The 2007 EPT Liverpool Open
Rileys American Pool and Snooker - Wavertree
Church Road North
Wavertree
Liverpool
Merseyside
L15 6TE
Tel: 0151 7229048
www.empirepooltour.com
www.rileysltd.com
More photos now available at PoolPhotos@Pro9.co.uk (Limited period only).Saturday/Sunday 3-4 February 2007
Empire Pool Tour Liverpool Open Champion - Ben "Ding" Davies,
being presented with his cheque by EPT Tour Director, Daryl Peach.
(Click the picture to download the actual size version of this photograph).
Empire Pool Tour Liverpool Open results
When Daryl Peach announced that this was a beautiful club, he wasn't just doing the usual PR job that you expect... This club is a real beauty, everybody is saying it. Split on four tiered levels, in a similar fashion to the set for the World Pool Championships in Cardiff, this has to be the best conversion ever from what was obviously previously a cinema.
Not only that, but the tables are absolutely gorgeous too - recovered especially for the event in a Royal Blue colour! Rileys really have done a great job here and got a top result - even the staff are superb too, bending over backwards to the player's every whim. Well done Rileys, and the EPT!
"Read more" for the results!
Another big EPT audience at The Liverpool Open
Oscar Wild?
Liverpool was covered in fog when we arrived... Thick fog!
The fog was so thick that some of the international player's had their flights diverted to Manchester as they couldn't land at Liverpool.
EPT pool player Oscar Reguiero from Spain's first ever trip to England was an eventful one, as he had to negotiate the rail network to get to Liverpool after his flight was also diverted to Manchester.
EPT player from Galicia, Spain... Oscar Regueiro
Oscar, from the city of La Coruna in the northern Galicia region of Spain, has managed to get some sponsorship from a local company, and has decided to play on the EPT to get some more international experience under his belt.
He'll certainly get that, and he can add his win in the Last 64 to his CV. as well as a very respectable 10-7 loss to EPT number 3 seed Mark Gray.
Well played, and welcome Oscar!
Lovely Liverpool
Maybe it's because I'm a southerner that I notice, but the people are REALLY friendly up here...It's a real change from the rather cold attitude Londoners seem to have (myself included to be honest) and maybe I'm feeling a little like I'm on holiday too?
My only gripe with Liverpool perhaps is that it's a bit of a nightmare getting Internet access.
We accidentally left the car's side lights on all day and completely "pancaked" the battery... Now it's stalling whenever we stop at traffic lights so I've made a bus journey into the centre of Liverpool to get to the only available Internet cafe open on a Sunday apparently!
So here's the results so far!
Worthington's Worthy Effort
Andy Worthington is at the head of the queue for the "Best-Comeback Award" at this event.
Trailing 6-0 to his Austrian opponent Martin Felder in the Last 32 stage of the tournament, Worthington refused to be beaten and worked his way back into the match.
Empire Pool Tour player Andy Worthington.
Playing in a very focused and methodical manner, he has a very pronounced walk-in to the shot which forms the basis of a rigidly followed pre-shot routine, Worthington then continued with his surprise come-back to take the match and the admiration of the players watching, winning with a final score of 10-8.
Well played Sir!
Invincible Vincent 1
While I'm waiting for the Last 16 results to come through I thought I'd take the time to fill you in on some of the more extra-ordinary results that have occurred at The EPT Liverpool Open this weekend.
The most fantastic was the incredible battles that Vincent Facquet has been enduring!
The Frenchman's first match was with Ireland's Sam Gibson. Sam seems to be improving with age if that's possible - he's gone from being Ireland's No.1 to Ireland's Seniors No.1 recently, and he really played well in his match with Facquet.
Neither player was ahead by more than two racks as they progressed "neck-and-neck" to the hill-hill match's final rack!
Empire Pool Tour player Vincent Facquet.
A tactical affair it turned out to be, until it seemed that it was all over after Vincent attempted, and failed, a run-out of his solids, leaving 4 stripes and the black on the table and Sam wedged the cue-ball into a cluster of three stripes leaving his opponent completely snookered.
