The Wonderful World Of Billiards , Snooker , Pool etc !

church66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member

MATCHROOM ANNOUNCES BIGGEST EVER YEAR OF POOL WITH SIX MAJOR EVENTS :​

http://www.matchroompool.com/news/m...gest-ever-year-of-pool-with-six-major-events/ ;

MOSCONI CUP January 25th, 2021
Matchroom Multi Sport is delighted to announce its biggest ever year of pool, with SIX events including the all-new Championship League Pool and the return of the World Pool Championship to the Matchroom stable.
After the global shutdown in 2020, Matchroom brought live pool back to the global TV stage with the Mosconi Cup in December and now launches a calendar of six major pool tournaments for 2021.
The 9-ball year will break off with the brand-new Championship League Pool, which will take place behind-closed-doors at Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes from March 22-29. Featuring 19 players and a prize fund of $85,950, Championship League Pool will be played across two tables with every match streamed live around the world. Full details of the new event will be announced later this week.
The World Pool Masters will return in Gibraltar from April 6-9, before the World Pool Championship relaunches under the Matchroom banner from April 12-16 with global TV coverage and increased prize money. The World Pool Championship will take place in the UK, with full details to be confirmed in due course.
The World Cup of Pool will be the feature of the summer pool calendar, before the 44th US Open Pool Championship this autumn.
Then the year will close out with Europe as defending champions at the Mosconi Cup, set to take place from December 6-9.
Matchroom Pool’s World Rankings will resume with the World Pool Masters, while the US Open and World Championship will both be Tier 1 Ranking events. At the Mosconi Cup, Team USA and Team Europe will both feature the top players from the World Rankings, with entry to other events also awarded to the best players on the Rankings.
Emily Frazer, Managing Director of Matchroom Multi Sport, said: “Despite such challenging times faced for all over the past year and still experiencing now, we are more determined than ever to launch a calendar of events for pool, ensuring players have a schedule to follow, look forward to and practice for.
“With six events now in the Matchroom Pool stable and the launch of Championship League Pool we are poised to get the ball rolling come March 22nd.
“Ranking points are an integral part of our prestigious Mosconi Cup and we will be focusing on our Matchroom World Rankings, ensuring our six pool events unite and align, giving players the opportunity to be rewarded and earn their spots; an ongoing and work-in-progress.
“The climate is constantly changing but we are eager and passionate to deliver these events safely to players and hopefully spectators (when possible). With this proposed schedule of events we can reignite optimism and hope for all in the sport.”
To receive the latest news and ticket alerts for all Matchroom Pool events, sign up to the Matchroom Pool Club for free at http://www.matchroompool.com/pool-club/.
Follow Matchroom Pool on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. For all the latest event news please visit www.mosconicup.com.
 
Last edited:

church66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member

MATCHROOM LAUNCHES INDEPENDENT MEDIA PRODUCTION ARM :​

https://wst.tv/matchroom-launches-independent-media-production-arm/
Wednesday 27 Jan 2021 09:59AM
Matchroom is delighted to announce the launch of Matchroom Media, a new independent media production arm under the Matchroom brand.
Utilising over 40 years of experience in producing and globally distributing live sporting events – this new division will be home to production of live events, original documentaries and shoulder programming for all broadcast platforms.
Despite the challenges faced in 2020, Matchroom produced over 800 hours of live original programming and expects that to grow beyond 1,200 hours in 2021. With a 12-sport calendar, expected to include the undisputed Heavyweight World Championship with Anthony Joshua, boxing’s Pound for Pound star Canelo Alvarez, the Professional Darts Corporation, World Snooker and Matchroom Multi Sport schedule – the ability to create engaging content is more important than ever.
The latest innovation came in the form of Matchroom.Live, an in-house OTT platform taking advantage of over 13,000 hours of archive footage, whilst also giving a platform for fans around the world to watch Matchroom events live.
Matchroom Media will be headed up by current Director of Programming Katie Hearn who has been at the forefront of Matchroom’s TV expansion since 2004. Katie began at Sky Sports in 1996 and became one of the first women to work on the Premiership and International Football production team. Hearn worked as an Associate Producer on Premier League, FA Cup, England International Matches, Pay Per View Football and European Cup football.
Katie Hearn said: “Matchroom has positioned itself at the forefront of creating and delivering original and unique programming to sporting audiences around the world. We’re excited to expand to produce not only more live sport, but engaging new content to support these events and the sportsmen and women that drive them. From outside broadcasts, live streams and shoulder programming, we’re committed to bring global audiences epic sporting moments and the inspiring stories that are behind them.”
Group Managing Director Eddie Hearn commented: “Content has never been more powerful and as we continue our global expansion, in house production of our own live events will help us align the narrative from idea to execution. We plan to assemble the best production team and sharpest talent for our live broadcasts and bring you compelling content and storylines around our 12 sports. We have unique access that will allow us to grow the hype and narrative through powerful shoulder programming and keep the fans and viewers constantly engaged.”

