News

Pool Reaches For Another Level – Day 1 Report from the World Pool Series

Three Quarter Of A Million People Catch Upstart Greek Damianos Giallourakis Take Down Defending Champion Chinahov On Day 1 Of The Aramith Masters In New York. By Ted Lerner – WPS Media Officer Photos by JP Parmentier (New York City)– The early stages of major pool tournaments generally see a few surprises from upstarts taking down big names. But Day 1 of the Aramith Masters, the 2nd leg of the new 8-ball tour the World Pool series(WPS), will surely go down in history for something quite different than a top star getting run out of the building by a no-hoper. That’s because professional pool surely entered a new era at Steinway Café-Billiards in Queens, New York City today, thanks to the WPS’ new partnership with social media giant Unilad. The UK based Unilad, which specializes in trending content from around the world, boasts nearly 27 million followers on its popular Facebook page. And now they are broadcasting live professional pool to their legions of followers. The sheer gravity of the possibilities for this long suffering […]

News

Aramith Masters Kicks Off Wednesday

90 Players From Around The Globe Set For Battle On The 2nd Leg Of The World Pool Series In New York. By Ted Lerner – WPS Media Officer (New York City)–The very best in professional 8-ball takes center stage as the Aramith Masters, the second leg of the World Pool Series(WPS), is all set to commence on Wednesday morning at the Steinway Café-Billiards in Queens, New York City. After a highly successful first event in January, the Molinari Players Championship, which was won by young Russian star Ruslan Chinahov, who topped an international cast of players from 35 countries, the Aramith Masters looks to set the bar even higher. 90 players from around the globe have descended upon New York’s bustling hub of pool to do battle for the top prize of $16,800. A total prize fund of $62,400 is up for grabs. The brand new tour, the brainchild of multi-world champion Darren Appleton, features four tournaments played throughout 2017. 8-ball will be the game of choice throughout the year, with several rule changes designed […]

International

2017 World Pool Series: 2nd Series

Eklent Kaci (ALB) gewinnt 2017 World Pool Series: 2nd Series im Finale gegen Carlo Biado (PHI) mit 2-0 Sätzen. Den 3. Platz belegen Darren Appleton (GBR) und Jayson Shaw (SCO). Die von Darren Appleton ins Leben gerufene 2017 World Pool Series wird ab morgen in New York mit dem 2. Event ihre Fortsetzung finden. Das erste Turnier dieser 8 Ball Turnierserie wurde von den Teilnehmern sehr gut angenommen. Auch bei den Pool Billard Fans rund um die Welt scheint dieses Konzept relativ gut anzukommen. Beim zweiten Turnier wurde das Turnierformat ein wenig angepasst, das erste Event wurde noch im Einfach-KO Modus mit recht hohen Ausspielzielen ausgetragen. Ab morgen wird bei der zweiten Veranstaltung bis zum Achtelfinale im Doppel-KO System mit geringeren Ausspielzielen gespielt. Bei Gleichstand einer Partie gibt es wie bereits beim ersten Turnier ein sehr interessantes Shoot-Out. Die genauen Details können auf der sehr übersichtlichen Website der World Pool Series nachgelesen werden. Insgesamt gehen bis zu 96 Spieler aus aller Welt an den Start, viele der besten Pool Spieler der Welt werden um ein […]

News

The Siberian Express Steamrolls To The Crown

Russia’s Ruslan Chinakov claims the Molinari Players Championship with an emphatic 16-6 win over the Philippines Lee Vann Corteza in New York City. By Ted Lerner – WPS Media Officer Photos by JP Parmentier/WPS (New York City)– Employing an absolute monster break shot, combined with some seriously solid potting and pattern play, Russia’s Ruslan Chinakov handily won both his matches today, including an emphatic 16-6 finals win over the Philippines Lee Vann Corteza, and captured the inaugural Molinari Players Championship at Steinway Billiards in New York City. Chinakov’s success on Tuesday represents the biggest win of the 23 year old’s career. Since he began his international career at the tender age of just 13 years old, the young Russian, a veritable pool prodigy since the very beginning, has been a fixture on the pro scene around the world. At 15 years old he won the WPA Jr. World 9-ball Championship. He also captured two straight Kremlin Cup titles. And he’s had many solid finishes in tournaments globally. But this week’s win in the Big Apple […]

News

Final Four Look To Take The Big Apple

It’s Appleton vs. Corteza, Chua vs. Chinakov as the Molinari Players Championship heads to the final day. By Ted Lerner – WPS Media Officer Photos by JP Parmentier (New York City)–As a regular at the top of the pool world, Darren Appleton has found himself in a more than a few tricky situations, funny positions on the table, and emotional roller coasters that are unique to pool at the professional level. But late Monday night in New York City, the multi-world champion simply could not stop shaking his head in disbelief at his latest position, which actually didn’t look too shabby indeed. That’s because after two matches and a hard day’s slog on the table, the Englishman found himself in the semi-finals of the Molinari Players’ Championship, the very 8-ball tournament he conceived, and has spent the last few months promoting. Sure the ultra-competitive Appleton wants to win, but deep down he found he really didn’t have a desire to take the crown, –after all the hospitable Englishman is the host here–and has actually been […]

