Preview: GB9 Southern Masters - Croydon
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This weekend (28th-30th) sees the second instalment of the UK's newest and freshest 9-ball pool tour.
128 of Britain's best 9-ballers converge on Rileys Croydon for the Southern Masters, including European number 1 Mark Gray and World Champion Daryl Peach.
In addition to the above mentioned players the tour will for the first time be graced with the presence of non-other than Tony 'The Tornado' Drago, and last event double winner Imran Majid.
With three tournaments across the weekend and over £11,000 in prize money the action will no-doubt be tense and fierce as players from both divisions jostle for position and those all important ranking points towards the end of year total.
17-year-old former British Junior Champion Phil Burford shocked a few in the last pro event as he defeated both the World Champion and World bronze medallist in reaching the final. He played some fantastic pool en route to the final but it seemed the pinnacle match was just a step too far for him for some reason as he never really got going.
As mentioned previously Imran Majid did the double in Solihull winning both the Pro Division and the Main Tour event. As the rankings for next year (and positions on the tour) are determined by the main tour event Imran has taken his first step to staying in the pro division and has definitely done himself proud in topping the main tour after one event.
128 players play across the weekend (all of them in the main event) with 96 in the Challenge Division and the remaining 32 in the Pro Division. A few of the pro players like Damian Overton, Paddy McLoughlin, Raj Hundal and Neil Raybone are going to need to improve their performances in order to stay in the Pro Division and perhaps event the main tour proper.
Youngster, Thomas Ainsworth-Smith, who defeated Brad Parker in a very tight match 11-10, won the challenge tour. The challenge tour has a number of players that would fit in quite well in the pro division and the likes of Parker, Massey, Ainsworth-Smith and Burton will be looking to progress into the Pro Division for next season.
Billiards Boutique Predictions:
Pro Division: Daryl Peach
Challenge Division: Damian Massey
Main Tour: Darren Appleton
CueSport TV Coverage
CueSport TV will again be recording coverage for later broadcast and matches will include all three finals plus selected matches from the earlier rounds of the pro division. In order to view the full package register for FREE at www.cuesport.tv
Links:
www.cuesport.tv or www.gb9balltour.com