Canelo Alvarez Signs 2-Fight Deal With Eddie Hearn​

date
January 21st, 2021 - 107 Comments

https://www.boxingnews24.com/2021/01/canelo-alvarez-signs-2-fight-deal-with-eddie-hearn/

Emperor Barry Hearn O.B.E. is expanding his empire with a little help from his family .

Matchroom PPV TV Channel can't be far away..... ;) (y)
 

church66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member

Snooker's BetVictor Welsh Open heading to Celtic Manor next month :​

By Sporting Life
14:37 · TUE January 26, 2021
The Celtic Manor Resort will stage snooker’s BetVictor Welsh Open for the first time next month, behind closed doors.
The world ranking event will run from February 15 to 21, with 128 of the world’s best players battling for the Ray Reardon Trophy live on Eurosport and other international broadcasters.
Since June 2020, WST has staged all but one of its tournaments at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, where strict Covid-19 regulations can be followed. The only exception was the World Championship which was staged in Sheffield.
WST says it has full confidence that the same rigorous Covid-19 regulations can be followed at Celtic Manor, which successfully staged the Celtic Classic and ISPS HANDA Wales Open tournaments on golf’s European Tour last August.
Also the host venue for the 2010 Ryder Cup, the resort near Newport in South Wales will now stage a professional snooker tournament for the first time.
WST Chairman Barry Hearn OBE said: "We are delighted to be staging this huge tournament at Celtic Manor for the first time. This event has such a rich history in Wales, and along with our partners at BBC Wales and Eurosport, we were determined to keep it there.
"In order to stage events of this magnitude we need to ensure that the venue has the right facilities and is big enough to welcome 128 players plus everyone who works on the event while observing social distancing, hygiene, isolation and all of the other Covid-19 regulations which are essential on our events.
"We have no doubt that Celtic Manor ticks all of these boxes, it is a fantastic venue and the players will love it. Unfortunately fans can’t come to watch but it will be seven days of tremendous entertainment for television viewers across the globe."
Celtic Manor Resort Chief Executive Ian Edwards said: "We are very excited to host a professional snooker tournament for the first time. It is a shame that fans will not be able to attend, especially as South Wales is such a hotbed for snooker, but we all recognise the public health priorities at this time and we will draw on our experience over the past 12 months to provide the safest possible environment for the players and officials."

Celtic Manor in Newport to stage 2021 Welsh Open​

 

church66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member

NEW WEBSITE FOR WORLD WOMEN’S SNOOKER :​

 

church66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Snooker Loopy
The Trials and Tribulations of the Baize

https://greenbaize1972.com/the-snooker-mastermind/

The Snooker Mastermind​

By Elliott West

Introduction

Brandon Parker was well respected in the snooker community by those who worked with him and knew him. A contributor and organiser for the sport for over twenty years as a manager of players, organiser of events and as a WST director. Managing players such as Paul Hunter and Shaun Murphy, Paul can be credited for helping bring snooker to Germany with the formation of the Paul Hunter Classic and the highly successful German Masters.

