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Topic: *Industry News* 2015 - 2025

Watch Snooker’s Q School FREE In Burton

Burton-On-Trent will host snooker’s Q School for the first time in May, and entry for fans will be FREE.

Players from 22 different countries around the world will be at the Meadowside Leisure Centre from May 14 to 25 for the qualifying school for World Snooker’s professional tour.

There will be eight two-year tour cards up for grabs, with the semi-finalists in each of two tournaments earning the chance to play on the global circuit in 2015/16 and 2016/17. They will be competing for over £8million in prize money, in major tournaments including the UK Championship and World Championship.

Top ladies player Reanne Evans, who competed in the World Championship qualifiers this year, is among the Q School hopefuls. She plays her opening match on Friday May 15.

Experienced former top-32 star Marcus Campbell is also in the field and opens his campaign on Thursday May 14. Also competing for tour cards will be former World Championship semi-finalist Andy Hicks, American pool ace Corey Deuel and Germany’s rising star Lucas Kleckers.

In total there are 166 players competing, from countries as far afield as Canada, USA, Singapore, China, Russia, Pakistan, Israel, Turkey and Qatar.

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

There is no need for fans to book, they can come along on the day and watch high quality snooker for free.

Bingham Named Player Of The Year

Newly-crowned World Champion Stuart Bingham was named snooker's Player of the Year at the sport's annual awards ceremony in London tonight.

Bingham conquered the Crucible for the first time by beating Shaun Murphy 18-15 in an epic final this week. He also won the Shanghai Masters world ranking event earlier this season, as well as the Haining Open and Championship League. The 38-year-old from Basildon finished the season with a career-high ranking of second in the world.

Bingham also won the Snooker Journalists Player of the Year category.

The Fans Player of the Year award, which included votes from fans on Twitter, Weibo and WeChat, went to Judd Trump, who won the Australian Goldfields Open and World Grand Prix and reached three other finals.

Teenager Oliver Lines won the Rookie of the Year award. The 19-year-old from Leeds enjoyed a promising debut season, highlighted by a run to the final of an Asian Tour event.

Performance of the Year went to Joe Perry for winning the first full ranking title of his 24-year pro career. The Cambridgeshire cueman beat Mark Williams in the final of the Players Championship in Thailand in March.

The Magic Moment of the Year was won by Ronnie O’Sullivan for his 776th career century break during the Masters, breaking the record of 775 set by Stephen Hendry.

Two former World Champions were inducted into snooker's Hall of Fame: 1991 winner John Parrott and 2014 champion Mark Selby.

The awards ceremony at the Dorchester Hotel also helped raised money for Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice, which is World Snooker's official charity - for more details see

www.bluebellwood.org

Full list of awards:

World Snooker Player of the Year: Stuart Bingham
Snooker Journalists Player of the Year: Stuart Bingham
Fans Player of the Year: Judd Trump
Rookie of the Year: Oliver Lines
Performance of the Year: Joe Perry
Magic Moment of the Year: Ronnie O’Sullivan
147 Club (players making a 147 during the season): Ronnie O’Sullivan, Marco Fu, Judd Trump, Aditya Mehta, Shaun Murphy, Ben Woollaston, Ryan Day, David Gilbert, Barry Hawkins
Hall of Fame inductees: John Parrott, Mark Selby

Saluc join the Atlantic Challenge Cup

Saluc, producer of Aramith billiard balls, has agreed to become a partner in the inaugural Atlantic Challenge Cup. In an agreement reached this week, Super Aramith TV Pro-Cup Pool Ball Sets will be exclusively used during the inaugural staging of the event.

Each match will have its own set of balls and each set will be signed by the players who played that match. The sets will then be auctioned and used as prizes after the event.

"We are proud to have such a prestigious company in Saluc as a partner,” said IBPF President David Morris. “Quality and precision is the choice of many and Super Aramith TV Pro-Cup Pool Ball Sets fit that profile. It will be a great addition to the equipment provided at this event and the signed balls will provide great memorabilia after the event."

The event takes place at Patricks Canadian Tavern in Rankweil, Austria between the 1st and 4th of July. Six of the best from each Continent will battle it out to ensure their team wins the first ever Atlantic Challenge Cup.

The event is organized by the EPBF/IBPF in conjunction with the BCA & BEF.

