Site News
Topic: *Industry News* 2015 - 2024

Blackball pool- played by many, mastered by few……….

This coming weekend the top cueists in the World descend on Brighton for the IPA Myracing.com British Open, British Professional, and British Amateur Pool Championships to be held at the superb Brighton Hilton from Friday the 2nd to Sunday the 4th October. 160 or so of the best 8-ball pool players will compete over the three days for both prize money and kudos, with representatives from England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, France, Malta, and Gibraltar, all expected to make the most of the best known pool tour on the planet. Played to the more popular and attacking Blackball rule set, and organised by the International Professional Pool Players Association (www.ipapool.com), the double elimination format gives everyone two bites at the cherry for their entry fee, while the HD quality industry leading free to watch live stream via the websites allows pool fans the World over to watch their heroes free of charge – though free spectator entry means all fans are equally welcome in person or via the internet.

A Friday lunchtime start has allowed cloth manufacturers Simonis to add in a Last Man Standing event in the evening (10.00pm start), which is always popular with both players and spectators alike – one frame pool, winners goes back in to the hat, loser waves goodbye, and the last winner taking the entire pot – harsh but exciting and well worth a watch.

As for who is the likeliest winner of each event, well Jack Whelan is the current IPA World Champion, which clearly makes him one of the players to beat, though the ultra consistent Neil Raybone and Clint I’Anson currently head the overall rankings and won’t go down without a fight. Multiple Word Champion Jason Twist is never an easy opponent to beat while there are any number of up and coming youngsters worth watching – they generally play the game with less fear than some, which makes for all out attacking pool!

CueSports International Partners with FargoRate

CueSports International, Henderson, NV (Oct. 7, 2015) – We are pleased to announce that we have partnered with FargoRate to bring our members the most accurate pool-player rating system in the world! FargoRate computes worldwide pool-player ratings by coupling game win/loss data from leagues, tournaments, and select challenge matches around the globe. Unlike any other system ever developed, it rates players everywhere on the same scale and solves many of the problems we face today. While we are not yet prepared to release all of the details, we want to give the pool world a brief glimpse of what is coming.

Provides Consistent Ratings Worldwide
One of the largest deficiencies in amateur and professional pool has been the lack of a universal rating system. Some regions use a number system (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, etc.) while others use a letter system (C, B, A, AA, etc.). Many national organizations, including us, have used labels such as Master, Advanced, Open, etc. Therefore, a player may be rated a “7” in his or her local league, a “B” at the state tournament, and “Open” at the national championships. This is inconsistent and confusing. Even when two regions use the same scheme, they are rarely consistent. For example, a “B” rating in Kansas is likely not the same as a “B” in New York or Chicago. This problem is now solved. A Fargo Rating of 620 means the same thing in Halifax, Nova Scotia as it does in Christchurch, New Zealand as it does in Phoenix, Arizona.

Saves Time & Money
Many regions and organizations use personal judgment or rating committees to determine ratings but they are problematic. When a person or group evaluates players and assigns ratings, politics, arguments, and favoritism usually results. Stronger players lobby to not be raised while lower-skilled players demand it. Aside from the politics, rating players in this manner is often a tremendous waste of time and money because committees are often comprised of people spread over wide distances that must meet on a regular basis. This can now be avoided.

Defines a Fair Match
Accurately handicapping pool tournaments and leagues is one of the most difficult tasks for league operators and tournament directors and causes the most complaints. Most players will accept a fair handicap but without an accurate rating system, it’s nearly impossible to do. We have all seen the consequences of this; weaker players spotting stronger ones or stronger players easily winning every match because the handicaps do not give weaker players enough of a chance. Using FargoRate, handicaps can now be set much more accurately to provide a better experience for more players.

Defines Amateur & Pro
What exactly is a professional pool player? How does one obtain that status? You have likely heard many opinions on these questions. Some may say a pro is someone who earns more than 50% of his or her income playing pool. Others may say a pro is someone who finishes high in one or more significant events. In reality, there is no clear definition. One negative consequence of this is that sometimes, lesser known professional level players are permitted to enter amateur events. This too can now be resolved.

FargoRate & CSI
FargoRate will be gradually incorporated into every aspect of CSI leagues and tournaments.

FargoRate for Leagues
We are currently developing a new state-of-the-art league management software system, complete with FargoRate built in, that will be available to all BCA Pool Leagues and USA Pool Leagues. This will give all BCAPL and USAPL leagues the ability to accurately rate all members and create the best conditions possible while significantly easing the burden on League Operators and Managers. The new software is being beta tested now and we plan to make it available to all of our leagues in the near future.

FargoRate for Tournaments
We are also planning to release a modified version of our tournament software, CueSports Tournament System (CTS). It will be available to tournament directors worldwide and come complete with FargoRate built in to allow data from around the globe to flow into the FargoRate system. Any event, whether it’s a small weekly tournament at the local bar or a large regional event, will have access to the system and the option to use FargoRate for classifying players or handicapping matches.

Determining Tournament Divisions
We will be using FargoRate to determine divisions in future CSI events. A review historic data shows that there are often huge differences in skill levels within divisions. This can now be corrected to make all divisions more competitive for all players.

To learn more about FargoRate and how it works, visit www.fargorate.com. To lookup players in the FargoRate database, find a fair match between two players, or see the statistical odds of any match, visit www.fairmatch.fargorate.com.