The Winning Formula

Brandon Parker, a Mancunian, carved out his career in the chemical industry, working as a technical sales executive. Like many, snooker was a hobby for him, playing at a club level at his local Conservative club. A club that was influential in helping him achieve century breaks and a local champion. This local success acted as a springboard for greater success with Parker going on to form his own company, the Wheels in Motion snooker management team. Needless to say, it also caused Brandon to give up his career in the chemical industry and focus his attention on snooker.
Rather like Barry Hearn’s earlier Matchroom company, Parker drew in players to promote and mentor. A whole list of players went through this business stable through the years including Quinten Hann, Matthew Stevens, Shaun Murphy, Barry Hawkins, Neil Robertson, Ryan Day and Kyren Wilson. The most prolific being Paul Hunter who Brandon was with throughout most of his career, witnessing the triumphs of Hunter’s career which included three Masters titles. Unfortunately his manager also had to see Paul rapidly decline when he was diagnosed with cancer up until his sad passing in 2006, aged only 27. However Parker was determined to create a positive out of a negative and so fought to form Paul dream of creating the Paul Hunter Foundation. A charity that was formed after Hunter’s passing.
This snooker guru didn’t stop there and had already made numerous trips to Germany in the early 2000s. Identifying it a potential base for European snooker, Brandon made his first venture into promoting. A small tournament was used a vessel for kickstarting interest in the country for the game, a project that still remains live and the tournament grew to become the Paul Hunter Classic.
Subsequent to Barry Hearn becoming World Snooker in 2010, Hearn appointed him to the board as European Operations Director and through his company Dragonstars, promoted snooker across large parts of Europe such as Poland, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Belgium.
The culmination came in 2011 when Parker brought the German Masters to the Tempodrom in Berlin. A gargantuan venue that holds 2,500 people and was formerly a circus, I can vouch that this is one of the most impressive events in the snooker calendar. Brandon had his finger on the pulse and drove interest in Europe through promotional tools, including the highly influential Eurosport that televised snooker with multi-lingual commentary.

Summary

Brandon Parker was frankly a breath of fresh air for snooker and was instrumental in helping develop players in the professional game and the growth of the sport across Central Europe and the formulation of new tournaments. His sad passing in 2020 after a battle with cancer, has left a large void in the sport but thankfully his achievements will remain for many years to come. As a fitting tribute to Brandon, the trophy for the German Masters will be named after him from this year.
IMG_04001222.jpg
Brandon Parker
 

church66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member

HELP RAISE MONEY FOR MAYA :​

https://wst.tv/help-raise-money-for-maya/

Thursday 28 Jan 2021 05:47PM
Tom Ford will be running 100km during the month of March to help raise money for a nine-year-old girl with a serious illness.

Maya
Ford’s friend Ian Hickling has a step-daughter called Maya who, at the age of five, was diagnosed with a very rare form of epilepsy which causes constant seizure activity. Since then, her cognitive development has been affected.
The NHS is not providing Maya with treatment so her family must fund a private prescription costing around £2,000 per month.
World number 29 Ford is joining a fund-raising effort – he and nine friends will run a total of 1,000km during March. The goal is to raise at least £2,000.
“When Ian told me about Maya, it was heart-breaking because she is just an innocent girl,” said Leicester’s Ford. “I have a five-year-old son myself and it made me realise how lucky I am that he is healthy.
“So we decided to do this running challenge to raise awareness and hopefully some funds for the medicine.

Ford is in action this week at the BildBet German Masters
“It works out around two miles a day for the whole of March. That doesn’t sound much, but I haven’t done any fitness work for four years. In fact I’ve never done any running, other than running to the pub! I have just played football in the past, which is how I know Ian as we were team mates.
“If I miss a day then I’ll need to catch up, so I might end up doing four or six miles in a day. With the tournament schedule it won’t be easy. I’ll probably end up doing a lot of laps of the Milton Keynes venue. I’m sure my legs will be aching but otherwise it won’t do me any harm and it might end up helping my snooker.
“Anyone who thinks it sounds easy is welcome to join in and raise more money. I hope people can get behind this and help Maya and her family.”
To make a donation and find out more CLICK HERE
 

church66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member

GERMAN MASTERS SNOOKER 2021: 'HANG ON, STEADY!' - REFEREE TRIPS, STYLES IT OUT PERFECTLY​

The referee was fortunate not to stack it after returning from the mid-session interval when officiating Shaun Murphy’s match with Jamie O’Neill at the German Masters. O’Neill pulled off a shock 5-4 win in Milton Keynes.

00:00:22, 1813 VIEWS, 16 HOURS AGO :

 

church66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Snooker Loopy
The Trials and Tribulations of the Baize

A fall from Grace​

By Elliott West

Introduction

Mention the name Quinten Hann and you often get a raised eyebrow or a feeling that you have said the wrong thing. Hann, an Australian player, who fell from grace faster than a lead balloon and resigned from the WPBSA in 2006 over allegations of match fixing, was actually a very talented player but was tempted by the darker side of sport. A great shame because it clouded over his impressive career that included the 1999 WEPF World Eight-ball title and 1994 World Under-21 champion, left him being remembered for his fatal error.

