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Topic: INDUSTRY NEWS - December 2009

INDUSTRY NEWS - December 2009

Pro9 receives more news than we can fit on our front page, and not all news can take pride of place with our "featured article" status, and frankly some news is less relevant to the European market, so for a trial period, we will be presenting it here!

Posting in this section will be locked except for admins - if you wish to discuss the news items posted here then please start a new forum thread in an appropriate section

UPC Nine-ball Championships 2009/10

The weekend of the 4-6 December 2009 sees forty-six teams and over 150 university nine-ball players arrive in Liverpool to battle it out for the Team and Individual Championships. This event has grown dramatically in the last six years, and to accommodate this growth the event will now be played in two fantastic Riley’s venues – Grand Central and Wavertree. With a further three teams competing compared with last season’s entry, the event continues to boast the title of the biggest annual nine-ball event in the UK.

“The move to Liverpool for this event is an exciting one. Both venues provide excellent conditions to host this event and we look forward to working with their enthusiastic management and teams to ensure this event is a continued success,” commented UPC Communications Director Dave Graham.

This event will continue to use the Championship/Trophy format with the bonus of a ‘second chance’ that double elimination offers.

University of Warwick dominated the event in 2008-2009 by winning the Team Championship and Trophy with 1st team player Matthew Bradley winning the Individual Championship. They will be vehemently trying to defend their silverware in Liverpool. They have proven to have a tremendous pedigree in this discipline by winning the Team Championships in three of the five years the event has been held.

Last year’s finalists Essex, strengthened ‘on paper’ by the addition of Sam Jeffrey (England U21 international at World Rules Eight-ball) will hope to go one better this year and Imperial, Bristol, Manchester Met and York come back with teams which they are hopeful are strong enough to challenge in the latter stages contested on Sunday. A dark horse in the draw will be London School of Economics, who will be anticipating building on the notable success of their pool club in their fledgling season in 2008-2009.

Matthew Bradley will be optimistic about becoming the first player to retain the Individual Championship but there is a large field of entrants with the intention of ending his dream! Names to look out for are Rich Wharton (Anglia Ruskin) who is aiming to become the first player to win both the UPC Eight-ball and Nine-ball individual titles, GB9ball Tour players Chun Hao Man (Manchester Met) and Kevin Lau (Huddersfield) with Mike Walsh, Luke Fleet (both York), James Hill and Jay Murphy (both Warwick) all expected to do well. The entry of several new and restructured teams means that there could well be a few unknown quantities in the draw.

The action gets underway with the Individual Championship at 10h15 on Friday 4th December. The Team Championship/Trophy begins at 14h45 on the same day with the Individual Championship Semi-finals and Final from 20h00 on Saturday 5th December.

The Team Championship resumes at 9h30 on Sunday 6th December. Both the Championship and Trophy will culminate in the afternoon with the Championship Semis and Final and Trophy Final from around 13h45.

Notes:
The Universities Pool Council (UPC) is the governing body for pool at higher education level in the United Kingdom. It is recognised by the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS), Scottish University Sport (SUS) and the English Pool Association (EPA).

The UPC organises national nine-ball, eight-ball and women’s eight-ball championships for teams and individuals. The UPC also organises the Student Home Internationals representative event.

www.upc-pool.org.uk

Reyes Leads Philippines Against Team Japan Today at World Mixed Doubles

By Sally Lee

Manila, Philippines- Efren Reyes and Rubilen Amit will face off against Team Japan's Hayato Hijikata and Kaori Ebe. Reyes and Amit both are reigning World Champions while Hijikata is Japan's finest young player ranked in top 3 at tender age of 20, with his lovely female pro counterpart Ebe. This is just one of the featured matches today at the World Mixed Doubles Classic at Nuvo City in the Quezon City section of Manila, Philippines from December 1-3,2009. This event brings together the most beautiful women cueists with the top men stars of the game for exciting match-ups. Six teams from different countries will battle on the table in 10-Ball with ESPN Star Sports and ABS-CBN airing all 12 hours of the event live broadcasted throughout Asia and the Philippines. The event is the brain child of billiards promotion giant Dragon Promotions .


