Good weekend and whats on this week.

since arriving back last week by body clock been all over place i havent slept much since getting back but boy did i make up for it yesterday after a mad weeekend last night i put in a 16 hours shift zzzzz just hope be ok for euro tour as havent practise at all this week but sometimes rest more important and come back hungry to play and i feel have got the hunger back and ready to do some damage.

weekend was money match tv 3 at vegas sports bar wakefield which got to be said is now the home of pool in uk and the place for pool and money matches even when these nights dont take place there is lots of action not thousands but enough to keep players competitive and keep the banter going..:-)
unfortunatley i couldnt get a match up last weekend which bit sad really when so many good players in uk and i was offering hugh handicaps to top players and good players.. hopefully i can still get a game for money match 4..if not i will probably go switzerland as not allowed to play predator 10ball in manila lol.

weekend was great The afternoon matches were lee brett v jamie yates really close match to call and lee rigby v brett armer all four good lads.
jamie and lee was real close all the way jamie had the early lead but couldnt pull away from lee,at 15-15 jamie missed a 9ball he would never miss ever again but believe me its amazing the balls you can miss playing 9ball so dont beat yourself up too much jamie..that turned the match and lee runout a 21-18 winner and will defend his crown 18th sept am sure jamie be back he really solid cueist and still improving like most these guys they come from snooker or 8ball so its a completly different game.

well my pal lee rigby is back to playing pool and its so refreshing to see as he used to love the game and practised for hours on end back in the day, 2 years ago he was a top 16 player in uk then disaster struck as he woke up one day and didnt have any feeling from his shoulder all way down his right arm and to make it worse its his cueing arm as he right handed :-( so he parylised on that side but still he continued to run gb9 and found other things in his life to keep his spirits up not least the main thing in his life girlfriend jo :-) talk about been loved up he like a schoolkid again lol. plus he found a way to play golf which he does good.but recently he found a little bit of feeling again in his right side so decided to hit few balls he will never get back to what he was full health wise but at least he can do something he loves although he does get frustrated alot as he cant quite play to the level he once did,but still playing good pool at a amatuer level and its great to see.. last month he beat aslam 21-13 this time he come up against brett
lee got of to great start up 10-2 was hard for brett as nerves got the better of him but people need to understand the pressure these guys under they playing under conditions they never witnessed before ,walk on music lights,tv,interviews,and big crowds not easy for anyone never mind amatuer pool players but it great to see them get a taste of what the top professionals experience in the big tournaments worldwide.anyway brett made a fight of the match and come back to 16-12 before lee made a great shot on the 9ball and from there played great to win 21-12 well done pal and unlucky brett he will be back and a true gentleman ..

evening matches well what can you say big crowds and also the finchy army lol. ben finch on tv table v dave nelson both from west yorkshire dave brought few people with him to keep him going but wow did the finch family and friends turn out or what :-) Also ben finch is like a brother to me we go back so long since he was 14-15 years old some 16 years ago i know his family and we come from same pool teams back in old days of english 8ball and ben had so much potential at 8ball but other things got in way which held him back but still was class 8ball player and one of the best amatuers in uk for many years,then he had few year break from cuesports then one day he tried his hand at 9ball and the rest history he been playing now around 8months which great to see but even better because he on the scene and his a great friend to me so it nice to see him around as i didnt hardly ever see him for years due to me playing all over world and ben not playing.plus his girlfriend is my cousin emma and i see wedding bells in the future so we could be related soon haha..
the match couldnt have started any better for ben taking a 9-1 lead playing great and dave bit edgy but then when you get a lead like that its difficult to stay focused on the job sometimes and you sort of start playing too smart where the opponent starts playing more freely because nothing to lose and thats what happened dave got himself together and ben had few wobbles,and the score stood 17-16 to ben great comeback by dave but then ben really showed his balls and played awesome to close the match out 21-16 great match and great atmosphere throughout well done both players.
next match on table 2 was craig dixon v gary anderson
known craig long time and always had natural talent but not always the brain especailly at tournaments he easily lead astray with drink ,but thankfully for money he gets himself together and shows what he capable of and this time was too much for gary just lack of experience from gary told really and craig kept his foot on the gas and won 21-11 and will be looking to defend his crown on the 18th sept..
after the matches people get hammered make a fool of themselves on kareoke mentioning no names :-) yes i did sing but cant remember what lol my dad said wonder of you by elvis lol. then we head up town later and i really cant remember much about it just that i couldnt walk straight and the next day i had biggest headace ever lol. but congrats to andy appleton and shoka at vegas sports bar its perfect venue for money matches and great atmosphere andy does amazing job on the microphone interviewing the players doing the mc stuff before during and after the matches awesome. walk on music the vegas mascot rio it all clicks togehter and its a great pleasure to be part of it for any player.lastly to pete and ang at cuesportv they do so much for pool in uk and travel all over uk and they have grown the production and done great job to bring uk pool on tv and without them it just wouldnt be the same so big up for them. and by the way myself and chris melling did a hour in the booth on the ben finch v david nelson match was bit tipsy so good fun i think..

next matches on the 18th september this time 3 defending champions can be challenged and 2 wildcard matches ..

day after i headed to my home club rileys barnsley for a 8ball comp run by lee rigby around 21 runners played in groups to the last 8 somehow i got through the group feeling awefull but was lucky i at to beat andy appleton to qualify at 4-4 he had good chance to beat me but lucky for me snookered himself on the black and i won 5-4 then i beat adam clarke 7-0 played great.. then the last 4 players decided to split the cash and go home as we was all knackered from night before,myself,james kay,arfan dad.shane appleton..

tmrw i head to finland for the first time ever helsinki for euro tour i been to airport once but never outside the airport so looking forward to this event and i really need to get my act together on euro tour the last 12months been pretty poor which frustrating as i been doing good in usa and asia just need to take that form into events in europe so fingers crossed for a good finish there.

also in the middle of booking my flights booked for sarejevo open in oct,
sept still frustrating as not sure what my shcedule is of now.. i wanted to play predator 10ball manila but looks like cant because it not sanctioned and a tournament in switzerland is by epbf so its rather playing money match night 4 18th september if i can get a game at vegas sports bar.. if not i will probably play swiss open as it also looks a good tournament and 50k prize fund.
i will definatly go shanghai 20th sept for china open world ranking tournament, then 27th head to bangkok thailand for pattaya invitational 32 players 16 invites including myself chris melling,steve moore,efren reyes,alex pagualyan, etc should be good tournament thanks for invite :-) and also get to see some friends at megabreak in pattaya and bonus that they playing the tournament there its a great pool room i was there 2 years ago so if you ever go pattaya drop by there..

right thats me for now better get ready for tmrw as i fly out to finland wish me luck

Dynamite