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Topic: *Industry News* 2012

Bluebell Wood Becomes World Snooker’s Official Charity

Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice in Sheffield has become World Snooker’s official charity partner for the 2012/13 season.

The hospice in North Anston offers care and support to children with a shortened life expectancy, both in their own homes and at the hospice. It provides support to children and their families throughout South Yorkshire, North Derbyshire, North East Lincolnshire and North Nottinghamshire.

Last season, World Snooker supported Haven House Children’s Hospice in Essex and raised more than the target sum of £120,000. It is hoped that a similar sum can be raised for Bluebell Wood.

World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn and WPBSA Chairman Jason Ferguson visited Bluebell Wood today to announce the partnership.

Barry Hearn said: ”We are delighted to be able to support such an amazing charity. It’s only when you visit Bluebell Wood that you realise the extent of the work they do for children and their families. It costs £3 million a year to provide that service and they receive no statutory government funding. We are determined to do everything we can to help them and we have several initiatives lined up which will raise money. Once again, player fines will be donated to the charity.

“Sheffield is the Snooker City so it is fitting that we are working with a charity in the region.”

Jason Ferguson added: “It’s important to realise how lucky we are to be healthy, with healthy children, and to be generous to those who are not as fortunate. Bluebell Wood is a fantastic cause and we’re urging everyone to get involved and make a donation.”

Sarah Champion, Chief Executive of Bluebell Wood, said: “We are so proud that World Snooker have decided to support Bluebell Wood. It is an incredible honour to be chosen. It is only through the support of organisations such as World Snooker that we can continue giving the vital support to children in our region who will not reach adulthood.”

To find out more about Bluebell Wood and to make a donation visit www.bluebellwood.org


Barry Hearn, Jason Ferguson, & 17-year-old Joe Hazel who is currently staying in the hospice.

FREE STREAM of THE Empire State Professional Championship

The LIVE FREE STREAM STARTS AT 12:00 EST. ON Sept. Sept. 8th and 9th at www.insidepool.tv

Lawler Wins First Pro Title

Veteran Rod Lawler won the first professional title of his 22-year snooker career by beating Marco Fu 4-2 in the final of UK Players Tour Championship event three.

Liverpool's 41-year-old Lawler,ranked No 65 in the world, played superbly in the event at the South West Snooker Academy in Gloucester, beating the likes of Stuart Bingham and Stephen Lee before seeing off Hong Kong's Fu in the final.

Lawler enjoyed his best days in the mid-1990s, reaching the last 16 of the World Championship in 1995 and the final of the International Open the following year. He dropped off the main tour at the end of last season having been a pro since 1990, but decided to try Q School and made it through at the third and final attempt. Since then he has found a new lease of life and started the season by qualifying for the Wuxi Classic. Tonight's victory is worth £10,000 plus 2,000 ranking points.

He opened the final with a break of 114, then the next two frames were shared. Fu took the fourth with a 102 for 2-2, but Lawler got the better of a scrappy fifth frame then sealed victory in the next with a 69.

"I'm so proud to win a tournament carrying ranking points for the first time," said Lawler. "I played some good stuff during the event and when I won two matches 4-3 earlier today to reach the semi-finals, I allowed myself to think about winning it.

"If I hadn't got through Q School I would have got a real job and just played snooker for fun. It's amazing what can happen and it's justified my decision to carry on.

"I am playing the best snooker of my life and if I keep this up I'm a handful for anyone. I'd love to qualify for a few of the big venues this season."

The Players Tour Championship is a series of ten events, four in the UK and six on the Betfair European Tour, with the top 25 on the final Order of Merit going through to the Grand Finals in March. They will be joined by seven players from the Asian PTC Order of Merit.

The next event is Asian PTC2 from September 23-27 in Yixing, China.