Mon, Reyes,Amit,Chen,Van Boening,Ebe,Hijikata,Andoni,Williams,Rally Martinez,Cindy Lee,Aristeo Puyat

"I was really nervous to be playing with Efren, but we practiced together today and he relaxed me alot. I'm really going to learn alot playing with him this week!" said Amit.

Newly crowned World 10-Ball Champion Mika Immonen is fresh off his finals victory last night over pinoy Lee Van Corteza, and will be paired with hot Borana Andoni and they also will face Team Japan today. Interestingly, Mika's only loss at the World 10-Ball was to Hayato Hijikata who he will face again today. A tough match to call today will be USA vs Korea, with both teams evenly matched. US Open Champ Shane Van Boening along with US Amateur Champ Amy Chen will take on South Korea's winningest player in history Charlie Williams along with Eun Ji Park, a 21 year old up and coming billiard star.

Tomorrow's matches will be even more enticing with glamorous bombshell Shanelle Loraine pairing with strong pinoy Lee Van Corteza, fresh off his runner-up finish at the World 10-Ball.

Team Philippines A : Efren Reyes & Rubilen Amit
Team Philippines B : Lee Van Corteza & Shanelle Loraine
Team USA: Shane Van Boening & Amy Chen
Team Europe: Mika Immonen & Borana Andoni
Team Japan: Hayato Hijikata & Kaori Ebe
Team Korea: Charlie Williams & Eun Ji Park

Today's schedule will be :
2:00pm Japan vs Europe
320pm    USA vs Korea
440pm    Philippines vs Japan

Tomorrow Dec 2
2pm    Philippines B vs Korea
320pm Philippines A vs Europe
440pm Philippines B vs USA

Dec 3 Semi and Final 2pm-6pm

The matches will air locally on ABS-CBN's Studio 23 and Balls. Internationally on ESPN Star Sports as well as ABS-CBN in middle east and USA.

     "Billiards, the sport of the Philippines. The sport of the people." Please visit www.dragonpromotions.com

TEAM EUROPE BEATS TEAM JAPAN IN WORLD MIXED DOUBLES CLASSIC

BY: MARLON BERNARDINO

MANILA, PHILIPPINES---Mika Immonen and Team Europe just keep on winning.

Immonen combined with Borana Andoni to beat Team Japan’s Hayato Hijikata and Kaori Ebe, 7-5, in the opener of the 2009 World Mixed Doubles Classic Tuesday at the Nuvo City Lifestyle Center in Libis, Quezon City.

The hotshot from Finland won his second straight major title this year by trouncing local bet Lee Vann Corteza in the final of the World Ten Ball Championship Monday night.

European players are dominating the pool world as of late.

The world champions in the four pool disciplines are all Europeans – Daryl Peach of England in 9-ball, Ralf Souquet of Germany in 8-ball, Niels Feijen of the Netherlands in straight pool and Immonen in 10-ball.

Immonen also won his second straight US Open title last month. “I just felt like I can win every match I play,” he said.

His success rubbed off to his playing partner.

“Mika’s winning habit is contagious,” said Andoni, who hails from Albania.

But the Japanese didn’t go down without a fight.

They actually took control of the match early and had several chances to pull off an upset in the event presented by Nuvo Land Philippines, Inc. and Dragon Promotions.

After racing to a 5-3 lead, the Japanese had two chances to reach the hill. But Ebe and Hijikata took turns in missing easy shots late in the racks.

Ebe missed a tough-angled shot on the nine-ball to let Immonen and Andoni equalize on the 10th rack while Hijikata’s shot on the 10-ball rattled out on the 11th.

