Williams wins in China

Mark J Williams surprised almost everyone by winning the Star Dragon Woods Villa Cup China Open. He hadn't won a ranking title since 2003, and for a while it looked like he was going to lose his place in the top 16.

John Higgins once again lost 9-8 in a final. He lost by the same scores to Ken Doherty in the recent Malta Cup.

See also:

• 2006 China Open (Global Snooker Centre)
• Williams Takes China Title (Sporting Life)
• 2006 China Open (Wheels in Motion)
• Chinese fans cue to be in snooker frame (The Australian)
  

Related post: Snooker stars off to China

The European Championships have started

The European Pool Championships have started.

There are divisions for men, women and wheelchair users. They compete, in straight pool, 8-ball and 9-ball. The event ends 1 April.

Defending champions:

• Men: Alex Lely (8-ball and 9-ball) and Torsten Hohmann (straight pool)
• Women: Christine Feldmann-Naeff (8-ball) and Jasmin Ouschan (9-ball and straight pool)
• Wheelchair: Jouni Täthi (8-ball) and Henrik Larsson (9-ball)

Selected players in this year's tournament:

• Jasmin Ouschan (Austria)
• Wendy Jans (Belgium)
  
• Roman Hybler (Czech Republic)
• Oliver Ortmann and Ralf Souquet (Germany)
• Imran Majid and Daryl Peach (Great Britain)
• Vilmos Foldes and Sandor Tot (Hungary)
• Tony Drago (Malta)
• Niels Feijen, Alex Lely and Nick van den Berg (Netherlands)
• Line Kjørsvik (Norway)
• Radoslaw Babica (Poland)
• Marcus Chamat and Tom Storm (Sweden)

See also:

• Alex Lely's Weblog
• Nick van den Berg's Weblog
• European Pool Championships 23-3/1-4 (Matchroom Sport Forums)
  

Related posts:

• EC 2006 website up
• Ortmann and Ouschan on top of Europe

Snooker stars off to China

It's time for the fifth snooker ranking tournament of the season, the Star Dragon Woods Villa Cup China Open.

Last year's surprise winner, Ding Junhui, will try to repeat that performance. The competition is tough though, with all the best players taking part.

The event starts off Sunday, with wild card matches for Chinese hopefuls. Tuesday sees the start of the tournament proper.

CCTV5 of China broadcasts the event. The stream will be viewable at 300k bandwidth.

See also:

• 2006 China Open (Global Snooker Centre)
• O'Sullivan has Ding in his Sights (Sporting Life)
• 2006 China Open (Wheels in Motion)
• China leads snooker's new fan base (China Daily)
• Ding comes back to defend title (China Daily)
  
• Snooker (BBC)

Related posts:

• Williams wins in China

World Pool Championship goes to Manila

The 2006 World Pool Championship will be staged in Manila, Philippines, Nov 4-12.

Sources say the winner will take home at least $100,000. That's a new record for the tournament.

The dates seem to clash with the IPT Players 8-ball Championship. Hopefully they'll reach an agreement.

See also:

• Manila to host World Pool Championship (AZBilliards)
• World tourney excites Bata, local cue masters (Manila Standard Today)
• Filipinos Favored in World Pool Championships (AZBilliards)
  
• Manila to host World Pool Championship (Matchsport Sport Forums)
• Mosconi Cup and WPC Clashes Avoided (Calcul8r)

Related posts:

• Ronnie Alcano wins World Pool Championship

Draw for World Snooker Championship

After the final qualifying round the draw for the 2006 888.com World Snooker Championship has now been made.

Defending champion Shaun Murphy goes up against Thailand's James Wattana. World No.1 Ronnie O'Sullivan plays veteran Dave Harold. Stephen Hendry meets Nigel Bond in a rematch of their 1995 world final.

The tournament will be staged 15 April - 1 May in the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England.

See also:

• Thai Test for Murphy (World Snooker)
  
• 888.com 2006 World Championship (Global Snooker Centre)
• Rocket paired with veteran at Crucible (Sporting Life)
• Champ Murphy faces Wattana in opener (Sporting Life)
  
• Murphy to open defence against Wattana (Eurosport)

Related posts:

• The World Snooker Championship has started
• Dott is new world snooker champion

Shameless plug: Crucible Contest 2006

Allison Fisher takes long road to victory

The Great Lakes Classic had an unusual beginning, but Allison Fisher still came out a winner in the end.

