Thompson wins gold No. 10 in the 2010 World Eightball Pool Championships

Sue Thompson (Scotland) and Mick Hill (England) won gold in the 2010 World Eightball Pool Championships.

In a repeat of last year's women's final Thompson defeated Emma Cunningham (Northern Ireland) 8-4.

Thompson has reached the final in 15 of her 16 attempts with this being her tenth win. These two have now contested six of the last seven finals, with Cunningham tasting victory in 2005.

Mick Hill beat fellow Englishman Gareth Potts 11-8 in the men's final.

This was Hill's second title. He also won in 2004. Potts has three wins, in 2005, 2007 and 2008.

Defending champion Phil Harrison (England) went down 10-8 to Hill in the semifinals.

Frank Costello (England) won the junior singles and Gary Swift (England) took gold in the wheelchair division. There were also a number of other events, including teams, Under 21s and Over 50s.

The tournament took place at the Imperial Hotel in Blackpool, England, 27 June - 8 July 2010.

Please note that this is the English version of the game. Wikipedia explains the differences in detail. Here is an excerpt:

In the version of pool or Eight Ball played in the United Kingdom and Australia, plain unnumbered red balls and yellow balls often replace the solid and striped balls. If not, the terms "bigs" (9-15) and "smalls" (1-7) are generally used instead. The black ball, however, still typically bears a number eight. Another difference is that the UK table has pockets just larger than the balls, whereas the American table has pockets significantly larger.

See also:

• World Eightball Pool Federation (Official page)
• Pool: Perfect 10 for Runcorn’s world champion Sue Thompson (Runcorn & Widnes Weekly News)
• WEPF Worlds (Cue Club International)
• Hall of Fame (World Eight-Ball Pool Federation)
• WEPF World 8-Ball Championship - Men: Individual (Sports 123)
• WEPF World 8-Ball Championship - Women: Individual (Sports 123)

Related posts

• Selby and Thompson are new world eightball champions (2006 world championships)
• Thompson and Potts crowned world eightball pool champions (2007 world championships)
• Potts and Horsburgh shine in the World Eightball Pool Championships (2008 world championships)
• Thompson nicks ninth gold in the 2009 World Eightball Pool Championships (2009 world championships)

Bustamante finally gets his title in the 2010 World 9-Ball Championship

Filipino Francisco Bustamante won the 2010 World 9-Ball Championship.

Bustamante grabbed $36,000 for defeating 2005 runner-up Kuo Po-Chen (Taiwan) 13-7 in the final. Gomez got $18,000 for finishing second.

In the semifinals Bustamante overcame countryman Antonio Lining 11-5. Po-Chen edged two-time world champion Johnny Archer (USA) 11-10.

This was the first world 9-ball championship since 2007. Daryl Peach (England) won the trophy at that occasion. This time he was knocked out in the early stages.

Bustamante had lost in two previous world pool finals, the 2002 World 9-ball Championship and the 2008 World Straight Pool Championship. Teamed with Efren Reyes he won the 2009 World Cup of Pool.

Bustamante suffered tragedy during the 2002 event. His daughter died the day before the final, but his wife wanted him to play.

The event was dominated by the Asian contingent. They had six of the eight quarterfinalists.

The tournament ran from 29 June to 5 July at the Qatar Billiards & Snooker Federation, Dohar, Qatar.

See also:

• 2010 World 9-Ball Championship (Official site)
• World Pool Association
• Francisco Bustamante Wins World Crown (AzBilliards)
• WPA World 9 Ball Championship (Pro9.co.uk)
• World 9 Ball Championships (Pro9.co.uk Forum)
• WPA World Nine-ball Championship (Wikipedia)
• Men: World 9-Ball Championship (List of champions, Sports 123)
• Francisco Bustamante (Wikipedia)

Related posts:

• Ronnie Alcano wins World Pool Championship (2006 World Pool Championship)
• Daryl Peach is first British winner of the World Pool Championship (2007 World Pool Championship)

Sascha Tege gets breakthrough win in 2010 German Open

Sascha Tege from the host nation won the 2010 German Open.

In the final the 31-year-old surprise winner defeated current 8-ball world champion Karl Boyes (England) 8-6. The victory was worth €5000 and Boyes got €3300 for second place .

In the semifinals Tege edged Raj Hundal (England) 8-7 while Boyes hammered Fabio Petroni (Italy) 8-1.

This was Teges's first Euro Tour win. His previously best was fifth in the 2007 German Open. Tege is the fourth German winner in the last five editions of this event.