Press release issued by the EPBF & BCA

Team Europe Announces Player Change For Atlantic Challenge Cup

The EPBF were recently informed by its member, the German Billiard Union (DBU) that they regrettably have to withdraw a player from the team. The player withdrawn is Germany's rising star, Joshua Filler.

In his place, comes a strong young competitor from Poland, Patryk Statkiewicz who lost in the final of the 9-ball to his now teammate, Raphael Wahl. Poland has a good young crop of players, they are known for producing great talent and Patryk will add a lot to this team with his inclusion.

Team Europe will meet team USA in what will be a fabulous event full of action and drama. These two great Continents going head to head over a four day bonanza, starting on the 1st of July. It's a team match-up over a possible race of 21. The team winning 11 matches will be crowned Atlantic Challenge Cup Champions come Saturday the 4th of July.

The Atlantic Challenge Cup is organized by the EPBF and its partner IBPF in conjunction with the BCA & BEF and will be staged each year between the two Continents.

Press release issued by the EPBF & BCA

Snooker World Cup Line-Up Announced

The line up of 24 teams to play in snooker’s 2015 World Cup in China next month has been announced.

The tournament will take place in the city of Wuxi in the Jiangsu Province from June 15 to 21, with the two-man teams chasing a top prize of $200,000 from a total prize fund of $800,000.

The home favourites Ding Junhui and Xiao Guodong are top seeds, as China won the last World Cup in 2011 when they beat Northern Ireland in the final in Thailand.

Mark Selby and Stuart Bingham, the last two World Champions, make up a strong English team. John Higgins and Stephen Maguire will represent Scotland, while Mark Williams hopes to recover from a shoulder injury in time to play for Wales alongside Michael White. Australian pair Neil Robertson and Vinnie Calabrese will also be among the favourites.

World number 37 Kurt Maflin will team up with his wife Anita Maflin for Norway.

Kurt, who took Selby to a deciding frame at the World Championship on his Crucible debut last month, said: “It will be a new experience for both of us as we’ve never played together or against each other in a competitive event before.

“Anita has won the Nordic Cup before and she has won leagues in Norway against men and women, so she’s there on merit. She hasn’t played that much in recent years but she has been practising for the last couple of weeks since she found out we’d be playing together at the World Cup. It’s going to be a lot of fun, we will enjoy it, and hopefully we can win a few matches.

“It might be nerve-racking for Anita as she is not used to playing against the top players like Ding Junhui, or on TV. It’s something quite unique and we’ll give it our best shot.

“We haven’t thought about the tactical side yet but if there’s a difficult decision to be made I’ll be in charge – it’s about the only time I’ll get that chance in our marriage!”

The couple, who live in Oslo, have a seven-year-son called Neon, but he won’t be making the trip to China. “He’ll stay here and Anita’s mum will look after him,” Kurt added. “He would have to take ten days off school to come with, which is too much.”

The 24 teams will be divided into four groups of six teams, with each team to play five matches in the group stages. The top two teams in each group qualify for the knock-out stages. The format will be a combination of singles and doubles play.

The full group draw is below.

WPBSA Chairman Jason Ferguson said: “This event will be a wonderful demonstration of how far we have come as a global sport in recent years. It will be fantastic to see nations such as Brazil, Iran, Qatar, Austria and many others show what talented players they have. Wuxi will be a tremendous host of this tournament and we look forward to it with great anticipation.”

Draw:

Group A

China A (Ding Junhui and Xiao Guodong)
Norway (Kurt Maflin and Anita Maflin)
Singapore (Marvin Lim Chun Kiatt and KK Chan)
India (Aditya Mehta and Pankaj Advani)
Malta (Tony Drago and Alex Borg)
Austria (Andrews Ploner and Paul Schopf)

Group B
Hong Kong (Marco Fu and Au Chi Wai)
Scotland (John Higgins and Stephen Maguire)
Iran (Hossein Vafaei Ayouri and Ehsan Heydari Nezhad)
Malaysia (Thor Chuan Leong and Mohd Reza Hassan)
Brazil (Igor Figueiredo and Itaro Santos)
Belgium (Luca Brecel and Thomas Skalski)

Group C
Australia (Neil Robertson and Vinnie Calabrese)
Wales (Mark Williams and Michael White)
Pakistan (Hamza Akbar and Muhammad Sajjad)
Qatar (Ahmed Saif and Ali Alobaidaly)
Poland (Mateusz Baranowski and Adam Stefanow)
Northern Ireland (Gerard Greene and Joe Swail)

