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2010 UNIVERSITIES POOL COUNCIL NINE-BALL POOL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Rileys American Pool and Snooker - Wavertree
Church Road North
Wavertree
Liverpool
Merseyside
L15 6TE
Rileys American Pool and Snooker - Liverpool Grand Central
Bolton Street
Liverpool
Merseyside
L3 5LX
www.upc-pool.org.uk
www.rileys.co.uk

Friday, Saturday, Sunday 26-28 November 2010

Individual Championship Winner
Bernd Gentner (University of Manchester)
Manchester emerge triumphant at UPC Nine-ball Championship

Riley�s Wavertree and Grand Central in Liverpool were treated to an extravaganza of pool in the recent UPC Nine-ball Championships, as University of Manchester extracted revenge by overcoming University of York in a repeat of last year�s final to win their first University team title. Bernd Gentner completed a memorable double for Manchester as he won the Individual Championship, defeating Kevin Lau (Huddersfield) in a one-sided final. With over 170 students participating, this event continues to boast the title of the biggest annual nine-ball event in the UK.

The team event used a format where the two highest placed 1st teams in each of the eight groups progressed to the Championship play-offs with the best placed team not qualifying for the Championship going forward to the Trophy play-offs. Retaining the twist of the existing double-elimination formula in the groups, there was all to play for from the moment the first ball was potted!

"Read More..." for the details.

Championship/Trophy Groups

Last year's Champions York 1st, with only one change in personnel from their title-winning team, made light work of their group to progress to the Championship play-offs with LSE 1st. Warwick 2nd, holders of the Trophy and holding hopes of winning this event for the third year running, made an assured start within their group in booking their Trophy play-off slot.

In Group B, attention was drawn to how a new look Warwick 1st would cope with the graduation of key personnel such as James Murphy and Andrew Hulme. They successfully passed their first examinations by emerging as Group winners. Following a disappointing showing from Birmingham 1st, they were unable to progress to the Championship playoffs after losing their fixtures. In a hotly contested Trophy showdown, last year�s Trophy finalists York 2nd got the better of Cardiff 2nd in the final group game to secure their berth in the Trophy quarter-finals.

Nottingham 1st, seeded number three after showing an established pedigree in this discipline, had little trouble in Group C to progress as Group Winners. Leeds 2nd, outlined their Trophy credentials by getting the better of Durham 1st in the final group game but Durham will have taken more than a crumb of comfort that their Championship berth had already been secured!

Although debutants in University cue sports, it was clear from a quick look at the Medway 1st team line-up � which boasted names such as renowned cueist Jack Pople � that this team were not necessarily new to competitive pool. This assertion proved valid as they topped Group D to progress to the Championship alongside Bristol 1st. Nottingham 2nd ended the campaign of Manchester Met 1st to move forward to the Trophy Knockout phase.

Bath 1st hit the ground running and proved merciless in winning Group E without dropping a set. Leeds 1st had already secured their Championship play-off spot by the time they met York 3rd so the tension was removed from this fixture. Nevertheless, York 3rd outlined the strength in depth at the university by beating their Yorkshire counterparts.

Last year�s finalists Manchester 1st arrived in Liverpool with high hopes of going one better this year. Their title-winning credentials were enhanced as they progressed through group F unscathed. Abertay 1st, who had a long trip from north of the border, managed to regroup after an early shock defeat to Nottingham 3rd to qualify through to the Championship play-offs with Essex 1st taking the trophy berth.

Cardiff 1st, so often carrying Welsh hopes in this discipline, made an assured start to progress through as Group G winners. Aston 1st got the better of Gloucestershire 1st in a key battle in the race to the Championship with Manchester 2nd emulating their first team in securing further play on Sunday by reaching the Trophy play-off.

Local favourites Edge Hill 1st posted a strong performance in securing their Championship berth with an unblemished record. Leeds Met 1st, had a marginally better performance than Reading 1st to join Edge Hill with Aston 2nd progressing to the Trophy play-off at the expense of Imperial 2nd in their �loser goes home� match!