The six teams in the $12,000 event supported by Puyat Sports, ABS-CBN Sports, ESPN-Star Sports and Philippine Star are divided into two groups. The Team Philippines “A” of Efren “Bata” Reyes and Rubilen Amit, Team Europe and Team Japan composed Group A while the Team Philippines “B” of Corteza and Fil-Am Shanelle Loraine, Team Korea of Charlie Williams and Eunji Park and Team USA of Shane Van Boening and Amy Chen comprised Group B.

The top teams after a group round robin will dispute the title and the top prize of $6,000 on Thursday.

New South Wales Open 9-Ball Championships 2009

Congratulations to Greg Jenkins who has won his second NSWPBA event of 2009 beating Australian billiards legend Joe Minici 11-7 in a high quality final. There were a lot of excellent run outs and some fantastic shots made throughout. The video footage including match commentary will appear on www.cueball.tv shortly, as well as the full tournament charts and updated NSW rankings.

We had a superb turn out of 70 runners battling their way through double elimination qualifying on day one to the last 32 knockout stages on day two. The fantastic playing conditions at Cue City added to the excitement, and the alternate break format allowed for many close matches over both days - indeed there were several 9-8 matches in the knockout stages.

Greg managed to squeeze past the newly crowned double Australian 8 & 9 ball champion Dave Reljic in a tight semi final which went rack about until 7-7 when Dave made a rare mistake and snookered himself which allowed Greg in to take the match. The first 8 racks were all break & run outs so the quality was outstanding.

Joe came from 8-7 behind to beat John Wims in the other semi, after John missed a crucial 7-ball when looking good for the match. He had landed a little too straight and tried to force the shot to make position on the 9 at the other end of the table. The 7 landed safe but Joe pulled off an amazing 'do or die' long bank shot and landed perfectly on the 9, then followed up with a last rack run out.

Losing quarter finalists were Geoff Yiu (6-9 Jenkins), Matt Pickering (7-9 Reljic), Terry Lai (3-9 Wims) and Luke Hough (3-9 Minici). Louise Moore won the furthest female prize and Greg claimed the bounty hunter prize on himself as well, so he will remain the target player for the next event.

The remainder of the prize money was paid out to the last 16 finishers who were; Todd Hayward, Felix Iskandar, Chris Giovannis, Paul Qian, Dave Walsh, Maher Elomari, Tony Behan and Dennis Paul. Well done all!

My pick for match of the day was the last 16 tie between the much fancied John Wims and GB9 pro player Dave Walsh. The match produced several superb run outs as well as some great safety battles, and despite Wims building up an early 5-1 lead Walsh quickly came back to level at 5-5. Eventually there were no surprises when the match went to hill-hill, but it was Wims who got over the line in a tense final rack.

Thank you to Cue City for being fantastic hosts for this great event, and for all the positive feedback we received (and the surprisingly few complaints!) from the players. Apologies for running a bit over time - this couldn't be helped as operational requirements from the venue took priority on Saturday, which inevitably meant we had to delay a few matches.

Looking forward to seeing everyone at the 10 ball State Title in the new year!

ESPN STAR SPORTS INKS DEAL WITH BILLIARD CLUB NETWORK

Asia’s Biggest Sports Content Provider to Showcase U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship Across the Region

December 1, 2009, St. Louis, MO -- Asia's No. 1 sports content provider ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) and Billiard Club Network (BCn) announce its first broadcast distribution agreement to showcase the 2009 U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship across Asia.

The deal gives ESS exclusive multi-platform broadcast rights including cable, satellite and terrestrial television, as well as online and mobile media rights. Billiard Club Network’s production of 13 matches featuring notable world pool superstars will be telecast across ESPN STAR Sports’ broadcast networks in 24 Asian markets. In addition to this 2009 tournament, ESS will broadcast BCn’s 2008 U.S. Open 9-Ball series.

“We are delighted to partner with Billiard Club Network to showcase their events through our extensive reach across the region on our broadcast networks and our digital media platforms,” said Manu Sawhney, Managing Director, ESPN STAR Sports. “Cue sport programming has continued to grow on ESPN STAR Sports and with the strong following for the sport in Asia, fans can look forward to the most entertaining cue sport experience on our networks.”

