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Topic: *Industry News* 2011

Newport Next For In-Form Williams

Resurgent snooker star Mark Williams hopes to continue his winning streak at next week's Welsh Open.

Williams won the German Masters last Sunday with a 9-7 victory over Mark Selby in the final. It was the 18th world ranking title of his career and eight of those have come overseas, but now he is targeting success much closer to home.

The Welsh Open runs from February 14 to 20 at the Newport Centre, with home favourites Williams, Matthew Stevens and Ryan Day battling the likes of Ronnie O'Sullivan, Stephen Hendry and defending champion John Higgins for the title.

"It's a really special tournament for me and for Matthew and Ryan too, but with it comes its own pressures," said left-hander Williams, who is now up to second place in the world rankings, his highest position since 2005.

"I don't think the three of us have done ourselves justice at the Welsh Open really and it's time for one of us to get our name on the trophy - and obviously I hope that will be me."

Twice World Champion Williams narrowly missed out on the 12BET.com UK Championship in December, losing the final 10-9 to Higgins having led 9-5. And he was relieved not to lose another close final against Selby in Berlin, as he was hauled back from 7-4 to 7-7 before taking the last two frames.

"I was in my seat when Mark was about to level the match thinking 'Am I going to let another one slip?' but then I realised that there was little I could do about it and that relaxed me," added the 35-year-old from Cwm.

This year's Welsh Open boasts a brand new format, with matches to be best-of-seven frames, with no intervals, up until the last 16 stage. There are only two tables in the arena, so every match can potentially be televised by BBC Wales.

To book your seats now call 01633 656 757 or visit www.worldsnooker.com/welsh

Wyldecrest Park Homes To Sponsor Snooker's Welsh Open

World Snooker is delighted to announce Wyldecrest Park Homes as the new title sponsor of the Welsh Open.

The world ranking tournament, which will be called the Wyldecrest Park Homes Welsh Open, will run from February 14 to 20 at the Newport Centre.

Star names such as Ronnie O’Sullivan, Neil Robertson, defending champion John Higgins and home favourites Mark Williams, Matthew Stevens and Ryan Day will be gunning for the title.

Wyldecrest is one of the UK’s largest mobile home park operators, priding itself on having high quality parks and giving residents a peaceful and stress free life.

World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn said: “Wyldecrest sponsored the World Seniors Championship last November and we are thrilled that they deemed that event such a success that they have decided to sign up for the Welsh Open.

“We’ve just secured a new three-year broadcast agreement with the BBC which includes the Welsh Open, so with a new title sponsor as well, the tournament has a fresh lease of life. This is another step forward as we usher in a great era for snooker.

“The standard of play this season has been phenomenally high, and alongside the team from Wyldecrest we’re looking forward to a great week of snooker.”

David Sunderland, Estates Director for Wyldecrest Parks Ltd, added: “Following the overwhelming success of the Wyldecrest Park Homes World Seniors Championship in Bradford last November, Wyldecrest Park Homes are proud to be associated with World Snooker, particularly with the Welsh Open, in a country so rich in snooker heritage. I am sure the players will rise to the occasion of this highly prestigious tournament and give snooker fans present and watching on television the thrills and excitement they have come to expect.”

Tickets for the event, which will be broadcast by BBC Wales and Eurosport, are on sale now. For details call 01633 656 757 or visit www.worldsnooker.com/welsh

Field raises to 172 participants
The players have been drawn into the matches for the Dynamic France Open 2011, presented by Leader Billiard Club

Wednesday, February 09, 2011: The moment of truth has come to the first Euro-Tour event this year, the Dynamic France Open 2011. The matches have been drawn by the tournament officials and the opponents now know who will face who tomorrow.

The field consists of 8 groups with 32 players each including walk-overs. The system in stage 1 of the event is a so called “double elimination system” where a player has another chance to qualify for the final 32 after having lost once. From each group, four players will advance to stage 2 of the tournament; that means that on Friday evening at 20:30, the remaining players will face each other in order to earn their merits in this tournament. The format then changes to single elimination where a loss means direct elimination for the loser.

The draw has brought some interesting matchups for Thursday. Due to some open spots, the seeded players get the benefit of receiving a walk-over in the first round.

All matches and the complete draw and flowcharts can be viewed on our event website. There is also a livestream of the feature match table available throughout the tournament. The respective matches will be advertised on the website as soon as they are known.

The event will be hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the event website www.eurotouronline.eu or contact our press office.

Early morning start for 40 players
First round of the Euro-Tour Dynamic France Open 2011 has started

Thursday, February 10, 2011: The tournament has started this morning on 20 tables. There is a lot of tension and excitement in the air. Participants from all over Europe swarm into the Leader Billard Club, the venue of the first Euro-Tour stop this year. The interior is quite unique and the big pictures on the high walls remind of famous pool players from former and modern times. A perfect setup for many interesting matches to come during the next three days.

