You could be forgiven for thinking that this is the poor relation to the weekend’s main event, the English Open Championship, but that would be
an error with do much to play for as well as the prize fund!

The chase is on at the top of the rankings to capture the coveted Number One spot, and as things stand it is new 8-ball sensation Giuseppe D’Imperio who is leading the way. Few would have guessed that this quiet young man would be challenging for honours this season, but the rankings suggest otherwise and we could have a new young superstar on our hands.

Following the magnificent performance of Lee Anderson to take his first title at our last event (the UK Championships), he is statistically the main challenger thanks to his number two ranking, while no one should be naïve enough to write off the chances of the likes of Max Nosko, Daniel Davy, Rob Southey and (returning from his 9 Ball career), Scott Higgins.

As well as the kudos and bragging rights of the number one spot, there is also the challenge for all these players to retain their place in the top eight which automatically provides entry into the “best of the best” event at the close of the season – so there is plenty to play for in Bradford and beyond.

The English Amateur Championship is supported by On Q Promotions, and players will enjoy the outstanding facilities provided to them by our sponsors including DPT tables, Strachan cloth and the world’s leading cue sport ball manufacturer, Aramith.

We invite all players and fans to visit us during the weekend’s championships where entry is free of charge with play commencing on Saturday 9^th June 4pm, and the final of the English Amateur taking place Sunday afternoon – though for those who cannot attend, live internet streaming will be available free of charge via our website (ww.ipapooltour.com), or why not get results and comment directly via Twitter (@ipa8ballpool).

With many English players helping to drive the sport forward over the past 35 years they have their fair share of the sport’s elite  including six world champions who will all be in the draw looking to capture the third “major” of the IPA series.

Complemented by a host of amateur hopefuls who will be chasing ranking points to enable them to attain professional player status at the end
of the season, this championship will certainly provide some spectacular entertainment over the three days 0f 8^th 9^th and 10^th June, and all things are possible as witnessed when amateur hotshot Giuseppe D’Imperio captured the British Open title earlier in the season.

Everyone knows that the IPA tour is the World’s most prestigious pool series with it’s inclusion of both professionals and amateurs
at each competition weekend, and if you can achieve the necessary level here then you are heading in to the media spotlight and all things are possible within one of the most popular sports in the United Kingdom.

The event will be staged at one of the best hotels in the city (the Bradford Hilton), and as always the series is supported by Finicky
Shirts who provide our professional players with a range of player wear designed for optimum comfort. The Championship will also be graced by the sports finest equipment, with DPT kindly providing us with the new Omega tables specially built for the IPA series, each one clothed with our signature Strachan ‘Grey’ 6811 cloth, and complimented by the world’s leading cue sport ball manufacturer, Aramith, and their Super Pro Cup balls. All three components complement each other beautifully leaving nothing to chance for the best 8 ball pool players in the World today.

We would like to use this opportunity to invite all players and fans to visit us during the weekend’s championships where entry is free of
charge with play commencing on Friday 8^th June 2pm, and the final of the English Amateur taking place Sunday afternoon – though for those who cannot attend, live internet streaming will be available free of charge via our website (www.ipapooltour.com), or why not get results and comment directly via Twitter (@ipa8ballpool).

A fantastic performance over the weekend culminated in a convincing 8-3 win over first time IPA finalist and rising star Jordan Shepherd. Davis dominated from the off and quickly built up 4-0 lead over his young opponent. Jordan is another in a long line of Welsh talent who have chased glory on the IPA Tour, but as with many others who have gone before him, falling short at the final hurdle.  A short revival of hope was mustered with a few of his customary wild clearances, but it never caused a stir as far as Davis was concerned. 

It was a fitting conclusion to the tournament and the tremendous spectacle was enjoyed by a very appreciative crowd both in the arena
at the NEC Hilton Hotel and via the live streaming, with thousands of online viewers taking the opportunity to witness the World Champion return to form. Davis said after the match that “it was one of the best arenas I have played in” which certainly contributed to the wonderful atmosphere.

After what has been a lean period by Adam’s own high standards, it was a testament to his strength of mind after coming through a
tough section of the draw which included victories over former  World Champion Phil Harrison, and 3 time World Champion Gareth Potts in the semis. His focus was put to test during his clash against great friend Gareth Potts following a very controversial refereeing decision, which Potts did not agree with.