Trophy/Championship Playoffs
Trophy

It is testament to the strength of York University in this discipline that they had two teams competing for the Trophy when play commenced on Sunday but neither the 2nd or 3rd team were content for their journey to end. Separated by the draw, they picked off their opponents one by one culminating in the final show-down for the Trophy and bragging rights on the journey home in the process!

Although York 2nd had to start as favourites by virtue of their internal ranking, York 3rd, buoyed by their weekend performance, were in no mood to roll over. And as is the case with all matches, it all comes down to what happens on the table on the day. When Lucas Bingham and captain George Hogg got the better of their University rivals, York 3rd won the trophy to cap a memorable weekend.

Championship

As we reached the business end of the Championship play-offs, it was still hard to predict a winner. Attention was instantly drawn to the seeds, with defending champions York 1st averting an early scare against Abertay 1st, but with additional challenges from the likes of Manchester, Aston and Bath the bookmaker�s book was far from closed!

Manchester 1st, brimming with confidence after last year�s final slot, stepped up to the plate to dispatch LSE 1st, Nottingham 1st and Warwick 1st to secure another final slot with the gold medals in their sights.

Meanwhile, York 1st demonstrated their experience and competitive edge in this discipline by recovering from their early shakes, to progress to face Manchester at the expense of local hopes Edge Hill 1st and Aston 1st.

In a repeat of last year�s final, captain Mike Walsh led York 1st into battle by taking the early initiative against Sanup Mistry but Manchester 1st were in no mood to go home as the nearly men once more. Nick Clayton and Bernd Gentner were simultaneously establishing a similar advantage for Manchester against Luke Fleet and Matt Robson respectively. With momentum on their side, Manchester did not let up as Bernd and Nick both found the finishing line to win the Championship and their first University team cue sport title.

Individual Championship

The UPC Individual Championship had a wide-open field of competitors eager to take the crown of Anglia Ruskin�s Rich Wharton. As Rich has now graduated after a highly successful University Pool career, the engravers were on standby, anticipating a new name to add to the trophy.

With arguably the strongest field of entrants that have ever competed in the UPC Nine-ball Championship, the semi-finals were dominated by Manchester based participants as Kevin Lau (Manchester Met), Bernd Gentner and Sanup Mistry (both University of Manchester) were joined by Stephen Brooks (Warwick).

Bernd Gentner will thank the pool gods for a touch of fortune during his progression through his last 16 match against David Tiet (Essex) who narrowly failed to get over the line but there was no luck involved in the semi-final as he got the better of team-mate Sanup Mistry in a dominant manner to progress to the final. Kevin Lau, ranked as number 5 seed after reaching the semi-final last year, used his main stream pool experience to get the better of Stephen Brooks and reach his first final.

In the final, Gentner took the early initiative to lead 3-1 as Lau struggled to gain a foothold. As an assured cueist who clearly specialises in this discipline due to his textbook pattern play, Gentner was not in the mood to give an easy opportunity for Lau to establish his rhythm and continued to dominate by winning the next two racks to win the UPC Nine-ball Individual Championship. Gentner, on a short-term placement in Manchester, will now return to his homeland Germany with two gold medals, two titles and a lot of stories to tell!

Team Championship Winners - University of Manchester 1st
L to R: Sanup Mistry, Nick Clayton, Bernd Gentner

Team Championship Runners-up - University of York 1st
L to R: Matt Robson, Michael Walsh, Luke Fleet

Team Trophy Winners - University of York 3rd
L to R: Sam Wass, George Hogg, Lucas Bingham

Individual Championship Runner-Up
Kevin Lau (Manchester Metropolitan University)

Next Event

Attention now switches to the BUCS-UPC Eight-Ball Championships that will be contested on the weekend of 24-27 February 2011 at Vauxhall Holiday Park, Great Yarmouth.

For further information:
Dr. Iorwerth Griffiths

Email: universitiespoolcouncil@yahoo.co.uk
Website: http://www.upc-pool.org.uk

Notes:
The Universities Pool Council (UPC) is the governing body for pool at higher education level in the United Kingdom. It is recognized by the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS), Scottish University Sport (SUS) and the English Pool Association (EPA).

The UPC organizes national nine-ball, eight-ball and women�s eight-ball championships for teams and individuals. The UPC also organises the Student Home Internationals representative event.

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