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www.darrenappleton.com

11 - 13 September 2013

'I KEEP PINCHING MYSELF'

READY TO DEFEND HIS WORLD 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIP IN DOHA, DARREN APPLETON REFLECTS ON LAST YEAR'S INCREDIBLE WIN, HOW HE DEALS WITH PRESSURE AND HIS METEORIC RISE TO THE TOP OF THE SPORT

I first met Darren Appleton back in 2007 before anyone in the pool world had ever heard of the Brit. I was covering the qualifiers for the 2007 World 9-ball Championship at the Star Billiards Center in Manila, Philippines, writing a daily blog for Matchroom Sport, the promoters of the event. The five day qualifiers for pool�s most prestigious tournament was one of those hard core affairs that simply makes you shake your head in awe. The talent level on hand trying for the slimmest of chances to make it to pool�s biggest stage was amazing. Players had to win seven straight race-to-9 matches to qualify. It was a grind filled with constant pressure.

Amidst the cacophony of billiard balls flying about and drama from tight matches, I started to notice a western player who seemed to have the goods. Day after day Darren Appleton tried his hand at one of the qualifiers, but he kept coming up just short, losing in the finals, or the semi�s by the slimmest of margins. After seven tries he failed to make it to the big show. But it wasn�t just Appleton�s near misses that got my attention�there were lots of players who fit into that category�it was his style of play.

Besides prodigious cueing talent, you could tell that this guy had something extra. He was a battler and fighter of the first order, the kind of guy who looked like he could out-work you with his mind on any given day. Appleton oozed hard core and you just knew that defeat wouldn�t keep him down.

I was so impressed with his style of play that I featured him in my blog despite the fact that he didn�t even win a qualifier. Maybe I�m a good judge of talent. Or maybe Appleton�s ability was simply so obvious.

It turns out �Dynamite,� as he was known, was just then learning the game of American pool. He had dominated the world of English 8-ball for years. Although he never won a world championship in the discipline, he sat atop the rankings for 7 years.

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