An absolutely devastating situation to find yourself in, and Facquet puzzled out the solution and went for it wholeheartedly. A one-rail kick off the side cushion, played dead-weight, to sink the 8-ball in the middle pocket.
An ambitious plan...
An all-or-nothing shot...
Facquet focuses on the job at hand, prepares himself, mentally blocking out the crowd of people watching and gives it his best shot...
Incredible...
Unbelievable...
SUCCESS!!!
Vincent made the 8-ball dead-weight into the side pocket.
An awesome finish to a very well spectated match.
Afterwards, Sam said he didn't feel bad about what happened, that he felt he'd played some very good pool, and that it had been close all the way, and I think everyone would agree.
Invincible Vincent 2
Later in the day, Vincent Facquet decided he hadn't had enough drama in his day, and so proceeded to have ANOTHER hill-hill tie-breaker... This time with Kevin Uzzell.
The final rack of this match was no less dramatic than the last as both players had turns at the table, but once again "Invincible Vincent" had to pull out a spectacularly difficult shot on the black to win the match.
The black balls root to the corner pocket was complete blocked by an impeding object ball... The Frenchman's chosen solution was to bounce the 8-ball of the side-rail, so that it would then carom off the rear-side of the impeding ball and make it's way into the corner bag.
As the object ball was a full diamond away from the pocket it was a particularly difficult to judge shot, but Vincent played it to perfection, and the audience showed their appreciation with a respectful round of applause.
Facquet now plays Darren Appleton in the Last 16 stage of the EPT Liverpool Open, and the on-site bookmaker has stopped taking bets on Facquet... Rumour has it that this is because a very large bet has now been placed on Facquet to win the event.
Empire Pool Tour Poster
I'm very grateful to both Rileys and Matt Hyden for their efforts with the latest EPT poster.
Matt Hyden, you may remember, is the chap responsible for the beautiful artwork of Ronnie and Nick on the poster.
Rileys have printed them on paper 3 foot high and 2 foot wide (approx.) in full colour, and mounted them in their poster frames on the walls of the club and they look absolutely fabulous.
People have said it's the best poster yet, and some people have even asked to keep them!!!
The "You Couldn't Make It Up" Department!
To add a little glamour to the Predator sponsored cue raffle, EPT Tour Director Daryl Peach has asked the beautiful Mel Jenkins if she would be kind enough to pick the winning ticket for the equally gorgeous black Predator 5K3 prize cue!
Mel Jenkins picked the ticket.... Neil Jenkins won the cue... LOL
Mel duly obliged, and promptly picked the winning ticket... A slightly embarassed smile appeared on her face as she recognised the number she had picked. It was owned by her other half... Neil Jenkins!!!
Congratulations Neil!
EPT Liverpool Open official referee Chris Billings
The generous pockets at the fabulous Liverpool Rileys club.
Empire Pool Tour finalist Richard Jones - using the rake.
Empire Pool Tour champion Ben Davies on his way to his first EPT title.
