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Topic: *Industry News* 2011

All Current World Champions competing in PhilOpen 2011

The 2011 Philippine Open Pool Championships boasts of a royal cast with multiple world-titlists on both the Men’s and Women’s fields.

The Men’s brackets will include all three current world champions; Mika Immonen , Finland (10-ball), Francisco Bustamante, RP (9-ball) and the newest member of the champion’s club Dennis Orcullo, RP (8-ball), as well as reigning Phil-Open Champion Ricky Yang, Indonesia . The competition also bills former world champions Ronnie Alcano, Ralph Souquet, Thorsten Hohmann and Darren Appleton.

On the Women’s brackets, the two current world champions Jasmin Ouschan, Austria (10-ball) and relative newcomer Fu Xiao Fang, China (9-ball) will also be looking to add this event to their list of accomplishments. No less than 9 world champions and 3 Asian Games gold medalists and several WPBA (US) titlists are to be found in the concentrated 32-slot playing field – Allison Fisher (UK), Karen Corr (Ire), Ga Young Kim (Kor), Kelly Fisher (UK) and Rubilen Amit (RP) are just to name a few. Such a field will certainly be a grueling test to any competitor present.

The Philippine Open is to be held on April 7-11 at the Mega Tradehall, SM Megamall in Mandaluyong. This event is brought to you by Raya Sports, in cooperation with the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP) and TV-5’s AksyonTV 41, the official broadcaster of the Phil Open.

Walden Plans Long Spell Among Snooker’s Elite

Ricky Walden hopes to cement his place among snooker’s top 16 with a strong finish to the season as he looks ahead to next week’s Players Tour Championship Grand Finals in Dublin.

The 28-year-old from Chester climbed into the top 16 of the world rankings for the first time at the end of 2010 and currently stands 15th.

“It was a great feeling as it had been a major target of mine for a while,” said the former World Under-21 Champion. “I want to stay in there for the next ten years. It’s difficult to do that now with the way the rankings work because if you have a few bad tournaments then you can drop down fast. But if I can improve my consistency then I can be a regular.”

Walden won the Roewe Shanghai Masters in 2008, beating Ronnie O’Sullivan in the final, but has been disappointed by his lack of trophies since.

“In snooker, victories are soon forgotten about, and it’s all about when you will win your next title, so it’s been a frustrating time for me,” he said. “I’m not afraid of winning and I think I proved that in Shanghai. I’m not afraid to put my neck on the line, even against the top players. Sometimes it catches me out, but it also wins me a lot of games.”

Walden heads to Dublin next week for the PTC Grand Finals, the culmination of a new series which featured 12 short events, with the top 24 on the Order of Merit through to The Helix for the tournament which runs from March 16 to 20.

He takes on Chinese ace Liang Wenbo in his opening match on Wednesday March 16. Other players in action on the opening day of the tournament include former Grand Prix champion Marco Fu and former UK Champions Matthew Stevens and Stephen Maguire.

Also starring in the event are former World Champions Mark Williams and Shaun Murphy and two-times Masters winner Mark Selby.

Tickets are on sale now, for details call 003531 7007000 (01 7007000) or visit www.worldsnooker.com/ptcfinal

The BCA Points List

Download and view the latest BCA points here (small Excel file).

http://www.pro9.co.uk/html/downloads/2011bcapointsmar092011.xls

PartyCasino.com Sponsor Snooker's PTC Finals

World Snooker are delighted to announce PartyCasino.com, the world's largest online casino, as the title sponsor of next week's Players Tour Championship Grand Finals.

The new tournament runs from March 16 to 20 at The Helix in Dublin and will be known as the PartyCasino.com Players Tour Championship Grand Finals.

It's the culmination of a series of events, with 12 short tournaments staged around Europe earlier in the season. An Order of Merit ranked players according to how much money they won, with the top 24 going through to Ireland. Over 200 players, including professional and amateurs from around the world, competed in the series.

Shaun Murphy topped the list and will be joined in Dublin by fellow former World Champion Mark Williams as well as top stars including Mark Selby, Stephen Maguire and Marco Fu.

World Snooker Chairman Barry Hearn said: "It's a great pleasure to bring PartyCasino.com on board for this exciting new event. PartyCasino.com also sponsor Premier League Snooker so they have a close association with the sport and they are clearly delighted with the exposure they receive through snooker.

"It's fantastic to be going to Ireland for a world ranking event for the first time in six years. The fans there have been starved of top draw snooker for too long and I hope they will be out in force to see the stars in action.

"I know all of the players competing can't wait to get over there, show what they can do and experience the atmosphere. The PTC series has given them the chance to play in events every week so they are all match sharp. Alongside PartyCasino.com we're looking forward to an outstanding five days of snooker."

The event will be broadcast on Eurosport, Beijing TV, Shanghai TV, Guangdong TV and Now TV in Hong Kong.