Look for the “powered by FargoRate” logo for leagues and tournaments that use FargoRate to determine divisions or set handicaps.

Look for the “FargoRate enabled” logo for leagues and tournaments that provide results to FargoRate.

The intent of this announcement is to provide a broad overview of how FargoRate will benefit CSI leagues and members. More detailed information will be released soon.

To learn how to sanction your existing league, start a new league, or become an individual CSI member, visit our website at www.playcsipool.com or call the office at (702) 719-POOL, Monday – Friday, 9am-5pm pacific time.

Rory Rules In Ruhr

Rory McLeod won a title carrying ranking points for the first time by beating Tian Pengfei 4-2 in the final of the Ruhr Open in Mülheim, Germany.

World number 61 McLeod beat 70th-ranked Pengfei in a surprise final at the season's third Kreativ Dental Clinic European Tour event.

Leicester-based 44-year-old McLeod, snooker's only black professional, collected the 25,000 Euro top prize after winning seven matches. His only previous pro title came at the qualifying event for the Masters in 2009.

McLeod, who has never been past the last 16 of a full ranking event, went 2-0 up in the final with top breaks of 57 and 41. China's Tian, playing in his first pro final, pulled one back with a run of 78.

Frame four went to McLeod thanks to a break of 58 then Tian hit back again with a superb 106. But McLeod was not to be denied as he sealed victory in frame six with a top run of 55.

"It feels great, it's everything that I really wanted," said McLeod. "In the final I just tried to stick in there, stay positive and not get ahead of myself. I just wanted to enjoy it because this is where I want to be."

Earlier in the semi-finals, McLeod beat Mike Dunn 4-1 while Tian edged out David Gilbert 4-3.

The Kreativ Dental Clinic European Tour is a series of six events across the continent, with the top 24 on the final Order of Merit to qualify for the Players Championship. The next event is the Bulgarian Open in Sofia from November 4-8.

Results (last 16 onwards)

Last 16
Mark Davis 4-2 Luca Brecel
Rory McLeod 4-1 Ben Woollaston
Mark Williams 4-3 Mark Selby
Mike Dunn 4-1 Andrew Higginson
Tian Pengfei 4-1 Shaun Murphy
Alan McManus 4-0 Dominic Dale
David Gilbert 4-2 Peter Ebdon
Barry Hawkins 4-1 Mark Allen

Quarter-finals
McLeod 4-3 Davis
Dunn 4-1 Williams
Tian 4-3 McManus

Semi-finals
McLeod 4-1 Dunn
Tian 4-3 Gilbert

Final
McLeod 4-2 Tian

Billiard Sport in China

With billiards’ introduction into china at the end of 19th century and the reform and opening up in the 1980s, people’s living standards as well as billiard sport have developed rapidly. In 1986, with the birth of Chinese Billiards & Snooker Association(CBSA) and domestic enterprises like STAR, billiard sport in China has moved from public sport into competitive sport. Zhang Xiaoning, director of The Multi-ball Games Administrative Centre of General Administration of Sport of China, claimed that the amounts of new billiard clubs and fans of Ding Junhui and Pan Xiaoting have experienced rapid growths amounted to over 30,000 and 80 million respectively since 2005.

In 2012, billiards with Chinese characteristics such as “Chinese eight-ball”, “Chinese nine-ball”, “Pool” , etc., were officially named “China Billiards” . The new rules are so easy and flexible that every players can pick them up easily. John Higgins, a famous snooker player, once declared that he fell in love with the rules within only 10 seconds.

Since 2012, China Billiards has carried out a series of matches and has won support from world’s three main organizations (International Billiards Federation, World Pool-Billiard Association, World Snooker Association), brought into world ranking points system and co-organized the first China Billiards World Championship successfully.

China now has 80 million billiard fans and 70% of them are fans of China Billiards. Famous billiard players such as Selby, Higgins, Hawkins, Kim Ga-Young, Fu Xiaofang and so on, all had made their debut in 1st China Billiards World Championship. 7 live broadcasts were conducted by CCTV for 304 excellent players coming from 23 countries, conducted over 830 matches in 10 days.

Despite the suspect and controversy of Chinese holding world-class events, China billiards is still taking firm steps in this regard.

Featuring billiard sport, Yushan County possesses hundreds of billiard clubs, holding matches regularly. Mineral-rich Yushan County enjoys more than 60 orefields whose unique bluestones are regarded the best materials for making billiard tables. Cooperated with STAR in 2015, Yushan County invested 3 billion yuan in building up international billiards city complex, training bases, billiard museums and so forth, developing tablecloths, lamps and other industrial chains. With the total area of 630 acres and around 3 billion yuan investment, the project has also input a lot of facilities, such as “STAR Billiard Industrial Park”, “International Billiards Stadium”, “Commercial Complex”, sports events resources and so on.

As the most fundamental match in 2015, STAR China Billiard Ranking Match is the only one access to 2015CBSA China Billiard Ranking Match. By getting credits, the top 4 players can reach the direct qualification to 2016 China Billiards World Championship.