The players can basically be divided into three groups: The experienced top-players, the regular travellers and the locals. While most top players received a walk-over in their first round match, the “internationals” and the “locals” have to fight their way through the event from the very beginning. The fact that well known Champions sit ringside watching players they could potentially face as opponents themselves in the next round does not help to relieve the tension off the players who are currently performing their matches.

The event will be hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference

Seeded players start stirring up the field while the first upsets reach the tournament

Euro-Tour Nr. 1 ranked topstar Karl Boyes from England just made it through his first match; German former World Champion Ralf Souquet falls to Serbia’s Sandor Tot

Thursday, February 10, 2011: The first sensation has occurred to this year’s Dynamic France Open. Germany’s Ralf Souquet has lost dramatically clear to Sandor Tot from Novi Sad, Serbia with 4-9 in his first round match. The beginning looked like it would be business as usual for the German. He went up 2-0 when he misses a supposedly easy 3-ball and gives his opponent the chance to get to the table. “It just isn’t me”, says the likeable player from Manching, Germany, when asked about the reasons for his clear loss. “I have some health problems with my shoulder since last November, but that does not excuse the easy mistakes I make. I have no idea what goes wrong with my game at the moment. I started out well before I missed that easy shot in the third rack. From then on, I made more mistakes and things went for Sandor.” The match was loaded with tactical safety play from both players. “I love to play the game that way. In the end, my safety shots turned out to be better than Ralf’s.” Asked about his opponent’s easy mistakes, he says: “I also have no explanation for that. Ralf is normally known as a rock solid player.” At the score of 4-8 with Souquet at the table, he misses another easy shot on the 8-ball, leaving his opponent two balls to pocket for the victory.

Karl Boyes from England turned out to be more lucky in his first round appearance here in Leader Club Billard today. He had to play Portuguese Bruno Sousa. “I scratched in the second rack and I did not have many more chances from then on until the score was 1-5 respectively 4-7 against me.”, Boyes says. “At the score of 4-7, I potted a 3-ball and drew the cue ball back into the 8-ball in order to open up the pack. That was a critical shot and I knew if I fail now, I will be 4-8 down which means my opponent is “on the hill”, having only one more game to go. That would have probably destroyed me there; but I perfectly made that shot. This gave me good confidence for the rest of the match.” When asked about the match, Sousa says with a smile: “I played him two years ago and I then also lost 8-9 against him. I knew before he is a top player. When I was leading 7-4 today, I took a wrong decision. Instead of playing open and offensive, I chose to play defensively and played safety. I should have tried to run out the rack which would have brought me to the hill.” “At 8-8, I missed the key shot and I left an open table for Karl. That was it for me in this match.”

The event is hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the event website www.eurotouronline.eu or contact our press office.

BCA Press Release concerning Players Championship
Players Championship to Earn Ranking Points for American Pros

The Billiard Congress of America, after conducting an email survey of the top male professional players in America, has now added the Players Championship to the roster of BCA ranking events for 2011. The BCA was informed on Monday of this week by promoter Allen Hopkins in a phone call to Jerry Forsyth of the BCA/WPA committee that the event, held annually at the Super Billiards Expo in Valley Forge, PA, would have sufficient added money ($25,000) to qualify as a points event.

"I told Allen, said Mr. Forsyth, that the BCA requires a six month lead time for an event to be included as a ranking event, but that exceptions could be made if the players were in agreement with the exception. 100% of the players who responded to our email said they wanted this event to be a points event. It only makes sense. They will all be in the area already for the Masters Championship in nearby Chesapeake so by having another event so close the players can save in travel expenses while being offered the opportunity to participate in two prize pools. This is definitely an exception to the rule for ranking events but Allen has a long legacy as a promoter that the players support and he deserves the exception."

The Players Championship will be held March 10-13 at the Valley Forge Convention Center. More information may be found at www.superbilliardsexpo.com.

Higgins To Face Lisowski In Newport

John Higgins will begin the defence of his Wyldecrest Park Homes Welsh Open title against up-and-coming teenager Jack Lisowski on Monday.

Lisowski, the 19-year-old from Churchdown in Gloucestershire playing his debut season on the professional tour, beat Martin Gould 4-3 in the final qualifying round in Sheffield today to earn a last 32 meeting with defending champion Higgins on Monday afternoon at the Newport Centre.

Lisowski had beaten Liam Highfield 4-1 and Fergal O'Brien 4-0 earlier in the week, and it's the second consecutive world ranking event he has qualified for, as he also made it to the German Masters earlier this month. He is already up to 58th in the world rankings and is set to continue his swift rise up the list.