Tickets are on sale for the tournament, for details call 003531 7007000 (01 7007000) or visit www.worldsnooker.com/ptcfinal

2011 US MOSCONI CUP RANKINGS LATEST
The Pearl on Track for Vegas Comeback

MOSCONI CUP LEGEND Earl Strickland leads the way after event No.3 on the American Rankings following a fifth place finish at the recent Masters tournament in Virginia. The 2002 World Pool Champion, who will hit the half century in June this year, is playing some of his best pool of recent times, as he looks to cement a return to pool’s top tournament.

He won the Steve Mizerak Championship in November of last year to get his 2011 Mosconi Cup campaign going and followed that up with decent finishes at Turning Stone and now the Masters.

Strickland has played in 13 Mosconi Cups going back to 1996 and has been on the winning side no less than nine times.

Filling out the other two spots are three-time Mosconi winner Corey Deuel and Shawn Putnam, whose only appearance in the event in 2005, saw him on the winning side.

The US Mosconi Cup Ranking consists of 12 events – eight domestic events and four ‘World’ events. Points will be allocated as per the BCA Points List and each event will be weighted depending on total purse, size of field and number of top-ranked players competing.

Only players finishing in the last 32 of each event will be allocated points and at the conclusion, after the 2011 US Open, the top three players will automatically gain entry to the Mosconi Cup side.

The remaining two players will be Matchroom Sport wildcard picks although the ranking will play a part in this.

The next qualifying event is the Players Championship at Valley Forge which commences today (Thursday 10th March) and concludes on Sunday 13th.

The Ranking

1. Earl Strickland                             257
2. Corey Deuel                                 232
3. Shawn Putnam                             228
4. Mike Dechaine                                212
5. Dennis Hatch                                 177
6. Stevie Moore                                 174.5
7. Mike Davis                                    161.5
8. Gabe Owen                                 124.5
9. Hunter Lombardo                         120
10. Charlie Williams                         117.5
11. Rodney Morris                             115.5
12. Shane Van Boening                     111.5
13. Johnny Archer                             99
14. Max Eberle                                     71.5
15. Brian Brekke                                67.5

Northwest Snooker Club, Co. Donegal, Hosts Connaught Open 9-Ball Championships

Ireland’s American 8 & 9 ball Pool Tour will be holding there second 9-BALL RANKING TOURNAMENT in the 2011 season on Saturday 16th April when the CONNAUGHT OPEN 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIPS takes centre stage.

These 2011 CONNAUGHT OPEN 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIPS will be played on 4 American pool tables in the NORTHWEST SNOOKER CLUB, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal with this beautiful and friendly club recognised for all its high profile snooker events they have organize over the years including the 2010 WORLD UNDER-21 SNOOKER CHAMPIONSHIPS.

Please visit the NORTHWEST SNOOKER CLUB website at www.northwestsnookerclub.com

Details of the 2011 CONNAUGHT OPEN 9-BALL CHAMPIONSHIPS are as follows!

NAME OF TOURNAMENT: Connaught Open 9-Ball Championships
DATE: Saturday 16th April 2011
VENUE: Northwest Snooker Club, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, Rep of Ireland
CLOSING DATE: Thursday 14th April
ENTRY FEE: £20 or 25euros
NUMBER OF TABLES: 4 American Pool Tables
FORMAT: Played in a “GROUP” double elimination or round robin ------ “HANDICAP SYSTEM”
DRESS-CODE: black trousers, polo or dress shirt, dress shoes
TEL: 07917887147 ------ or from Rep of Ireland (0044) 7917887147    
EMAIL: irelandsamericancuesports@yahoo.co.uk
WEBSITE: www.rballsports.com

BRIEF DETAILS:
All ranking points for each event will be rewarded from the ¼-finals onwards with each ranking tournament having 8 seeds for each tournament.

All ranking tournaments will be played in a “GROUP” double elimination or round robin format except the official All Ireland Open 9-Ball Pool Championships - all tournaments will be organised to suit the entries at each tournament.

These tournaments are open events to any player - if it happens that any player or players don’t agree with the rules which is set in place by Ireland’s American 8 & 9 Ball Pool Tour, the organizers has the right to refuse any entry if need be.

Everyone is reminded that all entries must be pre-entered on or before the Thursday of each event with this date also being the cut-off date for all tournament seeds. Players could also have to qualify to get into group format if not entered inside the deadline.

If any player fails to wear the tournament “DRESS-CODE” he or she won’t be entitle to any prize-money or receive any ranking points.

EVENT 1:
Stephen Johnson (Antrim) was crowned event 1 champion when the Co.Antrim player claimed the Ulster Open 9-Ball Championships.

AMIT, RANOLA FAILED TO ADVANCE TO THE KO STAGE OF AMWAY CUP IN TAIPEI
BY: MARLON BERNARDINO

RUBILEN "Bingkay" Amit and Iris "The Figther" Ranola failed to advance to the knockout stage (Round-of-24) of the 2011 WPA Amway Cup in Taipei, Taiwan over the weekend.