“ESPN provides our distribution with the star power needed to continue its growth on the international stage,” commented BCn president Rob Sykora. “This is our eighth year producing and distributing the great match-play of the U.S. Open 9-Ball and we are heartened by the growth and reach of the event’s broadcast. International TV distribution is critical for the success of any pool event and we look forward to the ESPN STAR Sports’ broadcast in Asia to provide a great break for this event and our future programs.”

In its 34th year, the U.S. Open 9-Ball has grown to a premier professional pool event due in large part to BCn’s production and TV distribution. Since 2002, when it first broadcast the U.S Open event live on Dish Network, BCn has reached more U.S. households with its cable and internet programming than any other broadcaster other than ESPN itself.

BCn’s worldwide TV distribution has reached well beyond ESPN Star Sports to include Sportsnet in Canada, Numericable in France, NTV+ and Planeta Sport in Russia, DD Sports in India, Rai Sport in Italy, along with U.S. regional sports networks Altitude Sports, Cox Sports TV, Comcast Sports, Sportsnet NY and America One. BCn also is the #1 subscribed and viewed pool and billiard channel online at YouTube, the world’s largest video portal.

ESPN STAR Sports has showcased a strong list of cue sports on its networks, such as Asia’s premier pool competition the Asian 9-Ball Tour, World Pool Championship, World 10-Ball Championship 2009, Women's Professional 9-ball Tour, Women's World 10-Ball Championship, Philippine Open 10-Ball Championship.

AGIPI Billiard Masters 2010 - Groupes A & B
Auditorium AGIPI
12 avenue Pierre Mendès France
Schiltigheim
France

4-6 December 2009

The excellent AGIPI Billiard Masters web site is up and running and will be providing up to date results and LIVE video streaming coverage of the qualifications for the 2010 event.

Starting this Friday, the draw has already dealt a cruel blow with what must surely be the toughest "Group Of Death" ever encountered, as Jaspers, Kasidokostas and Sanchez - no less than three World Champions - are all clustered into one group.

ww.agipibilliardmasters.com

New Board Of WPBSA Being Constituted

Following an AGM, held in Sheffield today, at which Sir Rodney Walker, Jim McMahon and Mike Dunn were not re-elected to the board of the WPBSA, and at which no other individual stood for election, the remaining board members, Lee Doyle and Dr Hamish McInnes, will now co-opt further individuals to the board, as a matter of priority. The first such appointment will be a professional player, as governed by the constitution of the WPBSA.

BATA, AMIT CLINCH 1ST WORLD MIXED DOUBLES CLASSIC

BY: MARLON BERNARDINO

MANILA, PHILIPPINES---EFREN “Bata” Reyes and Rubilen “Bingkay” Amit of Philippines A bagged the 1st World Mixed Doubles Classic title after edging out Korea in an exciting final match late Thursday at the Nuvo City Lifestyle Center in Libis, Quezon City.

Reyes and Amit, the two world champions from Puyat Sports of Aristeo “Putch” Puyat, posted an 9-7 win in their race-to- nine match against Koreans Charlie Williams and Eun Ji Park. They took home the top prize of $6,000 event presented by Nuvo Land Philippines, Inc. and Dragon Promotions and supported by Puyat Sports, ABS-CBN Sports, ESPN-Star Sports and the Philippine Star.
The Koreans, on the other hand settled runner-up place for $3,000.
" We would like to thank the organizer (Dragon Promotions) and the sponsors for staging this event," said Reyes, who became the First Filipino World 9-Ball Champion in 1999 in Cardiff, Wales.

Philippines B of Lee Vann Corteza and Shanelle Loraine , meantime, defeated the pair of Mika Immonen and Borana Andoni of Team Europe, 7-3, in the battle for third place to received $2,000 purse.

“At least we finish third,” said Corteza, who lost to Immonen in the finals of World Ten Ball Championships.