Results (last 16 onwards):

Last 16
Marco Fu 4-0 Ricky Walden
Ali Carter 4-2 Chen Zhe
Shaun Murphy 4-3 Jamie Cope
Robert Milkins 4-1 Judd Trump
Martin Gould 3-4 Stephen Lee
Rod Lawler 4-3 Stuart Bingham
Ken Doherty 3-4 Fergal O'Brien
Ben Woollaston 2-4 Dominic Dale

Quarter Finals
Marco Fu 4-2 Ali Carter
Shaun Murphy 4-1 Robert Milkins
Stephen Lee 3-4 Rod Lawler
Fergal O'Brien 0-4 Dominic Dale

Semi Finals
Marco Fu 4-0 Shaun Murphy
Rod Lawler 4-0 Dominic Dale

Final
Marco Fu 2-4 Rod Lawler

Mika Immomen v Stuart Pettman at Hustlers

This Thursday Night 7 pm Mika Immomen v Stuart Pettman at Hustlers Pool Bar, Bangkok, Thailand. Come and watch the up and coming talented Stuart take on a Legend in this challenge match.

Dear Player: Important Notice concerning the Men's WPA World 10-Ball in Manila

Dear ABP Pro Player,

As the only unified body of professional players worldwide, we feel obligated to protect the interests of all professional pocket billiard players.
Thus we must inform you that we have investigated and researched info on this year's men's World 10-Ball in Manila Oct 8-14th which is sanctioned by the WPA, and they have informed us this year's event in October is NOT requiring the promoter Raya Sports to have the money in advance with the WPA. This info was not included in your info sheet for the event. We recommend you confirm this with your national federation.

Previously, the WPA did announce last year it would hold Raya Sports prize money in advance due to several incidents of lack of payments and extreme tardiness which affected many of you members.

Our local association partners in the Philippines has also notified us that there are no confirmed sponsors as of yet for the event, and they are withholding their players participation until money is secured. Also STAR Billiards, a partner of the event every year, announced last week it will not sponsor the event unless the full prize money is secured. Because most of you will be traveling very far and must secure hotel and flight in advance, it is important for us to make you fully aware of any pertinent news on this.

Please note that this email is not demanding you to not play, nor is it discouraging you to participate. This email is to simply share important info and to protect the interest of the professional players. Any of our players are free to play in the event, but we wish everyone to travel there to know , that as for now, there is no guarantee or protection of finances and prize money by the WPA nor any association for players traveling to the Philippines men's World 10-Ball .

If anything changes to our knowledge, we will inform you immediately. Please feel free to share with any players that you feel this info may concern.
Thank you and best wishes.

ABP
Association of Billiard Professionals

NEWEST MEMBER OF BUGSY INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS IS A TAIWANESE LADY
by Marlon Bernardino

WOULD you believe that one of the hottest Asian superstar from Chinese-Taipei is now member of the Bugsy International Promotions – a billiards stable of the country’s finest players handled by sports patron Ceferino "Perry" Mariano.

Tsai-Pei Chen, World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) No.9 and 2009 World 9-ball China Open Champion will be joining fellow Taiwanese Chang-Jung lin and Ko-Pin yi and Filipino cue masters Dennis "Robocop" Orcollo, Carlo "The Black Tiger" Biado, Roberto "Superman" Gomez, Renemar "Revo" David, Johann "Bubwit" Chua and John Vincent Vicedo.


“Like Chang and Ko, Tsai has the qualities of world champion–personality, dedication and discipline. With proper training and motivation, she would give glory to billiards,” said sports patron Ceferino "Perry" Mariano who formally announced the acquisition of Tsai as newest members of Bugsy’s Monday at the Hermes Sports Bar in West Avenue, Quezon City.

“It's an honored to become a part of Bugsy International Promotions.I will try my best to reach the outfit's expectations. My ambition to become world champion is would be easier to reach with the support of Mr. and Mrs. Perry and Verna Mariano,” said Tsai, through an interpreter.

Other members of Bugsy International Promotions under the rigid training of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PSCO) Billiards Academy and Hermes Sports are Hadley Mariano of College of St. Benilde, Biondi Ti of Ateneo de Manila University, Rodlin John Bautista and Cedric Gonzales of University of Sto. Tomas and Geona Gregorio of Letran College, all products of the National Collegiate Billiard League (NCBL) or B-League.

Meanwhile, Bugsy International Promotions top honcho Ceferino "Perry" Mariano blasted the leadership of BSCP (Billiards Sports Confederation of the Philippines) president Arturo "Bong" Ilagan Jr. for lacking grass roots development program in Philippine Billiards.

