affairs, both would have been realistic finals.
Play continues Sunday with another £6000 up for grabs. To follow Live Scoring from the event, go to www.gb9balltour.com.
GB 9 Ball Tour Midlands Classic - Day One
A sea of brand new tables in the Barceló Buxton Palace Hotel.
Photographs courtesy of Andrew Warden, www.belleza-photography.co.uk
GB 9 Ball Tour Midlands Classic - Day One
The cream of Britain’s pool talent congregated in the heart of the country today to begin season three of the GB 9 Ball Tour. Over the next three days, the beautiful Barceló Palace Hotel in Buxton, Derbyshire is housing the first ever British ranking event to be played in a hotel venue and the players were clearly chomping at the bit to get started after a lengthy five month break from national competition. In a change to the schedule from the previous two years, Friday’s play now sees the opening 3 rounds of the Challenge Cup plus the opening round of the elite 32 man Pro Cup.
In the Pro Cup, two usual suspects secured their spot in the last 16 but against very different opposition. Current World Pool Masters Champion, Darren Appleton overcame newly promoted Alan Coton by 9 racks to 5. Coton has proved to be somewhat of a giant-killer in previous events but the scalp of Appleton will have to wait for another day as ‘Dynamite’ dispatched the Midlander in his now trademark, ‘no nonsense’ fashion to set up a mouth-watering clash with Tony Drago in the next round. Mark Gray faced the polar opposite of Coton, in styles at least, as London based hot-shot So Shaw made his Pro Cup debut. Shaw, simply known as ‘Gamble’, is one of the few players on our shores famed for money matches rather than tournament play. An imposing proposition to some maybe, but if Mark ‘Granite’ Gray can be fazed, exactly how has not yet been discovered, Gray running out a convincing 9-1 winner.
This season’s Challenge Cup is undoubtedly the strongest to date. For an ‘amateur’ competition, check this list out; Andy Richardson, former Mosconi Cup representative; World Pool Championship stars Stephen Capaldi and Andy Worthington; Stewart Colclough and Martinho Correia, British ranking event semi-finalists; needless to say, whoever finishes in a coveted top eight position come the end of the season will have truly deserved it. Cueing smoothly in the opening rounds were Adam Shaw, winning 9-6 against Geoff Simpson; Gary Bullocke, making a positive return to the national scene with wins over Mathew Lawrenson and Chris Stocker, both by a 9-5 scoreline; Yorkshire’s Ben Finch ousted Lee Brett 9-3 and followed that up with a 9-1 victory over John Davies. Round Three will be completed Saturday morning and play will continue down to a champion in both the Pro and the Challenge Cups. Live streaming will begin Saturday courtesy of Cuesport TV, www.cuesport.tv, and Live Scoring is available through www.gb9balltour.com.
The GB 9 Ball Tour is supported by Barceló Hotels, SAM Leisure, Mezz Cues, Aramith, Simonis and Flexirest.
THE GB9 MIDLANDS CLASSIC | THE MAIN TOURNAMENT | THE LAST 16 | Mark Gray | 9 : 7 | Kevin Uzzell | Michael Valentine | 9 : 6 | Steven Petty | Tony Drago | 9 : 5 | Chris Melling | Karl Boyes | 9 : 2 | Benji Buckley | Andy Richardson | 9 : 7 | Adam Benn Smith | Scott Higgins | 9 : 4 | Phil Burford | Craig Osborne | 9 : 5 | Alan Millership | Daryl Peach | 9 : 3 | Matthew Ford |