News

There’s A New Kid In Town

20 year old American Billy Thorpe upsets two world champions to storm into the final 16 at the Molinari Player’s Championship in New York City. By Ted Lerner – WPS Media Officer Photos By JP Parmentier/WPS (New York City)–For several years up through 2015, Billy Thorpe made a name for himself on the American pool scene as a dashing young talent with a hot stroke who dared to play—and win– ridiculously high stakes money games. Then in 2016 the then 19 year old decided he wanted to transition into being a real pro, and for the last year he has slugged it out with the big boys in tournaments big and small, attracting attention from pool fans eagerly looking for the next great American player. Thorpe did create some noise in 2016, but history will surely show that it was in New York City on a cold Sunday in January, 2017, when the brash Dayton, Ohio native truly arrived as a professional, and stamped his mark as possibly that next great American pool player. Playing […]

News

Larsson Leaves Little Doubt

Wheelchair world champ shines along with Brits, Filipinos and Finns on a tough Day 1 at the World Pool Series in New York. By Ted Lerner – WPS Media Officer Photos By JP Parmentier/WPS (New York City)–England’s Darren Appleton promised his fellow players that his new World Pool Series would give the players exactly what they’ve always wanted; a players’ centered tour with rules and a setup designed to test the world’s best pool players to the limits of their skills. If the results of Day 1 of the tour’s first event, the Molinari Players Championship, are any indication, that promise has already been fulfilled. Long races, pockets at a stingy 4.25 inches, breaking outside the center box, having to “take what you make” on the break, 3-foul rule, shootouts on hill-hill matches, and single elimination; these tweaks to traditional 8-ball rules all came together Saturday to prove that the world’s most popular cue game can truly be a hardcore test of pool. In a long grind of a day at New York’s famed Steinway […]

News

8 Ball Takes Center Stage With The World Pool Series

Jayson Shaw is the hot favorite as the sport’s newest pool tour gets ready to kick off in New York City. By Ted Lerner – WPS Media Officer (New York City)–It’s common at big international pool tournaments wherever the greats of the game come together, that a buzz of anticipation courses through the hotel lobby or the arena where the players gather the day before at the players meeting. But at Steinway Billiards in the Astoria, Queens section of New York City on Friday night, that buzz had some noticeable extra juice to it. That’s because the newly formed World Pool Series, a four event tour that begins Saturday and will play out over the course of 2017, seems to have all the ingredients to finally offer long suffering professional pool players something they haven’t had in a long time; a player centric tour with a solid plan for growth. The fact that it’s all been put together by one of the game’s greatest and most respected players, England’s Darren Appleton, has surely boosted players’ […]

News

Kuwait Open 9-Ball Championship Draws The World’s Best

Brand new event set to kick off in Kuwait City with 128 of the world’s top players is the richest 9-ball event of the year. By Ted Lerner – WPA Press Officer (Kuwait City)–Welcome to the new frontier of pool. The State of Kuwait is all set to host a brand new event on the pool calendar, the Kuwait 9-ball Open, an event that is making an auspicious start by immediately jumping to the top of the tournament heap as the richest 9-ball event in the world this year. 128 players from over 40 countries and all corners of the globe have gathered in this nation of 4.2 million people along the Persian Gulf, and will compete over the next 4 days for $275,000 in prize money, with $50,000 going to the winner. In a sport whose schedule is too often deprived of big time marquee events, the appearance of a brand new tournament with real prize money has clearly caught the attention of players. 31 of the World Pool Billiard Association(WPA) top 32 players […]

News

Albin Is Ocean’s Apart – Finals report from the 2016 World 9-ball Championship

Austria’s Albin Ouschan wins the 2016 World 9-ball Championship with an emphatic 13-6 win over American Shane Van Boening. By Ted Lerner – WPA Press Officer Photos Courtesy of Vinod Divakaran/ Doha Stadium Plus (Doha, Qatar)–Austria’s Albin Ouschan knew coming into today’s semi-finals and finals at the World 9-ball Championship that just about everything in his personal and professional pool playing life was going just about perfect. But even he couldn’t have imagined the dream day he just conjured up on the way to winning pool’s most prestigious prize. After first blowing out Canada’s Alex Pagulayan in the semi-final, Ouschan came back to put an emphatic and somewhat shocking 13 – 6 drubbing on American Shane Van Boening to capture his first WPA World 9-ball championship in front of over 400 people at the Al Arabi Sports Club in Doha. The victory was all the more sweet for the 25 year old Austrian because just two years ago, he placed second to the Netherland’s Niels Feijen in this very same arena. Ouschan took that loss […]