THE STATISTICS
THE PRELIMINARIES | ||
C Walch | 10 : 6 | N Francis |
A Nicholson | 10 : 4 | A Illingworth |
S COlclough | 10 : 9 | C Marsh |
L Rigby | 10 : 4 | D Sandford |
M Hill | 10 : 1 | S Johnston |
THE LAST 64 | ||
D Peach | 10 : 3 | C Walch |
I Majid | 10 : 2 | D Simmonds |
B Saleh | 10 : 4 | G Edge |
N Jenkins | 10 : 3 | A Ralph |
P Williams | 10 : 7 | T Hunt |
S Capaldi | 10 : 2 | S Appleton |
W Scott | 10 : 1 | M Segal |
B Davies | 10 : 8 | K Boyes |
D Appleton | 10 : 1 | A Nicholson |
W Smith | 10 : 1 | R Haddon |
K Uzzell | 10 : 6 | D McCarthy |
V Facquet | 10 : 9 | S Gibson |
R Diks | 10 : 1 | A Judge |
S Ward | 10 : 8 | T David |
J Mathers | 10 : 2 | T Weafer |
C Morris | 10 : 2 | S Colclough |
M Gray | 10 : 4 | L Rigby |
O Regueiro | 10 : 7 | N Cummins |
P Harrison | 10 : 8 | S Gardner |
S Higton | 10 : 8 | B Harris |
J Kay | 10 : 8 | M Chapman |
R Jones | 10 : 3 | S D'Vali |
M Felder | 10 : 6 | K Brown |
A Worthington | 10 : 5 | S Brown |
J Shaw | 10 : 3 | A MacDonald |
C Smith | 10 : 4 | T Gear |
J Fulcher | 10 : 8 | A Croasdale |
G Esprit | 10 : 3 | C Coventry |
D Moore | 10 : 2 | M Hopgood |
H Ali | 10 : 1 | B Leigh |
P Osiecki | 10 : 5 | L Dodd |
M Hill | 10 : 3 | N Raybone |
THE LAST 32 | ||
D Peach | 10 : 5 | I Majid |
B Saleh | 10 : 4 | N Jenkins |
S Capaldi | 10 : 9 | P Williams |
B Davies | 10 : 4 | W Scott |
D Appleton | 10 : 3 | W Smith |
V Facquet | 10 : 9 | K Uzzell |
S Ward | 10 : 8 | R Diks |
C Morris | 10 : 3 | J Mathers |
M Gray | 10 : 7 | O Regueiro |
P Harison | 10 : 6 | S Higton |
R Jones | 10 : 7 | J Kay |
A Worthington | 10 : 8 | M Felder |
J Shaw | 10 : 1 | C Smith |
J Fulcher | 10 : 3 | G Esprit |
H Ali | 10 : 4 | D Moore |
M Hill | 10 : 2 | P Osiecki |
THE LAST 16 | ||
Daryl Peach | 10 : 5 | Brian Saleh |
Ben Davies | 10 : 4 | Steve Capaldi |
Darren Appleton | 10 : 9 | Vincent Facquet |
Carl Morris | 10 : 5 | Simon Ward |
Mark Gray | 10 : 4 | Phil Harrison |
Richard Jones | 10 : 3 | Andy Worthington |
Jayson Shaw | 10 : 4 | Jonni Fulcher |
Mick Hill | 10 : 5 | Harris Ali |
THE QUARTER FINALS | ||
Ben Davies | 10 : 8 | Daryl Peach |
Carl Morris | 10 : 5 | Darren Appleton |
Richard Jones | 10 : 7 | Mark Gray |
Jayson Shaw | 10 : 8 | Mick Hill |
THE SEMI FINALS | ||
Ben Davies | 10 : 5 | Carl Morris |
Richard Jones | 10 : 4 | Jayson Shaw |
THE FINAL | ||
Ben Davies | 10 : 8 | Richard Jones |
The Welsh Champion with a big smile on his face!
Jones won the lag for the first break in this alternate break format match
Ben Davies 0 : 1 Richard Jones
Ben Davies 1 : 1 Richard Jones
Ben Davies 1 : 2 Richard Jones
Ben Davies 2 : 2 Richard Jones
Ben Davies 2 : 3 Richard Jones
Ben Davies 3 : 3 Richard Jones
Ben Davies 4 : 3 Richard Jones
Ben Davies 4 : 4 Richard Jones
Ben Davies 5 : 4 Richard Jones
Ben Davies 5 : 5 Richard Jones
Ben Davies 5 : 6 Richard Jones
Ben Davies 5 : 7 Richard Jones
Ben Davies 6 : 7 Richard Jones
Ben Davies 7 : 7 Richard Jones
Ben Davies 7 : 8 Richard Jones
Ben Davies 8 : 8 Richard Jones
Ben Davies 9 : 8 Richard Jones
Ben Davies 10 : 8 Richard Jones