The Mandaue, Cebu native Amit, the 2009 WPA World 10-ball champion and a runner-up place in the 2007 edition of the event, and former US Open 9-ball finalists Ranola who hails from Divisoria, Zamboanga posted similar 2-3 slates, thus booting the out of title contention in this annual Asian Pocket Billiard Union (APBU) event and sanctioned by the World Pool-Billiard Association (WPA).

Amit's losses in day one of the group stages left her in a position that she couldn't shoot out of as ended up with a 2-3 record, which was only good enough for a 4th place finish in her Group F. The soft-spoken Amit blasted local ace Shu-Han Chang, 7-0, and Singaporean Shu-Wa Hoe, 7-6, but was yielded to South Korea's Bo-Ra Jung,7-0, Dou-Do Zhou , 7-6, and Sha-Sha Liu, 7-2, of China.

Amit's fellow Filipino star, Ranola, did not fare any better with a 2-3 record in her group.Ranola defeated Aussie Lyndal Hulley, 7-6, and Chinese Taipei's Ya-Ting Chan, 7-4, but lost to Chieh Yu-Chou of the hosts, 7-1, Austria's Jasmin Ouschan, 7-3, and Yun-Min Lim of South Korea, 7-3, and settle for fifth place in Group B.

Meantime, eight players are battling in the quarter-finals that includes Xiao Fang Fu (China) versus Hui-Shan Lai (Chinese-Taipei), Si Ming- Chen (China) versus Xiao Ting Pan (China), Allison Fisher (Great Britain) versus Jasmin Osuchan (Austria) and Yu Ram Cha (Korea) versus compatriot Ga Young Kim (Korea).

Internet Live Stream of Championship matches
During the Dynamic European Pool-Billiard Championships this year, 20 tables will be featured in our live stream

Saturday, March 12, 2011: The European Pool-Billiard Championships 2011 for Men, Women and Wheelchair players, which are staged March 24th to April 2nd in Brandenburg a.d. Havel, Germany, will have 20 tables to be streamed live every day during the entire event. (Exemption: Days when less than 20 tables are in use.)

Fans from all over the World are able to view the matches at home on their computer. The scheduled times for all matches can be seen on our event website www.epconline.eu. Daily tickets for the live stream can be purchased for 5,-€ while an event ticket for all tables and all days is available for a special discount price of 20,-€. The payment can be made over the event website with a credit card. If credit card payment is not an option, an e-mail can be sent to Gre Leenders (gre.leenders (at) planet.nl). An invoice will be sent by e-mail and payment can be made via money transfer.

Through the large amount of live stream tables, most of the players will have the chance to perform live on the internet. Their fans will be able to support them by watching the match in real time.

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.

Qualifiers Await Crucible Draw

Four ranking event winners and two newcomers are among the 16 qualifiers in the hat for the Betfred.com World Snooker Championship first round draw, which takes place next Monday.

The draw will take place at Wembley Stadium at 10.45am on March 21 and screened live in betting shops throughout the UK. The 16 qualifiers will be paired against the top 16 seeds to create the line-up for the first round proper at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield for the event which runs from April 16 to May 2.

The qualifying rounds at the English Institute of Sport finished on Sunday. Former UK and Masters champion Matthew Stevens, four-time ranking event winner Stephen Lee, former Grand Prix and Shanghai Masters champion Dominic Dale and 1993 Asian Open winner Dave Harold were among those to earn a coveted spot at the Crucible, along with Andrew Pagett and Jimmy Robertson who will both make their debut at snooker's Theatre of Dreams.

Robertson, a 24-year-old from Bexhill in Sussex, stunned former World Champion Ken Doherty 10-6 in the final qualifying round. "I'm buzzing, it's unreal to be going to the Crucible," he said "I'm sure I will be nervous when I first step into the arena but I will be there to enjoy it. I would love to draw one of the big names like Ronnie O'Sullivan."

Welshman Pagett, 28, saw off Andrew Higginson 10-6 and hopes he will draw practice partner Mark Williams. "That would be a dream come true," he said. "He's been texting me saying I've been lucky and now I'm going to text that I'm coming to get him."

Wiltshire's Lee beat legend Steve Davis 10-2 and said: "It's a magnificent feeling to beat someone of Steve's class to get to the Crucible."

Martin Gould, who lost 13-12 to eventual champion Neil Robertson in the last 16 last year, made it back by beating Robert Milkins 10-6. "After what happened last year, I wanted to get back to the Crucible straight away, rather than disappear for a couple of years," said the Londoner.

The full list of qualifiers is shown below. They will be joined at the Crucible by the likes of O'Sullivan, Williams, Robertson, Stephen Hendry and John Higgins.

TICKETS FOR SNOOKER'S GREATEST TOURNAMENT ARE ON SALE NOW, DON'T MISS ONE OF THE MOST MAGICAL EVENTS IN SPORT. For details call 0844 6565 147 or visit www.worldsnooker.com/world

Lisowski Sets Focus On Dublin

Jack Lisowski has shrugged off the disappointment of failing to qualify for the Crucible and set his sights on winning the PartyCasino.com Players Tour Championship Grand Finals, which starts tomorrow in Dublin.