Career

Born 1977 in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, an only child who came from fractured household after his parents split up and his father disappeared. Hann first became interested in snooker when his mother bought him a snooker table for him to practice on, aged nine. This love for cue sports grew when a friend introduced him to pool, aged ten. Quinten then started playing pool at weekends in public houses, much to the annoyance of his mother. Brought to breaking point, his mother asked a local snooker coach to teach her son the game.
So the snooker journey began with the Australian becoming the youngest ever qualifier for the 1989 Australian Goldfields Open, aged only 12. A fantastic achievement and one that helped him reach the last 16 stage, losing to the under-21 national champion, Steve Mifsud. Encouraged by his efforts and despite a subsequent motorcycle accident, Quinten went on to win the Victoria Under-12 championship. A feat that happened in-spite of breaking his left wrist and having it in plaster.
This inspired child was quickly nurtured by his mother and she made a maternal decision to fully support her son, taking the brave decision to sell the car and family possessions to finance a move to the United Kingdom so her son could fully pursue his career in sport. She also wrote to Barry Hearn and he offered his services.
The prodigal son carried on his quest for his the big time and at the age of 13 scored his first century break of 103 in his match against Melbourne Senior Champion, Gary Cullen. He later produced a break of 100 at the 1991 World Masters under-16 tournament. This break made him the youngest player to compile a televised century break. He then reached the final of the Australian Amateur Championship at age 14 and subsequently took part in the IBSF World Snooker Championship.
However scandal was to follow as in 1991, Hann was given a suspended ban by the Australian Billiards and Snooker Council, not being allowed to play in any domestic or overseas events for spitting at a competitor’s mother. Additionally he had sworn at a referee when he felt the official made a decision favouring his opponent. Hann’s family appealed the ban in the Australian High Court and the decision was reduced to a one year suspension. Not phased by the judgement, Quinten went to win the 1994 IBSF World Under-21 Championship, beating David Gray, 11-10.
Turning professional in 1995, Hann quickly climbed the rankings, reaching 237 by taking part in satellite tournaments. It was at this time that he came across the prolific character, Brandon and Parker saw his potential and agreed to manage him. The Australian could now take part in tournaments abroad, competing in the 1996 World Cup, representing Australia and in the 1997 Thailand Open.
His promising form continued, compiling a 143 break in the Grand Prix and he became the first player since Eddie Charlton to qualify for the 1998 World Championship. He also won the Lindrum Masters in Newcastle, South Wales and the WEPF World 8-Ball Pool Championship in the 1999-2000 season. By winning this pool championship, he became the first player born outside the UK and Ireland to win the title.
Good form followed in snooker with Quinten chipping away in tournaments. A high ranking of 14 in 2002 was the highlight of his career and Hann went to fine tune his game when he moved to Ealing and practiced regularly in the Ealing Snooker Club. However a twist was going to unfold in his success and in 2005, ranked now 18th in the world, an earlier sex attack on a South African woman in a London hotel in 2001 ended in court with an acquittal. Thinking this was the end of his troubles, Hann gasped a sigh of relief but another darker storm was about to ensue.
In 2005, the Sun newspaper alleged that Quinten agreed to lose a match against Ken Doherty at the China Open. A match fix that reportedly earned him £50,000. This story was initially held back so that it wouldn’t prejudice his sex allegation trial with footage and transcripts of the transaction between an undercover Sun journalist and the Australian were sent to the WPBSA to view as evidence. At the time, Hamm was about to enter the 2005 Grand Prix but suddenly withdrew, citing medical grounds and submitting a medical certificate. He received a £3,000 fund from the WPSA. He also later failed to show up for the UK Championship, giving no specific reasons.
A hearing on his conduct occurred in February, 2006 with Quintin failing to attend. In his absence, the hearing went ahead. They found that although the Sun newspaper didn’t go through with the monetary transaction, Hann still accepted the bribe and so fell foul of rule 2.8 in the snooker rule book which states :
“a member shall not directly or indirectly solicit, attempt to solicit or accept any payment or any form of remuneration of benefit in exchange for influencing the outcome of any game of snooker or billiards.”
Snooker rule book
Hann subsequently resigned as a member from the WPBSA but continued to deny his innocence, saying later in a press interview :
“I was just the perfect scapegoat for them. I was a foreigner, I’d pretty much given up snooker and so I was fair game for them.”
Quinten Hann

Summary

Quintin Hann was definitely a great player but his character left him open to temptation. Like Stephen Lee and others, he accepted the carrot and so brought the game of snooker into disrepute. This moment of madness cost him his career and had he ignored the offer, he may have joined the ranks of Neil Robertson and Eddie Charlton before him, for being one of a breed of successful, Australian players. His mistakes tarnished and discredited his name and reputation, leaving a temporary stain on the sport.
IMG_04031288.jpg
Quinten Hann
 

church66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
HISTORY

The Greatest Pool Player In History Just Wanted To Hustle​

ERIC NUSBAUM AND ADAM VILLACIN
March 2, 2021 3:21 pm :
 

church66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
15:55 Lingfield
Wednesday 3 March 2021 :
https://www.sportinglife.com/racing.../get-your-ladbrokes-daily-odds-boost-handicap :
1st
Horse silk