"I wanted to win today, not for the prize money or ranking points, but so that I'd have the chance to play John Higgins on a big stage," said Lisowski, whose top breaks today were 72, 59, 100 and 62. "It will be a great chance to learn, and that's my attitude in all of these matches, they are all about learning how to improve my game. I've definitely exceeded my expectations this season, although I felt that I could win a lot of matches.”

For Higgins, it will be his first match since the death of his father last week after a long battle against cancer. "I'm sure it will be difficult for John," added Lisowski, who himself overcame Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 2009. "I met his dad at the Crucible when I was a kid. He was really nice and took the time to talk to me. It's really sad that he's gone now."

Whirlwind Jimmy White also qualified thanks to a 4-1 victory over Robert Milkins. He will face local favourite Ryan Day in the last 48 on Monday evening – with the winner to play Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Ladbrokes Mobile Masters finalist Marco Fu saw off Joe Swail 4-1 to earn a meeting with Welsh ace Mark Williams, who won the German Masters to move up to second in the world rankings.

Welshman Dominic Dale made it through with a 4-2 defeat of Mark Davis and will face Peter Ebdon at the venue.
Also competing for the title in Wales will be the likes of Stephen Hendry, Neil Robertson and Matthew Stevens.

This year's event boasts a brand new format, with matches to be best-of-seven frames, with no intervals, up until the last 16 stage.

To book your seats now call 01633 656 757 or visit www.worldsnooker.com/welsh

Dragon Promotions 10 Year Anniversary

Orlando, Chicago, Seoul, Manila- Dragon Promotions, one of the world's leading producers of international billiards events, celebrates a decade of promoting some of the sports greatest events. The company is led by its CEO Cindy Lee and her founding partner Charlie Williams, who also moonlights as one of the world's top professional players.

Dragon Promotions has produced over a hundred events around the world over the past 10 years. Besides full scale international TV productions of championship events, DP's range has been far and versatile including pro player management, billiard schools, exhibitions, and numerous charities and variety shows with musicians, actors, models, fighters, and comedians.

The duo of Cindy Lee and Charlie Williams have been bringing world class events to millions worldwide for over a decade

Starting in Orlando, Florida the company began promoting events across the US before taking the company international to South Korea and then to Philipppines and other parts of the world. Today they broadcast to 14 different television networks globally and are scheduled to expand further in producing events in new countries this year and the next.

A long list of premier champions have graced their events. A list of past winners of Dragon Promotion events include Mika Immonen, Johnny Archer, Allison Fisher, Jeanette Lee, Rodney Morris, Shane Van Boening, Jasmin Ouschan, Ga Young Kim, Buddy Hall, Efren Reyes, Nick Varner, Yu Ram Cha, Thorsten Hohmann, Oliver Ortmann, Earl Strickland, Corey Deuel, Rubilen Amit, Mike Davis, Semih Sayginer and many more.

Some of their premier creations have been the The Women's World 10-Ball Championship, The World Mixed Doubles, The Predator International Championship, The World Straight Pool Championship and numerous more. They've attracted mass mainstream media attention and audiences with specialty events such as USA vs Korea, World Team vs Korea, King & Queen of Carom among the many. From Los Angeles to New Jersey, Seoul Korea to Manila, Philippines, DP has held men and women pro events as well as junior and amateurs in pool and also carom billiards. Their venues have been unique in places such as water parks, malls, outdoor arenas, and even Grand Central Station in New York City as well as traditional hotels and casinos.

Please visit www.DragonPromotions.com or on Facebook at Dragonpromo Dragonworldnews


DP Team in Las Vegas during The Predator International Championship, their longest running event in its 11th year now. Photo by Dale Shank.

[ This message was edited by: BigDave on 2011-02-13 09:05 ]

ORCULLO TO PLAY IN WORLD 8-BALL CHAMPIONSHIPS;
MARIANO BROKE HIS SILENCE IN EXODCUS ISSUE
BY: MARLON BERNARDINO

BUOYED by the success of Dennis Orcullo in the recent Derby City Classic in the United States, Filipino pool players get another chance to show their wares when the 2011 World 8-Ball Championships gets going on February 19 to 26 in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates.

"Sana matumbok ko na itong World 8-ball crown sa Fujairah," said the top player of Bugsy Promotions Orcullo, also backed up by ACCEL, Hermes Sports and Malungay Life Oil who finished runner-up place with countryman Ronato Alcano during the 2008 World 8-Ball Championships.

Orcullo, a former fisherman from Bislig, Surigao del Sur, also won the World Pool Masters crown last May 12 to 16. It was held at the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. He beat Japanese Toru Kuribayashi in the finals for the top prize of USD20,000.

"The success of Dennis will serve as inspiration to other Filipino players to do their best and strive harder in the coming International Billiards competition," said sportsman/ businessman Ceferino "Perry" Mariano, presdient of the star-studded Bugsy Promotions who also handle Roberto "Pinoy Superman" Gomez, Carlo "Cool" Biado and B-League standouts RJ Bautista, Biondi Te and Hadley Mariano.