Rising star Lisowski lost an epic match 10-9 to Steve Davis last week when just two wins away from a place in the televised stages of the Betfred.com World Championship. But the 19-year-old from Gloucestershire is determined to bounce back quickly from that set-back.

"I was gutted to lose to Steve, but I'm pretty good at putting defeats out of my mind," said the left-hander who has shown great promise in his first season on the professional tour.

"I'm going to Dublin now to try to win the tournament. If I have a good run I could also get into the top 48 in the world rankings, which would be great in my first season."

The new PartyCasino.com PTC Grand Finals run from Wednesday to Sunday (March 16-20) at The Helix, with 24 of the world's best players competing for a top prize of £60,000. Lisowski plays Andrew Higginson in his opening match on Thursday.

"It's exciting for me to play in a televised tournament," added the teenager. "I've played snooker in Ireland once before and I get the feeling that the fans will create a great atmosphere.

"It's the last tournament of the season for me - this has been the best year of my life and I want to finish on a high note."

Top stars including Mark Williams, Shaun Murphy, Mark Selby, Stephen Maguire and Marco Fu will be among those aiming to go all the way at the Helix.

The event will be broadcast on Eurosport, Beijing TV, Shanghai TV, Guangdong TV and Now TV in Hong Kong.

Tickets are on sale for the tournament and there are just a few seats left for the final so book now! For details call 003531 7007000 (01 7007000) or visit www.worldsnooker.com/ptcfinal

2011 US Mosconi Cup Rankings Latest
Putnam edges into the lead as race hots up

AFTER FINISHING 13th at last weekend’s Pro Players Championship at Valley Forge, Shawn Putnam has moved into top spot in the 2011 US Mosconi Cup rankings. The 39 year-old from Ohio jumps up from third place following the disqualification of Earl Strickland, who in turn has slumped to third.

Putnam is just seven points ahead of two-time Mosconi veteran Dennis Hatch, and will be looking to add to his only previous appearance in the event in Las Vegas in ‘05 where he won two matches to help his side to a comfortable 11-6 victory.

It’s tight at the top though, with potential rookie Mike Dechaine just 12 points outside the top three and Corey Deuel and Stevie Moore snapping at his heels. Shane Van Boening is looking ominous at No.7 while Johnny Archer, a nine-time Mosconi winner, has hit the top ten for the first time.

The US Mosconi Cup Ranking consists of 12 events – eight domestic events and four ‘World’ events. Points will be allocated as per the BCA Points List and each event will be weighted depending on total purse, size of field and number of top-ranked players competing.

Only players finishing in the last 32 of each event will be allocated points and at the conclusion, after the 2011 US Open, the top three players will automatically gain entry to the Mosconi Cup side.

The remaining two players will be Matchroom Sport wildcard picks although the ranking will play a part in this.

The next qualifying event is the Ultimate Ten Ball Championship which runs from 21 to 24 April and takes place in Frisco, just north of Dallas, Texas.

The Ranking

1. Shawn Putnam                             272
2. Dennis Hatch                                 265
3. Earl Strickland                             257
4. Mike Dechaine                                245
5. Corey Deuel                                 232
6. Stevie Moore                                 229.50
7. Shane Van Boening                         221.50
8. Mike Davis                                     194.50
9. Gabe Owen                                     190.50
10. Johnny Archer                             176
11. Robb Saez                                 167
12. Rodney Morris                             159.50
13. Hunter Lombardo                         158.50
14. Charlie Williams                         150.50
15. Max Eberle                                 115.50

WPBSA Receives 100 Per Cent Support

World Snooker's governing body held an EGM today to consider a new set of articles of association, and received 100 per cent support of votes in favour of the constitutional changes.

The new articles provided key changes in the modernization of the company. Some of those changes are:

-         Permanently setting the number of board directors to five, with a minimum of two player directors.
-         Extending voting rights to all members ranked 1 – 96, enabling a fairer and more democratic voting system.
-         Removing the minimum age limit of 16 and maximum age limit of 70 for members.

WPBSA chairman Jason Ferguson said: “I am delighted with this vote of confidence. With the commercial side of the sport going from strength to strength, it is vital that the govening body remains strong and cost effective, and this result today is testament to the stability we now have in snooker."

World Snooker To Help Kill Cancer

World Snooker is set to help raise 250,000 pounds over the next three years to fund new cancer treatments for lung and throat cancer.

The campaign with the KILLING Cancer charity will be launched at the World Snooker Awards and Hall of Fame at London's Dorchester Hotel on Friday 6th May.

Barry Hearn, Chairman of World Snooker, says the partnership with the KILLING Cancer charity will back research with a new, non-invasive, single procedure cancer treatment known as Photodynamic Therapy (PDT).

PDT is already approved and available on the NHS for skin and mouth cancer, while other trials are underway for prostate, pancreatic and breast cancer.