Held in every spring in Guangzhou, GBE is the first professional billiard exhibition in Asia and has been held successfully for 9 sessions. With only 18 exhibitors and 1,000m2 exhibition area in its first session in 2007, GBE attracted over 4,000 billiards lovers. Since then, GBE has become a top and high-quality professional exhibition in 2011. In 2015, GBE had covered an exhibition area of 11,000m2, gathered several famous brand included STAR, RASSON, Simonis, LUCASI and so forth, developed into an excellent billiard exhibition. GBE2016 will be held in Area A of China Import and Export Fair Complex during March 9th-11th.

In the future, billiard sport in China will develop in areas of operation & management, training base, technological products, entertainment programs, etc.

Van Boening Completes All Star Western Team in Kings Cup

USA #1 and reigning 3-Times US Open Champion Shane Van Boening joins an all star cast with Mika Immonen, Darren Appleton, & Albin Ouschan on Team West to take on the mighty Team Asia. In one month, we'll find out if it's the greatest team in the world. Kings Cup's East vs West, The Real Rivalry begins November 19th. The Legend starts...

Manila, Philippines- An amazing cast on Team West is now perhaps the greatest western team ever assembled. USA's #1 ranked Shane Van Boening will be America's contribution to Team West as they face the mighty Asians in the inaugural Kings Cup! This will mark the first time Europe and USA join forces, which may go down in history as the greatest team ever assembled. In one month now, the world will know the answer. European and American champions will go against Asia's champions on November 19th at Resorts World Manila in the inaugural Kings Cup! In what surely will become the most epic rivalry in cue sports, the pool world is about to get rocked in a war that fans have been dreaming about for years. Dragon Promotions is pleased to announce the Kings Cup, a first time ever event pitting the men's champions of Europe & USA versus the champions of Asia in a three day contest to declare which side is the strongest, the East or the West. On November 19th-21st 2015, the world, as well as the players themselves, will find out! Four players on each side will be selected to represent their continent. The Kings Cup will be hosted by the award winning casino Resorts World Manila and produced by Dragon Promotions. The event will be played on the beautifully designed Rasson Table using Andy Cloth, Viking Cue, Cyclop Balls. Pool & Billiard Magazine, and Billiards Digest are also co-sponsors.

Pay Per View earlybird discounted special is now available on www.KingsCupPool.com. Fans can watch live or the delayed telecast upto 24 hours after the event at their convenience.

Van Boening had a lot to say during his interview about the Kings Cup and playing for Team West.
"The competition is much bigger over there against the Asians. And it's going to be interesting playing with the Europeans for my first time. But I'm very excited because I know the atmosphere will be great. There's going to be a lot of fans watching and big TV coverage. That's why I really enjoy playing in the Philippines the past 10 years"

"Shane is a phenomenon. (laughs) It would be silly to not want him in any team event you play in. It's fortunate to have him on our side", said Mika Immonen, Captain of Team West. "Its going to be an interesting opportunity to work with him."

"Mika is one of the best rotation pool players ever, and he's a Hall of Famer. I think he will be a good captain and I'm excited to play with him. And I'm looking forward to playing with Darren. He and I never have issues, and are friends on and off the table. i think its going to be a lot fun to play with him finally", explained Van Boening.
                                        
Official Table: Rasson Billiards * Official Cloth: Andy Cloth *Official Cue: Viking Cue * Official Balls: Cyclop

Shane Van Boening started his rise to the top joining the pro tour in 2006 and a year later with a runner-up finish at the 2007 World Summit of Pool aired on ESPN. That same year featured his breakout win at the Dragon Promotions World 10-Ball Championship in Florida where he overcame a top notch field of 96 pros. From there he became a unstoppable force in America, winning nearly every major including 4 US Open titles. He has retained the top spot in the US rankings for the past 5 years. More recently, Shane barely lost in the finals of the World 9-Ball Championship in Qatar.

"Shane has had a truly amazing career thus far, and barely starting into his prime years. He has made history in so many ways, and I'm pretty sure no player has dominated on US soil like Shane has in the past few decades. For sure no American has come close to rivaling his accomplishments in the last 5 years, and he is going to be a force in the Kings Cup", said Charlie Williams, executive producer of the event.

"It's great to have, in my opinion, one of the greatest American players of all time in our team," commented Darren Appleton. " Me and Shane obviously usually battle against each other and played against each other so many times in Mosconi Cup and events around the world .. So it's great to have him on my side for once. I really think with Shane joining the team it makes it an even match against Asia."

After numerous defeats in team events, Van Boening is looking forward to having a world class team backing him up

One rare chink in the vast titles in Van Boening's repertoire, is the amount of times he has been on the losing side of the Mosconi Cup, the yearly event pitting USA vs Europe. Van Boening tasted victory only once, with 7 excruciating losses. Including the past 5 years in a row Shane has been on the short end of the stick, something he is not used to.

"I think this is going to be a whole lot different than Mosconi Cup for me. Usually there's a lot of work for me to take care of the team and then I have to play as well. In Kings Cup there are multiple world champions on the team. Mika, Darren, and Albin who was World #1. All three are great players. They know how to prepare themselves to be in a world championship finals. They always stay hungry and I don't have to worry about any of them", explained Van Boening.
"It means less work for me, and I can focus more on playing. That makes me excited."

Shane Van Boening. Mika Immonen. Darren Appleton. Albin Ouschan. Four players who have all experienced winning international championships on big stages coming together against their equal counterparts in Asia's Efren Reyes, Francisco Bustamante, Ko Pin Yi, and Ko Ping Chung.
It's going to be a war to remember.