The Nationals raced a 2-0 to 4-2 lead and never looked back in the event presented by Nuvo Land Philippines, Inc. and Dragon Promotions and supported by Puyat Sports, ABS-CBN Sports, ESPN-Star Sports and the Philippine Star.

Earlier, Team Japan of Hayato Hijikata and Kaori Ebe defeated Team USA of Shane Van Boening and Amy Chen, 5-3, to finish fifth in the six teams competitions.

Murphy Dreams Of UK Repeat

Shaun Murphy goes into the Pukka Pies UK Championship aiming to become only the third player in the 32-year history of the event to successfully defend the title.

Snooker’s second biggest ranking event has been ever-present on the calendar since 1977, but only Steve Davis (1980-81 and 1984-87) and Stephen Hendry (1989-90 and 1994-96) have won it in consecutive years.

Murphy, who beat Marco Fu 10-9 in last year’s final, starts his defence against Gerard Greene at the International Centre in Telford at 1pm on Saturday.

“Snooker isn’t littered with repeat winners, it’s not something that happens very often. If I can add my name to that list then I will be a very proud man,” said Murphy, who hopes to become the first player to win the same ranking title in successive years since Ronnie O’Sullivan took the Welsh Open in 2004 and 2005.

The Sale-based cueman upset the form book last year, as he lost his opening match in four consecutive ranking events before going all the way to the top prize in Telford.

“I couldn’t really have come here last year in worse form or any lower on confidence,” said the 2005 World Champion, who was runner-up at the Crucible last season. “Once I got myself in the event I was able to play quite well. The final was a bit too tight for my liking. The idea is to get to ten frames first, but also trying to keep your fingernails intact if you can.”

World No 3 Murphy gave his approval to the tournament’s new sponsorship deal with Pukka Pies. “In a time when businesses and other sports are struggling and everyone’s tightening their belts a little bit and not spending any money, for snooker to find a sponsor like this is very positive,” he added. “It just shows that the sport is alive and well.”

The Pukka Pies UK Championship runs from December 5 to 13, with the likes of World No 1 Ronnie O’Sullivan, Betfred.com World Champion John Higgins, legend Stephen Hendry and Grand Prix winner Neil Robertson aiming to take the title from Murphy. For tickets call 01952 561 700 or visit www.worldsnooker.com/uk

Pukka Pies, Britain's favourite branded pie manufacturer, enjoys a diverse range of sporting partnerships encompassing football, hockey and motorsport.

Pukka Pies are the sponsors of the official England Football Supporters Band and club sponsors of England's most successful ladies hockey team, Leicester Ladies.

CORTEZA LEADS RP TEAM IN WORLD TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS IN GERMANY

BY: MARLON BERNARDINO

MANILA, PHILIPPINES---LEE Vann Corteza, who is fresh from a runner-up finish in the just concluded World Ten Ball Championships will banner the country’s campaign in the 1st WPA World Team Championship slated on January 30 to February 7, 2010 in Germany.

“It's a big honor to be a part of Team Philippines,” said the Davao City native Corteza, who lost to Mika Immonen of Finland in the finals of World Ten Ball Championship.

Joining Corteza in the Nationals are Ronato Alcano, Antonio Lining, Warren Kiamco, Marlon Manalo and Dennis Orcollo.

Team members were selected based on recent and international tournaments performances according to the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP). “Members will go into intensive training to select who will play what discipline.”

The pool Olympics will feature 8-ball, 9-ball and 10-ball with the champion getting the lion share of $100,000.

Hearn Joins WPBSA Board

Following Wednesday’s AGM, at which Sir Rodney Walker, Jim McMahon and Mike Dunn were not re-elected to the board of the WPBSA, remaining board members Lee Doyle and Dr Hamish McInnes staged a meeting on Thursday at which Barry Hearn and Steve Davis were co-opted on to the board.

A further meeting will be held on December 16 with the intention to officially ratify Barry Hearn as Chairman of the board.