She lost her very first match to Chinese sensation Xiaoting Pan, but managed to come through the one loss bracket to make the single elimination stage. Players left behind included Melissa Herndon and Wendy Jans.

In the final 16 she hammered poster girl Jennifer Barretta, before edging biggest rival Karen Corr 9-8. Kim White was no match in the semis, going down 9-4. In the final she beat experienced Texan Vivian Villareal 7-4 to pocket the £13,000 first prize.

See also:

• Allison Fisher defends Great Lakes Classic Title (wpba.com)
• Fisher Wins 46th WPBA Title (Billiards Digest)
  

Related post: "WPBA goes to Michigan City"

Alcaide and Peach snags final IPT places

The final two places on the 150-player strong International Pool Tour have been filled.

It was a Spaniard and a Britain who came through in qualifier E. David Alcaide and Daryl Peach are both accomplished players and are sure to make an impact on the Tour.

See also:

• Peach Rounds out the IPT (Inside Pool Magazine)
• Alcaide Joins the IPT (Inside Pool Magazine)
• David Alcaide and Daryl Peach qualify for the IPT (American Pool Network)
• David Alcaide and Daryl Peach Make the 150 (Calcul8r)
• Challenge Matches at the International Pool Tour Qualifier in Weert (nickvandenberg.com)
• Congrats to Daryl Peach (uk8ball.com: forum)
  

Related post: "Final IPT Qual this weekend"

World Straight Pool Championship in New Jersey

Note: This is the preview for the 2006 World Straight Pool Championship. The results are also available, for both 2006, 2007 and 2008.

The WPA-sanctioned World Straight Pool Championship will be held from May 30 to June 4, in East Brunswick, New Jersey.

The tournament is promoted by Dragon Promotions and boasts an impressive field.

Among the players known to take part are Thorsten Hohmann, Marlon Manalo, Ralf Souquet, Johnny Archer, Mika Immonen, John "Mr. 400" Schmidt and Tony Robles.

Would you like to join them? A total of seven qualifying events will be held, in USA, Canada, Germany and Netherlands.

See also:

• AZBilliards: The World Straight Pool Championship
• Billiards Digest: The World Straight Pool Championship (forum thread)
• AZBilliards: Hilton Hosts the World 14.1 Championships
  
• Inside Pool Magazine: Results of Philadelphia Qualifier at Drexeline Billiard Club
  

Related posts:

• Group pairings for the World Straight Pool Championship
• Hohmann wins World Straight Pool Championship

WPBA goes to Michigan City

This weekend the women of the WPBA are competing in the Great Lakes Classic.

The event takes place at the Blue Chip Casino, Michigan City, Indianapolis.

See also:

• WPBA: Highlights
• Michigan City News Dispatch
• ABC7 Chicago
  

Related posts:

• Allison Fisher takes long road to victory

Deflection ratings

There is always a lot of discussion about the amount of deflection on different cues.

Platinum Billiards have developed a test to measure deflection and displays their results in a deflection ratings chart.

New additions are still being made., but right now the three Predator models (Z, 314 and Break), McDermott i-3 and Universal SmartShaft lead the way so far. They have been given a deflection rating of "low".

The tests are performed using a robot, which makes the same stroke with each cue. Four shots are made, with varying distances from the center. It's the average for this series that determines the ratings.

Platinum Billiards claim to be an independent company with no affiliation with any billiard product manufacturer.

See the newsgroup thread "Platinum Billiards' deflection chart" for a general discussion.

Final IPT Qual this weekend

Now there's only one more chance to get yourself a card for the International Pool Tour.

The final qualification tournament will be held March 10-12 in House of Billiards, Weert, Netherlands.

The fee is pretty heavy. You have to hand over $2,000 to gain entry! Still, there are 47 players fighting for the two availbable spots up for grabs. Here are some of the best known: Thomas Engert, Tony Drago, Santos Sambajon, Vilmos Foldes, Christian Reimering, Imran Majid, Daryl Peach, David Alcaide, Steve Knight, Roman Hybler, Michael Schmidt and Chris Melling.