The format of the Kings Cup will follow in the footsteps of the successful Queens Cup. Teams will play in versatile styles including singles, doubles, triples, and quadruples each of the 3 days of the men's competition.

Follow the Kings Cup at www.facebook.com/kingscuppool and visit www.KingsCupPool.com for updates.

UK Snooker Final Session Sold Out

The final session of snooker’s Betway UK Championship has sold out, with fans snapping up tickets for the showpiece tournament at the York Barbican.

It’s one of the sport’s Triple Crown events and always draws capacity crowds to the Yorkshire city to see the world’s best green baize stars competing for the famous trophy.

Ronnie O’Sullivan won last year’s thrilling final by beating Judd Trump 10-9 to capture the £150,000 top prize, and once again this year it will be a stellar line up for the BBC-televised event.

The tournament runs from November 24 to December 6 with 128 players contesting the title, and a flat draw which means that the top potters will face up-and-coming cuemen in the opening round.

The concluding session of the final on Sunday December 6 has already SOLD OUT and tickets for all other sessions are selling fast, so fans are strongly urged to get their seats booked.

World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn said: “Year after year we see snooker fans from York and beyond flocking to this fantastic event to see the best players on the planet. So I’m delighted to see that trend continuing this time.

“The atmosphere inside the Barbican is electric and this year is going to be something special with so many outstanding players in form. Get your seats booked now or miss out on a wonderful fortnight of live sport at its best!”

Tickets start from just £6, for details call 0844 854 2757 or visit www.worldsnooker.com/tickets

The draw and format will be available after the seeding cut-off point on November 1st.

HELLENIC POCKET BILLIARD UNION

Team Championship Finals 2015

1. Finals of the Union’s Team Championship for 2015 season will take place between 13th and 15th of November 2015 at Champion Club Billiards in Athens.

2. Games start November 13th at 11:00 am, final is scheduled for November 15th at 5:30 pm.
Opening ceremony – presentation of teams will take place November 13th at 7:00 pm and closing ceremony together with awards November 15th at 7:30 pm.
Entrance for the public is free.

3. 20 teams in national level will participate, 15 which qualified from Athens zone and 5 from Greek periphery.
Athens zone qualifications took place between end of March and middle of June, in 5 groups (3 of 5 teams and 2 of 6) with first 3 teams qualifying from each group, a total of 15 teams from 27 which participated.

4. All matches will be played with 3 against 3 players from each team, in 8ball-9ball and 10ball disciplines, in 32 pyramid format, double elimination up to first 8 teams.

5. Part of the games will be live-streamed freely through network.

6. Completion of the first official championship of the union will result to the formation of A’ division in Athens zone for next season, including 12 best Athens teams from the final results.

7. World class players participate among others in these games, expected to present a spots spectacle at high level.
The union will take care of the best possible tournament organization, with valuable sponsorship help in international and domestic level.

Source: www.hpbu.gr/language/en/

Ding Ends Trophy Drought

Ding Junhui won his first title for 16 months by beating Ricky Walden 4-3 in the final of the Haining Open Asian Tour event in China.

It’s a welcome return to form for China’s top player, who won five ranking titles during a record-equalling 2013/14 campaign, but then struggled to match the same heights last season, with his only victory coming at the Yixing Open in June 2014. World number four Ding, age 28, will hope that this success in Haining, earned by winning seven matches, will give him the confidence to return to the very top.

Chester’s Walden took the opening frame of the final with a break of 79 then added a scrappy second. Ding’s run of 77 made it 2-1 before Walden took the fourth with a break of 66.

Ding made an 82 to close the gap and his break of 53 put him in control of frame six. Walden got the snookers he needed only for his opponent to pot green and brown for 3-3. And a typically clinical break of 74 from Ding in the decider gave him the £13,500 top prize.

Ding’s victory may also earn him a spot at the Champion of Champions in Coventry next month.

Both players now head to Daqing in the north of China for next week’s International Championship, where Walden will be defending the title having won the £125,000 top prize last year.

Billiard Sport in China

With billiards’ introduction into china at the end of 19th century and the reform and opening up in the 1980s, people’s living standards as well as billiard sport have developed rapidly. In 1986, with the birth of Chinese Billiards & Snooker Association(CBSA) and domestic enterprises like STAR, billiard sport in China has moved from public sport into competitive sport. Zhang Xiaoning, director of The Multi-ball Games Administrative Centre of General Administration of Sport of China, claimed that the amounts of new billiard clubs and fans of Ding Junhui and Pan Xiaoting have experienced rapid growths amounted to over 30,000 and 80 million respectively since 2005.
In 2012, billiards with Chinese characteristics such as “Chinese eight-ball”, “Chinese nine-ball”, “Pool” , etc., were officially named “China Billiards” . The new rules are so easy and flexible that every players can pick them up easily. John Higgins, a famous snooker player, once declared that he fell in love with the rules within only 10 seconds.

Since 2012, China Billiards has carried out a series of matches and has won support from world’s three main organizations (International Billiards Federation, World Pool-Billiard Association, World Snooker Association), brought into world ranking points system and co-organized the first China Billiards World Championship successfully.

China now has 80 million billiard fans and 70% of them are fans of China Billiards. Famous billiard players such as Selby, Higgins, Hawkins, Kim Ga-Young, Fu Xiaofang and so on, all had made their debut in 1st China Billiards World Championship. 7 live broadcasts were conducted by CCTV for 304 excellent players coming from 23 countries, conducted over 830 matches in 10 days.
Despite the suspect and controversy of Chinese holding world-class events, China billiards is still taking firm steps in this regard.