Orcullo, fondly called "Robocop" in the pool arena, is also busy preparing for the upcoming Philippine Open Pool Championships on April 16 to 20 for men and women; and 2011 World Ten-Ball Championship (WTBC) of the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA) on May 9 to 15, bothwill be held at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.
However, Mariano broke his silence against the possible of exodus of Filipino pool masters by working in abroad as billiards coach ang trainer.

"Sinasabi ng Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) na marami silang players. Ngayon marami na tayong mga top players na nag alisan na sa bansa para kumita ng pera sa ibang bayan. Sana tignan naman ng BSCP ang welfare ng mga players at simulan na nila mag develop ng mga bata kasi nagkaka edad na din ang mga player natin," said Mariano, founder of National Collegiate Billiards League (NCBL) or B-League.

Philippine Olympic Committe (POC) headed by its president Peping Cojuangco acknowledged the leadership of Bong Ilagan group.

Qatar already express their intention to get the service of Orcullo, Alcano as well Lee Vann Corteza with at least $4,000 a month salary plus free board and lodging and with car service.

Press Conference for European Championships 2011 in Brandenburg
Local hero Sascha Tege will participate in press conference

Saturday, February 12, 2011: On Friday, March 18th, 2011, at 14:00, the press conference for the European Pool-Billiard Championships will be held at AXXON-Hotel Brandenburg, Magdeburger Landstr. 228, 14770 Brandenburg an der Havel.

The EPBF will be represented by its president, Mr. Gre Leenders and its Press Officer, Mr. Thomas Overbeck. Lord Mayor Dr. Dietlind Tiemann will represent the City of Brandenburg. The AXXON Hotel will be represented by Mr. Otto Witzel. Also Helga Blawid from the local organizing committee will be prepared to answer any question related to the event. As special appearance, local hero Sascha Tege from Berlin will attend the press conference. All representatives of local government, media and sponsors are welcome to attend the press conference.

The event will be hosted by the European Governing Body for Pool, the European Pocket Billiard Federation (EPBF) and organized by International Billiard Promotion (IBP). For further information and reference please go to the event website www.epconline.eu or contact our press office.

Ultimate 10-Ball Championships Brings on Ken Shuman
Pool’s Top Referee to Co-Chair Tournament

FRISCO, TX (February 10, 2011): Ultimate 10-Ball Championships are proud to announce that well-known professional tournament director Ken Shuman has been hired to co-direct their upcoming event, which will take place April 21-24 in Frisco, TX, at the Embassy Suites Hotel Dallas-Frisco. Shuman will work together with Zach Ballas, who was also the tournament director for the 2010 Ultimate 10-Ball Championships.

Shuman is one of the country’s premier tournament directors and an accomplished referee, considered an expert on the rules of play. He has officiated at world championships in the USA and the Philippines. He directs some of the pool world’s major tournaments, including the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championships, the Derby City Classic, the U.S. Bar Table Championship, the U.S. Open 10-Ball Championship, and the CSI’s National Championship Series.

"I was extremely flattered when promoter Badi Nazhat asked me to join his tournament direction staff at the upcoming 2011 Ultimate Ten-Ball Championships,” affirmed Shuman. “I am very excited to be a part of this prestigious BCA points ranking event and look forward to building upon the success of last year's tournament in Aruba."

Entries are currently being processed via e-mail at info@ultimate10ball.com. Please contact them today to ensure your spot in this ground-breaking event.

The Ultimate 10-Ball Championships are being hosted by the Embassy Suites Hotel Dallas-Frisco in Frisco, TX. Matches will be played on Diamond Pro-Am 9-foot tables covered in Simonis cloth and using Super Aramith Pro Ball sets and red circle cue balls. For reservations please call 972-712-7200.

About the Ultimate 10-Ball Championships
The inaugural Ultimate 10-Ball Championships took place in Aruba in 2010 and featured some of the most talented players in the sport of billiards. The Ultimate 10-Ball Championships is an open tournament that will continue to feature the finest men and women pool players in the world. The 2011 is an event ranked by both the Billiard Congress of America and the Women’s Professional Billiard Association ranked event and is a World Pool-Billiard Association sanctioned event. The official web site, http://www.ultimate10ball.com, will provide stats, two free live streams, and live scoring.

Pagulayan Roars into 1st Place at Swannee

Hot on the heels of his stellar performance at this year’s Derby City Classic, Alex “the Lion” Pagulayan continued his winning streak by taking first place at the 15th Jay Swanson Memorial 9-Ball Tournament.