Group D
England (Mark Selby and Stuart Bingham)
Republic of Ireland (Ken Doherty and Fergal O’Brien)
China B (Zhou Yuelong and Yan Bingtao)
Thailand (Dechawat Poomjaeng and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh)
UAE (Khalid Alkamali and Mohamed Shehab)
Germany (Lukas Kleckers and Felix Frede)

Iwan Simonis Joins Atlantic Challenge Cup

Iwan Simonis, the producer of billiard cloth, has agreed to become a partner of the Atlantic Challenge Cup. In an agreement reached this week, Simonis 760 will be used during the inaugural staging of this event.

"We are very excited to partner with Iwan Simonis for this event. Iwan Simonis has been a long-time supporter of the EPBF/IBPF and the events it organizes, and this project was seen as a great promotion for our sport involving the youth. Given its performance, Simonis cloth is used almost exclusively during major tournaments, and now we are glad to be able to add the Atlantic Challenge Cup to the list of events that Iwan Simonis sponsor," said IBPF President David Morris.

The event takes place at Patricks Canadian Tavern in Rankweil, Austria between the 1st and 4th of July. Six of the best from each Continent will battle it out to ensure their team wins the first ever Atlantic Challenge Cup.

The event is organized by the EPBF/IBPF in conjunction with the BCA & BEF.

Press release issued by the EPBF & BCA

New pool reality show with OB Pro Mike Dechaine on tonight....please watch!

I hope you had a great week and if you live in the USA, hopefully you are going to have a great Memorial Day weekend.

This is a quick email to say that if you do live in the USA and you have cable television then you need to set a reminder or a recording to watch trutv tonight May 22nd at 9pm EST/8pm CST. It is the premiere of a new reality show called "The Hustlers" that pulls back the curtain on the underground world and colorful characters of high-stakes pool. OB Pro team member Mike Dechaine is one of the stars of this new show and we are very excited to watch it and hope you are too!

To watch some clips from the show you can go here:
http://www.trutv.com/shows/the-hustlers/videos/index.html

To learn more about Mike Dechaine you can go to his page on the OB website here:
http://www.obcues.com/pages/Mike-Dechaine.html

You can also like Mike's Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/MDProPool

Or follow Mike on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/mdpropool

Please Please Please watch The Hustlers tonight and ask your friends and family to watch also so we can help make this new show as popular as possible. It is great for pool and should be very entertaining to watch!!!!
As always, we appreciate your feedback so please feel free to email me back if you have any questions, comments or suggestions about our company, our products or our service.

Sincerely,

Shane Sinnott
Director of Sales & Marketing
www.obcues.com
877.399.9901
972.578.9100

Europe announce team captain for the Atlantic Challenge Cup

Today it was decided that the European Pocket Billiard Federation's youth sports director Sandra Hanf, will act as team captain for the inaugural staging of the Atlantic Challenge Cup.

Sandra has now worked with the youth through the EPBF for the last couple of years and has got to know the players well during that time. Sandra added "I am so pleased and proud to lead this group of players into the first staging of this event, it is really exciting. It is an event that all our youth will be looking forward to and puts added pressure on the youth European Championships this coming August as that is the basis of how to qualify for this event in 2016 when we go to the USA"

The event takes place at Patricks Canadian Tavern in Rankweil Austria between the 1st and 4th of July. Six of the best from each Continent will battle it out to ensure their team wins the first ever Atlantic Challenge Cup.

The event is organized by the EPBF/IBPF in conjunction with the BCA & BEF.

Press release issued by the EPBF & BCA

WPBSA Statement - John Sutton

After a hearing that took place in Bristol on 24th March 2015 The WPBSA Disciplinary Committee found John Sutton to be in breach of rule 2.1.2 and 2.1.3 of the WPBSA Members Rules:

2.1.2        Corruption:
2.1.2.1 to fix or contrive, or to be a party to any effort to fix or contrive, the result, score, progress, conduct or any other aspect of the Tour and/or any Tournament or Match;

2.1.3        Misuse of inside information:
2.1.3.1 to use for betting purposes, or to provide to any other person for such purposes, any information relating to the Tour and/or any Tournament or Match that the Member possesses by virtue of his position within the sport and that is not in the public domain or readily accessible by the public;

This related to suspicious betting on his match with Jamie Burnett at the International Championship Qualifying event in Barnsley on 24th September 2014.