BETTING FIRMS SIGN UP FOR MOSCONI

Streaming Details for Strip Showdown

MATCHROOM SPORT can announce full details of live streaming of the 2009 PartyPoker.net Mosconi Cup which takes place at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas from 10 – 13 December.

Broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports, the whole event will be picked up by a number of major betting companies around the world and streamed to their members.

Working in partnership with Perform, the world’s leading internet sports specialist, the following companies will be streaming the Mosconi Cup:

www.ibcbet.com (Asia only)
www.188bet.com (Asia only)
www.betfair.com (Europe only)
www.unibet.com (Europe only)
www.ladbrokes.com (Scandinavia only)

*All sites are UK-blocked.

For full details on how to obtain this service, please visit the participating sites and see their terms and conditions.

Live in its entirety on Sky Sports in the UK, the PartyPoker.net Mosconi Cup features two five-man teams representing Europe and the USA doing battle in a series of singles and doubles matches. Now in its 16th year, the Americans hold a 10-4 lead with one tied match in 2006.

Tickets for the Mosconi Cup are available from:

http://www.ticketmaster.com/2009-Mosconi-Cup-tickets/artist/1334375

or 1-800 745 300 or from the MGM Grand on 1-800 929 1111 or 702 891 7777.

www.matchroompool.com

Notes: Matchroom Sport are one of the world’s leading producers of televised sport and are responsible for over 1,100 hours of original programming across a range of nine sports. Based in the UK and chaired by charismatic founder Barry Hearn, the Mosconi Cup is one of a stable of pool events that also includes the World Cup of Pool and the World Pool Masters.

The 2009 Mosconi Cup is sponsored by PartyPoker.net, the world’s leading online casino. Tables are supplied by Brunswick Billiards, cloth by Iwan Simonis, Super Aramith balls by Saluc and the Official Cue is Predator.

. . .. . .

“BATA” REYES AND “DJANGO” BUSTAMANTE DUO FALTERS IN SEA GAMES

BY: MARLON BERNARDINO

MANILA, PHILIPPINES---FILIPINO billiards master Efren “Bata” Reyes and Francisco “Django” Bustamante bowed out in the gold medal race after losing to the tandem of Thai’s Nitiwat Kanjanasri and Surathep Phoochalam, 4-7, in the 9-ball double event during their quarterfinal match on Thursday in the on-going 25th SEA Games at the Convention Hall of the Don Chan Palace in Vientiane, Laos.

Reyes and Bustamante, both prize fighter of Aristeo “Putch” Puyat, are the heavy favorite team here after topping this year’s World Cup of Pool at the SM North in Quezon City.

Prior Sea Games stint, Reyes teaming up with World Ten-Ball women’s champion Rubilen “Bingkay” Amit who topped the 1st World Mixed Doubles Classic in Nuvo City, Libis in Quezon City.

The little-known Thai pool bets race a 3-0 lead before the Filipino campaigner managed to rally back to make it a 4-4 count in the 8th frame. But the Thais never looked back winning the last three racks, including a spectacular shot at the 9-ball for the game-clinching win.

The loss of Reyes, the former world 9-ball champion, and Bustamante, once ranked no. 1 in the world, left former world titlists Ronnie Alcano and Alex Pagulayan and Amit to carry the cudgels for the RP pool team.

Also losing their quarterfinal match Thursday was the duo of Reynaldo Grandea and Warren Kiamco, who yielded to Thailand’s Praprut Chaithanasakun and Thawat Sujaritthurakan in the English billiard double event, 0-3, to also bomb out of the medal rounds.

Champion to Win Weight in Pies

Pukka Pies have today announced that the winner of the Pukka Pies UK Snooker Championship will be rewarded with their body weight in pies.

The Leicestershire based company are sponsoring one of the UK’s premier snooker events for the first time and will reward Sunday’s winner with a bumper delivery of their famous pies direct to their home.

Ding Junhui, Stephen Maguire, Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins have all weighed in ahead of their semi final showdowns which begin today.