Defending champion Ralph Souquet (Germany) was ousted 8-6 by Hundal in the last 32.

For the second year in a row 10-ball was the game used in the event.

The win lifts Tege from 111th to 80th in the Euro Tour Ranking. Losing finalist Boyes improves from 10th to fifth. Daryl Peach (England) is the new No.1, Niels Feijen (Netherlands) is in second and Mateusz Sniegocki (Poland) sits in third. All three improve one place. Former leader Souquet drops to eighth.

The tournament was played 10-12 June 2010 at the Axxon Hotel, Brandenburg, Germany. It was the third event of seven on the 2010 Euro Tour. Next up is the Austria Open which runs from 8-10 July 2010.

See also:

• German Open 2010 (Event page)
• German Open Photo Gallery (eurotouronline.eu)
• Official Website of the IBP Eurotour
• Diamond Nine - Euro-Tour/ Dynamic Germany Open (Pro9.co.uk)
• German Euro Tour (Pro9.co.uk Forum)
• Sascha Tege (eurotouronline.eu)

Related posts:

• Stolka is surprise winner in Sindelfingen (2006 German Open)
• Daryl Peach on top in German Open (2007 German Open)
• Engert wins Germany Open for ninth Euro Tour title (2008 German Open)
• Souquet wins German Open - Euro Tour's first 10-ball event (2009 German Open)
• Feijen wins French Open for the second year running (2010 Euro Tour)
• It's Peach over Sniegocki in the 2010 Italy Open (2010 Euro Tour)

Luca Brecel (15) wins 2010 European Snooker Championship

Luca Brecel and Wendy Jans (both from Belgium) won gold medals in the 2010 European Snooker Championships.

15-year-old Brecel defeated Dutchman Roy Stolk 7-4 in the final of the men's event while home favourite Jans defeated Diana Stateczny (Germany) 5-3.

In the men's semis Brecel beat Iceland's Kristján Helgason 6-3 while Stolk defeated Roy Fernandez (Israel) 6-4.

In the ladies' semis Jans overcame Anna Mazhirina (Russia) 4-2. Stateczny whitewashed Germany's Natascha Niermann 4-0.

Brecel is the youngest ever winner of the European Championship. It was his third title in a short span. He also won the 2009 European U-19 Championship and recently added the Belgian Championship.

It was Jans' fifth European title. She also won in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2009. In addition she captured the 2006 IBSF World Amateur Championship.

The winner of the men's title is usually awarded a place on the Main Tour but beacause there is a 16 year age requirement EBSA are consulting with World Snooker before making the formal nomination

Defending champion David Hogan (Ireland) lost 4-2 to Roy Fernandez in the last 32.

Former top pro Darren Morgan (Wales) won the Masters division. In the final he beat 2000 winner Joe Delaney (Ireland) 6-0. Morgan also won in 2007 and 2009. He opted for the Men's event in 2008, where he made it to the semifinals.

Hogan and Kuldesh Johal (England) had the highest breaks of the tournament with 141s.

The event was held 27 May - 5 June, 2010 at the Rin Grand Hotel, Bucharest, Romania.

The European Main Tour play-offs (International Open) was played just before the tournament. Kurt Maflin (Norway) won the event to reclaim a place on next season's Main Tour.

See also:

• European Snooker Championships (esnooker.pl)
• 2009 European Snooker Championships (Global Snooker)
• EBSA
• Star in the Making (World Snooker)
  
• Brilliant Brecel (Snooker Scene blog)
• Brecel takes European Championship (Pro Snooker Blog)
• European Snooker Championships (Veikko Hannulan Snookerblog - Finnish)
• Luca Brecel (Official website - Dutch)
• Wendy Jans (Official page)
• Luca Brecel (Wikipedia)
• Wendy Jans (Wikipedia)
• Darren Morgan (Wikipedia)

Related posts:

• Borg and Jans defend Euro snooker titles (2006 European Championships)
• Van Hove and Evans win European Snooker Championship golds (2007 European Championships)
• Van Hove and Evans win European Snooker Championship golds (2008 European Championships)
• Hogan and Jans win European Snooker Championships (2009 European Championships)

Neil Robertson wins the 2010 World Snooker Championship

Australia's Neil Robertson captured the 2010 Betfred.com World Snooker Championship.

In the final he defeated Scotland's 2006 world champion Graeme Dott 18-13.

The English pair of Allister Carter and Mark Selby lost out in the semifinals.

Robertson received £250,000 for the victory and Dott got £125,000 for his runner-up spot.