"We need to discover new talents. I challenge Mr. Ilagan to step down in his post kung gusto n'ya pang may magandang mangyari sa Philippine Billiards at kung totoong may pagmamalasakit at mahal n'ya ang larong ito," said Ceferino "Perry" Mariano.

"Sayang at napag-iiwanan na tayo ng mga kalapit nating bansa. Tignan muna lamang ang nakalipas na International tournament hindi na tayo nananalo," Mariano referring of this year's World 9-ball, Women's World 10-ball and World Cup of Pool that no one Filipino made it to the Finals.

"Kaya ako nagde develop na din tayo ng mga Taiwanese. Y'ang BSCP ni Ilagan ay nanghihiram lamang ng mga player natin sa BMPAP," said Mariano.

"If our national association remains the same we will withdraw support and let them develop their own players," last world of Mariano.

WPBSA Statement

The WPBSA have become aware of unusual betting patterns on a match that took place during PTC3 at the South West Snooker Acadamy on Saturday 8th September 2012 between Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Steve Davis.

This matter has been referred to Nigel Mawer, Head of the WPBSA's Integrity Unit, to make preliminary enquiries to establish what has taken place and to consider if any action is appropriate.

WPBSA Chairman Jason Ferguson said: “The WPBSA has a network of international partners to monitor such issues. We take any potential breach of the Members Betting Rules very seriously. Any player found guilty of such a breach is likely to be banned for life from snooker. Protecting the integrity of the sport of snooker is of paramount importance".

Nugget To Face Grinder In Seniors

Steve Davis will meet Cliff Thorburn in the first round of the Seniors World Championship in Portsmouth next month.

The random draw for the opening round of the 16-man event pitched Davis and Thorburn together for a repeat of the 1983 World Championship final, which Davis won 18-6.

The Mountbatten Centre in Portsmouth will stage the over-45s event for the first time on October 27 and 28. It will be televised live by Sky.

Whirlwind Jimmy White will take on Mike Hallett while defending champion Darren Morgan will meet 1986 World Champion Joe Johnson. Dennis Taylor will face one of the four players who come through the qualifying rounds.

The full draw is:

Dennis Taylor v Qualifier 2
Darren Morgan v Joe Johnson
Alain Robidoux v Qualifier 1
Dene O'Kane v Qualifier 3
Jimmy White v Mike Hallett
Tony Knowles v Karl Townsend
Steve Davis v Cliff Thorburn
Tony Drago v Qualifier 4

TICKETS ARE ONE SALE NOW, starting at just £10. There are also some outstanding VIP packages available. For details call 02392 626509 or visit www.worldsnooker.com/tickets

The qualifiers are on September 29 and 30 in Sheffield.

CSI Introduces the “Leisure Division” for the 2013 BCAPL Championships

September 14, 2012 ~ CueSports International.

The BCA Pool League will introduce a new division at the 2013 BCAPL National Championships, called the “Leisure Division.” It is designed to fill the gap between average league players and the better players in the Open Division.

The “Leisure Division” will offer a lower entry fee ($80.00) and a deep payout. Here are the basic criteria for this division:
• Players who have played for 2 years in Open, Senior, or Super Senior (since 2005), and have never cashed in any Singles Division are eligible.
• Players may also be eligible if they have finished a full league session in the bottom half of their local league, and their league is enrolled on LeagueSys. We need LeagueSys to help research player history.
• Every player will be researched for player history. The eligibility criteria above do NOT insure playing in the new division. Known ability will be a big factor in establishing eligibility for this new division.
• Players entering the Leisure Division may also enter the 2nd Chance Singles events (if eligibility criteria are met), all mini tournaments, and much more.

The purpose of this division is to give lesser skilled players (called “B” players in some states) a level playing field against players of equal ability. For years, hundreds of players have participated in the Open division with no results. We greatly appreciate their support of the BCAPL and the BCAPL National Championships and wish to give them a fair chance to truly compete and cash among similarly skilled players.