See also:

• Inside Pool Magazine
  

Stephen Lee wins Welsh crown

In an all-English final in the Welsh Open, Stephen Lee downed current world champion Shaun Murphy 9-4. This was Lee's fourth ranking title.

See also:

• World Snooker
• Global Snooker Centre
• Sporting Life

Related post: "Ronnie favourite in Wales".

Ga-Young Kim defends World title

South Korea's Ga-Young Kim successfully defended her title as Women's World Pool Champion. In the final she beat Taiwan's Shin-Mei Liu 11-8.

Check out the pictures from billiards@rogers.com, at Yahoo Photos!

This win takes Kim to the top of the WPA rankings.

See also:

• Official homepage
• World Women 9-Ball Championships - 2006 (WPA Tour)
• WPA
• Ga-Young Kim is Champion of the World! (AZBilliards)
• Ga-Young Kim Takes Second World Championship in Taipei (Billiards Digest)
  
• Ga-Young Kim Snags WPA Women's World Championship (Inside Pool Magazine)
• Mr Tu Sports
• Women World Championships 2006 Taiwan (jasmin-ouschan.com)
  

Related post: "The ladies contest the world pool title".

The ladies contest the world pool title

March 1-5 Taipei will host the WPA Amway World Women' s Championship.

A lot of the top names are missing. Allison Fisher and Karen Corr are some of the stars who chose to stay home. That leaves the tournament wide open.

Still, there is plenty of talent available to fight for the $20,000 first prize and the title of World Champion.

Defending champion Ga-Young Kim must be considered a favourite.

To the short list you can also add England's Kelly Fisher, Helena Thornfeldt from Sweden, Shin-Mei Liu from Taiwan and Monica Webb (USA).

Line Kjørsvik (Norway), Wendy Jans (Belgium) and youngster Jasmin Ouschan (Austria) are some of the others that could do some damage.

The tournament is broadcast on TV. Apparently you'll be able to view some of it on the web.

See also:

• WPA
• AZBilliards
• Mr Tu Sports

Related post: "Ga-Young Kim defends World title"

Billiards World Championship coming up

The World Professional Billiards Championship will take place on the 30 May to 4 June 2006 at the World Snooker Centre at Pontin's, Prestatyn, England.

Billiards (or English Billiards) is a forerunner to snooker. It's played on a snooker table (actually called a Billiards table), with three balls, two whites and one red.

The two players have one white each (one is marked with a dot). You get points for potting the red, potting the other white, making in-offs and making a carom (hitting the two other balls in the same shot).

It's a relative small sport. Most of the top players come from India and the UK. Defending champion is Chris Shutt from England.

See also: 2006 World Professional Billiards Championship (Global Snooker Centre)

Related post: Sethi wins fifth World Billiards trophy

Michael White wins IBSF Grand Prix

By winning the IBSF Grand Prix Welshman Michael White has secured a place on the Main Tour.

There's just one problem. He's 14 years old! Last time I checked the age limit on the Tour was 16 years. Maybe they'll let him in once he gets old enough?

In the final he beat Mark Boyle (Scotland) 10-5. The highest break of the match was 102 by the eventual winner.

See also Sporting Life and World Snooker.

Related post: "IBSF Grand Prix"

Player blogs

Ever wanted to know what it's like to be a pro player?

You can learn a little more by reading their blogs. So far the Dutch men and the WPBA ladies are leading the way.

Women

• Jennifer Barretta
• Ellen van Buren
• Dawn Hopkins
• Melissa Little

Men

• Nick van den Berg
• Colin Colenso
• Tony Crosby
• Niels Feijen
• Alex Lely

These links are also available in the right menu.

EC 2006 website up

The European Pool Championships starts March 22. Now you can view the official homepage.

There you'll be able to view results, player bios and more.

Related posts:

• The European Championships have started
• Ortmann and Ouschan on top of Europe

IBSF Grand Prix

With the cancellation of the IBSF World Championship in Pakistan, the top amateurs lost an opportunity to qualify for the Main Tour. To alleviate this the IBSF Grand Prix is being staged. The winner of this event is awarded a place on the Main Tour. See also IBSF.org.

The group stage has already concluded and the knock out phase has begun. The final is March 3rd.

Related post: "Michael White wins IBSF Grand Prix"