Mark Allen (N.Ireland) and Dott shared the £10,000 high break bonus after compiling the first breaks of 146 in world championship history. In total there were only 59 centuries in this year's event.

Defending champion, scandal-stricken John Higgins (Scotland) surprisingly lost 13-11 to living legend Steve Davis in the second round. This was the 30th world championship appearance for Davis. The last player to successfully defend his world title was Stephen Hendry (Scotland) in 1996.

This was the first world title for Robertson. His previous best was last year when he reached the semifinals. It was his second ranking title of the season and fifth of his career. He has yet to lose a ranking final.

He was the first Australian to lift the world trophy since Horace Lindrum in 1952. Many don't consider Lindrum's win to be legitimate though.

With this win Robertson improves from ninth to a career-best second in the official rankings. Dott climbs from 28th to 13th.

Higgins moves from fourth to first and Ronnie O'Sullivan drops from first to third. Peter Ebdon and Joe Perry drop out of the top 16. Liang Wenbo (China) is the only first-timer in the exclusive group.

The event took place Apr 17 - May 3, 2010 at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England. It was the last of six ranking tournaments on the 2009/2010 Main Tour.

See also:

• Robertson Captures World Title (World Snooker)
• Neil Robertson becomes first Australian to take world snooker title (Times Online)
• Aussie Neil Robertson beats Dott to win world title (BBC)
• Robertson world champion after epic (Eurosport)
• Robertson is World Champion (Sporting Life)
• 2010 Betfred World Snooker Championship (Global Snooker)
• The World Turns for Robertson (Snooker Scene blog)
• Let’s hear it for the Thunder from down under! (Pro Snooker Blog)
• SnookerManager: World Championship 2010
• World Snooker Championship 2010 (Wikipedia)
• World Snooker Championship (Wikipedia)
• Neil Robertson (Official page)
• Neil Robertson (Wikipedia)

Related posts:

• Dott is new world snooker champion (2006 World Championship)
• John Higgins wins the Snooker World Championship - again (2007 World Championship)
• Ronnie O'Sullivan wins third World Snooker Championship (2008 World Championship)
• John Higgins wins the World Snooker Championship for a third time (2009 World Championship)
• O'Sullivan pockets 2009 Shanghai Masters (2009/2010 Main Tour)
• It's four from four as Robertson nicks 2009 Grand Prix (2009/2010 Main Tour)
• Ding Junhui captures 2009 UK Championship (2009/2010 Main Tour)
• John Higgins captures Grand Prix (2009/2010 Main Tour)
• Selby takes 2010 Masters with impressive comeback (2009/2010 Main Tour)
• Higgins wins 2010 Welsh Open in dominant fashion (2009/2010 Main Tour)
• Mark Williams completes strong comeback to win 2010 China Open (2009/2010 Main Tour)

Shameless plugs:

• Event Prediction: Crucible Contest 2010
• WWW Snooker: Betfred.com World Championship 2010

It's Peach over Sniegocki in the 2010 Italy Open

Daryl Peach from England bagged his third Euro Tour trophy in the 2010 Italy Open.

In the final the 2007 world 9-ball champion defeated recent EC silver medalist Mateusz Sniegocki (Poland) 9-7. The victory was worth €5000. Sniegocki received €3300 for second place.

The semifinals were one-sided affairs with Peach and Sniegocki both winning 9-2, against Stephan Cohen (French) and Chris Melling (England) respectively.

This was Peach's first win in the Italy Open and third Euro Tour win overall, from four finals. He has previously won the 2007 German Open and the 2009 Portugal Open.

The win lifts him from eighth to second in the Euro Tour Ranking. Losing finalist Sniegocki improved from fifth to fourth. Ralf Souquet (Germany) is still on top and Imran Majid (England) drops one place to third.

The tournament was played 15-17 April 2010 at the Basso Hotels & Resorts Spa, Treviso, Italy. It was the second event of seven on the 2010 Euro Tour. Next up is the German Open which runs from 10-12 June 2010.

See also:

• Italy Open 2010 (Event page)
• Italy Open Photo Gallery (eurotouronline.eu)
• Official Website of the IBP Eurotour
• Diamond Nine - Euro-Tour/ Dynamic Italian Open (Pro9.co.uk)
• Italian Euro Tour - Treviso (Pro9.co.uk Forum)
• Daryl Peach wint Eurotour Italie (Poolkrant - Dutch)
• Daryl Peach (Wikipedia)

Related posts:

• Majid wins in Italy (2006 Italy Open)
• Christian Reimering victorious in Italian Open (2007 Italy Open)
• Darren Appleton captures Italy Open (2008 Italy Open)
• Alcaide wins 2009 Italy Open (2009 Italy Open)
• Feijen wins French Open for the second year running (2010 Euro Tour)

Jaspers takes top honors in 2010 Suwon World Cup

Dick Jaspers from Netherlands won the 2010 World Cup event in Suwon, South Korea.