If a player is unsure of his/her eligibility, he/she may send an email to Bill Stock, CSI Rules and Referee Director, requesting approval to enter the new Leisure Division- bill@playcsipool.com
Relocating the BCAPL National Championships to the larger Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, July 17-27,2013, allows us to add this new division. We look at this as an opportunity to introduce more entry level pool players to “The Greatest Pool Tournament in the World!” This welcome addition demonstrates CSI’s ongoing commitment to provide … More Choices for All Players.

CueSports International is dedicated to creating more choices for all players. In the past 8 years CSI has directly paid out $8,000,000 to players. CSI is the parent company of the BCA Pool League and the USA Pool League. CSI also produces independent events such as the US Bar Table Championships, the Jay Swanson Memorial, the US Open One Pocket Championship and the US Open 10-Ball Championship. Visit www.playcsipool.com, www.playbca.com, and www.playusapool.com for more information about CSI and its divisions.

IPA (International Professional Pool Players Association) Press Release

After a series of high level meetings culminating in an overwhelming players vote in favour on Sunday 16th September, the IPA is proud to announce that as of next season (2013) they will be playing blackball rules and joining their many colleagues in this popular arm of the sport of pool.

With the multitude of new opportunities this opens up for both the current IPA players and those hoping to join, both sides (IPA and Blackball authorities) plan to take advantage of each other’s areas of expertise and professionalism.

Blackball has a superb structure in place already which is recognised by the WPA as the governing body of small table pool, and with the WPA (World Pool-Billiard Association), in turn recognised by the IOC (International Olympic Committee), there is no higher sporting body that we could possibly refer to at this time or in the foreseeable future.

With over a hundred million members worldwide the potential of this joint venture is massive and with blackball the fastest growing version of our sport we can only look forward to an exciting and prosperous future for current players and new players alike from all over the United Kingdom, Europe, and further afield.

IPA Chairman Kevin Barton said

“The professional pool players are looking forward to a new challenge and new challengers in this rapidly expanding marketplace that can only be good for them and the grass root players as we look to organises bigger and better tournaments in 2013, building on the success the new committee has brought to the sport in 2012. These are exciting times for all of us and I am delighted that the players support this move and their committee and we look forward to realising our potential in the exciting times over the months and years ahead.”

ABP International Pro Rankings : Dechaine, Van Boening, Hundal Lead Points

    Chicago, Illinois- The Association of Billiard Professionals is pleased to announce the updated rankings for the ABP. Currently USA's Mike Dechaine of Maine leads the USA men's pro tour. Last year's #1 ranked Shane Van Boening of South Dakota, USA is in close second place and India's Raj Hundal is in third place being the highest ranked Indian in pool history thus far. Stevie Moore, Dennis Hatch, Brandon Shuff, Shawn Putnam, and Corey Deuel round out the top 8.

    The ABP Rankings are the official rankings of the only pro players association in the world led by the sport's leading professional players with an 11 man board and ABP Attorney & General Counsel Dennis Walsh. The ABP Rankings were developed and are maintained by ABP Associate Joel Pope. The rankings format is designed using elements of successful sports such as golf and tennis. Mr.Pope formerly held a senior executive position with Fortune 500 company Starwood Hotels. Starwood Hotels owns Sheraton, Westin, W Hotels and is 145,000 employees strong.

    "The ABP has eliminated the former ranking element used where it allows a player to "drop" an event from the ranking calculation. Allowing a player to "dump" a bad performance, that very concept is contrary to why you have ranking systems. The ranking system tracks the players' performance across a number of venues and calculates how the players' overall performance compares. The ABP ranking system takes into consideration the fan, promoter and player's perspectives in order to best grow the sport", explains Pope.

    "Joel is one of the most intelligent men I've met. He has done an enormous amount of research and studies into worldwide sports rankings and the ABP is completely behind his developed system", said Rodney Morris, Vice-president of the ABP.

    The Current Top 16 Ranked who will be seeded for the next ABP Event

        Mike Dechaine USA
        Shane Van Boening USA
        Raj Hundal IND
        Stevie Moore USA
        Dennis Hatch USA
        Brandon Shuff USA
        Shawn Putnam USA
        Corey Deuel USA
        Darren Appleton ENG
        Mike Davis USA
        Dennis Orcullo PHL
        Oscar Dominguez USA
        Mika Immonen FIN
        Jeremy Sossei USA
        Rodney Morris USA
        Johnny Archer USA

In 2012-2013, the ABP plans to sanction more events and in that regard will be further utilizing the ABP International Ranking Point System. The ABP will also be using the ABP Rules & Format which it hopes will standardize the sport further. The planned integration will be a process, and the ABP is not expecting an overnight change, and is ready to work with promoters and associations to take time to integrate these needed changes into our sport.