Pukka Pies is a privately owned family business, founded in 1963. It employs 270 people and produces over 50 million pies and pasties per year at the most modern pie production facility in Europe, with a total emphasis on quality and hygiene

Based on an average of 4 pies per kilogramme, Sunday’s winner can expect to win anywhere between 356 pies and 276 pies.

    * Stephen Maguire - 89kg - 356 pies
    * John Higgins - 80kg - 320 pies
    * Ronnie O’Sullivan - 80kg - 320 pies
    * Ding Junhui - 69kg - 276 pies

“Pukka Pies have been a fantastic sponsor of the event this week and we are all excited about the chance of winning our body weight in pies,” said China’s Ding.

“We all made sure we were wearing a few extra layers of clothes for the weigh-in and I wanted to put a few snooker balls in my pocket but I wasn’t allowed!!”

The Pukka Pies UK Championship trophy will be presented on Sunday 13th December by Marketing Director Peter Mayes.

Pukka Pies enjoy a diverse range of sporting partnerships encompassing football, hockey and motorsport.

Pukka Pies are the sponsors of the official England Football Supporters Band and club sponsors of England's most successful ladies hockey team, Leicester Ladies.

Check out the site at www.youtube.com/PukkaPiesSport

Times Square Korea

Dragon Promotions Brings 3-Cushion & Pool Together Again

Seoul, Korea- Dragon Promotions once again are bringing back the hottest carom/pool combo event in billiards with the 3rd Annual King of Carom, Korea vs World Team, and Masters of Trickshot Showdown Dec 11-13,2009 at the new Times Square Korea. 2x King of Carom defending champion Semih Sayginer from Turkey will return with new faces such as Korea's Jaegeun Kim and Chungbok Lee, Japan's National Trickshot and carom pro Nobuyasu Sakai, and introducing his first time on television France's trickshot wonderboy Florian "Venom" Kohler. All 5 men will face each other in a round robin 3cushion tournament. The events will air on XTM and CJ Media Channels and are sponsored by www.Whois.co.kr, Takini Cloth, Min Tables, Predator Cues, Poison Cues, and Times Square Seoul.

The second day of the billiards extravaganza will feature some of the lovely ladies in billiards including Queen of Carom and Asia Indoor Games Gold Medalist Yu Ram Cha and US Amateur Open Champion Amy Chen. They will join Semih, Sakai, and Florian in Korea vs World 3Cushion Team Challenge. On the final day, all the players will return for The Masters of Trickshot Showdown which will feature pocket and carom billiard trickshots on both tables.

"I always enjoy playing for Dragon Promotions and I love to be in Korea!" said Semih Sayginer, former World 3-Cushion Champion.

"I'm so thrilled to be in Korea playing and alongside Semih Sayginer, who is my idol!" said Florian Kohler, who recently has a new DVD out called Venom Trickshots. http://www.venomtrickshots.com/

Dragon Promotions is one of the leading producers of billiard programming in the world today. Dragon produces over 40 events a year airing on networks in the Philippines, USA, Korea, India, and Europe such as ABS-CBN, ESPN, MBC ESPN, XTM, XPORTS, and Euro Sport. Events include The Women's World 10-Ball Championship, The World 14.1 Championship, The Predator International 10-Ball Championship, King & Queen of Carom, Empress Cup, Pro Pool Schools, Masters of Trickshot , World Junior 10-Ball Championships, Korea vs USA, World Mixed Doubles Classic and many more. Dragon also manages some of the world's best players including Mika Immonen, Jeanette Lee, Shanelle Loraine, Mike Davis, Yu Ram Cha, Raj Hundal, Rodney Morris, Charlie Williams, and many more.

Visit www.dragonpromotions.com or www.dragonpromotions.co.kr


Semih Sayginer is one of the most entertaining sportsmen in billiards today.