The event was held at the legendary Hard Times Billiards in Bellflower, California February 12-13th under the tournament direction of Mark Griffin, Sunny Griffin and Bill Stock of CueSports International (CSI). With the move to the Hard Times location, the event was live streamed for the first time by the rock and roll high tech team from TAR (www.theactionreport.com).

The largest two day 9’ table event in the United States, the $4000 added tournament with 192 players on 28 tables is not for the faint of heart. It is a test of skill, concentration and stamina. The event celebrates the much loved Southern, CA player Jay Swanson, who passed away June 1996. He was known as “the Gentle Giant” who demonstrated all that the Swanee event still stands for today.

The Swannee event has a history of a full field. However with CSI’s recently launched online registration function on its CueSports Tournament System (CTS) (www.ctsondemand.com), it was sold out for the first time the week before the tournament.

In addition to Pagulayan, the Swannee field was a literal who’s who of western U.S. players. Arizona monster Mitch Ellerman took second place. Ellerman won the event in 2009, then after a one year hiatus came back strong to narrowly lose in the finals 7-6 to Pagulayan.

Additional players included “Mad Max” Eberle. Eberle was shuttled to the loser’s side by Pagulayan in a nail biter quarter final match. With the score hill-hill Eberle dead hooked Pagulayan on the 5-Ball. It seemed Eberle pretty much had the match in the bag, but you never can count “the Lion” out. Imparting a little right spin, Pagulayan one-rail kicked in the 5 getting perfect on the 6 and calling it game, set and match.

15th Jay Swanson Memorial 9-Ball Tournament Results / Payout:

1st ($3,000)     Alex Pagulayan
2nd ($1,500)     Mitch Ellerman
3rd ($1,000)     Max Eberle
4th ($750)         Tommy Tokoph
5th-6th ($535)     Oscar Dominguez and Amar Kang
7th-8th ($400)     Josh Ulrich and Santos Sambajon Jr.
9th-12th ($300)     Brian Parks, Chris Fangre, Deo Alpajora, and Fach Garcia
13th-16th ($200) Johnny Kang, Ernesto Dominguez, Yuutaro Yamaguchi, Lori Deleon
17th-24th ($175) Louis Ulrich, Morro Paez, Nick Spano, Walter Glass, Larry Bohn, Brandon Shuff, Manuel Herrera, Jose Parica
25th-32nd ($150) Corey Harper, Tyler Van Wulven, Chris Tate, Dave Hemmah, Bob Lees, Bruce Choyce, Chris Wedekind, Ron Marshall
33rd-48th ($100)    Ray Lorenzo, Greg Harada, Ernie Rivas, Scott Slayton, Ross Fregoso, Asgar Shroff, Joseph Courvrette, Sean Lane, Wayne Pullen, Don McClelland, Branch Talley, Marshall Anonby, Abe Lim, Gus Luna, Doug Wu, El Callado
49th-64th ($75)     Will Hathcock, Frank Almanza, David Blevins, Issac Wooten, Steve Eakins, Aaron Aragon, Damian Alishan, Rigo Pena, Joey Chin, Vince Vidaurre, Dan Boone, Ronnie Tompkins, Gerardo Jamito, Stan Oda, Andrew Karhur, Mark Tui

The next CSI produced event is the $25,250 Added 18th U.S. Bar Table Championships, being held February 21-27th at the Terrible’s Sands Regency in Reno, Nevada. For more information visit: www.playcsipool.com. Coming up for TAR, in March is “TAR20”, a 10-Ball, race to 100 challenge match between Earl Strickland and Shane Van Boening. Then in May TAR will be with the CSI team at the Riviera Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas live streaming the 12th U.S. Open One Pocket Championship and the 3rd U.S. Open 10-Ball Championship.

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


PHOTO CREDIT: JUSTIN COLLETT, WWW.THEACTIONREPORT.COM

Williams Excited By Snooker’s Return To Ireland

Twice World Snooker Champion Mark Williams hopes to continue his fantastic run of form at the Players Tour Championship Grand Finals in Dublin next month.

The Welshman climbed to second place in the world rankings, his highest position in six years, by winning the German Masters two weeks ago.

And the left-hander is now eagerly anticipating the first professional snooker tournament in the Republic of Ireland since 2005, which takes place at The Helix from March 16 to 20.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve been to Ireland, which is a shame because the fans are brilliant there, they love their snooker and they know all about the game,” said Williams, who was runner-up in the 12BET.com UK Championship in December.

“I haven’t got a great record in Ireland so I’ll be giving everything to improve it and win the trophy this time. I’ve won two ranking events over the past year and it’s just great to be contending for trophies again because I had a couple of seasons where I felt like I was on my way out,” added the 35-year-old, who conquered the world in 2000 and 2003.

“I’m enjoying seeing my name towards the top of the ranking list again and I suppose I’ve got a chance of finishing the season as World No 1 – a good run in Dublin would help.”