On Wednesday 20th May 2015, there was a hearing to determine sanction. John Sutton has been sentenced to a suspension of 6 years from the sport of snooker. The suspension will run from 9th February 2015 when the interim suspension was imposed by the WPBSA. Therefore John Sutton will not be eligible to participate in snooker before 9th February 2021.

He has been ordered to pay a contribution towards the WPBSA costs of £5,000

The WPBSA take allegations of match fixing very seriously and in this case worked closely with the betting industry, the UK Gambling Commission Sports Betting Intelligence Unit and the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS). This case is further evidence of our uncompromising approach to dealing with such issues.

John Sutton was an amateur player who is was not a member of the WPBSA and he did not hold a WSL Tour card. He was playing in the event in question as an invitee of WSL.

Under the WPBSA Disciplinary Rules, John Sutton has a right to appeal the finding and the sentence imposed.

For the ruling of the Disciplinary Committee on finding and sanction see www.worldsnooker.com/wpbsa-statement-john-sutton-2

Jason Ferguson the Chairman of the WPBSA said: "We take no pride in having to deal with such serious issues, however this demonstrates our commitment to ensuring ALL World Snooker events are competed in a fair and honest manner. Working closely with our many international partners, the WPBSA has developed the strongest anti-corruption strategies available in sport today. John Sutton was an amateur player, he does not a hold a main tour card and this case is evidence of the strong global governance we adopt in the sport of snooker.”

BCA Extends Call for Nominations

Broomfield, Colo. - June 1, 2015- The Billiard Congress of America (BCA) announces an extension for the call for nominations for Board of Directors seats for the 2015-2016 Board year. The 2015 Nominating Committee is currently accepting nominations through Friday, June 5, 2015, for a total of three (3) available Board seats. The three seats are in the Category 1 (Manufacturer/Distributor) category.

BCA members can nominate themselves or a colleague for these positions. Candidates for the Board seats must be current members of the BCA, be designated as the representative for the member company and qualify in the appropriate member category. The following are the open positions available on the BCA Board:

Manufacturer/Distributor Seats - Candidates must qualify as a manufacturer or distributor to apply for the Manufacturer/Distributor Seats. This means the organization the candidate represents is a licensed business entity with its principle business in the manufacture or wholesale distribution of billiard equipment or accessories.

Two of these seats are for three-year terms. One seat is for a one-year term. According to the BCA Bylaws, the candidate that receives the third most votes during the election for the BCA Board of Directors will be appointed to the one-year term.

The process the committee will use in making these appointments is as follows:

In order to select the best candidates, the decision will be based on the needs of the organization and the information provided by potential candidates. Each nominee will be provided a Candidate Data Form that is designed to allow candidates to tell the committee why they are the best candidate for the position at this time. All candidates are required to complete all five sections of this candidate data form.

The Candidate Data Form is comprised of sections that ask specific questions about the candidates:    

• BCA Member Status
• Billiards Industry Volunteer Experience
• Professional Job Experience and Responsibilities
• Potential Contributions to the BCA and Committee Interest
• Vision for BCA
• Consent to Run and Serve by Member Entity
• Indication of Willingness to Follow BCA Policies and Procedures

The nominating committee will review the forms, follow up with phone interviews if necessary and propose a slate of candidates for all open positions. The committee will then notify the BCA secretary, in writing, of the names of the candidates.

All candidates will be contacted as to whether they have been slated or not by Friday, June 19, 2015.

Candidates unsuccessful in being slated will be asked if they want to contribute to the organization in other ways, such as through committee participation.

Candidates interested in running or those wishing to nominate a candidate should contact Shane Tyree, BCA membership and communications manager, at shane@bca-pool.com. Those who are nominated will receive a Candidate Data Form via e-mail no later than the next business day. The form is also available for download.

The nomination should include a message stating the candidate name, title, company and complete contact information (including e-mail address).

The Candidate Data Form must be completed by the candidate and returned by 5:00 p.m. MDT, Friday, June 5, 2015, in order to be considered for a position.

Completed forms should be returned to Shane Tyree, BCA membership and communications manager, at shane@bca-pool.com or via fax at 303-243-5075.

Dynamic Billard Named Official Table of Atlantic Challenge Cup

Organizers of the 2015 Atlantic Challenge Cup today announced Dynamic Billard will be the official table supplier for the inaugural event taking place in Rankweil, Austria, 1 July - 4 July, 2015.

