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Articles, English Pool »

[5 Feb 2010 | No Comment | 241 views]
Breaking News: Familiarity does in fact Breed Contempt!

Imagine the scene; The World 8-ball Championship Final. In front of a packed crowd of thousands, Mick Hill and Rob Chilton are introduced by…

Articles, English Pool »

[3 Feb 2010 | No Comment | 79 views]
The Emergence of the Catalonia Pool Festival

Only those within the fraternity realise that the Catalonia region of Spain have been playing english style pool for the last 25 years…

American Pool, Articles, Coaching »

[26 Jan 2010 | No Comment | 129 views]
Raj Hundal Nominated at British Asian Sports Awards

World Pool Masters Champion, Raj Hundal has been selected as a nominee for Most Up and Coming Personality of the Year Award at this year’s BASA…

Articles, Snooker »

[11 Jan 2010 | No Comment | 2,450 views]
Snooker Won’t Survive the Decade?

This article is written in response to article in the Observer Newspaper on Sunday 10th January. You can read the Observer article here.
Barney Ronay in his article claims that snooker will once again become an amateur sport by 2020. Within the article he quotes Ronnie O’Sullivan, a quote that I must add came from the previous season so is a little out-of-date to be used as the current opinion of O’Sullivan.
O’Sullivan was one of the voices from within the player base that backed Barry Hearn to become the new Chairman …

Articles, Interviews »

[4 Dec 2009 | No Comment | 211 views]
Cliff Thorburn Interview

Cliff Thorburn remains the only ever overseas player to win the World Championship a feat he achieved in 1980 beating Alex Higgins in the final. His second indelible mark on the Crucible came in 1983 when he recorded the first ever 147 maximum break against Terry Griffiths. Play stopped on the other table as good friend Bill Werbeunik peeked around the screen to see the final few colours potted.
Now some 15 years after retiring from the game, and 30 years on from lifting the World Crown, Cliff is returning to …

Articles, English Pool »

[23 Nov 2009 | No Comment | 247 views]
Pool Player’s Choice of Wear – Fashion or Playability?

Looking around the room, there is a range of choice of clothing in which to compete for approximately £3000. I would consider this quite a fair amount of money, of which, if I was playing to win, I would seriously consider what I’m wearing and how it will affect my state of play.
For example, I am currently watching two fairly young players, whom will remain nameless, one of whom is dressed plainly in blue jeans, black polo shirt and comfortable white trainers. The other has obviously taken more interest in …

American Pool, Articles »

[13 Nov 2009 | No Comment | 263 views]
Falling into Bed; With the Wrong Hotel?

I’m curious. As the powers that be in 8-ball pool are not famed for their forgiving natures, I wonder whether or not…

Articles, English Pool »

[8 Oct 2009 | No Comment | 266 views]
Home is Where the Hotel Is…

In a sport surprisingly eager to pick holes in itself, it is a genuine pleasure sometimes to be able to simply say, “Well done…”

Articles, English Pool »

[8 Sep 2009 | No Comment | 97 views]
There’s an Ice Rink Around the Corner…

“There is no pleasing pool players” goes the oft quoted mantra, and judging by the regular and sometimes gruesome evisceration (metaphorical, sometimes….) of almost everything and everyone associated with the game, far from there being a grain of truth in the statement, there is a boulder sized lump of both perceptiveness and clarity in it.
The problem may stem from the standards set by some truly brilliant clubs across the country. When players that travel see the way things can be, the natural progression is to ask why on earth things …

Articles, Coaching, Technique »

[29 Aug 2009 | No Comment | 300 views]
The Mysteries of Technique

In cue-sports in general, there is a lot of talk, and text for that matter, denoting different styles, cue actions, and other small aspects of technique. Certain demi-household-name snooker players (I’m deliberately not mentioning Dave Harold. Oh… damn….) are derided for their lack of cue power, lack of textbook cue delivery, and other related perceived flaws. There are, however, myriad players, with completely unique (at least on a minute scale) cue actions, personal idiosyncrasies and various other preferences, whether natural or taught, so the question should at least be touched …