The PTC Grand Final is the culmination of a new series of events. There were 12 short tournaments played earlier this season around the UK and Europe, with the top 24 on the final Order of Merit going through to Dublin.

Also battling for the £60,000 top prize will be the likes of Shaun Murphy, Mark Selby, Marco Fu and rising stars Judd Trump and Jack Lisowski.

The full schedule is shown below. TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW AND START AT JUST 10 EUROS. It’s a great chance to see some of the world’s top stars in action. For details call 00 3531 7007000 (or 01 7007000) or visit www.worldsnooker.com/ptcfinal

Ouschan, Fisher heads RP Open 10-ball
by Marlon Bernardino

World ten-ball champion Jasmin Ouschan of Austria and multi-titled Allison Fisher of the United Kingdom have confirmed their participation in the 2011 Philippine Open Pool Championships on April 6-11 at the Megatrade Hall of SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City.

Ouschan,aka “Jazzy Jasmin”, will be returning to Manila, the site of her biggest triumph in pool in November last year – the 2010 Women’s World Ten-ball Championship. In accepting her champion’s trophy and top prize, she spoke of what a great honor it was to win the world title in “the Mecca of pool.”

Fisher has been the dominant figure during the past two decades in women’s pool. She is called “the Duchess of Doom” for her exploits

The British-born Fisher came to the pool world by way of the Women’s Professional Billiard Association (WPBA) tournaments in the US. Originally a snooker player from the United Kingdom, after attaining the highest levels of snooker excellence and simply running out of competition, Fisher turned to playing pool by joining the WPBA tours in 1995. Since then, she has amassed the most impressive collection of pool titles ever by any player (male or female) in the history of the sport — totaling over 75 professional titles including; 4 World Championships (WPA), 8 US Nationals (WPBA), 39 Classic Tour Titles (WPBA) and 22 other world titles. The Guiness Book of World Records lists her as the most decorated poolplayer of all-time.

The Duchess now sets her sights on spreading her dominance to Asia via The 2011 Philippine Open Pool Championships. “The Philippine Open is designed to bring out the best from all competitors, regardless of their nationality or gender. Ms. Fisher’s participation testifies to the caliber of this competition, and will show that pool is not dominated by the men and that physical size, strength and speed are not necessarily the keys to win in this field.” Says JP Fenix, president of Raya Sports, the organizer of the Philippine Open.

Regardless of her gender, Ouschan is indisputably Austria’s top cue-artist and is a two-time sportswoman of the year. At a mere 25 years old, Ouschan already has on her resume several prestigious titles. Among these are a World 10-ball Championship, World Games Title, World Youth Championship, numerous Women’s European titles, and several WPBA Tournaments in the US.

New brochure has quality throughout, say Milliken

Billiard cloth manufacturer Milliken has brought out a new brochure featuring its snooker, English pool, American pool and Russian pyramid range.

Making cloth since 1890, the company continues to be the most-frequently specified by professional tournament organisers, table manufacturers, fitters and clubs.

Each product card in the brochure has a detailed description of which cloth is best suited to which game, complete with technical specifications, a colour chart and sample.

“We hope the new brochure explains why we are continuing to grow market share,” said marketing director Duncan Kettell.

“As the product of choice of World Snooker since 1980, we are playing a very active part in bringing snooker to new audiences by supporting new events such as the Caesars casino.com Snooker Shootout.

“With events like this reviving interest in the UK and sales increasing elsewhere, new cue sport enterprises are discovering why our brands are highly thought of by snooker and pool regulators around the world.”

For a brochure, email wsp.sales@milliken.com or telephone +44 (0)1453 764456.

Kimberley dominates Northern 9-ball Open

The BWPPA raised the curtain on the 2011 season on the 5th/6th February 2011 with the Dynamic Billiards Northern 9-ball Open held at Rileys Barnsley. The tour was hit by illness for it’s season opener with many of the regular tour players unable to compete due to illness. Despite this the tour got off to a great start with some great pool on show as usual at these events. “the Sandman” Roy Kimberley held onto his number 1 spot with victory in the Main Event. Roy had a tough opening encounter with Welshman Phil Hendrickson which went to a deciding rack, Kimberley’s experience told in the end as he won 7-6, he then had a more comfortably dispatched of Shaun Madin 7-2. “the Sandman” seemed to be on a roll then as he beat Tony Southern 7-5 in the semi-final

He faced fellow Midlander Leicester’s Aslam Abubaker in the final. Abubaker eased past Matt Lester 7-0 in his opener, he then beat another South Yorkshireman, World wheelchair English 8-ball Champion Gary Swift 7-2, He then beat Shaun Madin 7-1.
The Main event final between Kimberley & Abubaker was a repeat of the 2010 opening event, Kimberley a hard fought final with a 7-5 victory.
After the event Roy said “Now Aslam’s back on the tour he’s going to become my number 1 rival so it was a nice win.”