Hearn said: "This is a new era for snooker. In the past, our great game has taken the sponsorship shilling from the tobacco industry. Within the last year, we have lost some of our greatest friends to cancers that are all linked to smoking.

"A lot of very positive things are changing in the world of snooker. We can never change the past, but we can certainly change the future."

Malcolm Thorne, brother of Willie Thorne and one of snooker's unsung heroes, died recently from mouth cancer. John Higgins lost to his father to lung cancer. And there's been the death of Alex Higgins after battles with throat and oesophageal cancer.

The charity is selling just 20 tables at The Dorchester to snooker's friends. The price will be £2,000 plus VAT for eight guests, plus one of the Top 10 players and snooker legends (and his wife / partner).

There will also be four 'Gold' tables where the host will be able to present one of the awards on the night and select the player of their choice. Those are selling at £4,000 plus VAT. For ticket enquiries, email: david.longman@killingcancer.co.uk


The charity's most recent fund raising events include a London rock concert with The Who, Bryan Adams, Jeff Beck, Debbie Harry and Richard Ashcroft. Squeeze frontman and song writer Chris Difford is to play at the snooker awards night, while also giving their time are Rory Bremner and Ray Stubbs. Willie Thorne will be the charity auctioneer.

The new treatments are being led by teams at University College Hospital in London.

Hearn added: "I have met patients who have survived cancers with PDT against all the odds. The procedure is so quick and simple, and also gives patients a much better quality of life."

Steve Davis says that fans, players and snooker's new era of sponsors should all get behind the campaign. "The awards night and Hall of Fame is the best possible place to launch this campaign. Snooker is in a new era where the ills of the past have been swept away," said the six-times World Champion.

"We can't change the lives of friends lost to us by cancer, but we owe it to them and now lead by example and help to fund a few era of cancer treatments. We must also promote a healthier lifestyle."

David Longman, Director of KILLING Cancer, said: "The simple fact is that PDT has the capability to destroy cancer tumours, and now the snooker world is going to be backing two of the most vital research programmes that, within a year, will see patients begin to be treated, and hopefully lives will be changed and even saved.

"For the snooker world to achieve this is going to be quite astonishing."

JASMIN OUSCHAN IS PLAYER OF THE YEAR 2010

Trophy awarded during opening ceremony of Dynamic European Championships 2011

The EPBF Player of the Year 2010 is Jasmin Ouschan from Austria. She was awarded the trophy by EPBF President Gre Leenders during the opening ceremony of the 2011 Dynamic European Championships.

6 players were nominated for the prestigious title that was presented for the second time this year. Among them Karl Boyes (GBR), Manuel Ederer (GER), Konstantin Stepanov (RUS), Henrique Correia (POR), Jasmin Ouschan (AUT) and last year’s winner Ralf Souquet (GER). The election was held in three categories: Open voting, national federation voting and EPBF Board voting.

The total amount of votes left no doubt that Jasmin Ouschan was the winner of this title. She has won all three categories. The young likeable Austrian held a short speech, saying that she was very proud to be at the EC and that she will try to defend her four titles that she claimed in Zagreb last year. She also mentioned that one of her biggest achievements was the triumph at the women’s World 10-Ball Championships last year. She is the first non-Asian player since 2001 to achieve that.

When asked how she rated her chances to win the award, she replied: “I did think that I had some good chances since I have won all four European Champion titles last year and the World Champion title as well”. “There is not much more to achieve in billiard sports. When I saw the fan votes in my favour, I was hoping that I could win the overall vote.” “2010 was a year with a lot of ups and downs for me and to end the year with this award is really perfect for me”, Ouschan says with a smile. “I had some bad results in the Asian tournaments last year. Thinking about that, I assume that the key to my success in becoming the first non-Asian World Champion since 2001 was to lay off some of the pressure and enter the tournaments more relaxed and easy.” “It was an amazing feeling to see my fellow players from Europe and America hoping for me to win the title and break the Asian dominance in women’s pool”. “I am trying to defend my four titles in the upcoming 10 days and my ultimate goal is to be the #1 ranked player worldwide. I am currently #1 ranked in Europe and on the professional tour in the US. I also want to become #1 ranked player in the World rankings”. Jasmin is currently ranked #4 in the World.

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).

2011 US MOSCONI CUP RANKINGS LATEST

Seminole events added as ‘World’ events dropped

MATCHROOM SPORT can announce that after considering the continuing deterioration in the economy, the rapid rise in airfares along with the price of oil and other factors, they have decided to eliminate the requirement for US players to compete in overseas tournaments in order to obtain Mosconi Cup ranking points.

That means that the following four events will be dropped from the ranking list; Beijing Open (May), World Pool Masters (June), China Open (June), World 9 Ball Championship (June/July) and the

Added to the calendar are the two double elimination events from the highly successful Seminole Tour. The first is the $25,000 added event at Snookers Billiards in Rhode Island from 5th to 7th August and the second is the $50,000 added Steve Mizerak Championship taking place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida in mid-September.