Featuring billiard sport, Yushan County possesses hundreds of billiard clubs, holding matches regularly. Mineral-rich Yushan County enjoys more than 60 orefields whose unique bluestones are regarded the best materials for making billiard tables. Cooperated with STAR in 2015, Yushan County invested 3 billion yuan in building up international billiards city complex, training bases, billiard museums and so forth, developing tablecloths, lamps and other industrial chains. With the total area of 630 acres and around 3 billion yuan investment, the project has also input a lot of facilities, such as “STAR Billiard Industrial Park”, “International Billiards Stadium”, “Commercial Complex”, sports events resources and so on.

As the most fundamental match in 2015, STAR China Billiard Ranking Match is the only one access to 2015CBSA China Billiard Ranking Match. By getting credits, the top 4 players can reach the direct qualification to 2016 China Billiards World Championship.

Held in every spring in Guangzhou, GBE is the first professional billiard exhibition in Asia and has been held successfully for 9 sessions. With only 18 exhibitors and 1,000m2 exhibition area in its first session in 2007, GBE attracted over 4,000 billiards lovers. Since then, GBE has become a top and high-quality professional exhibition in 2011. In 2015, GBE had covered an exhibition area of 11,000m2, gathered several famous brand included STAR, RASSON, Simonis, LUCASI and so forth, developed into an excellent billiard exhibition. GBE2016 will be held in Area A of China Import and Export Fair Complex during March 9th-11th.

In the future, billiard sport in China will develop in areas of operation & management, training base, technological products, entertainment programs, etc.

You can catch all the latest GBE news on the website www.gbechina.com, "follower us" on our Twitter page (@gbechina), or contact Ms. Eve Cheng via grand.ev @ grahw.com

Higgins To Be Seeded At Champion of Champions

With the penultimate qualifying event – the International Championship – concluding this weekend in China, Matchroom Sport can announce that the final seeded player for the Champion of Champion will be Scotland’s John Higgins.

The current World No. 12 is the highest ranked player already qualified and will take his place in Group One alongside Joe Perry. Currently Ding Junhui is the 16th and final player in the Champion of Champions but that could all change if Thepchaiya Un-Nooh or David Gilbert were to win the International. Failing that eventuality, a new winner at next week’s Bulgarian Open could sneak in ahead of Ding.

The 2015 Champion of Champions takes place at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry from 10th to 15th November and features previous winners of World Snooker-sanctioned events over the previous 12 months.

The eight seeded players are Stuart Bingham, Judd Trump, John Higgins, Joe Perry, Neil Robertson, Shaun Murphy, Mark Selby and Barry Hawkins. The unseeded players are Michael White, Stephen Maguire, Kyren Wilson, Zhou Yuelong, Yan Bingtao, Ali Carter and Rory McLeod. They will be joined by Ding Junhui provided there is not a new winner at the International or Bulgarian Open.

Each seeded player will play an unseeded opponent in a best-of-seven group match in the afternoon session with the two winners clashing over 11 frames in the evening. The four group winners will proceed to the best-of-11 semi-finals on Saturday, November 14 before Sunday, November 15 sees a two-session final played over 19 frames.


Group Fixtures

Tuesday November 10, Group 3 (first match at 1pm)
Stuart Bingham (3) v To Be Drawn
Judd Trump (6) v To Be Drawn

Wednesday, November 11, Group 1 (first match at 1pm)
John Higgins v To Be Drawn
Joe Perry ( 8 ) v To Be Drawn

Thursday, November 12, Group 4 (first match at 1pm)
Neil Robertson (4) v To Be Drawn
Shaun Murphy (5) v To Be Drawn

Friday, November 13, Group 2 (first match at 1pm)
Mark Selby (2) v To Be Drawn
Barry Hawkins (7) v To Be Drawn

Tickets for this year’s Champion of Champions are now on sale at The Ticket Factory from just £10. Standard priced tickets for the weekend sessions are now sold out, but in anticipation of extra seats being released a waiting list has been set up at www.championofchampionssnooker.co.uk/tickets/.

The participation of all players is subject to contract.

Z9 BilliardCloth®

With passion, we have developed a billiard cloth of highest quality, which convinces every player of its playability. Manufactured according to DIN EN ISO 9001 standards, the Z9 BilliardCloth® is produced with the latest technology for high-performance textiles. It harmonizes a number of complex properties of playability and durability, which makes it to an exceptional billiard cloth. The extremely tightly woven cloth with low wall thickness tolerance guarantees constant rolling resistance values. The patented fiber sealing makes the cloth immune to heat and moisture, thus maintaining playability in all climate zones. Additionally it is extremely easy to clean and thus guarantees a longer durability without loss of quality. Currrently the Z9 BilliardCloth® is available in 'Classic Green', 'Powder Blue', and 'Blue Slate'. The colors were chosen to utalize the perfect reflection of the table lighting, thus ensuring improved contours and sharpness.

www.z9billiardcloth.com for more information

This quality product was designed and developed by Klaus Zobrekis for the billiard sport.



