Rileys American Pool and Snooker Club - Birmingham
21-22 Essex Street
Birmingham
West Midlands
B5 4TR
Tel: 0121 666 6811
www.bwppa.org
www.rileysltd.com
More photos from this event to view and buy here!
Saturday 28 February - Sunday 1 March 2009
Karl Read with BWPPA Birmingham Open Championship trophy and Rileys manager.
Three champions celebrate victory at first BWPPA event
Ireland's Fred Dinsmore is another pool player who has taken the plunge and opted for laser eye surgery, and whilst results with his particular type of prescription are gradual there can be no complaints as he took the top prize in the Pro Cup division on Britain's 9 Ball Tour for wheelchair players.
Strong wins over very capable opponents Tony Southern and Danny Luton in the semi's and final respectively will give Dubliner Dinsmore a healthy early lead on the rankings and he'll be hoping to do well in the main event on Sunday.
There is a wide range of physical disabilities on the tour, and it's heartening to see plucky Nicky Oliver overcome his challenges and win the rather appropriately named "Challenge" Cup.
Oliver plays with the aid of an able-bodied assistant who brings a dimension of team work to the operation as he positions the chair, fetches the rest and operates the wheel lock in an obviously well practiced routine requiring no verbal communication between player and assistant.
Oliver and Dinsmore will be presented with their trophies on Sunday, as well as continuing to battle for even more glory in the Main Event - especially as the overall top ranked player at the end of the season will win a signed Wayne Holmes cue worth a cool £1,000!
"Read More..." for further details!
Rileys Birmingham
The British Wheelchair Professional Pool Players Association event gets underway.
The fabulous Rileys Birmingham staff.
A spectators eye-view of the final.
Danny Luton in action again in his second final at Birmingham.
Matthew Duffy getting down to business in Birmingham.
Challenge Cup winner Nicky Oliver playing in the main event.
Matthew Gleaves holding one of the awesome racks from tour sponsor "Delta-13".
Gleaves shooting and showing off the smart Polo Shirts sponsored by Dynamic Billard.
BWPPA Tour veteran Matthew Lester in the main event at Birmingham.
Fred Dinsmore made the worthwhile journey from Dublin to win the Pro Cup..
Nicky Oliver receiving Challenge Cup from sponsor "Gentleman's Night Out" representative.
"Wheelie" terrible accident
Apparently player's at these events haven't traditional hung around after they have lost, and they shoot off home as soon as they can, but there was a really friendly atmosphere at this event as lots of players stayed to watch the finals and have a chat with each other.
However, when Frankie Gillen left the club he took a curb too quickly at an acute angle and completely threw a tyre just outside.
It was quite a comical sight as we all had a go at the virtually impossible task of getting that infernal 9 inch rubber disk back on over the wheel rim.
Pliers were employed to remove the spindle and suggestions flowed from every corner as volunteers sweated profusely over the task until washing up liquid and a relentlessly helpful Rileys staff member had the tenacity and sheer strength to complete the job, much to the relief of all around.
Sponsors flock to support BWPPA tour
After struggling to get meaningful sponsorship for many years the BWPPA have really nailed it this year with some very high quality deals with premier pool businesses keen to support the tour with fantastic deals.
Among this years sponsors are the Delta-13 rack who have provided awesome racks for the tour, Predator products have chipped in with a whole slew of prizes to be awarded to players. Simonis have supplied a superb Tournament Blue cloth for each and every final table of the season, and Dynamic Billard have supplied tour shirts for each of the players.
Gentleman's Night Out have added the always welcome "hard-cash" variety of sponsorship and their four figure sum was greatly appreciated, and Talisman have supplied gifts for all the tour's players... A real bumper crop, and thanks must go to both the sponsors for their generosity, as well to the organisers who worked tirelessly to seal those fantastic deals.
Rileys Birmingham
Roy Kimberley, Tony Southern, Karl Read, Danny Luton, Matthew Duffy, Matthew Gleaves, Craig Welsh, Adam Pearson, Graham McClounnan, Matthew Lester, Mark McNeil, Fred Dinsmore, Nicky Oliver, Frankie Gillen.
THE BWPPA EVENT NO.1 | ||
THE MAIN TOURNAMENT | ||
THE LAST 16 | ||
Roy Kimberley | 7 : 0 | Bye |
Graham McClounnan | 7 : 3 | Adam Pearson |
Mathew Duffy | 7 : 4 | Fred Dinsmore |
Danny Luton | 7 : 2 | Nicky Oliver |
Karl Read | 7 : 3 | Frankie Gillen |
Matthew Gleaves | 7 : 4 | Mark McNeill |
Craig Welsh | 7 : 4 | Matthew Lester |
Tony Southern | 7 : 0 | Bye |
THE BWPPA EVENT NO.1 | ||
THE MAIN TOURNAMENT | ||
THE QUARTER FINALS | ||
Roy Kimberley | 7 : 4 | Graham McClounnan |
Danny Luton | 7 : 4 | Matthew Duffy |
Karl Read | 7 : 5 | Matthew Gleaves |
Tony Southern | 7 : 0 | Craig Welsh |
THE BWPPA EVENT NO.1 | ||
THE MAIN TOURNAMENT | ||
THE SEMI FINALS | ||
Danny Luton | 7 : 5 | Roy Kimberley |
Karl Read | 7 : 2 | Tony Southern |
THE BWPPA EVENT NO.1 | ||
THE MAIN TOURNAMENT | ||
THE FINAL | ||
Karl Read | 9 : 7 | Danny Luton |
Adam Pearson, Nicky Oliver, Frankie Gillen, Graham McClounnan, Mark McNeill, Matthew Lester.
THE BWPPA EVENT NO.1 | ||
THE CHALLENGE CUP | ||
THE SEMI FINALS | ||
Nicky Oliver | 5 : 3 | Frankie Gillen |
Mark McNeill | 5 : 2 | Adam Pearson |
THE BWPPA EVENT NO.1 | ||
THE CHALLENGE CUP | ||
THE FINAL | ||
Nicky Oliver | 6 : 3 | Mark McNeill |
Roy Kimberley, Tony Southern, Fred Dinsmore, Danny Luton, Craig Welsh, Karl Read, Matthew Duffy, Matthew Gleaves.
THE BWPPA EVENT NO.1 | ||
THE PRO CUP | ||
THE SEMI FINALS | ||
Fred Dinsmore | 6 : 3 | Tony Southern |
Danny Luton | 6 : 4 | Roy Kimberley |
THE BWPPA EVENT NO.1 | ||
THE PRO CUP | ||
THE FINAL | ||
Fred Dinsmore | 7 : 2 | Danny Luton |