The US Mosconi Cup Ranking consists of 10 events – all based in the USA – and points will be allocated as per the BCA Points List with each event weighted depending on total purse, size of field and number of top-ranked players competing.

Only players finishing in the last 32 of each event will be allocated points and at the conclusion, after the 2011 US Open, the top three players will automatically gain entry to the Mosconi Cup side.

The remaining two players will be Matchroom Sport wildcard picks although the ranking will play a part in this as well as any significant performances in ‘World’ events.

In addition, due to a clash of dates, with Turning Stone Summer now coinciding with the 2011 PartyPoker.net World Cup of Pool in September, all players will now be allowed to drop their worst event of the ten from the ranking list.

This will enable the two players selected to represent the United States in the World Cup in the Philippines, to compete without being disadvantaged in the Mosconi Cup rankings.

The next qualifying event is the Ultimate 10 Ball Championship taking place at Frisco, Texas from 21-24 April.

The Events

Steve Mizerak Championship 4-7 November.
Turning Stone Winter 16-19 December
The Masters 1-5 March
Players Championship, Valley Forge 13-16 March
Ultimate 10 Ball Championship 21-24 April
US Open 10 Ball Championship 16-21 May
Seminole Tour Event 3 5-7 August
Turning Stone Summer 8-11 September
Seminole Tour Event 5, Steve Mizerak Championship 16-18 September
The US Open 9-Ball Championship 16-22 October

Selby Aims To Be Fighting Fit For Sheffield

Mark Selby is embarking on a gruelling fitness regime in a bid to hit peak condition for the Betfred.com World Snooker Championship.

Former World Champions Peter Ebdon and Ronnie O'Sullivan are known for their physical fitness, and Selby believes it is essential to be prepared for the 17-day marathon at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

The Leicester cueman reached the final in 2007 and battled John Higgins all the way, but faded in the closing stages as Higgins won 18-13.

"I will be doing a lot of running in the weeks leading up to it," said the World No 4. "I've got a treadmill at home so I'll spend time on it, and I'll be running on the roads around where I live.

"Nothing compares to the World Championship in terms of the physical test. Last year I got to the semi-finals and I felt drained, I had nothing left, and lost to Graeme Dott.

"A lot depends on how close your matches are in the early rounds. If you can win comfortably then you can conserve energy.

"Sheffield is a different test but I've been to the latter stages before so I know what to expect. My form has been good recently so now it's matter of making sure I peak at the right time."

In the first round, Selby has been drawn against Sussex's Jimmy Robertson, who had never qualified for a ranking event before.

"I played him in one of the PTC events this season but otherwise I've not seen anything of him," said two-time Masters champion Selby. "He's done well to get through the qualifiers but I have the experience and hopefully I will use that to my advantage.

"I remember my Crucible debut in 2005, I lost 10-5 to John Higgins and it was very nerve-racking. The seats are so close to the table and the crowd seem to be right on top of you."

Selby has not won a major title this season, though he did get to the final of the German Masters and the semis of three other ranking events. But he has no doubt about his current ambition.

"To be World Champion is my number one goal in snooker," added the 27-year-old. "Until I win it, that will always be my main target."

The Betfred.com World Snooker Championship runs from April 16 to May 2 and Selby takes on Robertson at 7pm on Wednesday April 20 and 2.30pm on Thursday April 21.

TICKETS FOR THIS MATCH, AND FOR OTHER SESSIONS INCLUDING THE QUARTER-FINALS, ARE ON SALE NOW! DON'T MISS ONE OF THE MOST MAGICAL EVENTS IN SPORT. For details call 0844 6565 147 or visit www.worldsnooker.com/world

The Betfred.com World Snooker Championship is supported by Sheffield City Council and Welcome To Yorkshire.

MANALO, ORCOLLO, CORTEZA, DE LUNA HEADS COUNTRY'S TOP CUE ARTISTS IN PHILIPPINE OPEN POOL CHAMPIONSHIPS
BY: MARLON BERNARDINO

MARLON "Marvelous" Manalo, Lee Vann "The Slayer" Corteza, Dennis "Robocop" Orcollo and Jeffrey "The Bull" de Luna will lead Filipino cue artists who will participate to the Philippine Open Pool Championships schedule on April 7-11 (Stage 2) at the SM Megamall Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong City.

Manalo, the pride of Barangay Malamig in Mandaluyong City, Orcollo, a former fisherman from Bislig, Surigao del Sur who is fresn from winning the WPA World 8-ball crown, Corteza, who hails from Davao City and the power-breaker de luna will be with former WPA World 9-ball and 8-ball champion Ronato "Volcano" Alcano, Antonio "Nickoy" Lining, Ramil "Bebeng" Gallego, Jeck Limen, among others.

" We hope our players to do well in this event," said Christopher "Toper" Palses, coach of the star-studded Jonathan Sy's Negros Billiards Stable and JSY Sports.