    "Instead of having just 4 events on the pro calendar, we can now reach 7 this year. And by next year we believe we can reach 10-12 events with each promoter having a real plan and help to reach more added money. Now we can have a real tour", said Johnny Archer, President of the ABP.

    The ABP will also be modifying its sanctioning guidelines to assist promoters and events to build their tournaments to higher levels. In a realistic point of view due to the US economy, promoters are not able to always meet $25,000 added minimal purses. The ABP desires to help promoters grow their events by giving them a base opportunity to grow each year with a system that requires growth but at the same time assists it.

    The ABP is a united assembly of international professional billiard players. The ABP was formed to be the voice of players worldwide in order to assist in tournament and industry challenges. ABP directives include standardizing equipment, rules, ensuring the timely payment of prize money, assisting promoters and sponsors, and the overall protection and security of professional players. The ABP works to improve the sport of billiards and jointly works with associations, promoters, sponsors and players alike in the joint goal of growing the sport and providing security to all involved. Membership of the ABP includes players from Europe, Asia, and the United States. To join and support the ABP, e-mail abppropool@gmail.com . Follow and support ABP at www.facebook.com/ABPpros

williamhill.com continue sponsorship of snooker's UK Championship

williamhill.com has renewed its title sponsorship of snooker's UK Championship for the next two years.

Europe’s leading online betting firm, who offer the widest range of sports betting and gaming products on the market, backed the world ranking tournament for the first time last year and will do so again in 2012 and 2013.

This year's williamhill.com UK Championship will carry total prize money of £625,000 and runs from the 1st to 9th December at the York Barbican. It will feature 32 of the world's best players, with Judd Trump set to defend the title having beaten Mark Allen 10-8 in last year's thrilling final.

World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn said: "There is a fantastic buzz about snooker at the moment, exemplified when young sensation Judd Trump won the title in York with an incredible display of potting.

"William Hill recognise that this sport is going places and they want to be involved, and we welcome them back with open arms to sponsor this outstanding tournament. They were clearly delighted with the amount of exposure they got for their brand from the event last year. The williamhill.com UK Championship is one of our biggest world ranking events and is watched by many millions of people worldwide.

"We look forward to working with the team from William Hill again with the target to deliver another exceptional event."

William Hill Chief Marketing Officer Kristof Fahy said: "The williamhill.com UK Championship is one of the highlights on the snooker calendar and we’re delighted to continue our association with the event.

"Snooker has a massive global reach and our sponsorship will enable us to reach over 100 million potential customers across the world."

Tickets for the tournament are on sale now, for details call 0844 854 2757 or visit www.worldsnooker.com/tickets.

TOO HOT TO MISS

EAG INTERNATIONAL
The complete amusement and leisure show
ExCeL London
One Western Gateway
Royal Victoria Dock
London
E16 1XL

22-24 January 2013
www.eagexpo.com
For further information contact:
Karen Cooke
Tel: +44 (0)1582 767 254
Email: karencooke@eagexpo.com

World Class Artistic Pool Masters Cup
Special invite Event -:- Shenyang, China -:- July 13 – 15, 2012

OVERALL POSITION OF FINISH

1 Jamey “The Sharpshooter” Gray (Connecticut, USA)
2 Nick “Quick Nick” Nikolaidis (Quebec, CANADA)
3 Sebastian “The Matador” Giumelli (Argentina, SOUTH AMERICA)
4 Wayne “The Trixster” Parker (South Africa, AFRICA)
5 Gabi Visoiu (Romania, EUROPE)
6 Florian “Venom” Kohler (France, EUROPE)
7 Charles “Spitball Charlie” Darling (Missouri, USA)
8 Tim “The Dragon” Chin (California, USA)
9 Mark “Dr. Popper” Dimick (Oklahoma, USA)
10 Steve “Triple C” Markle (Pennsylvania, USA)
11 Abram “Too Tall” Diaz (California, USA)
12 Jason “The Michigan Kid” Lynch (Michigan, USA)

