Phil Harrison recorded one of the greatest tournament victories in the history of English 8 Ball Pool when he became the 2018 Supreme Masters Champion last weekend.
Contested at the renowned Players Pool and Snooker Lounge, the tournament was the third leg of this year's ground-breaking Supreme Pool Series which sees competitors from both rule sets, and the UK and beyond, crossing cues for a £152,250 total prize fund.
Already regarded as one of the sport's all-time legends, Harrison added another significant entry to his illustrious bio and boosted his popularity once again with the quiet and classy way he went about his business throughout.
Fresh from claiming last month's Strachan Cup, an exceptional brace of consecutive victories on the series looked like a forlorn ambition for Harrison when Darrell Whitworth caused an upset by defeating him 11-6 in the First Round.
Despite this early setback that pushed him to the very start of the Losers' Section, the former WEPF World Champion embarked on tackling a gauntlet of high profile names in order to get back on track. 44-year-old Harrison eliminated Tony Halpin, Ronan McCarthy, Zak Shepherd, Darren Appleton, Chris Melling and then Clint I'Anson just to qualify for the Last 16 Knock-Outs where the competition was effectively re-set.
Now back on a level footing with everyone else remaining, the Cambridgeshire cueist defeated current IPA Premier League leader Neil Raybone 11-6 and then IPA professional Drew Hughes 11-5 to reach the Last 4.
Max Nosko was enjoying a memorable run in Newcastle-Under-Lyme and had already secured the additional 'Best Non-Elite' prize after walloping 2015 IPA World Champion Jack Whelan 11-1 in the Quarters. The Bristolian's hopes were extinguished, though, by the eventual champion, 11-6.
Harrison's opponent in the final was none other than the reigning and five-times WEPF World Champion Mick Hill, who was once again the pre-tournament favourite.
Despite suffering from a neck injury which was clearly visible during his opening fixture on the main arena table, Hill won four straight matches to serenely qualify for the Last 16 undefeated.
During the Knock-Outs Craig Lakin held Hill at 8-8 before the latter pulled away with the last three frames. Further big name rivals in the form of Shaun Chipperfield and Marc Farnsworth would await Hill in the Quarters and Semis, but respective 11-6 and 11-5 scorelines saw off the danger.
Arguably the top two English 8 Ball players in the world today, the finalists would write another thrilling chapter into their ongoing saga. In recent head-to-heads Hill had denied Harrison in the 2017 and 2018 World Finals, but on his way to the Strachan Cup last month Harrison put on a clinic when he stopped Hill in the Semi-Finals.
In front of a live stream audience of thousands, predictably, the final was very high on quality with few unforced errors. The lead changed hands on several occasions and there was never more than two frames between them, but ultimately the pair found themselves locked at 10-10 and staring down a deciding frame with a difference of £8,000 in prize money and one of the most prestigious titles in the sport up for grabs.
Having won the lag around an hour and forty minutes earlier, Harrison split the pack well and crucially made balls off the break. He then proceeded by coolly holding his nerves together and converting a finish in the same one visit for a memorable victory.
Harrison was presented the beautiful trophy by tournament and series sponsor Laura Martin from Supreme Pool. He also banked a handsome £13,000 cheque, the largest amount, so far, to be awarded in English 8 Ball Pool this year.
When you regard Harrison's early disappointment on the Friday afternoon, the amount of, and standard of the players he faced subsequently, this is a remarkable achievement. You would be hard pushed to find a tougher and more grueling path to glory within the sport.
The 2018 Supreme Masters grabbed the imagination of the viewing public with live streaming of up to four tables on multiple platforms across the three days. On Facebook alone there have been a million reaches so far.
There are now just two more events of the campaign remaining – the K8.com Classic (28th-30th September) and the Home Leisure Direct Grand Finals (30th November – 2nd December) which holds a record-breaking £51,000 top prize.
There will be several high profile First Round clashes at the greatly anticipated Jason Owen Open, the opening event of the ground-breaking Supreme Pool Series.
Conducted live on Facebook and YouTube, the 128 player random draw predictably threw up some mouth-watering ties given the strength and depth of the series. As with all this year's tournaments, the format is initially Double Elimination qualifying, with the final 8 competing a straight Knock-Out. The Jason Owen Open, which runs between the 4th-6th May, boasts a total prize purse of over £18,000 with £5,000 going to the champion.