Jordan, who in many peoples estimations was well overdue a major championship final appearance, took victory over another rising star Rob Wharne in a thrilling deciding frame shoot out in their semi final. Wharne with the first clear chance failed to take advantage and missed his penultimate red ball. Shepherd almost sprung to his feet and in his very fast style of play eased to superbly clear his
remaining balls, in a fashion which for most would have been under immense pressure.

The quarter final line up was a mixture of the heavyweights of the game – Potts, Davis, Harrison & Chilton, with the emerging new breed – Simon Ward, Shepherd, Wharne & Croxton. It was fitting that a member of each ‘group’ made it to the final.

Other notable performances included Ian Ali’s demolition of number two ranked player Tom Cousins, Max Nosko’s victory over two time World Champion Jason Twist, and Josh Corkett also had an excellent run to the last 16. Tour one dual winner Giuseppe (the invincible) D’Imperios,  as some are already calling him, finally came to a halt at the hands of IPA Professional John Roe in the last 64, (7-3).

IPA Chairman Kevin Barton commented “ in recent years, you could almost predict the quarter final line up – but not anymore. The new
youngsters are tearing up the form book and causing havoc amongst the established names. No one is safe”.

The next stop for the IPA Tour will be in Yorkshire. The Bradford Hilton Hotel will be playing host to worlds finest 8Ball players on
the 8-10th June. All are welcome to attend and enjoy the weekends play as the battle commences to establish who will be 2012 English Open Championships.

As well as the title of United Kingdom Amateur Champion,  he captured 16 priceless ranking points, which moves him into second place in the race for the end of season amateur play offs.

The Lancashire cueman was always in control throughout the final, building leads of 2-0 and 3-1, but despite his best efforts, Davy could never narrow the gap to less than 2 frames.

After the final, a jubilant Anderson said “Im so pleased with this win as its my first on the IPA Tour. This is a major breakthrough for me and I hope it will give me the confidence to win more events in the future “.

Davy himself had finally ended the winning streak of amateur sensation Giuseppe D’Imperio, with a nail biting final frame victory in the
semi final. Davy led 5-3, only to see his opponent draw level with some clinical finishing. Davy had the vital break in the decider, and made it pay, with a break and finish to wrap up the win.

Anderson had a relatively smoother passage to the final, with 6-3, 6-2 & 6-3 victories over Marc Fleming, Jack Whelan & Rob
Southey respectively.

Such is the strength in depth of the amateur events this season, picking a winner is virtually impossible. And when you watch players of
the calibre of Simon Ward, Danny Miller, Andy O’Hara and British Amateur Runner up Max Nosko were unable to reach the last 16, you get a feel of how tough it is in the amateur ranks.

The IPA Amateur Championships are a series of 5 events taking place throughout the UK. The top 8 ranked players at the end of the
season qualify for the inaugural play off grand finals. The English Amateur Open is the third event of the series and takes place at the Bradford Hilton Hotel, 9-10^th June.

16 tables were in action from 9.00am onwards, so keeping an eye on all the action took some doing (glad it wasn’t in my remit), but to be fair, the score cards came in thick and fast and the results were automatically updated on various social websites, so something for everyone.

Being a player who understands the game but has never played at this kind of level, I have to say I was very impressed with the number of eight ball clearances and the lack of nerves shown by players of all ages, amateurs and professionals alike – all of which reminded me why I only play for a pub team – but that’s another story.

Trying to write a clear unbiased review of the whole weekend was frankly an impossibility with so many games and so many faces of all ages, colours and creeds, and I ended up watching as much as I could live and the internet stream on the laptop at the same time, which simply made my head spin, so common sense suggested that I paid more attention to specific games – so sorry to those I missed, and to all the great shots I failed to see (and the lucky ones)!

Not knowing all the players, I kept a look out for the juicy draws, and Morray Dolan v Carl Morris looked like a fun one with the vice chairman playing the ex secretary in a sort of IPA committee play off, – I always find it interesting to see how friends cope against each other in an important tournament? For once in my life I got something right as this turned out to be a crackerjack of a match, the perfect mix of tactics and pure potting, though the shaking of heads by both players on a regular basis and the odd wry smile suggested not everything went exactly according to plan! In summary (ball by ball becomes a tad repetitive), Carl had the upper hand in the early stages leading 1-0, 2-1, 3-1 and even 4-2 but a fine fight back by Ifield lad Morray saw him roll through five of the next six frames for a 5-7 victory, and a place in the last 32 (*though that’s as far as he got). Looking across as that match ended I realised that I had just seen a former World Champion knocked out in Carl Morris, while on the table next to him was another World Champ going out in the shape of Jason Twist, and a further table away was Giuseppe D’Imperio, the recently crowned British Open and Amateur Champion – was I watching the wave goodbye of the old guard, and the continued crowning of the next generation? By now, I was beginning to soak up the atmosphere and as players left, either lucky, unlucky, or in disgust, the draw began to take shape and we could finally see the wood for the trees, though trying to work out the likely winner seemed fairly pointless when I couldn’t get a bet on (come on all you bookmakers, why can’t we have a punt?).

