World Pool Masters Set For Holland

World Pool Masters Set For HollandMATCHROOM SPORT are delighted to announce that the eleventh running of the World Pool Masters will be taking place from Friday 29th – Sunday 31st August 2003 at the Hotel Zuiderduin, in the town of Egmond aan Zee in Holland. This is the first time that the tournament has been held outside of the UK and is a major development for pool.This is thanks to the commitment of Dutch terrestrial broadcasters RTL5 who will be showing all of the event live. In addition, Matchroom Sport will be producing 15 x one hour programmes of the Masters for broadcast on Sky Sports in the UK as well as ESPN Star throughout Asia and numerous other territories.Event organisers Matchroom Sport will be bringing sixteen of the very best 9-ball players in the world to Holland to chase the US$62,000 prize-fund. With the likes of reigning Masters Champ Ralf Souquet of Germany, fellow countryman and World Champion Thorsten Hohmann, Flipino aces Efren ‘Bata’ Reyes and Francisco Bustamante, 6 x times World Snooker Champion Steve Davis as well as the likes of Earl Strickland, Ching shun Yang and recent World Championship bronze medallist Tony Drago, the competition should be intense. Visit InsidePOOL for the latest news from the world of billiards and pool.
On the home front the four top Dutch stars will all be taking part. They are Mosconi Cup winner, Nick van den Berg, former Masters champ Alex Lely, 2001 European champ Rico Diks and former World Championship quarter-finalist Niels Feijen..Play commences on the Friday afternoon and then takes a break on Friday evening while the annual trickshot fest, the World Pool Trickshot Masters takes place. Now in its eighth year, the Trickshot Masters features six players each performing a twelve minute routine with a panel of judges deciding the winner. Players taking part include Steve Davis, Bogdan Wolkowski and last year’s winner, Alex Pagulayan of Canada.Commented Matchroom Sport Chairman Barry Hearn, “This is a major breakthrough for the Masters and we will be working very hard with RTL5 to make sure that this is a big success.Over the years we have had some very successful Dutch players in Matchroom Sport pool events so it seems natural that the likes of Alex, Niels, Nick and Rico be given the chance to show what they can do in front of their countrymen both in the arena and across Holland on television.“The Masters is pool’s premier invitational event and I believe that we can make a big impact with this sport in Holland with the help of RTL5.” For further information contact Luke Riches at Matchroom Sport 01708 782212 / 07785 395688 The 2003 World Pool MastersTickets The World Pool Masters is played over five sessions through three days and tickets for the event are available from the following outlets: ( To be confirmed ) Day 1 Fri 29 August 14.00 € 5 19.30 World Pool Trickshot Masters € 5Day 2 Sat 30 August 14.00 € 5 19.00 € 5Day 3 Sun 31 August 14.00 € 519.00 € 5We can offer the following ticket discount: 4 tickets for € 18 ( 10% )5 tickets for € 22 ( 12% )6 tickets for € 25 ( 17% ) The 2003 World Pool MastersFormat and Schedule • This year the World Pool Masters consists of sixteen of the world’s best players competing in a straight knockout single elimination format.• Each match is a race to eight racks with the winner breaking. Players will lag to determine the opening breaker.• Dates - August 29 – 31 2003Day 1 14.00 3 First Round matches19.30 The World Pool Trickshot MastersDay 2 14.00 3 First Round matches 19.00 2 First Round matches, 1 Quarter FinalDay 3 14.00 3 Quarter Finals19.00 2 Semi Finals and Final• Venue - Hotel Zuiderduin, Zeeweg 52, 1931 VL Egmond aan Zee, Netherlands• TV - Over 15 hours LIVE coverage15 x 1 hour highlight programmes1 x 2 hours of the World Pool Trick-shot Masters• The World Pool AssociationThe World Pool Masters is sanctioned by the WPA which is the world governing body for pool and administers the game at many levels across the globe. Membership of the WPA is made up of continental members which currently consists of Africa, Asia, Europe, North America Oceania and Latin America and the Caribbean. Individual national associations are in turn members of their continental associations.The 2003 World Pool Masters – The Players Ralf Souquet Germany ( Defending Champion )Niclas Bergendorff Sweden Francisco Bustamante PhilippinesSteve Davis EnglandRico Diks NetherlandsTony Drago MaltaNiels Feijen NetherlandsThorsten Hohmann Germany Mika Immonen Finland Alex Lely NetherlandsAlex Pagulayan CanadaEfren Reyes PhilippinesTom Storm SwedenEarl Strickland USANick van Den Berg Netherlands Hui-kai Hsia Taiwan The 2003 World Pool Masters – The Draw Round 1 Quarter Final Semi Final Final.............................................Ralf