There was an all Wales final in the Challenge Cup with Craig Welsh beating Phil Hendrickson 5-3

1st Roy Kimberley
2nd Aslam Abubaker
3rd Tony Southern, Shaun Madin
4th Gary Swift, Phil Hendrickson

Written by
Matt Lester
BWPPA Press Officer

World Ladies Billiards & Snooker Association
Press Release

REANNE Evans, desperate for a first win on World Snooker’s Main Tour, just can’t lose on the women’s circuit.

The six-time women’s world champion extended her record-breaking unbeaten run to 80 matches with victory in the Southern Classic at Jesters Snooker Hall, Swindon .

Evans, who did not drop a frame in all four rounds, defeated Maria Catalano 3-0 in the final to claim her 27th ranking title on the World Ladies Billiards & Snooker Association circuit.

In a bizarre final frame, Evans gained 52 points while just three balls were potted.

The 25-year-old said: “In the first frame, Maria went 30-something up and I came back with a 59. It went close but I took a good final blue and pink to win.

“The second one I won easy but then in the third I was 27 down with 27 on and ended up 25 in front with the blue on. I played some good snookers.”

Evans, from Dudley, West Midlands , is praying for just one win in her first year on the professional circuit.

“I can’t win a close frame at the minute,” she explained. “Hopefully it’ll come in the next two events (the China Open and the World Championship).

“As long as I win one I’ll be happy – no matter where it is.”

Jesters was the venue of Evans’ first World Championship appearance in 2002, when she reached the semi-finals at the age of 16.

Jodie Symes is now 16. The world number 17 took advantage of home tables to take the junior title after her final opponent Hannah Jones, 14, from Derby , went in off the black in the third and deciding frame.

Earlier, Symes recorded a fine 3-2 win in the last-16 of the main competition against world number 12 Tina Owen-Sevilton ( Taunton ) before going out 3-0 in the quarter-finals to world number one Evans.

Owen-Sevilton defeated Jones 2-0 in the Plate final and Jenny Poulter (Maidstone) overcame Chris Sharpe (Chelmsford) 2-1 to claim the Seniors title.

The WLBSA is hosting six ranking events this season culminating in the World Championships in April.

RESULTS (BREAKS)

LAST-16: Reanne Evans (41) beat Naomi Clare 3-0, Jodie Symes beat Tina Owen-Sevilton 3-2, Gaye Jones beat Victoria Gibbs 3-0, Eva Palmius beat Martina Lumsden 3-1, Emma Bonney beat Jenny Poulter 3-0, Natascha Niermann beat Jasmine Bolsover 3-1, Chris Sharpe beat Vicky Carter 3-2, Maria Catalano beat Hannah Jones 3-0.

QUARTER-FINALS: Evans (45) beat Symes 3-0, Palmius (32) beat G Jones 3-1, Bonney (31, 59) beat Niermann 3-1, Catalano (58, 35) beat Sharpe 3-0.

SEMI-FINALS (£25): Evans (40, 52, 44) beat Palmius 3-0, Catalano (46, 32, 32, 33) beat Bonney 3-1.

FINAL (£150/£90): Evans (59, 36) beat Catalano 3-0.

PLATE

QUARTER-FINALS: Hannah Jones beat Naomi Clare 2-0, Jenny Poulter beat Victoria Gibbs 2-0, Tina Owen-Sevilton beat Jasmine Bolsover 2-0, Vicky Carter beat Martina Lumsden 2-1.

SEMI-FINALS: Jones beat Poulter (41) 2-1, Owen-Sevilton beat Carter 2-1.

FINAL (£20/£10): Owen-Sevilton beat Jones 2-0.

SENIORS

SEMI-FINALS: Jenny Poulter beat Gaye Jones 2-0, Chris Sharpe beat Martina Lumsden 2-1.

FINAL: Poulter beat Sharpe 2-1.

JUNIORS

SEMI-FINALS: Hannah Jones beat Naomi Clare 2-0, Jodie Symes beat Jasmine Bolsover 2-1.

FINAL: Symes beat Jones 2-1.

SOUTHERN CLASSIC ENTRIES

Reanne Evans (Dudley, West Mids )
Maria Catalano (Dudley, West Mids )
Emma Bonney ( Portsmouth )
Eva Palmius (Isleham, Cambs)
Hannah Jones ( Derby )
Natascha Niermann ( Cambridge )
Vicky Carter ( Hemel Hempstead )
Jenny Poulter ( Maidstone )
Tina Owen-Sevilton ( Taunton )
Gaye Jones (Melksham, Wilts)
Chris Sharpe ( Chelmsford )
Martina Lumsden ( Eastbourne )
Jodie Symes ( Swindon )
Naomi Clare (Ripley, Derbys )
Jasmine Bolsover ( Woking )
Victoria Gibbs (Trowbridge)

Higgins Extends Rankings Lead

John Higgins stretched his lead at the top of the world rankings to nearly 4,000 points following his victory in the Wyldecrest Park Homes Welsh Open.