DAVAO CITY BET CORTEZA NO.4 IN WORLD RANKINGS

BY: MARLON BERNARDINO

MANILA, PHILIPPINES--LEE VANN CORTEZA, the pride of Davao City collected a total of 1,175 points including 800 points after settling a runner-up place in this year's World Ten Ball Championship moved up to fourth in the latest new rankings released by the World Pool-Billiard Association.

Corteza, the prize fighter of Jonathan Sy's Negros Billiard Stable lost to eventual champion Mika Immonen of Finland in the finals of WTBC at the World Trade Center in Manila.

Immonen, meantime took the No.1 spot with a total 2,117 points, including 1,000 points by winning the WTBC. Immonen also successfully defend its US Open tiara last September in Chessapeake, Virginia. He surpased erstwhile world No.1 Ralf Souquet of Germany who notch a total 1,209 points for No.2 spot.

Darren Appleton of Great Britain, last year’s World Ten Ball champion, stays at No.3.

Another Filipino player – Marlon Manalo – is also included in the top 10.

The former Asian Snooker champion and reigning Philippine national champion is ranked 10th in the world.

Reigning Asian Games gold medalist Antonio Gabica improved to No.17 as well as Antonio Lining, who came out of nowhere and found himself at 21st spot.

Jeff de Luna, previously the highest-ranked Filipino player at No.7, dropped to 20th spot while former No.8 Demosthenes Pulpul went down to 40 in a tie with compatriots former world No.1 Dennis Orcullo and the up-and-coming Jomar de Ocampo

Chinese player Wang Ming, Thomas Engert of Germany and Nick van den Berg of the Netherlands also occupy 40th place.

POOL TEAM ASSURE GOLD AND SILVER FOR THE 8-BALL COMPETITION IN LAOS SEA GAMES

BY: MARLON BERNARDINO

MANILA, PHILIPPINES---RP pool team assure gold and a silver medal after Ronato Alcano and Gandy Valle hurdle their respective rivals to set an all Filipino final in the 8-ball Pool Single event.

Alcano beat Thai Dechawat Poomjaeng, 7-3, while Valle nipped Indonesian Ricky Yang, 7-1, in the semifinals Sunday, at the Convention Hall, Don Chan Palace in Vientiane, Laos.

Women’s World 10-Ball champion Rubilen Amit, meantime subdued Malaysian Joanne Suhana, 5-4, Sunday, to advanced into the semifinal round of the 8-Ball Pool Single. She will face Vietnam’s Duong Thuy Vi on Monday.

Meanwhile, pool maestro Efren “Bata” Reyes and Reynaldo Grandea will see action in the English Billiard Single preliminary round on Monday against Malaysian Moh Loon Hong and Vietnamese Nguyen Trung Kien, respectively.

Ding Climbs To Sixth

Ding Junhui is up to sixth in the latest world rankings following his victory in the Pukka Pies UK Championship.

The Chinese player beat John Higgins 10-8 in the final in Telford tonight to capture his second UK crown and the fourth ranking title of his career. He is up three places from No 9 to No 6 in the latest list.

“There was a lot of pressure at the end of last season because I nearly dropped out of the top 16. I've had a long time without winning so I'm so happy,” said Ding Junhui, who beat Steve Davis in the 2005 UK final.

Despite defeat, Betfred.com World Champion John Higgins has extended his lead at the top of the list to over 7000 points ahead of semi-finalist Ronnie O’Sullivan, and the Scot is on course to take the official No 1 spot from the Rocket at the end of the season.

Stephen Maguire lost to Ding in the semis and is up one spot to sixth. Mark Selby and Liang Wenbo both reached the quarter-finals and they each move up two places, to 13th and 12th respectively.

Peter Lines was the surprise package of the tournament, reaching his first ranking quarter-final for ten years. He is rewarded with a leap of 12 places to 40th.

Pukka Pies, Britain's favourite branded pie manufacturer, enjoys a diverse range of sporting partnerships encompassing football, hockey and motorsport.

Pukka Pies are the sponsors of the official England Football Supporters Band and club sponsors of England's most successful ladies hockey team, Leicester Ladies.