Amongst the picks of the round is Shane Thompson v Jayson Shaw. Thompson is an ever-improving, hardened and successful player on both the tournament and money match scenes, whilst global cuesports superstar Shaw – World Blackball Champion in 2010, will be returning to his small table roots.
Another superstar making a return to English Pool after a sustained absence is Darren Appleton, he has also been handed a very tough assignment with professional Clint I'Anson; one of the most consistent performers on the IPA circuit this decade.
Shaw and Appleton's fellow Mosconi Cup winners and World Champions too, Chris Melling and Karl Boyes are back on the smaller table, they will face Scott Ross and Stefan Risidi respectively.
Undoubtedly one of the pre-tournament favourites will be two-time WEPF World Champion Tom Cousins, who meets the experienced Paul Riley first up, whilst another ex-World Champion Phil Harrison drew one of the eight 'To Be Confirmed' names in the last section.
The Supreme Pool Series exhibits past and present World Champions from both sides of the rules divide – Current IPA World Champion Ben Davies is paired with Rich Wharton in Round One.
Jack Whelan, who won the IPA World Title in 2015, pits his wits against newly crowned Scottish Professional Champion Mark Boyle in yet another mouth-watering fixture. Reigning BI World Champion Liam Dunster tackles Andrew McKie.
The Jason Owen Open is the first of five events throughout the year at the Players Pool and Snooker Lounge in Stoke-on-Trent. The season ending Home Leisure Direct Grand Final will see the winner bank £40,000.
The 2018 Supreme Pool Series is the brave new world that the players and fans of top tier English 8 Ball Pool have been calling for.
In short, it unleashes the world's best players from both sides of the great rules divide, who will come together and contest five mega events across 2018 at the renowned Players Pool and Snooker Lounge in Stoke-on-Trent.
A total prize fund of over £125,000 will be up for grabs in what is by far the most lucrative independent English 8 Ball series there has ever been. The winner of the Grand Final in December will bank a staggering £40,000, which completely dwarfs anything else the sport has to currently offer in monetary terms.
English 8 Ball icon and Players Pool Events entrepreneur Lee Kendall, along with his hard working team, are behind the series, which aims to put the players first and awaken the sleeping dragon profile of the sport.
Following on from a very successful and popular catalogue of amateur and invitational events over the last couple of years at the same venue, it was a natural progression for the Players Pool Events team to take.
It was a brave call, but undoubtedly the correct one. For far too long the planet's most prolific have been kept apart; this is where they will look each other in the eyes, play under the same roof and challenge for deserved, unparalleled prize funds.
The concept has received universal acclaim from the industry's premier brand names. Supreme Pool, Strachan, Aramith, Home Leisure Direct and Jason Owen Cues have all given their backing to this new era of the sport, which will hopefully benefit all.
Beard Productions, widely regarded as the flag bearer for live streaming in this environment, will be covering the whole series from preview to review, whilst the Winning Post will also be live at the venue and online to cater for all official betting activities.
So who has entered? The entry list is an embarrasment of riches with World Champions, major title winners, internationals and professionals past and present all predictably throwing their names into the gauntlet.
Craig Marsh, Gareth Hibbott and Jack Whelan – all IPA World Champions, will be on display, as too are former WEPF World Champions Tom Cousins, Phil Harrison and Adam Davis. Reigning BI World Champion Liam Dunster is also involved, as well as Ben Davies.
The temptation has also lured box office names Carl Morris and Chris Melling out of the shadows and back into the limelight of their spiritual homes – for Morris, it ends his 7 year self exodus from the sport.
Perhaps the most notable World Champion of all to feature, though, is arguably the greatest ever English 8 Ball Pool exponent; 'The Golden Boy' Gareth Potts.
A record breaking 4-time World Champion in this discipline, Potts' most recent World Title at the Lakeside in 2013 was the last time we saw him in top level competition on the small table.
Since then he has carved out a life changing career in the Far East with Chinese 8 Ball Pool, from which he has won the prestigious World Masters on three occasions. However, just like fellow trend setters Morris and Melling, the urge to be a part of this was too strong.
Marc Farnsworth, Ronan McCarthy, Mark Boyle, Rob Chilton, Lee Clough, Neil Raybone, Craig Waddingham, Clint I'Anson and Jordan Church are just some of the other major champions involved – plenty more are set to feature as well.
