Archive Page

Shotgun Misfires As Rhodes Takes Maiden GB9 Main Event

Michael Rhodes

The Northern Masters final of 2015 was contested by two players already having had a taste of victory  this season. They were Michael Rhodes, winner of February’s Pro Cup, and Craig Osborne, reigning Paul Medati Trophy champion and looking for his second major in a row.
 
Rhodes had to work mighty hard in his opening match with Martyn Taylor, and it was Taylor who snatched a last-gasp 9-8 win to send Rhodes into the losers bracket where he faced Dean Sporton. Desperate to avenge his hill-hill defeat, he cruised through 7 racks to 1 and  followed it up with a 7-2 dispatching of Adam Collins. Ben George was next in the firing line on the losers side, and Rhodes was in no mood to let up his winning pace. A 7-3 win saw him one win away from a place in the last 16, with young Scottish potter Chris Fraser standing in his way. Each opponent before him had gone one rack better and the same applied here – Fraser only managing 4 frames to Rhodes’ 7, and it was Rhodes who took a last 16 berth. There he faced Tom Staveley in what didn’t fail to be a terrific match. Rhodes won through 9-7 and faced Tony Drago in the quarter finals. The Tornado was looking to reach his first ever main event final, but that wait was to continue – another 9-7 win for Rhodes secured his spot in the final four and a semi final clash with Imran Majid. Majid himself last won a main event at last season’s Southern Masters, and his wait was also set to continue. A convincing 9-3 win saw Rhodes safely through to the final.
 
Osborne instead got off to a winning start in his campaign, with Ryan Hamer first in the firing link for the Suffolk shooter. A 9-4 win saw him safely through and his unbeaten start to the campaign continued in the following round, with Colin Connor failing to unsettle Osborne as he won 9 racks to 3. Where one North East potter in Hamer wasn’t enough, Osborne then came up against another for a spot in the straight knockout last 16. Sunderland’s Adam Benn Smith was ready and waiting to send Osborne into the losers bracket, but Osborne was in no mood to let up as he secured a second straight 9-4 win. The quarter finals beckoned for Osborne, but intent on stopping him was 2014 Midlands Classic champion Chris Hall. He too was desperate to get another title under his belt, but Osborne’s dominance continued with another 9-3 victory. His reward was a showdown with newcomer Martyn Taylor. Taylor had earlier scored a tremendous win over eventual finalist Michael Rhodes and he was looking for another major scalp here. However, Osborne stepped things up a gear, serving up Taylor a donut in a scorching 9-0 win. One more opponent stood in the way of Osborne and a second straight main event final in 2015. That man was snooker professional Chris Melling, back into the GB9 fold after a lengthy absence as he focussed on his snooker career. It was almost a flawless return for Melling and, but for running into a red-hot Osborne, things could have been very different. As it was, Osborne secured that one last victory to take him into his second final of the season, a 9-6 win over Melling seeing him over the line.
 
It was going to take a special effort to overcome Osborne and his scintillating form in the competition, but Rhodes was ready and waiting with a big game of his own. Zero break and runs in the match spelled out a tense affair, but Rhodes was the one to cross the line in first place. An 11 racks to 5 win over Osborne saw him take home his very first main event crown and denied back-to-back event wins for the Shotgun. That win sends Rhodes up to #2 in the rankings, with Osborne taking a well earned spot at provisional British #1 after two superb events.

GB 9-Ball Tour Updates

Daventry Court

The penultimate round of this season’s GB 9 Ball Tour hits town this weekend as the Southern Masters is contested at the Daventry Court Hotel in Northamptonshire.

 

As the 7th GB9 season draws ever closer to its climax, the fourth event of 2014 brings together once again some of the country’s finest cueists as they lock horns to see who will take home the next major British title. Having already gone past the halfway stage of this 2014 season, it’s fair to say that the dominance of Phil Burford and Mark Gray at the top of the rankings will take quite some stopping at this event. With 3rd placed Daryl Peach flying the flag for Great Britain at the WPA World Team Championship alongside Karl Boyes, Chris Melling and Allison Fisher, it will take nothing short of a tournament win for any of the chasing pack to close that gap. With some of the country’s leading amateur’s at the head of that pack including reigning Midlands Classic champion Chris Hall, Michael Rhodes, Craig Osborne and Darryn Walker, all of the top players will have to be on their toes. It remains to see whether any of those four, or any of the other exciting amateurs in the field, can stop Burford and Gray on their quest for yet more silverware.

 

The magnificent Daventry Court Hotel will host its 14th GB9 event to date, a run which stretches all the way back to the 2010 British Grand Prix. It has proven itself over the years to be a very popular venue with players, officials and all those involved with the GB 9 Ball Tour. The tour is also due to close the season out at the hotel with this year’s British Grand Prix between November 7th and 9th. We are sure that this event will be as smooth and enjoyable as those previous, and GB9 would like to extend its thanks and gratitude to the hotel and its staff for their tireless work to date in making tour events so memorable.