Higgins beat fellow Scot Stephen Maguire 9-6 in the final in Newport to win the 23rd ranking title of his career and second of the season.

"I've just tried so hard in recent tournaments, taking one ball and one frame at a time. It takes a lot out of you concentration wise, but if I can keep it up then I can keep doing well. It's a tough game but it makes you feel great and you have to enjoy it while you are winning," said 35-year-old Higgins who has won his last 11 consecutive matches in ranking events and is well ahead of second-placed Mark Williams, who went out in the quarter-finals in Newport .

Maguire was denied his first ranking title in three years, but still climbs two places in the list to sixth.

Promising newcomer Jack Lisowski qualified for his second consecutive ranking event and jumps two spots to 56th.

Matthew Stevens enjoyed a fine run to the quarter-finals and leapt three places to 18th, but just missed out on the top 16 which would have guaranteed him a place at the China Open and Betfred.com World Snooker Championship.

Stephen Hendry’s first round win over Joe Perry was enough to ensure his place at the Crucible as he is now 13th. The 16 players sure of a spot in the televised stages in Sheffield in April are listed below, and the draw for the Betfred.com World Snooker Championship qualifying rounds will be announced shortly.

1 John Higgins
2 Mark Williams
3 Neil Robertson
4 Mark Selby
5 Ding Junhui
6 Stephen Maguire
7 Shaun Murphy
8 Allister Carter
9 Graeme Dott
10 Ronnie O'Sullivan
11 Mark Allen
12 Peter Ebdon
13 Stephen Hendry
14 Jamie Cope
15 Ricky Walden
16 Marco Fu

View the PDF file of the full 96 player/2 rolling-year World Snooker Ranking List

TV5 to Broadcast World Ten-Ball and Philippine Open
by Marlon Bernardino

TV 5 will broadcast the 2011 World Ten Ball Championship of the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA), which is scheduled at the World Trade Center on May 9 to 15 this year.

The rapidly expanding network has also won the right to broadcast the 2011 Philippine Open Pool Championships, which is scheduled on April 6-11 at the Megatrade Hall of SM Megamall.

The two pool tournaments are the biggest international pool events scheduled in the Philippines this year. They feature top players from all over the world, competing for coveted titles and top prizes.

Both events are organized and promoted by Prism-Raya Sports, which owns the franchises to the tournaments, courtesy of the WPA, the world governing body for pool sports.

TV 5 will broadcast the tournaments on its newly launched Aksyon TV (Channel 41), the 24-hour news and sports channel which started airing this Monday, February 21.

TV5 and Raya Sports signed an agreement on February 16 for the assignment to TV5 of the exclusive broadcast rights to the WTBC and the Philippine Open and other pool events,

The agreement also covers two other key tournaments in the Raya pool program::

1. The Philippine national championships sanctioned by the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP), which is scheduled in July this year.

2. The Philippine Pool Tour, a series of pool events staged in strategic cities all over the Philippines during the year, which are sanctioned by the Asian Pocket Billiards Union (APBU).

18th U.S Bar Table Championships Online Brackets and TAR Live Stream

You can catch all the action of the $25,250 Added 18th U.S. Bar Table Championships, being held this week February 21-27th at the Terrible’s Sands Regency in Reno, Nevada.

Produced by CueSports International (CSI), the team from The Action Report (TAR) is free live streaming the top seven day, multi-division bar table event. The first event to take place is the men’s / mixed and the women’s 10-Ball divisions. The 9-Ball divisions will start Wednesday, February 23rd and the 8-Ball divisions will start Friday, February 25th.

In addition to the TAR live stream, you can monitor online brackets for all U.S. Bar Table Championships divisions on the CSI CueSport Tournament System (CTS). Launched 2 years ago, the CTS is the most multi-functional online tournament tracking system in the industry.

To view the event brackets visit: www.ctsondemand.com

The TAR live stream can be viewed at the following sites:
www.theactionreport.com
www.playcsipool.com (click on homepage link to viewer)
www.playbca.com (click on homepage link to viewer)

The CTS will also be used this coming May for the 35th BCAPL National 9-Ball Championships, the 3rd U.S. Open 10-Ball Championship and the 12th U.S. Open One Pocket Championship, all being held at the Riviera Hotel & Casino. TAR will also be covering all the action at the Riv this May by streaming the U.S. Open 10-Ball and U.S. Open One Pocket events.

For more information about these and other CSI events visit the three websites listed below.

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