8 DISCIPLINE CHAMPIONS

Trick / Fancy Shots Abram Diaz 30 out of 30 points
Special Arts Jamey Gray 29 out of 30 points
Draw Shots Nick Nikolaidis 30 out of 30 points
Follow Shots Tim Chin 29 out of 30 points
Bank / Kick Shots Sebastian Giumelli 30 out of 30 points
Stroke Shots Gabi Visoiu 29 out of 30 points
Jump Shots Jamey Gray 30 out of 30 points
Masse Shots Gabi Visoiu 28 out of 30 points

BONUS CATEGORIES

Best Achievement Award (Highest % make rate) – Jamey Gray
Sportsmanship Recipient (Overall “sport” attitude) – Jason Lynch
Mr. Congeniality (Most friendly / popular personality) – Florian Kohler
Best Dressed Award (Best attire) – Charles Darling
Best Showman / Performer Award – Sebastian Giumelli

GB 9 Southern Masters set for Online Live Streaming

The GB 9 Ball Tour will return to your PC and Laptop monitors this coming weekend as the Southern Masters event takes place in Daventry.

The best 9-ball pool players from across the UK will showcase their talents live online via Cuesport TV with around 16 hours of live coverage scheduled across two days.

Last year's Champion Kevin Uzzell will be looking to defend his title, the ranking points and pick up the £2000.00 winners cheque that is now on offer for the main event. It will be a tough ask though with so many top players now competing in the UK. In fact 6 British players feature in the top 20 of the Eurotour rankings, with Darren Appleton sitting in the World number 1 spot as well.

The Cuesport TV coverage is available for £2.95 ($4.80) in advance but switches to £4.95 ($8.00) on the 27th September. The pay-per-view price covers the whole weekend which kicks off at 10:15am on Saturday 29th September, with play finishing around 6pm. On the Sunday action in the the main event starts at aroudn 10:15am with matches being played to a close at around 8pm.

The live stream is served at 1250kbps so make sure you have sufficient download speed to watch the stream uninterrupted, regular updates will be available on Facebook and Twitter throughout the course of the weekend.

Direct link to the livestream sign-in is here:
www.cuesport.tv/Events/signin.aspx?eventID=779

Stunning VIP Packages at UK Snooker

The williamhill.com UK Championship returns to York in December and there are some sensational hospitality packages available for the conclusion of one of snooker's biggest tournaments.

The £625,000 world ranking event runs from December 1 to 9 at the York Barbican and top stars set to compete include defending champion and potting sensation Judd Trump, World Champion Ronnie O'Sullivan, new Shanghai Masters champion John Higgins, Mark Selby, Ding Junhui and many more.

Here's your chance to watch the semi-finals (December 7 and 8 ) and the final (December 9) in style and make it a truly memorable occasion. It's a perfect early Christmas present for a snooker fan, or just a treat for anyone passionate about the sport!

The packages include:

- Ticket for the afternoon or evening session
- Arrival drink
- Three-course meal or luxury buffet with drinks
- Goody bag
- Event programme and radio earpiece
- Interval drink
- Appearance from snooker legends

Prices start at just £75, rising to £120 for the evening session in the final.

DON'T MISS OUT on the ultimate snooker experience. For more information and to book packages, call Frank Smith on 01277 359925.

Standard tickets are also on sale and start at just £15 - for details call 0844 854 2757 or visit www.worldsnooker.com/tickets

DERBYSHIRE welcomes the women’s snooker circuit on Saturday

The Northern Championship, the second of seven legs on the 2012/13 World Ladies Billiards & Snooker Association tour, kicks off at 10am at the North East Derbyshire Snooker Centre, Cross.

Maria Catalano returns to defend the title she won last year. But the 30-year-old from Dudley, West Midlands, faces strong opposition from Hong Kong’s Jaique Ip Wan In, who triumphed in the Agnes Davies Memorial, the first ranking event in May.

Derby’s England international Hannah Jones, who turned 16 earlier this month, joins the 13-strong field that includes three other Far East stars and one from Latvia.