 

The Southern Masters is due to begin on the evening of Friday 1st August, with play across the weekend coming to a conclusion on the evening of Sunday 3rd August. Entry to spectators is free as ever. Players entries MUST be received by midnight on Tuesday 29 July. Live streaming will be available once again, alongside the innovative rack-by-rack live-scoring system, GB9-Live. High octane pool is guaranteed once again as the race to grab those crucial ranking points hot’s up, so get yourself down to Daventry to witness the cream of American pool players that this country has to offer.

 

In 2014 GB9 is proudly sponsored by Rasson Billiards, Simonis Cloth, Aramith Billiard Balls, OB Cues and Kamui Tips making the perfect combination of the very best equipment in the most outstanding venues.

Shotgun Shoots Down Boyes In Pro Cup

The 2014 season’s inaugural Pro Cup was contested between Karl Boyes and Craig Osborne. The new format of winner breaks, double elimination to 8 players and race to 11 was guaranteed to bring out the highest quality pool from the highest quality players on the tour.
 
Boyes started off his quest for another piece of silverware with a comfortable 11-2 victory over Scotland’s Michael Valentine to put him into a winner’s bracket showdown against another former Mosconi Cup player in the form of Daryl Peach. The two Blackpool residents fought out a relatively one sided contest, with Boyes winning through into the quarter finals 11 racks to 4. Another Michael was waiting in the last 8, but this time it was Michael Rhodes who attempted to derail Guapo. Boyes’ relentless form continued however, with an 11-3 victory setting up a quarter final against Malta’s one and only Tony Drago. His electric style of play would often blow an opponent away, but the tables were turned here as Boyes took an incredible 11-0 whitewash with what is a tour record of SEVEN break and runs in one match against the Tornado to seal his place in the final.
 
Ossie got his campaign underway in a close fought match on which he found himself the wrong side of the scoreline. Daryl Peach defeated the Shotgun 11-8 to set up his ill-fated match with Boyes and put Osborne one match from defeat. he kept his hopes alive by handing Michael Valentine his second and final defeat of the competition. 11-4 was the score in favour of the Ipswich shooter, knocking Valentine out of the Pro Cup and putting Osborne into the losers qualification side to face Dave Nelson. It was to be a case of different opponent, same score – Osborne wrapping up his second straight 11-4 victory to pit him against Mark Gray in the last 8. Ossie had hit top gear now, and an 11-2 win comfortably saw him into the semi-finals. Here he met Benji Buckley, playing his debut season in the Pro Cup competition, but the Derby University student couldn’t quite secure his spot in the final. Osborne grinded to an 11-6 win to meet Karl Boyes in the final.
 
Both players have faced each other a number of times before in their GB9 careers, so both knew to expect one almighty match in the final. The spectators were treated to some excellent pool, with Osborne earning himself the first Pro Cup of the season with an 11 racks to 9 victory over Boyes.

Hall Beats Them All For Maiden Main Title

Chris Hall

The first main event final of the season saw Darlington’s Phil Burford come up against Wakefield’s Chris Hall. Both players have been stalwarts of the tour for a number of years now, and it was fitting that two such players should contest the first major showdown of the season.
 
Hall opened his account for the weekend in fine style, dispatching of Welshman Nathan James 9-0 in a mere 35 minutes to secure passage through to the last 32. Here he met two times defending Universities Pool Council 9-Ball champion Benji Buckley in a much closer affair. Hall came away victorious, however, with a solid 9-5 scoreline ensuring safe passage to the round of 16. His opponent, Dave Evans, suffered almost the same fate as Hall’s first opponent. 9-1 was the score in favour of Hall, taking the Yorkshireman through to a quarter final showdown with none other than Tony Drago. Smelling blood from his early exit in the World Snooker Welsh Open earlier in the week, a quarter final was the best he could manage here. An incredible match which Hall won 9-7 saw the pair share no less than SEVEN break and runs between them in a match that took just 66 minutes. Hall then had another high quality match in the semi-finals, this time against Ipswich’s Craig Osborne. Another three break and runs from Hall took his tally for the competition to 15 in the space of four matches and helped him to a 9-6 victory to send him into his first main event final.
 
Burford’s last 64 match saw him overcome a resilient Simon Gardner, with a 9-5 win seeing him into the last 32 to face Colchester’s Shaun Storry. Three break and runs each would often be a sign of a close match, but Shaun’s three were his only rack wins as Burford won 9-3. His opponent in the last 16 was Stuart Colclough, another long time tour player. Another 9-5 victory was enough to take Burford into a quarter final match with Wolverhampton’s Darryn Walker. Walker has established himself as a feared name in British 9-ball in recent years, but this time he was no match for the defending Midlands Classic champion. Burford won through 9 racks to 4 to take him into an all north-east semi final against Michael Rhodes. It was Burford who came out on top 9 racks to 4 to take him just 11 more racks away from a successful defence of his title.
 
