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GB9 Ball Tour Midlands Classic
Barcel� 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 Barcel� 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.

"Read More..." for further details!

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 Barcel� 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 Barcel� 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 Barcel� 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 Barcel� 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 Barcel� 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

---

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

---

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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