According to Raya Sports organizing group Florentino "Yen" Makabenta, a total of thirty (30) countries, represented by over 200 male and female players, are confirmed to take part in the Philippine Open Pool Championships, a world-ranking event of the World Pool-Billiard Asociation (WPA), will open with the qualifying round (Stage 1) today, March 31- April 4 at the famous Star Billiards Center in Quezon City hosted by long-time billiards patron Sebastian "Baste" Chua.This will be followed by the main tournament (Stage 2), which will be held on April 7-11at the SM Megamall Megatrade Hall in Mandaluyong City.

The tournament features both a Men’s and a Women’s Championship. The men’s championship has a main draw of 64 players ; the women’s championship has a draw of 32 players.


The Philippine Open is a ten-ball event. The format is double elimination, culminating in a final four. Of the 200 confirmed participants, the majority hail from the top pool-playing countries in Asia, Europe, and North America. Among the latest countries to enter players in the tournament are Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

Two other Middle East countries joining the tournament are Qatar and Iran.

Top players confirmed for the tournament so far are reigning men’s and women’s world champions in the different pool disciplines: newly crowned world men‘s 8-ball champion; Mika Immonen (Finland), world 10-ball champion; Jasmin Ouschan (Austria), women’s world 10-ball champion; and Fu Xiao-Fang, women’s world 9-ball champion.

Joining them in bannering the event are: Ga Young Kim (Korea), winner of the recent Amway Cup for women in Taipei; former world champions: Ralf Souquet (Germany); Darren Appleton (Great Britain); former US Open titlist Shane van Boening (United States); and former women’s world champion Allison Fisher (Great Britain).

Slated to defend the Philippine Open crown he won in May 2009 is Ricky Yang of Indonesia. He will be joined by some 20 Indonesian men and women players who are bidding to duplicate his feat. Also fielding sizable delegations in the event are China, Korea and Chinese Taipei.

GRE LEENDERS RE-ELECTED
EPBF president serves another six-year term on the Board

Wednesday, March 30, 2011: Besides the Dynamic European Championships, the European Pocket Billiard Federation had its General Assembly. Representatives from all 35 member nations were invited to come to Brandenburg and take part in the meeting which is held biannually.

Probably the main news that comes out of the meeting is that President Gre Leenders was re-elected unanimously for another six years as President of the Federation. “I still have big plans and visions for the future”, Leenders states. “I think we have come a long way in the past years. When I see the European Championships and the Euro-Tour, I am sure that we are taking a leading role in the world of pool event organizers.” “I want to concentrate more on press and public relations work in the future” says the man with a mission. The EPBF, together with its marketing branch International Billiard Promotion IBP has gathered a huge amount of equipment, staff and knowledge over the past years. “Alone the growth in material fills our truck that we send from event to event all over Europe” Leenders says with a smile. “The work has grown dramatically, but when I see the results on the tournaments like European Championships and Euro-Tour and the acceptance of players, organizers and sponsors, I know we are on the right way. It costs a lot of energy and money but we must invest in order to bring a brighter future to pool”. Leenders is on a mission and the members have given him their absolute confidence to lead the way for the sport for the next six years.

On another subject, the provisional member federations of Montenegro, North Cyprus and Turkey have been accepted as full members to the EPBF family, making it a total of 38 countries represented in the federation.

Ibrahim makes presence felt in Phil Open Pool qualifying stage
by Marlon Bernardino

Overseas Filipino Worker Allan Cuartero made his presence felt in the opening games of the Philippine Open Pool Championships qualifying matches on Thursday at the Star Billiards Center with two contrasting victories.

But Imran Ibrahim of Indonesia made known his intention of barging to the main draw the fastest way as he claimed the scalp of two Filipino players in the morning matches.

Ibrahim defeated Jundel Mazon, 7-5, then followed it up with another impressive win over another experienced Pinoy cue artist, Joven Bustamante via the same score. The Indonesian veteran competitor of the world-ranking events quickly vaulted his way to the top with a 2-0 record.

Bustamante, who had already played three games from morning until early afternoon, salvaged two victories – a 7-2 win over Tomoo Takano of Japan and a 7-0 sweep of Kok Hon Keong of Vietnam.

Joining Ibrahim in the early lead of the 35-player field who saw action in the morning matches was Cuartero, a Filipino, who is now based in Kuwait.

Cuartero made short work of David Tan of Malaysia, 7-2, then whipped Lim Leng of Vietnam, 7-4, in his next match.

Favored bets from China and Japan also barged their way to the win column.

Chinese cue artist Dang Jin Hu, also a veteran competitor of several world pool championships, defeated Indonesia’s Bewi, 7-4. Tomoo Takano of Japan defeated Yin Kai Liao of Chinese Taipei, 7-5.

Stevens Buoyed By Crucible Return

Welsh snooker ace Matthew Stevens is delighted to be heading back to the final stages of the Betfred.com World Snooker Championship, admitting it was “horrible” to miss out for the past two years.