Dynamic Billard, well known for its support of the Eurotour and the European Championships, has agreed to supply one of their match tables for this great event. Dynamic has been making a match table for the EPBF events since 2011 and the major difference is in the pocket sizes. Corner pockets are 110mm +/- 2mm with the side pockets 125mm +/- 2mm - making the pocket sizes the smallest on an official competition table and one that is used at all EPBF events.

"We are very pleased that Dynamic are joining us in promoting this event and I do believe that the players will appreciate the tighter pockets as it will require more skill and less luck in making the balls," said IBPF president David Morris.

The Atlantic challenge Cup is a new event between the best of the youth from Europe and America. Six players in each team, four boys and two girls, will battle it out to see who will have the bragging rights across the Atlantic.

Along with the Dynamic match table, Iwan Simonis 860 cloth and Super Aramith TV Pro-Cup Pool Ball Sets make up the equipment that will be used during the event. "It is a dream come true to have the best equipment used during this tournament and I could not be happier in having these partners with us on this magical journey," said David Morris.

The event takes place between the 1st and 4th of July in Patricks Canadian Tavern in Rankweil, Austria.

The event is organized by the EPBF/IBPF in conjunction with the BCA & BEF.
Press release issued by the EPBF & BCA

Dynamic German Open

The Dynamic Billard German Open will be LIVE on Kozoom from Thursday, June 4th to Sunday, June 7th. The women's final stage will be played on Sunday. Not a Premium Pass holder yet? Order it now and enjoy our multi-channel Live Page.

2015 US Bar Table Championships 10-Ball Matches Released on YouTube

CueSports International, Henderson, Nevada (June 5, 2015) – CSI is pleased to announce that the 2015 US Bar Table Championships 10-Ball Division matches have been released on the CSI YouTube channel. Twelve (12) matches featuring some of the best players in the world including Shane Van Boening, Jayson Shaw, Skyler Woodward, Justin Bergman, Rodrigo Geronimo, Jeffrey Ignacio, and more can be viewed in their entirety absolutely free!

The 2015 US Bar Table Championships were held February 16-22, 2015 at the Grand Sierra Resort & Casino in Reno, NV. The matches were recorded in “The Kamui Arena” with high definition equipment and full-time commentary by Ken Shuman and other special guests.

CSI would like to extend a huge THANK YOU to our primary sponsors:

Kamui: “The Official Tip of the 22nd US Bar Table Championships!”
OB: “The Official Cue of the 22nd US Bar Table Championships!”

Below are the matches on this YouTube playlist:

Match 1: Ozzy Reynolds vs Sean “Alaska” Morgan
Match 2: Shane Van Boening vs Robb Saez
Match 3: Kelly Isaac vs Cindy Yazzie
Match 4: Skyler Woodward vs Scott Frost
Match 5: Shane Van Boening vs Jeffrey Ignacio
Match 6: Jayson Shaw vs Josh Roberts
Match 7: Amar Kang vs Danny Olson
Match 8: Shane Van Boening vs Justin Bergman
Match 9: Skyler Woodward vs Jeffrey Ignacio (Hot Seat Match)
Match 10: Rodrigo Geronimo vs Shane Van Boening (Quarter Final)
Match 11: Rodrigo Geronimo vs Skyler Woodward (Semi-Final)
Match 12: Skyler Woodward vs Jeffrey Ignacio (Final)

CSI YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/user/csipool

Don’t forget to “Subscribe” to the CSI YouTube channel to be notified when we add new content.

Qualifiers for the 75th World Tournament of 14.1 Begins Saturday

New York City, NY - For the 10th year in a row, qualifiers will be held nationwide for the 75th edition of The World Tournament of 14.1. Players all over the United States will be able to take their chance to win a spot into the grand slam of straight pool! Each qualifier winner will be guaranteed a minimal of 6 round robin matches in the finale main event. The main event will take place once more in New York City. Dragon Promotions is pleased to keep the oldest billiard event in the world alive with the 75th production on July 13th-19th, 2015. As usual, a star studded field is expected this year at Steinway Billiards Cafe, who is once more hosting this world class event. The World Tournament Official Equipment include Viking Cue with all matches played on Andy Cloth. Event partners include Mr.Tom Gleich, Dr. Gregory Diehl, Mr. Greg Hunt of Amsterdam Billiards, & Mr. Jim Gottier of Greenleaf's Pool Room. Patron sponsors include Mr. Harold Siegel of Excelsior Graphics, Dr. James Heller, Mr. Charles Eames of Charles Eames Photography, Frank Scharbach of Frank's Billard Cafe, and the National Amateur Pool League.