What is the actual uniqueness of my new modern “Z9 Billiard Cloth”?
After hand selecting the finest raw materials and applying the newest fiber technologies, I have developed a new, stronger, longer lasting billiard cloth.

The “Z9 Billiard Cloth,”

-        High resistance to hole and nodule formation
-        Outstanding Long Lasting wear time
-        Optimal Grip
-        Consistent Quality
-        True Color Rendering
-        Less maintenance time and effort

Produced in Germany using the modern application of Web technologies (according to DIN 9001) the “Z9” it is a highest quality of a billiard cloth product with an unbeatable price – comparison.

Convince yourself of the playability and quality of the new “Z9Billiard Cloth”

Euro-Tour on TV in Cyprus

The Cyprus Sports Television Broadcaster „Cy Sports“ has just informed us that they will broadcast the coverage of the Euro-Tour semi-finals and finals from all tournaments of the 2015 season of the Dynamic Billard Euro-Tour. Starting now, the next two months will feature matches from Treviso, Vale do Lobo, Baunatal, Sankt Johann and Leende every Saturday 11:00-14:00 and every Sunday 19:30-22:30. This prime time coverage is definitely another step in the positive development of cue sports on TV.

188BET TO SPONSOR CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS SNOOKER

188bet and Matchroom Sport are excited to announce that 188bet is the title sponsor of the 2015 Champion of Champions snooker tournament. Taking place at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry from Tuesday to Sunday 10-15 November, the 188bet Champion of Champions will be broadcast live throughout on ITV4 in the UK.

The 188bet Champion of Champions features World Snooker tournament winners from the previous 12 months, including World Champion Stuart Bingham, Masters Champion Shaun Murphy as well as the likes of Grand Prix champion Judd Trump, German Masters victor Mark Selby and Welsh Open winner John Higgins.

The tournament begins with four groups, each featuring a semi-final and final on the same day with the group winners progressing to the tournament semi-finals on Saturday 14 November. Sunday’s final will be played over 19 frames with the winner taking home £100,000.

In addition to live coverage throughout in the UK, the 188bet Champion of Champions will also be aired on CCTV in China, Sky New Zealand, OSN throughout the Middle East, Nova in Czech and Slovakia and Setanta (Ireland).

Barry Hearn, Chairman of Matchroom Sport, said: "We are delighted to be working with 188bet for the first time on what is one of the biggest events on the snooker calendar. The 188bet Champion of Champions is a blue riband event and the millions of fans watching both in person at the Ricoh Arena across the world on live TV will be in for a treat of world class snooker from the first ball till the last.”

188BET’s Managing Director, Nigel Singer said: “I’m very pleased to announce 188BET’s partnership with Matchroom Sport. The Champion of Champions snooker tournament is one of the biggest events on the snooker calendar. Through our partnership, the 188BET Champions of Champions tournament will reach millions of snooker fans with live television coverage on multiple channels.”

Betway UK Championship Draw

World Champion Stuart Bingham will face amateur Jordan Brown in the first round at the Betway UK Championship at the York Barbican later this month.

The draw for the prestigious world ranking event, one of snooker's Triple Crown tournaments, has been made, with all 128 players starting in round one. The BBC-televised tournament runs from November 24 to December 6.

Bingham won the World title for the first time last May and he'll be the number one seed in York. His opening match will be on Thursday November 26 at 2.30pm, against Northern Ireland's Brown.

In the same session, world number one Mark Selby will be up against fellow Leicester cueman Joe O'Connor.

Local favourite Ashley Hugill, a 21-year-old amateur from York, will make his debut in the tournament when he takes on former World Champion Shaun Murphy on Wednesday November 25 at 2.30pm.

Judd Trump, the 2011 UK Champion, meets Hammad Miah while legend Jimmy White will face Stephen Maguire. John Higgins' first opponent is Leo Fernandez while China's top player Ding Junhui will meet Sheffield's Adam Duffy.

For the full draw and format see www.worldsnooker.com

All matches are best of 11 frames, up until the final which is best of 19.

Tickets for the final session on December 6 have already sold out, and other sessions are selling fast so fans are urged to BOOK SEATS NOW. Tickets start at just £6, for more information call 0844 854 2757 or visit www.worldsnooker.com/tickets

WHAT: Documentary FILM:

FROM HUSTLER TO CHAMPION, The Untold Story of the Greatest Pool Players in the World.

KICK STARTER CAMPAIGN

Contact: David Thomson, Medium Pool, Producer, 310.450.8525

Philip F. Messina, Messina Productions, Director, 213.280.2595

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

David Thomson, owner of Medium Pool – pool's promotion and advertising agency, and Philip F. Messina – an award winning filmmaker, have joined forces to produce From Hustler to Champion, a documentary film profiling 20, plus, past and present, top pool players in the sport.

From Strickland to Van Boening; The Black Widow, The Striking Viking, The Duchess of Doom; Reyes, Sigel, Varner, and Hall – anyone who has had any impact on pool is present.

From Hustler to Champion delves deeply into their lifelong passion for the game, how they became possessed by its difficulties and mysteries, with an almost addictive need to master it.

The film, also, realizes that this mesmerizing game has never been given appropriate respect in the larger world of sports.

One reason is that, despite pool’s worldwide popularity, it has been plagued by a controversial reputation—that shady world of sharks and hustlers in smoky pool halls—a common image seen in film and TV. Because of this, mainstream sponsors have shied away from support.