Souquet (GER) v Mika Immonen (FIN) v Alex Lely (NED) (QtrF.1) v Steve Davis (ENG) ............................................. v Hui-kai Hsia (TPE) (Semi F.1) v Niclas Bergendorff (SWE) vRico Diks (NED) (QtrF.2) v Thorsten Hohmann (GER).............................................. vEarl Strickland (USA) (Final) v Niels Feijen (NED) v Tom Storm (SWE) (QtrF.3) v Efren Reyes (PHI).............................................. vAlex Pagulayan (CAN) (Semi F.2) v Tony Drago (MLT) v Nick van den Berg (NED) (QtrF.4) v Francisco Bustamante (PHI).............................................. The 2003 World Pool Masters – The Schedule All matches race to 8, winner breaks Friday August 29 2.00 pm Round 1 Ralf Souquet v Mika Immonen Round 1 Steve Davis v Alex Lely Round 1 Hui-kai Hsia v Niclas Bergendorff 7.30 pm World Pool Masters Trickshot Championship Bogdan Wolkowski, Earl Strickland, Alex Pagulayan, Alex Lely, Tom Eksell & Herbert Friedman Saturday August 30 2.00 pm Round 1 Rico Diks v Thorsten Hohmann Round 1 Earl Strickland v Niels Feijen Round 1 Tom Storm v Efren Reyes 7.00 pm Round 1 Alex Pagulayan v Tony Drago Round 1 Nick Van Den Berg v Francisco Bustamante Qtr Final 1 Souquet/Immonen v Davis/Lely Sunday August 312.00 pm Qtr Final 2 Hsia/Bergendorff v Diks/Hohmann Qtr Final 3 Strickland/Feijen v Storm/Reyes Qtr Final 4 Pagulayan/Drago v Bustamante/Van Den Berg 7.00pm Semi Final 1 Semi Final 2 Final The 2003 World Pool Masters – Prize-Fund Champion $20,000 Runner-Up $ 10,000 Beaten Semi-Finalists $ 5,000 ( x 2 ) Beaten Quarter-Finalists $ 2,500 ( x 4 ) First Round Losers $ 1,500 ( x 8 ) ______ TOTAL $62,000 The 2003 World Pool Masters – Previous Winners 1993 Plymouth Werner Duregger ( Austria )1994 Doncaster Ralf Souquet ( Germany )1995 Blackpool Daryl Peach ( England )1996 Blackpool Ralf Souquet ( Germany )1997 Lakeside Earl Strickland ( USA )1998 Lakeside Francisco Bustamante ( Philippines )1999 Lakeside Alex Lely ( Holland )2000 Lakeside Ralf Souquet ( Germany )2001 Lakeside Francisco Bustamante ( Philippines )2002 Milton Keynes Ralf Souquet ( Germany ) 2003 World Pool Masters – Co-SponsorsSimonis ( Cloth )Matchroom Sport and Simonis already enjoy a long-standing relationship that dates back over a decade and the prestigious Belgian company are suppliers to Matchroom Sports’ entire roster of pool events. Simonis 860 cloth covers the tables at the World Pool Championship, the Mosconi Cup, the World Pool Masters and the World Pool League. Founded over 300 years ago in the city of Verviers, Simonis cloth stands today as the benchmark to which all billiard cloths aspire. Suppliers to major tournaments all over the world, Simonis technicians are constantly improving the quality of its cloth to maintain its position as the world’s finest . Contact: iwansimonis@iwansimonis.comBrunswick Billiards ( Tables )Brunswick Billiards are the official table suppliers to all Matchroom Sport pool events, a relationship which began at the 1998 Mosconi Cup. and the Gold Crown IV table, in use at the World Championship, is the choice of professionals the world over. With a tradition of quality that spans over a century and a half, Brunswick Billiards is a legendary name in the billiard industry. A division of the Brunswick Corporation, Brunswick Billiards is headquartered in Bristol, Wisconsin and is a marketer and manufacturer of a complete line of premier billiard tables, table lights, cues, cue racks, and accessories. Contact: info@brunblrds.comAramith ( Balls )For several decades, Belgian Aramith Billiard Balls have had a legendary reputation for outstanding endurance, performance and uncompromising quality. That is why they are the balls used at the World Pool Championship. Made by Saluc, Aramith’s excellence is the result of a high-tech process that combines that combines the unmatched characteristics of phenolic resin with fine Belgian craftsmanship. Their consistently reliable performance guarantees razor-sharp precision. Their exceptionally long product life offers the table owner the lowest ball cost on an annual basis. That is how Aramith for almost half a century gained its legendary reputation as signature for true and unrivalled qualityContact: info@aramith.comPredator ( High-Performance Cues and Shafts )Predator is the Official Cue of the World Pool Championship for the second year running after a successful 2002. In addition, they will also be acting as Official Cue to the full roster of Matchroom Sport pool events this year. Since its creation in 1992 and thanks to the constant research effort put into the understanding of Pool Cue performance dynamics, Predator strives to stimulate the sport and help pool players improve their game by being at the cutting edge of pool cue performance. Currently over 50% of the top 40 