Dick Jaspers sneaked past Filipos Kasidokostas (Greece) 3-2 in the final. The frame scores were 1-15, 15-11, 14-15, 15-10 and 15-9.

He received €5,500 for the victory and Kasidokostas got €3,500 for second place.

Jeremy Bury from France and Tayfun Tasdemir (Turkey) lost out in the semifinals. Defending champion Frédéric Caudron (Belgium) lost 3-1 to Tasdemir in the quarterfinals.

This was Jaspers' 18th World Cup title and first since Spain 2008. He also won in Suwon in 2008.

The former world champion has had a terrific start to the year, having also won the recent AGIPI Billiard Masters.

Jaspers had the highest general average among the 56 competitors with 2.153. Caudron had the highest single match average in the final stage with 2.700. Korean Bong-so Kim's 15 was the highest run in the event.

The Dutchman moves into top spot in the 2010 World Cup Ranking with his win. Kasidokostas advances from fourth to third. Kyung-Roul Kim (South Korea) drops from first to second.

The win also moved Jaspers from fourth to second in the World Players Ranking. Kasidokostas improved from ninth to sixth. Caudron stays on top with Eddy Merckx (Belgium) dropping one place to third.

The event took place 6-11 April 2010 at the Manseok Park Badminton Gymnasium, Suwon, South Korea. It was the second of at least four events on the 2010 World Cup. The next event is in Matosinhos, Portugal, 12-18 July 2010.

See also:

• Tournament Details (UMB)
• Worldcup Suwon Korea 2010 (Entrada 51 - Spanish)
• Prachtige zege in loodzware finale in Worldcup Suwon (Dick Jaspers - Dutch)
• Dick Jaspers (Official page - Dutch)
• Dick Jaspers (Wikipedia)

Related posts:

• Daniel Sánches claims World Cup win in South Korea (2007 South Korea World Cup)
• Jaspers continues three cushion domination with South Korea World Cup win (2008 South Korea World Cup)
• Caudron hoists second World Cup trophy of 2009 season in Suwon (2009 South Korea World Cup)
• Kyung-Roul Kim lifts first World Cup trophy in Turkey (2010 World Cup)

Boyes wins 2010 8-ball World Championship

Karl Boyes from England won the 2010 Etisalat World 8-ball Pool Championship.

In the final he edged 2008 World Straight Pool champion Niels Feijen from Netherlands 13-12.

The Englishman lead the final from start to finish. At one point he was 11-4 up, before Feijen came back to make it 11-9.

In the semifinals Boyes beat Ruslan Chinakhov (Russia) 10-2 and Feijen defeated 2008 10-ball world champion Darren Appleton (England) 10-6.

Defending champion Ralf Souquet (Germany) lost 10-9 to Feijen in the last 16.

This was the fifth 8-ball world championship held. The previous four winners were Efren Reyes (Philippines), Chia-Ching Wu (Taiwan), Ronnie Alcano (Philippines) and Souquet. Boyes is the first champion to not previously having won the 9-ball title.

Once again the Brits impress at a major pool event. Peach was the 2007 world 9-ball champion and Appleton won the 2008 World Ten Ball Championship. In addition England came second in the 2008 World Cup of Pool and Great Britain (with Boyes) won the 2010 Pool World Team Championship.

The tournament was played 5-10 April 2010 in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates.

See also:

• World 8-ball Pool Championship (official site)
• World Pool Association
• KARL BOYES : WPA Etisalat World 8-Ball Champion 2010 (Pro9.co.uk)
• World 8-Ball Finals (AzBilliards)
• Billiards World Crowns New World 8-Ball Champ (Inside Pool Magazine)
• Karl Boyes is the new World 8-Ball Champion (Poolmag's 8-Ball Blog)
• world 8 ball championships in dubai (Pro9.co.uk Forum)
• World 8-Ball Champions (WPA)
• Pool: Men: World 8-Ball Championship (Sports 123)
• Karl Boyes (Official page)

Related posts:

• Alcano completes world double with 8-ball win (2007 8-ball world championship)
• Souquet wins World 8-ball Championship (2008 8-ball world championship