For the first time, “From Hustler to Champion,” tells the untold story of these extraordinary men and women who have transcended that stigma to become legends.

We unearth their individual struggles to survive, including those who chose the ritual of going on the road and living the gamblers’ perilous, high-wire-act and, finally, rising to become champions.

From Hustler to Champion gives you an intimate insight into their remarkable personalities, their family lives, passions, fears, and their uncanny ability to conquer the overwhelming pressure to triumph in a head-to-head arena sport.

From Hustler to Champion is a passion project, a labor of love that’s been in process for over ten years while capturing many of the greatest players of the last 50 years.

It is near completion. The Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign is to generate funding to complete the editing, purchase license clips, obtain pertinent music, titling and graphic elements–all the unseen expenses it takes to create a film suitable for mainstream broadcast.

Many of you know how they play, now you can find out how they think…and what’s in their hearts.

Join us on SOCIAL MEDIA:

www.facebook.com/fromhustlertochampion

www.twitter.com/hustler2champ

We thank all of you in advance for supporting our project.

8 World Champions. 2 Teams. One glorious victor. Asia vs the West. The Greatest rivalry in cue sports.

Pay Per View early bird special extended for 4 more days!! Get 50% off the final day when you purchase the entire 3 days. $24.95 total at www.KingsCupPool.com

Which side are you picking? 6:00pm-10:00pm Manila time 19-21. USA live stream time 7:00am-11:00am with 24hr access! www.KingsCupPool.com

The Greatest rivalry in cue sports Begins! Asia vs the West Nov 19-21.

Will Darren be the MVP?

Darren Appleton began playing English pool at age 12 and later become the world #1 at it. In 2006, he switched over to American pool and in two years time, he won the World 10-Ball Championship. Since that time he has won two US Open Championships, gold medal at the World Games, and in 2012 won the World 9-Ball. In 2014 he won the World 14.1 and still holds a world record of a 200 ball run of any major straight pool championship. In 2015, Appleton won the Chinese Pool World Championship by defeating the reigning World Snooker Champion Mark Selby in the finals. Appleton has also been a staple for Europe in the Mosconi Cup where they have defeated the USA resoundingly the past 5 years in a row.

Allen Captures Bulgaria Crown

Mark Allen won his first title in 15 months by beating Ryan Day 4-0 in the final of the Victoria Bulgaria Open in Sofia.

World number ten Allen dominated the final in the Bulgarian capital to take the 25,000 Euro top prize at the season's fourth Kreativ Dental Clinic European Tour event. The 29-year-old from Antrim won his first title since last year's Paul Hunter Classic.

Allen also earns a place at the 188BET Champion of Champions, which starts in Coventry on Tuesday, and will face Barry Hawkins on the first round on Friday.

Two-time ranking event winner Allen had a disappointing 2014/15 season but has since been reunited with coach and mentor Terry Griffiths and showed signs of a return to form in reaching the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters and quarter-finals of the International Championship. And he has now added to his silverware collection having won seven matches in Sofia.

Breaks of 65 and 76 put him 2-0 up on Welshman Day and he made a 56 in the next before securing it on the final pink. Day, who was trying to win a title carrying ranking points for the first time in his career, had chances in frame four but couldn't take advantage and Allen cleared from yellow to pink to secure the trophy.

"I'm very happy to get another tournament win under my belt," said the Northern Irishman. "To win 4-0 in the final is a good way to do it and shows my game is in good shape. I haven't been too happy with my performances this season even though I've been winning matches, but now I'm getting closer to where I want to be.

"To get a place in the Champion of Champions is a massive bonus and I'll be going into next week with a lot of confidence having won here."

The Kreativ Dental Clinic European Tour is a series of six events across the continent, with the top 24 on the final Order of Merit to qualify for the Players Championship. The next event is the Gibraltar Open from December 9-13.

Results (last 16 onwards)

Last 16
Sam Baird 4-3 Jimmy Robertson
Judd Trump 4-2 Fergal O'Brien
Mark Selby 4-2 Dominic Dale
Ryan Day 4-3 Mark Joyce
Mark Allen 4-0 Michael Holt
Mike Dunn 4-0 Daniel Wells
Mark Williams 4-0 John Higgins
Shaun Murphy 4-1 Stuart Carrington

Quarter-finals
Baird 4-1 Trump
Day 4-0 Selby
Allen 4-3 Dunn
Williams 4-3 Murphy

Semi-finals
Day 4-2 Baird
Allen 4-0 Williams

Final
Allen 4-0 Day

Reading To Host Snooker Shoot-Out

The Hexagon in Reading will host snooker’s celebrated Shoot-Out event for the first time in 2016.

The Shoot-Out, first staged in 2011, was previously held in Blackpool and has become a firm favourite among fans for its non-stop thrilling action.

This season’s event runs from February 12 to 14 and will be staged at The Hexagon, a venue which previously held the Grand Prix tournament from 1984 to 1993.

The Shoot-Out, to be televised by ITV4 for the next three years, features 64 of the world’s top players in a knock-out format. Each match is a single frame lasting a maximum of ten minutes, with a shot clock of 15 seconds for the first five and ten seconds for the last five.

Michael White took the £32,000 top prize last season after beating Xiao Guodong by potting four balls in the last 40 seconds of an incredible final.

