Barceló Daventry Hotel
Sedgemoor Way
Daventry
Northamptonshire
NN11 0SG
United Kingdom
www.gb9balltour.com
www.belleza-photography.co.uk
www.macmillan.org.uk
Friday/Saturday/Sunday 17-19 July 2011
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17-19 June 2011 from Barceló Daventry Hotel
Fond memories will doubtless be rekindled as the GB 9 Ball Tour returns to the Barceló Hotel in Daventry next month for the third annual Paul Medati Trophy.
As many people throughout various codes of billiard sport will already know, Paul lost his fight against lung cancer in 2008 at the age of 65, very shortly after the inaugural GB9 season had come to a close. During his career as a snooker player throughout the 80s and early 90s, as well as his briefer stint within American pool, his was an infectious and warm character which has been missed by countless players and fans alike, and naturally the decision to rename a GB9 tournament in his honour was well received back in 2009.
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Paul Medati in action at the GB9 Southern Masters. (Photo by Gavin Morris).
Mark ‘Granite’ Gray will be in attendance trying to defend the title he won last April in Blackpool, amongst a strong field of 144 players each hoping to steal the crown off of him, all of whom will ensure this year’s event will be more fiercely contested than ever. Cherill Medati,
Last year's winner, Mark Gray (pictured with Paul's window, Cherril Medati).
Paul’s widow was proud to give her endorsement to the competition once again. Their son, John, said "I'm very much looking forward to attending the event named in honour of my dad and helping GB9 and its players raise funds for a very worthy cause in Macmillan Cancer Support."
GB9 is proud to announce that world famous female referee Michaela Tabb will be making an appearance in Daventry. In a first for the tour, Tabb will referee alongside current referees Mel Harley, Phil Turner and player/referee Martyn Royce to add a special touch to proceedings for what will surely be another emotional competition. Her refereeing record speaks for itself, having resided over 7 World 9-Ball Championship finals (including Daryl Peach’s triumph in 2007), taking the reins as head referee in the Mosconi Cup since 1999, and she also became the first woman ever to take charge of a World Snooker Championship final for the 2009 clash between John Higgins and Shaun Murphy. Alongside these major accolades she is a permanent fixture within the World Snooker tour and she will now have a GB9 event to add to her already glowing portfolio of cue sports officiating. “I've heard a lot of good things about the tour so I'm very much looking forward to refereeing in Daventry, and I hope I can do my bit to help the GB9 team raise as much money as possible for Macmillan.” said Tabb. “I know I’ll be amongst world class players, many of whom I’ve refereed in the World Championship and Mosconi Cup before, so it’s clear to me why people claim this is the toughest national pool tour in the world.”
As with the events in 2009 and 2010, the weekend will see a fundraising drive for Macmillan Cancer Support taking place throughout the entire competition. GB9 are hoping to raise a grand total of £1000 for Macmillan over the course of the weekend, and numerous fund raising drives will take place right from the first break-off on Friday evening. A sweepstake will take place for the main event containing the names of every player in the Paul Medati Trophy draw, with a portion of proceedings going directly into the Macmillan pot. A raffle will also take place offering many terrific prizes, including, amongst others:
• A Mezz Power Breaker break cue valued at £250
• Two pairs of tickets to a Premier League Snooker event of the winners' choosing, featuring this year’s two World Championship finalists John Higgins and Judd Trump, courtesy of Matchroom Sport
• Two cue re-tips courtesy of cuemaker and GB9 player, Paul ‘The Craftsman’ Morgan
• Two prizes of £50 discounted from GB9 tour fees for the remainder of the 2011 season, and
• A set of refereeing gloves signed by guest referee Michaela Tabb
The action, as ever, kicks off with the opening rounds of the Challenge Cup at 5pm on Friday 17th June 2011, with play going right through to around 9pm on Sunday 19th June. Entry to spectators is free of charge throughout the weekend, but any donations made to Macmillan Cancer Support would be extremely welcome and we at GB9 encourage you to visit www.macmillan.org.uk, where you can see for yourself just what Macmillan do to assist those suffering from cancer and their families.
In 2011 GB9 is proudly sponsored by Barceló Hotels, SAM Leisure, Simonis Cloth, Aramith Billiard Balls and CueClubInternational.com making the perfect combination of the very best equipment in the most outstanding venues.
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