The Carmarthen potter dropped out of the world’s top 16 in 2007 then lost in the final qualifying round of snooker’s biggest event in 2009 and 2010. But he earned a return with a nail-biting 10-9 victory over Fergal O’Brien in the qualifiers this year, and can look forward to a trip to the Crucible in April.

In a rare show of emotion at the table, Stevens shouted ‘Yes!’ after potting the final black to beat O’Brien.

“That showed how much it meant to me to get back to the Crucible,” said the 33-year-old. “I shouldn’t have done it and I apologised to Fergal afterwards because it’s not nice to be on the losing end of a match like that. But I was just so relieved.

“It was horrible watching the tournament on TV at home. I just wanted to be there and be involved.”

Stevens has shown much improved form this season and looks set to finish it back in the top 16. “It’s hard to tell what I have to do because it depends on what the other players around me do,” said the player who reached the Crucible final in 2000 and 2005, losing to Mark Williams and Shaun Murphy.

“I’ve had a really good run of form, getting to the semi-finals of the PTC Grand Finals and winning the Championship League. So if I can keep that going I will be well up the rankings. The main thing is that I’m enjoying my snooker again.”

The former Masters and UK Champion has been drawn against Mark Allen in the first round at the Crucible and believes the young Ulsterman is one of the toughest opponents on the circuit.

“He got to the semi-finals two years ago and the quarter-finals last year,” said Stevens. “He plays well on the big stage – he gets pumped up and the Crucible brings the best out of him. Two years ago he knocked out Ronnie O’Sullivan and he coped really well with the pressure, when some players would have been intimidated.”

Stevens is also delighted that Wales has shown its strength in depth, with Mark Williams, Ryan Day, Dominic Dale and Andrew Pagett joining him in the last 32 this year.

“Usually there are only two or three of us, so it’s fantastic to have five,” he added. “Hopefully one of us can go all the way.”

The Betfred.com World Snooker Championship runs from April 16 to May 2 and Stevens plays Allen at 7pm on Tuesday April 19 and 7pm on Wednesday April 20.

TICKETS FOR THIS MATCH, AND FOR OTHER SESSIONS INCLUDING THE QUARTER-FINALS, ARE ON SALE NOW! DON'T MISS ONE OF THE MOST MAGICAL EVENTS IN SPORT. For details call 0844 6565 147 visit www.worldsnooker.com/worldStevens Buoyed By Crucible Return

Welsh snooker ace Matthew Stevens is delighted to be heading back to the final stages of the Betfred.com World Snooker Championship, admitting it was “horrible” to miss out for the past two years.

The Carmarthen potter dropped out of the world’s top 16 in 2007 then lost in the final qualifying round of snooker’s biggest event in 2009 and 2010. But he earned a return with a nail-biting 10-9 victory over Fergal O’Brien in the qualifiers this year, and can look forward to a trip to the Crucible in April.

In a rare show of emotion at the table, Stevens shouted ‘Yes!’ after potting the final black to beat O’Brien.

“That showed how much it meant to me to get back to the Crucible,” said the 33-year-old. “I shouldn’t have done it and I apologised to Fergal afterwards because it’s not nice to be on the losing end of a match like that. But I was just so relieved.

“It was horrible watching the tournament on TV at home. I just wanted to be there and be involved.”

Stevens has shown much improved form this season and looks set to finish it back in the top 16. “It’s hard to tell what I have to do because it depends on what the other players around me do,” said the player who reached the Crucible final in 2000 and 2005, losing to Mark Williams and Shaun Murphy.

“I’ve had a really good run of form, getting to the semi-finals of the PTC Grand Finals and winning the Championship League. So if I can keep that going I will be well up the rankings. The main thing is that I’m enjoying my snooker again.”

The former Masters and UK Champion has been drawn against Mark Allen in the first round at the Crucible and believes the young Ulsterman is one of the toughest opponents on the circuit.

“He got to the semi-finals two years ago and the quarter-finals last year,” said Stevens. “He plays well on the big stage – he gets pumped up and the Crucible brings the best out of him. Two years ago he knocked out Ronnie O’Sullivan and he coped really well with the pressure, when some players would have been intimidated.”

Stevens is also delighted that Wales has shown its strength in depth, with Mark Williams, Ryan Day, Dominic Dale and Andrew Pagett joining him in the last 32 this year.

“Usually there are only two or three of us, so it’s fantastic to have five,” he added. “Hopefully one of us can go all the way.”

The Betfred.com World Snooker Championship runs from April 16 to May 2 and Stevens plays Allen at 7pm on Tuesday April 19 and 7pm on Wednesday April 20.

TICKETS FOR THIS MATCH, AND FOR OTHER SESSIONS INCLUDING THE QUARTER-FINALS, ARE ON SALE NOW! DON'T MISS ONE OF THE MOST MAGICAL EVENTS IN SPORT. For details call 0844 6565 147 visit www.worldsnooker.com/world

The Betfred.com World Snooker Championship is supported by Sheffield City Council and Welcome To Yorkshire.