Craig Lakin, Shaun Storry, Rob Wharne and Greg Batten, the winners of the previous events to be held at Players throughout 2016 & 2017, have not shied away from the most testing of challenges either. They'll be back attempting to claim more silverware and money.
Players from all corners of the United Kingdom and Ireland are represented, with interest also coming from across the channel and overseas. The international outreach and appetite is for all to see.
The much anticipated action begins at the start of May with the season opening Jason Owen Open. Be sure to keep an eye on all the updates and features here at The Cue View.
2018 Supreme Pool Series Schedule
Jason Owen Open (4th-6th May)
Strachan Cup (13th-15th July)
Supreme Masters (17th-19th August)
The Challenge (28th-30th September)
Home Leisure Direct Grand Final (November 30th – December 2nd)
Defending champion Gareth Hibbott was eliminated during Thursday's action in Bradford as the top 32 seeded professionals joined 32 amateurs in the Last 64 of the 2017 IPA Individual World Championship.
Hibbott's title defence started well with a comfortable 3-0 victory over amateur Darren McCarthy, but his hopes of back to back titles were dashed by fellow pro Ben Davies (a former World Champion himself) who progressed 3 sets to 1 later on in the day.
Such is the quality of the amateur qualifiers who emerged from the earlier rounds across Tuesday and Wednesday, this wasn't the only 'upset'.
Top 5 players Clint I'Anson, Simon Ward and Jordan Shepherd all fell at the first hurdle, as did 11 other seeds, meaning nearly half of the top tier contingent failed to make the Last 32.
However, the professional ranked number 1 and pre-tournament favourite Marc Farnsworth managed to avoid the same fate as he saw off Toby Bolt 3-1 and then 2015 champion Jack Whelan by the same scoreline on the live stream table.
2016 runner-up Craig Marsh had to dig deep and hold his nerve in deciding sets against both Jake Newlove and former multiple World Champion Andy Lucas – on both occasions he was 2-1 down.
Current BI World Champion Liam Dunster is still on course for a very unique double after also coming through a fifth set with Alex O'Donoghue in his second fixture.
Jon McAllister, Jimmy Croxton, Jimmy Carney, Neil Raybone, Dan Davy and Ronan McCarthy are the other professionals to advance to the Last 16.
That means 6 amateurs remain – Yas Hussain, Ian Ali, Yannick Beaufils, Jeremy Hooper, Arfan Dad and Simon Fitzsimmons.
The first Tier I final in the newly formed Challenge Cup competition was also contested by two long time GB9 players in the form of Stewart Colclough and Damian Massey. With some of the UK’s top amateurs competing in this division, the competition was as hotly contested as people expected.
Colclough started his campaign against GB9 regular and World Snooker referee Martyn Royce, seeing out a comfortable 9-3 victory and leaving him to face Nottingham’s Dave Hopkin in the next round. Colclough found a ruthless streak here to dominate the match, four break and runs helping him whitewash Hopkin 9-0 and into the last 8. A terrific match against Mark Foster is what followed next, with a 9-7 win with a further three break and runs putting Colclough just nine more racks from another Challenge Cup final. Trying to stop him was 8-ball convert Neil Raybone, but his brave efforts proved futile in the end – Colclough wrapped up a 9 racks to 6 victory to put him in the final.
Massey’s opening match went the same way as Colclough’s opener against Royce, with a 9-3 victory over Michael McDonald seeing him through to the last 16 where he was to face Cornishman Robin Cripps. Both players brought their A games to the table, and two veterans of 9-ball in the south of England fought out a match that went all the way, with Massey edging into the quarter finals by 9 racks to 8. There he met Chris Hall, fresh from his victory in the main event, with both looking to continue their winning runs in the Challenge Cup going. Again, it was Massey who dumped the new Midlands Classic champion out of the event with a 9-8 win to set up a semi-final with Shaun Storry. Once again the match went the distance and, once again, it was the Dynamic Billard sponsored Massey whose experience told and saw him through 9-8 and into the final.
Nobody would have been surprised at the final going the distance, but it took 15 racks rather than 17 to decide the outcome. Massey once again held on to take the first Tier I Challenge Cup title of the season by 9 racks to 6.