Missing from the action will be eight-time world champion Reanne Evans, who is attending a World Snooker coaching course in Sheffield.

NORTHERN CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, September 29
North East Derbyshire Snooker Centre
Derby Road
Clay Cross
Derbyshire
S45 9AG
Tel: 01246 866364

ENTRIES
Maria Catalano (Dudley, West Mids)
Maureen Rowland (Wallsend, Tyne & Wear)
Tatjana Vasiljeva (Latvia)
Jenny Poulter (Maidstone)
Tina Owen-Sevilton (Bridgewater, Somerset)
Natascha Niermann (Cambridge)
Eva Palmius (Isleham, Cambs)
Vicky Carter (Stevenage)
Ng On Yee (Hong Kong)
Jaique Ip Wan In (Hong Kong)
So Man Yan (Hong Kong)
Yu Ching Ching (Hong Kong)
Hannah Jones (Derby)

ANNOUNCEMENT

To pool organizations and players:

Due to unavoidable circumstances and the unexpected unavailability for now of suitable billiards table equipment here in Manila, we, the Board of Directors of PRISM – Raya Sports want to officially announce that our company will not organize and stage the 2012 WPA World Ten Ball Championship at the SM Megamall in Manila as planned on October 9-14.

To rectify the situation, PRISM-Raya will hold instead two world- ranking events in succession in November, namely:

1. The World Ten Ball Championship on November 19-25, at the Skydome SM-North Edsa. Quezon City, Metro Manila.

2. The 2012 WPA World Pool Summit on November 26-28 and December 1- 4 at the Skydome, North Edsa, featuring a men’s and women’s division.

Following the holding of the Summit, the final ranking event of the year, the WPA will proclaim the 2012 male and female players of the year at a dinner ceremony on December 4.

We ask members of the world pool community to kindly understand the reasons why these changes in the pool calendar had to be effected. We have done our utmost to find suitable remedies. But the problems simply cannot be resolved in time for us to hold the WTBC starting on October 9. PRISM-Raya views this responsibility with total seriousness and commitment.

Since we first organized our first world championship in November 2006, we have organized and financed a total of seven world championships, and two Philippine Opens. And we are most eager to hold successfully the eighth world
pool championship in our national capital.

We realize that there might be material complications for some players who were registered early into the tournament by reason of their world ranking. Our company is prepared to deal with claims according to the law here in the Philippines.

One possible benefit of the changed schedule for players, fans and pool officials alike is that they can now join and watch two world-ranking tournaments in Manila on just one visit to our capital.

We extend our profound apologies to all.

Yours for the
Greater Glory of Pool,

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PRISM- RAYA SPORTS

FREE STREAM of The Great Southern Billiard Tour Championship from Michael's

Great Southern Billiard Tour Championship Live Stream from Michael's in Fairfield, OH runs September 26-30, 2012. There will be a guaranteed $9,000 purse and at least one Banks Ring Game featuring Shannon Daulton, Brian Gregg, Shannon Murphy, John Brumback, Jason Miller and Truman Hogue.

FREE FOR ALL TO WATCH

Billiard Congress of America Points System

Broomfield, Colo. - September 27, 2012 - In light of recent media announcements by the Association of Billiard Professionals (ABP) regarding points systems and standings, the Billiard Congress of America would like to clarify that its points system is the only system in North America used for inviting players to compete in World Pool-Billiard Association sanctioned world championship events.

"As the North American representative to the WPA, the Billiard Congress of America is responsible for maintaining a points system designed to fairly rank American players according to their performance in American tournaments," said Billiard Congress of America Chairman Mike Serra. "The ranking is then used for inviting American players to compete in WPA sanctioned world championship events. We post our points system and player rankings not only on our website, but they are also available at azbilliards.com so everyone has access to up-to-date information on the player rankings."

In order for tournaments to be designated as a BCA point-ranking event they must meet or exceed a predetermined set of requirements and must request such designation from the Billiard Congress of America's WPA Committee. A detailed explanation on how the points system works can be found on the BCA website.

The BCA has also recently launched a facebook page to streamline the process for inviting players to compete in WPA sanctioned world championship events. Further, the page will also offer fans an additional opportunity to follow the results of their favorite players.