US male professionals use Predator technology (Source: UPA rankings - June 03).Contact: info@predatorcues.com How To Play American 9-Ball Pool • 9-Ball Pool is simple to follow and is the most exciting as well as most popular cue sport in the world. • The game is played on a big table – 2.75m x 1.37m - and uses the traditional multi-coloured pool balls numbered one to nine. • The colours run as follows 1 - yellow, 2 - blue, 3 - red, 4 - pink, 5 - orange, 6 - green, 7 - brown, 8 - black, 9 - yellow stripe. • The balls are racked in a diamond with the 1-ball being at the front, the 9-ball in the centre and the other balls placed in a random order. • The breaking player then crashes his opening shot into the pack making sure he hits the 1-ball first and that at least four balls hit the cushions. It’s possible to win a rack off the break if the 9-ball drops into a pocket. • The object of the game is to win the rack by pocketing the 9-ball. You must always play the lowest numbered ball on the table and victory may be gained by clearing the balls in sequence or sinking the 9-ball via a plant or cannon - called a combination shot in pool . • A player may clear balls 1 – 8, playing his best pool. However, if he misses the 9-ball and leaves it resting in the jaws of a pocket, his opponent can then step up, knock it in and take the rack. That is the agony and ecstasy of 9-Ball Pool! • As in other cue sports, there are foul shots which are heavily penalised. After a foul, the incoming player can pick the ball up and place it anywhere he likes. This is called ‘ ball in hand'. • At least one ball must hit the cushion during the course of a shot and that makes safety play extremely difficult with only the highest precision shots staying out of trouble. Matchroom Sport Matchroom Sport have established themselves through the 1990's as one of the world's leading independent producers of televised sport. Starting with snooker in the 1980's, Matchroom developed into Europe's largest boxing promoter within a short space of time and have been responsible for over 200 world championship shows to date. In addition, Matchroom are also the biggest producers in the world of American pool and are also dominant in the fields of tenpin bowling, championship fishing, snooker and darts. Recent additions to the Matchroom Sport roster include the PGA Europro Tour golf and Poker Million. All in all Matchroom Sport are responsible for over 600 hours of original television programming per year and annually Matchroom Sport programmes are seen in over 100 countries around the world.Matchroom Sport produced their first pool tournament in the summer of 1993 and are now the world’s biggest producers of televised pool with an annual roster of five events. The World Pool League. Now entering into its sixth successful year, the League has reverted to its original format this year of six players. Won in ’98 and ’99 by Jim Rempe, in ’00 by Steve Knight and for the last two years by Filipino legend Efren Reyes, the League is broadcast throughout the world as 15 x 1 hour programmes. It is shown in the UK, China, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, South America as well as throughout Asia on the ESPN-Star network. The World Pool Championship. Pool’s premier event, the World Championship features 128 players from over 40 countries doing battle over nine days this July for a $300,000 prize-fund. Held for the past four years in Cardiff, Wales, the World Championship is broadcast live in the UK, Holland, Hungary and across the Far-East. In addition it is aired as 9 x 2 hour programmes across Europe, South Africa, Australia, USA, Canada and New Zealand.The World Pool Masters. This year, this event is held in August in Holland and has a field of 16 select players from across the globe. Played over three days, the total prize-fund is US$62.000. The defending champion is Germany’s Ralf Souquet who last year beat Efren Reyes in a high quality final. The Masters is broadcast throughout the world as 15 x 1 hour programmes.The Mosconi Cup. Since its inception in 1994, the Mosconi Cup has gone from strength to strength. The Mosconi is live for four days on Sky Sports in the UK and features two teams from America and Europe potting for supremacy in a series of singles and doubles matches. The arena is packed to the rafters with 700-strong crowds and the atmosphere is not for the faint-hearted!The World Pool Trickshots. There are six players and each does a 12 minute routine of trickshots to entertain a packed crowd. At the end the audience vote for the winner. Regularly won by Poland’s Bogdan Wolkowski, although last year Canada’s Alex Pagulayan did the business. The World Pool Trickshots is broadcast across the globe.

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