8
(7)
Patsy Fagan
38-9
7/2
T: R A FaheyJ: Barry McHugh
Taken to post early, raced wide towards rear, ridden and headway when edged left approaching final furlong, driven and ran on to lead close home Mkt1: op 9/2; Mkt2 op 4/1
My Stable
2nd
Horse silk

nk
2
(9)
Dacesa
39-6
16/1
T: P D EvansJ: Darragh Keenan (3)
Tracked leader, ridden over 1f out, led inside final furlong, headed close home Mkt1: op 25/1 tchd 18/1
My Stable
3rd
Horse silk

nse
7
(1)
Propagation
39-1
10/3
T: C HillsJ: Tyler Saunders (5)
Tracked leaders, ridden over 1f out, every chance inside final furlong, stayed on Mkt1: op 15/8 tchd 10/3; Mkt2 op 3/1
My Stable

Scrolling through the horse racing results and Patsy Fagan wins the 15.55 at Lingfield @ 7/2 and as usual I never noticed it was running until I checked the race results . Maybe John Virgo backed it ! ;) :D(y)
 

church66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Matchroom Pool :

https://www.facebook.com/matchroompool

Matchroom Pool :

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-YHhXeWjF80OkVxR-HE2Xw

World Pool Championship and World Cup of Pool move dates with both events to take place in Milton Keynes​

Don't forget, you can watch the World Cup of Pool, World Pool Masters, World Pool Championship, US Open Pool Championship, and the much-anticipated Mosconi Cup this December 6-9, live on Sky Sports in 2021​

Last Updated: 18/03/21 3:40pm :

https://www.skysports.com/more-spor...th-both-events-to-take-place-in-milton-keynes

Emperor Barry Hearn O.B.E. is going to keep me busy .

I wonder how much wages a Billiards journalist get's paid ?

At the end of the day you only do it if you love the sport .

Maybe I should E-Mail Emperor Barry Hearn O.B.E. and ask him if there's any jobs going but I'm quite happy to do it for free ! :cool:;)(y)

 

church66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member

church66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member

church66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member

Niels 'The Terminator' Feijen (Official)
is in
Milton Keynes :

tcS2pShonsormed ·

Just lost the finals to Alcaide ai ai ai ai ai vamos vamos. Tough match, 2-5 in the end.
Tomorrow we start fresh again in group 4 and try to go one step further. It’s like a computer game. You must get past this level’s big boss before you can go on to the next level. If you fail, you start over
😜
🤷‍♂️

But daddy likes to play pool so of course I would have liked to won that #@&€$% final, but at least I can fire back tomorrow and improve some more
💪🏼
🔥
👍🏼
🚀
😄
 

church66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member

Darren "Dynamite" Appleton

ccflYetcstStreSponhSrsdramy aontor 1ehmf3d:gg10 ·

Little update from the past week!
Played my first tournament in over a year last week, Predator Championship league pool, not posted until now as I needed a break and do a little soul searching and find a few answers.
Anyway I was bitterly disappointed with finishing bottom of my group and a early exit from the event as I planned to be there the whole week battling it out. But wasn’t to be!!
I will be back stronger and in better condition for the next event!
Huge congratulations to
Matchroom Pool
for such a great event and thanks for the invite.
And to all the staff that made it work and putting long hours in each day the referees/time keepers / Commentary team and Emily and all the matchroom staff
👏
👏
👏
👏

Also big thanks to the title sponsors Predator Cues for stepping up and supporting pool and the players
👏

Really enjoyed the format maybe a few tweaks required but IMO great addition to the pool calendar.
Congratulations to Albin Ouschan for taking the Title
🏆

My next event will probably be world pool championships in June so will be working harder than ever to be ready for that event on and off the table
💪
.
Big shout out to my personal sponsors
Predator Cues
Rasson
Tiger Products, Inc.
CueWorld
Onboard Sportswear
Dynamite Baits

There you go folks even the pro's are struggling with the lock down effects !
 

church66

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member

Albin Ouschan vs David Alcaide | Winners' Group Final | Predator Championship League Pool :​

 
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