Many saw Burford as heavy favourite going into the final, but it was Hall who raced into what can only be called a shock 9-0 lead to leave Burford hanging on by his fingertips. The seemingly impossible wasn’t to follow, and Hall soon wrapped up the two racks he required to take a tremendous 11-3 victory over Burford to take his maiden main event win at a GB9 event.

Peach Wins GB9 Southern Masters

Daryl Peach

GB9′s first event ever event in Essex has reached its conclusion with Daryl Peach beating Karl Boyes to win his first GB9 event in over 12 months at the 2013 Southern Masters at London Stansted airport.

This event was the first of its kind in GB9′s six year history, and the somewhat curious location ensured a truly cosmopolitan feel to a national tournament. Participants from Italy, Denmark and Spain all flew over to Great Britain to contest perhaps this season’s most anticipated competition yet. With places in a World Pool Masters qualifier at the conclusion of the event up for grabs, this was sure to be a hotly contested event and the immense quality of pool certainly didn’t disappoint.  Peach who was down in tenth position in the rankings for the World Pool Masters qualifying spot prior to the start of play, had already done his maths and worked out that he needed nothing short of winning the main event in order to be in the running, a fact which brought immense pressure on each of his matches and that makes his win quite incredible.
 
Peach began his route to the final with a smooth 9-5 win against Spain’s Albert Casellas which put him through to a winners qualifying stage match with another Spaniard in the form of Juan Carlos Exposito. He ensured that Spain suffered a second consecutive defeat as a 9-4 win comfortably saw the 2007 World Champion into the last 32. Here he was to meet his first Brit in the form of Tom Staveley. Any complacency was left well and truly at the door as he hammered his compatriot 9-0 to advance to a last 16 match up with Imran Majid. A very high quality encounter followed with four break and runs helping Peach to a 9-7 win and a quarter final with another international figure in the form of Denmark’s Jan Keller. His third international opponent suffered the same fate as his first – 9-5 was the score in favour of Peach, and a semi-final with Dave Nelson awaited him. Special mention must go to Nelson at this point for a quite amazing run of his own to the semi-final. After qualifying for the single knockout last 32 with a comfortable 9-2 win over Martyn Royce, no less than THREE hill-hill encounters followed against Courtney Symons, Tommy Donlon and Kevin Simpson, all of which he managed to win 9 racks to 8 to meet Peach in the semi. His luck was to run out, however, and Peach saw off his Wakefield opponent 9-5 and secure a place in the final.
 
Boyes began his route to his second consecutive GB9 final in a similar manner to Peach: he defeated a Spaniard, this time round in the form of Hector Luna Iglesias. 9-2 was the scoreline against Iglesias and he went one better against his next opponent, Adam Collins, dispatching him 9-1 and reaching the last 32 stage. Boyes had so far only lost three racks in his first two matches and only lost another three here; he defeated Nathan James 9 racks to 3 and set up a last 16 clash with Sunderland’s Adam Benn Smith. His was a much sterner test, but Boyes saw his north-east opponent off 9-8 to reach the quarter finals. A fellow north-east potter in the form of Michael Rhodes was waiting for him, but with a 9-3 score-line Boyes saw himself into the final four. Fellow professional Mark Gray was sure to put up a stiff test with just one more win required for both to reach their second consecutive GB9 final. A repeat of the Northern Masters final ensured a quality battle ensued but it was Boyes heading to the final showdown with a 9 racks to 6 victory. The final was due to be a hotly contested battle with Peach looking to secure his place in the World Pool Masters qualifier which immediately followed the final and Boyes looking to become the first player since Daryl Peach in 2010 to win back to back main events on the GB 9 Ball Tour. It was Peach who took the spoils, however, with a solid 11-4 win securing his place alongside Boyes in the qualifier and taking home the £1700 winner’s purse.
 
In the Challenge event it was two more professionals who made their way to the final, with Raj Hundal and Chris Melling both making amends for their last 32 exits in the main event. Hundal made his way to the final with victories over Shaun Chipperfield 7-0, Phil Burford 7-6, Alvaro Canoniga 7-3 and Damian Massey 7-5. Melling joined him with a 7-4 defeat of Craig Osborne, before beating Bruno Muratore 7-2, Arfan Dad 7-3 and Benji Buckley 7-4.  With a long journey home ahead of him Melling let Hundal take the title and settled himself with a well-earned runner-up position.
 
 
The GB 9 Ball Tour will return for the 2013 ‘Festival of Pool‘ at the end of November, beginning with the last tour event of the season, The GB9 British Grand Prix, followed on 2-3 December by the inaugural GB9 UK 9-Ball Open with a prize fund of £20,000 including £4,000 added.  The week will conclude with the Universities Pool Council annual 9-Ball Championships.  All three events will take place at the magnificent Park Inn by Radisson hotel, Telford, UK.
 
We are now taking applications for the new look 2014 GB9 season, entry to 10 events over 5 tour weekends is priced at just £399 for Challenge tour players, so playing on the UK’s official, professional 9-ball pool tour has never been so affordable. Just fill in the application form on our web site.