After a brief sabbatical (sandwich), I returned to find all that glitters is not gold and Giuseppe was no longer involved having lost 7-3 to John Roe but believe you me, there was still plenty of talent on show worth watching. The cream were slowly beginning to rise to the top and this was a good chance to see how the “newbies” would cope as the pressure started to mount, as opposed to some of the more “seasoned” tour players? Unlike other sports I have attended I have to say referees were only called to decide on difficult decisions, with sportsmanship the order of the day (it’s not only golf, you see), and even a short power cut on some tables caused little more than a grin and a pause before the matches quickly resumed – pool players seem to be hardy folks?

If I was paid by the word I would list you all 96 original open entrants and their results but sadly that is not the case, so I waited for the quarter finals before really knuckling down to the nitty gritty.

8.10pm or so saw the call for the first quarter final when Phil Harrison v Adam Davis, Jordan Shepherd v Simon Ward, Rob Chilton v Gareth Potts, and Rob Wharne v Jimmy Croxton stepped up to the plate, all looking pretty evenly matched contests at the off, but then who knows where the pool gods will be smiling on the day? With four tables to watch (one in the separate live streaming room), table-hopping should have been the order of the day but I settled for Phil and Adam and what on paper looked like a cracker. I missed the first couple of frames to be fair, after which it was Mr Davis all the way as poor Phil could hardly put a foot right with dry breaks and the odd self inflicted snooker from what looked like winning positions – just not his day I am sorry to say, but as always he just smiled it off and will be back to fight another day.

Jordan Shepherd saw off Simon Ward by 7 frames to three to face Rob Wharne in the second semi, but to be fair the Adam Davis Gareth Potts semi was the one that really caught the imagination in what some saw as the match most likely to produce the 2012 champion. For those unable to attend it was live streamed, but I wanted to soak up the atmosphere so off I went to “ringside” for a better view of the action – and for once I am glad I did. It was, in my naïve view, an absolute classic with some shots that clearly came from a text book I have never read as well as some standard pool genius and even a long running refereeing question. Gareth had (if my drink addled memory remembers correctly?), played a yellow to a pocket and there was a question as to whether it had stopped before dropping – or not? Thanks to the wonders of technology (live streaming), the I.T. wizards were able to rewind and freeze frame as needed in front of a qualified referee which led to a (politely disputed) call and a replaced yellow (which then dropped again lol), though to be fair, Gareth did go on to win the frame. Whether or not that affected his focus only he can answer, but the facts will show Adam Davis went on to win 7-5 and go in to the final where he met Jordan Shepherd who won his semi 8-7 in what must have been a good match – but even I can’t be in two places at once.

At 11.38pm or so (?) the finalists were called and as I had been in the other room typing, I had to barge my way through to try and get a decent view – crowds at a pool match, whatever next? A final is a final and nerves seemed sure to play their part, and so it seemed to this tired scribe as Adam Davis raced in to a 3-0 lead, which pretty much set the tone. The opening frames seemed almost repetitive as Jordan raced in to lead before grinding to a halt, leaving clearances for his opponent and putting himself on the back foot from early doors. No one can accuse him of being a quitter though as he fought back to 3-2 looking as if he could turn it all around, but it just wasn’t to be as 3-2 became 7-2 and the inevitable 8-3 in the best of 15 final. Adam looked more relieved than anything at the post match press conference, admitting that his own lack of form since last year had left him needing a bit of a kick start, but he was being too modest in my opinion and has been playing well all tournament A deserved winner on the day, he walked away with a cheque for £3000 and a trophy for the mantelpiece (do people still have mantelpieces?), though take nothing away from the runner up or all the other players (those mentioned and those I missed) who made this a tournament par excellence –and something to try and live up to next time around!

Your reporter loves pool but is NOT a professional  – you can probably tell?