The World Tournament will be live streamed on AZBTV . Official media partners are www.NYCGrind.com , Pool & Billiard Magazine, Cryfoto Photography & tech support by Gotham City Technologies.

"It may not be the most financially rewarding production we put on, but it is definitely one of the most spiritually rewarding events we do because of the enthusiastic support of the players and fans. Being the caretakers of one of pool's most precious gems is something we take seriously and have come to enjoy", said Cindy Lee, CEO of Dragon Promotions who has overseen the World Tournament for a decade now.

"I get excited each year to see what new players qualify for the Worlds. Those players are always so wide-eyed and thrilled every moment to be there, and I guess I feel the same emotions vicariously through them! But each and every player in the qualifying heats are also part of the overall World Tournament experience. It's the only major tournament in the United States that has a major organized qualifying system. Which is a credit to the prestige of the title. Straight pool is the father of all games, so it's understandable that this is one of the most looked forward to events of the year for pool enthusiasts", says Charlie Williams, Executive Producer of the World Tournament.

The first qualifier kicks off this weekend, making it 9 years in a row for Red Shoe Billiards in Chicago, Illinois. Room owner John Lavin and 14.1 supporter extraordinaire Dennis Walsh will be running the show.
Big Dog Billiards enters the history books with the first ever 14.1 qualifier (and possibly first 14.1 event ever ) in Des Moines, Iowa.

A special National Amateur Pool League members only qualifier will be held for the 3rd straight year in New York City at the world famous Amsterdam Billiard Club. Tony & Gail Robles will be putting on this event for the NAPL.

Sandcastle Billiards in Edison, New Jersey will host their 4th straight qualifier. Pool enthusiast Ed "Sandman" Liddawi will be running the event.
It was only a matter of time before New Yorker turned Californian Danny Barouty grew a west coast straight pool crowd as he runs the first qualifier held in California at Easy Street Billiards.

The finale qualifier will be held at Amsterdam Billiards in New York City. Amsterdam has been a huge supporter of the World Tournament of 14.1 from the start of its resurrection in 2006 and has held a qualifier every year for 10 years straight, giving them the distinction of being the only billiard room to do so. This has all been due to the enormous generosity of Greg Hunt, owner and founder of Amsterdam Billiard Club since 1989.

Bingham Raring To Go At Snooker World Cup

Stuart Bingham returns to action for the first time since becoming snooker’s World Champion at the Nongfu Spring World Cup in China next week.

Essex cueman Bingham beat Shaun Murphy in the final at the Crucible last month to land the sport’s biggest prize for the first time.

Next week in the city of Wuxi he’ll team up with world number one Mark Selby in the England team bidding for the $200,000 top prize.

There will be 24 teams competing, initially split into four groups of six, with the top two in each group going through to the quarter-finals.

“I’m really looking forward to the new season, especially being introduced into every arena as World Champion,” said Bingham. “Obviously there will be added expectation on me, it was the same after I won my first ranking event in 2011. I might have a great season, I might have a bad one, but I’m going to enjoy it.

“I got back to practice last week and it was nice to miss a ball and think ‘never mind, I’m World Champion!’ It’s still a surreal feeling although it is starting to sink in. I’m getting recognised a lot more now and I’ve had messages from so many people.

“The trophy has been in the back of my car and I’ve been everywhere – to snooker clubs, cricket clubs and hospitals to go and meet people. I’ve said ‘yes’ to everything so far, so in a way it is nice now to get back on the practice table and back to what I do best.

“The World Cup will be fun, Mark Selby and I have been texting each other about it and I’m calling him the ‘former World Champion.’ I knew I needed a good run in Sheffield to get into the team so it was a big added bonus to get the chance to represent my country.

“It’s a tough format and there are a lot of good teams but hopefully we can qualify from our group and go a long way.”

England have been drawn in a group with Thailand – who they face first on Monday – Germany, Republic of Ireland, UAE and China B. The tournament runs from June 15 to 21.

The Kamui Brand join the Atlantic Challenge Cup

In an agreement reached today, the organizers of the Atlantic Challenge Cup are proud to announce that the Kamui brand have agreed to sponsor this event. Kamui, best known for its chalk and tips have joined the list of companies who have already shown their support.