World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn said: “We are delighted to bring the Shoot-Out to The Hexagon for the first time. It’s a fabulous venue and one which was renowned on the snooker circuit for many years when it hosted the Grand Prix.

“There are few events which can match the Shoot-Out for sheer exhilaration – I love the way the crowd get involved to support their favourites. For the players, it’s all about who can handle the pressure when the clock is ticking.

“This is great news for the people of Reading and the surrounding area as they will get the chance to see three days of drama on the green baize. Fans are strongly urged to book tickets fast once they are on sale as they won’t last long!”

Paul Gittings, Lead Councillor for Reading Culture, Sport and Consumer Services, added: "We are absolutely delighted to welcome back world class snooker to The Hexagon; an iconic venue already steeped in snooker history. This televised tournament gives the opportunity for Reading to enjoy a thrilling fast paced tournament in a venue close to home. I have very fond memories of seeing the snooker greats at The Hexagon, and am glad a whole new generation can now experience this too."

Ticket details for the tournament will be announced soon.

Five must-stop by exhibitors at GBE2016

GBE2016-10th China Guangzhou Billiards Exhibition is set to open in Guangzhou on March 9 on an unprecedented scale, with upwards of 200 exhibitors showcasing their wares over an incredible 15,000 square meters of space at the China Import & Export Fair Complex. If you’re attending, make sure you will make the full use of your visiting time and achieve the predetermined schedule. To get you started, we has assembled a slide show in advance of the event, highlighting a selection of the must-stop by exhibitors at GBE2016.
Xingpai Billiard-Professional billiard table manufacturer
As the largest professional billiards equipment manufacturer in China, the Xingwei Company rapidly grown up in sports product field with its superior product quality and good credit, and is flourishing with strong vitality since having been established. The Company ranked number one in China whether in technical content, production scale or market share, and won the trust from the majority of customers and high appraise from the authoritative persons.
RASSON BILLIARDS MFG-Specialties:billiard slate, pool, pyramid, snooker, carom table, game table, billiard accessories
RASSON BILLIARDS MANUFACTURING is a company manufacturing and selling both billiard slates and tables, which is the biggest slate manufacturer and exporter in Asia. RASSON slates export to more than 30 countries, and RASSON has been a famous brand in the world. Meanwhile, RASSON keeps sponsoring lots of international billiard events, such as EPBF, ECP, IBP, ect.
Iwan Simonis S.A./Saluc S.A. - the signature of true Belgian Quality
The Simonis Pool Table Felt is the oldest and most experience billiard cloth in the industry. Since 1680 the Iwan Simonis Company has produced cloth for pool, carom, pyramide and snooker for the whole world. Known for it's accuracy and consistency which enhances the enjoyment of the game by allowing you to play your best.
For several decades Belgian Aramith Billiard balls have enjoyed a legendary reputation for outstanding endurance and uncompromised quality. Used by almost 80% of players worldwide, they are recognised as the reference of the industry.
Strachan 6811 Cloth - most popular snooker cloth
Strachan 6811 snooker cloth has been made in the West of England since 1890. Regarded as the world's most popular snooker cloth, Strachan West of England 6811 Tournament is fast, accurate with high control. Used exclusively at the IBSF World Championships, the Asian and the European snooker Championships.
Wiraka-Manufacturer and exporter of billiard and snooker equipment; retails tables, lamps, cues, balls, and accessories.
Wiraka was established in December 1980 and has since played an important role in promoting the game of Snooker and Billiard in the region. Their commitment in promoting the game has been fundamental in the growth and expansion to other countries.

For further information about other exhibitors of GBE2016, please directly contact us:

Jenny Xiong (Ms)
Tel. +86-20-29188293
Fax. +86-20-82579220
Mob: +86 15876558395
Email: gbechina @ yeah.net
URL: www.gbechina.com/index_en.html

Predator becomes a family tradition as Albin Ouschan joins the Predator Team.

Jacksonville, Florida – Predator Group is excited to announce that Albin Ouschan has joined the Predator team of Brand Ambassadors.

"We're extremely excited to have Albin onboard. We’ve had our eye on him for a few years and his performances continue to impress. We believe he has a terrific future ahead of him,” said Kyle Nolan, Dir. of Branding & Communications at Predator Group.

Albin, the brother of another Predator Brand Ambassador, Jasmin Ouschan, has had a terrific year in 2015, winning the China Open and Dutch Open. Along the way in 2015, he was ranked #1 in world by WPA and was selected for his first International Challenge of Champions appearance, and will be making his Mosconi Cup debut in December.

“I’m very excited to work with the team at Predator, they’re always inventing something, but their commitment to support cue sports globally also played a significant role in my decision to join the team. Now, I’m just looking forward to playing my best and trying some of cool equipment the Predator R&D team has in the works,” said Albin Ouschan when asked about joining the Predator Team.

Look for Albin next at the 2015 Mosconi Cup in Las Vegas, where he’ll be looking to add another title to his resume.

Predator Group, an international billiards industry leader, is focused on bringing constant innovation and game-improving equipment to billiards players worldwide. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, USA, Predator Group’s core brands include Predator Cues® – high-end (professional level) cues with revolutionary technology to enhance performance, Poison Billiards® – recreational cues with cutting-edge designs and Predator engineering for best-in-class playability, and Uni-Loc® – precision billiards equipment manufacturer. For more information regarding Predator Group’s products, visit www.predatorgroup.com.