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On the weekend of the 27^th – 29^th April we will return to the Hilton NEC, and with everything in place, this truly outstanding venue seems sure to provide the kind of fantastic setting needed to showcase the players and our sport.

There is no doubt that we have raised the bar in terms of quality of events since we started our campaign last month in Blackpool, and we will continue to lead the way through innovation in how we deliver our events, coupled as always with good old fashioned hard work.

Groundbreaking changes to the Tour have already been implemented as many of you will know, but the positive feedback from the players (both new and seasoned professionals), tells us we are heading in the right direction, and that our efforts are already bearing fruit.

The atmosphere at Blackpool was superb with the background music complementing the unrivalled standard of play on the tables, but add in a few shocks in the main event, and we can all see why we had record breaking crowds for the final on Saturday night. It feels good when things go well, but this is only the first step for the IPA as we look to grow and nurture the sport we adore, and proud as we are of our achievements so far, we are more than aware that there is a long way left to go!

Looking forward to Birmingham (and we are!), the big question is – can anyone stop the Giuseppe steam train? Winning both events at Blackpool was history in the making and an amazing achievement that cannot be knocked, though we can be sure the established stars will have noticed his progress, creating a fascinating battle between the “old guard” and the latest talents to emerge on the 8-ball scene. All will slowly be revealed over the coming months as we wait to see who will be crowned by the end of the season?

With our exciting double elimination format continuing (which gives the players more matches and more opportunities), the action will come thick and fast, and with live streaming from Saturday morning onwards, (via Horizonsolutions, who filmed our recent event for Sky next month), and the excellent Dan Rush leading the commentary, it will feel as near to a televised event as it can be for the players on the streamed table in an exclusive area.

After recent successes we are also delighted to welcome several new players to the IPA and wish them all the very best  – we hope they enjoy the innovative changes we are introducing, and look forward to their input as much as we do any other player on the tour.

While you are all in Birmingham, we will also be taking pictures of the players and asking you to complete a profile questionnaire (those who are yet to do so), so that we can update the website – do remember to brush your teeth and smile for the camera!

Finally, we welcome On Q Promotions to the world of 8-ball pool, which is an extremely exciting development for the sport, and not to be underestimated. The announcement of the World Championships and World Open events in Gloucester provides an opportunity for all IPA players to participate and pursue the dream of holding a true world title, and at a venue described by the players as one of the very best they have ever attended.

Please remember that the IPA continues to be unrivalled in terms of quality of events – equipment, live streaming, players, conditions, prize money, sponsorship and so on – we are clearly the world leaders in 8 ball pool, and will continue to work hard and push for further progress and more innovation – come with us and help us on what will be an enjoyable and exciting journey for all involved!

Yours in Pool

Kev Barton

IPA Chairman

The IPA welcomes On Q to the world of 8 Ball pool, and believes the announcement of the forthcoming World Championships is a truly exciting opportunity for all pool players and the sport.

Although the event is not an IPA tournament, and will be organised and staged solely by On Q Promotions, we welcome the invitation to our players to participate in this event, and in line with current IPA policy our members are allowed to play in any pool event of their choice, with no restrictions.

We wish On Q every success with this new venture.

UK Amateur Championship Draw

UK Open Draw

The Classic Draw

The new Academy will include an 8 Ball Pool school of excellence, professional coaching and of course the finest facilities for all players from novice to the sports elite to practice, improve and compete.  The South West Snooker Academy is a totally unique facility offering an inspiring onsite 370 seat arena, purpose built to stage conferences, seminars and light entertainment. The Kay Suzanne Theatre offers the ability for televised and live streaming events, and it is the objective of Chairman Mr Paul Mount to make the Kay Suzanne Theatre the home for World 8 Ball Pool.

On Q Promotion is the player management / event promotions agency of the South West Snooker Academy. It currently looks after the interests of some the world’s elite Snooker stars, including Mark Allen, Barry Hawkins, Jimmy White, Mark Davis and 7 times Ladies World Champion Reanne Evans.

Mr Paul Mount `We are delighted to be staging the first Professional 8 ball Pool Championship and World Open within our Pool Festival in October (23^rd-28^th).) I believe the staff and facilities at the South West Snooker Academy can offer a new and inspirational outlook for up and coming talent with expectations of cue sport grandeur.  By working with the sports premier brands and personnel we will offer all this and more in an effort to rejuvenate cue sports on all levels’.