Kamui's CEO Masato Hiraoka had this to say "We feel that the best way to predict the future, is to create it. We are inspired by the proactive leadership of the EPBF & BCA to make this opportunity available for the youth and this will be a great promotion for our sport. The Kamui Brand is very excited to be a part of the Atlantic Challenge Cup, and we look forward to the start of what surely will be a fabulous event".

The event takes place at Patricks Canadian Tavern in Rankweil Austria from the 1st to the 4th of July 2015. The official match table is supplied by Dynamic Billard and the official cloth is Iwan Simonis 860. Saluc will supply the Aramith TV Pro-cup balls for the inaugural staging of the Atlantic Challenge Cup.

The event is organized by the EPBF/IBPF in cooperation with the BCA/BEF.

Press release issued by the EPBF & BCA.

Does anybody know if this will be streamed at all?:

On 2015-06-13 09:06 , Administrator Wrote:

I'll see if I can find out for you.

J. Pechauer Custom Cues Joins Atlantic Challenge Cup

With a reputation for producing outstanding custom cues, the promoters of the inaugural Atlantic Challenge Cup today proudly announced J. Pechauer Custom Cues has joined the prestigious list of partners supporting the Atlantic Challenge Cup.

“J. Pechauer Custom Cues is known throughout the world for its fine quality cues and for supporting both pro and youth play,” said David Morris of the IBPF. “We are thrilled to have them provide further support to our youth via this partnership.”

“We are pleased to be a partner in the inaugural Atlantic Challenge Cup,” said Joe Pechauer of J. Pechauer Custom Cues. “Creating ways to get more youth involved in the game via such an exciting format as the ACC is what has drawn us to this event. We have a history of supporting youth competition and this furthers our commitment. We love seeing these kids being rewarded for their tremendous dedication to the sport. Thanks to all who have worked energetically to stage this event.”

The Atlantic challenge Cup is a new event between the best of the youth from Europe and America. Six players in each team, four boys and two girls, will battle it out to see who will have the bragging rights across the Atlantic.

The event takes place at Patricks Canadian Tavern in Rankweil, Austria from the 1st to the 4th of July 2015. The official match table is supplied by Dynamic Billard and the official cloth is Iwan Simonis 860. Saluc will supply the Aramith TV Pro-Cup balls for the inaugural staging of the Atlantic Challenge Cup.

The event is organized by the EPBF/IBPF in cooperation with the BCA/BEF
press@epbf.com

China In Command At World Cup

China's A and B teams both hit top spot in their respective groups at the Nongfu Spring World Cup in Wuxi with impressive 5-0 wins on Wednesday.

The host nation's A team - Ding Junhui and Xiao Guodong - thrashed Austria 5-0 to take first place in Group A with 13 points. Malta are on 12 points after a surprise 3-2 defeat against Singapore, while India also have 12 thanks to a 5-0 win over Norway.

There are two more rounds of group games to be played, then the top two in each group will progress to the quarter-finals.

China's B team, comprising teenagers Zhou Yuelong and Yan Bingtao, stormed to a 5-0 win over UAE in Group D. They now have 11 points, just ahead of Thailand who beat the Republic of Ireland 3-2. English duo Mark Selby and Stuart Bingham are in fourth place on eight points following a 4-1 win over Germany.

World Champion Bingham said: "It's a good win for us today, even though we lost a frame. Hopefully we can push on now and qualify from what is the toughest group. It will probably come down to our last match against Ireland. We've got to beat UAE first to stay in with a chance."

Belgium retain a narrow lead in Group B as a 3-2 win over Hong Kong put them on 11 points. Scottish pair John Higgins and Stephen Maguire are a point behind following a 4-1 defeat of Malaysia, while surprise package Brazil remain in contention as a 4-1 win over Iran put them on nine points.

Welsh duo Mark Williams and Michael White continue to thrive in Group C; their 4-1 win over Qatar left them with 13 out of a possible 15 points. Northern Ireland's Gerard Greene and Joe Swail are second on 11 points despite a 3-2 defeat against Australia.

Neil Robertson of Australia said: "We have shown improvement as the week has gone on. There are still ten frames to be played so we need to win as many as possible and see if it's enough."

For all results and group tables see www.worldsnooker.com/world-cup-group-tables