THE GB9 MIDLANDS CLASSIC | THE MAIN TOURNAMENT | THE QUARTER FINALS | Mark Gray | 9 : 3 | Michael Valentine | Tony Drago | 9 : 2 | Karl Boyes | Scott Higgins | 9 : 2 | Andy Richardson | Daryl Peach | 9 : 7 | Craig Osborne |
THE GB9 MIDLANDS CLASSIC | THE MAIN TOURNAMENT | THE SEMI FINALS | Mark Gray | 9 : 6 | Tony Drago | Daryl Peach | 9 : 5 | Scott Higgins |
THE GB9 MIDLANDS CLASSIC | THE MAIN TOURNAMENT | THE FINAL | Daryl Peach | 11 : 8 | Mark Gray |
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THE GB9 MIDLANDS CLASSIC | THE CHALLENGE CUP | THE LAST 32 | Chris Cowie | 9 : 6 | Morray Dolan | James O'Malley | 9 : 7 | Kevin Kelleher | Chris Buckmaster | 9 : 4 | Dean Reeve | Luke Rollison | 9 : 3 | Benji Buckley | Adam Shaw | 9 : 5 | Neil Margossian | Andy Lester | 9 : 4 | James Taylor | Gary Bullocke | 9 : 2 | Alexander Kontaroudis | Louis Clarke | 9 : 3 | Martyn Royce | Neil Cummins | 9 : 7 | Ben Finch | Ben Moore | 9 : 8 | Stephen Capaldi | Stewart Colclough | 9 : 4 | Mike Rogers | Courtney Symons | 9 : 3 | Glenn Cooney | Richard Main | 9 : 7 | Dan Lim | Andrew Worthington | 9 : 0 | Andrew Morris | Mark Hughes | 9 : 6 | Chun Hao Man | Jonny Cooper | 9 : 6 | Alan Millership |
THE GB9 MIDLANDS CLASSIC | THE CHALLENGE CUP | THE LAST 16 | Chris Cowie | 9 : 3 | James O'Malley | Chris Buckmaster | 9 : 4 | Luke Rollison | Adam Shaw | 9 : 2 | Andy Lester | Gary Bullocke | 9 : 8 | Louis Clarke | Neil Cummins | 9 : 7 | Ben Moore | Stewart Colclough | 9 : 7 | Courtney Symons | Andrew Worthington | 9 : 4 | Richard Main | Mark Hughes | 9 : 5 | Jonny Cooper |
THE GB9 MIDLANDS CLASSIC | THE CHALLENGE CUP | THE QUARTER FINALS | Chris Cowie | 9 : 4 | Chris Buckmaster | Gary Bullocke | 9 : 8 | Adam Shaw | Stewart Colcough | 9 : 5 | Neil Cummings | Andrew Worthington | 9 : 4 | Mark Hughes |
THE GB9 MIDLANDS CLASSIC | THE CHALLENGE CUP | THE SEMI FINALS | Chris Cowie | 9 : 5 | Gary Bullocke | Stewart Colclough | 9 : 2 | Andrew Worthington |
THE GB9 MIDLANDS CLASSIC | THE CHALLENGE CUP | THE FINAL | Stewart Colclough | 9 : 8 | Chris Cowie |
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THE GB9 MIDLANDS CLASSIC | THE PRO CUP | THE LAST 32 | Jonathan Mathers | 9 : 1 | Mark Collins | Mick Hill | 9 : 6 | Paul Williams | Jayson Shaw | 9 : 6 | Matthew Ford | Steven Petty | 9 : 8 | James Kay | Kevin Uzzell | 9 : 7 | Adam Benn Smith | Simon Widlow | 9 : 8 | Dave Nelson | Karl Boyes | 9 : 4 | Matt Hyden | Mark Gray | 9 : 1 | So Shaw | Chris Melling | 9 : 8 | Damian Massey | Imran Majid | 9 : 3 | Dominic Clemmens | Scott Higgins | 9 : 2 | David Carter | Michael Valentine | 9 : 4 | Tony Weafer | Craig Osborne | 9 : 5 | Martin Chapman | Tony Drago | 9 : 5 | Phil Burford | Darren Appleton | 9 : 5 | Alan Coton |
THE GB9 MIDLANDS CLASSIC | THE PRO CUP | THE LAST 16 | Daryl Peach | 9 : 5 | Jonathan Mathers | Jayson Shaw | 9 : 8 | Mick Hill | Kevin Uzzell | 9 : 4 | Steven Petty | Karl Boyes | 9 : 4 | Simon Widlow | Mark Gray | 9 : 5 | Chris Melling | Imran Majid | 9 : 7 | Scott Higgins | Craig Osborne | 9 : 6 | Michael Valentine | Tony Drago | 9 : 6 | Darren Appleton |
THE GB9 MIDLANDS CLASSIC | THE PRO CUP | THE QUARTER FINALS | Daryl Peach | 9 : 6 | Jayson Shaw | Karl Boyes | 9 : 8 | Kevin Uzzell | Mark Gray | 9 : 4 | Imran Majid | Tony Drago | 9 : 8 | Craig Osborne |
THE GB9 MIDLANDS CLASSIC | THE PRO CUP | THE SEMI FINALS | Karl Boyes | 9 : 7 | Daryl Peach | Mark Gray | 9 : 3 | Tony Drago |
THE GB9 MIDLANDS CLASSIC | THE PRO CUP | THE FINAL | Mark Gray | 9 : 3 | Karl Boyes |
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