Us open 9ball champion whoooo

what a week cant believe whats happened this time last week it was looking miserable year for me lacked motivation for some parts of the year..especially after my trip to las vegas where i played with no confidence back in may.. i slowly made some changes to my back hand and now it paid off as feel so much better with a cue in my hand more than ever.. and hopefully this will spring board me to more success..

since 2008 it been a great run won a euro tour ,derby city straight pool,plus other smaller events followed it with world 10ball,then world masters,then world team champions,i come close in world 8ball and world series but finally captured the us open 9ball title feels great and i played great all week.. lots of people to thanks obviously my folks who are the best my friends for there support and all the messages i recieved.. thanks predator cues for the sponsorship, rileys at barnsley for allowing me to have a diamond table at the pool hall that certainly helped me here.

thanks to all my fellow brits for support at the tournament

and to end a great week i got a spot in mosconi cup and pretty sure i have retained world no 1 ranking sweet :-)

just hope my suitcase arrives in one piece as my trophy and cue in there :-(

i go portugal today 5.25pm flight look forward to that and taking rest next week and celebrate this victory :-))

people asked does it feel better than winning world 10ball well they both feel different ,but probably this win will open more doors so we will see i was certainly on a big buzz and still am whooo hooo

Dynamite

us open final

am in the final of the winners bracket at us open 9ball championships :-)..

i played great throughout the whole tournament and beat so many world class players including alcano,reyes,jayson shaw,corey duele,alcaide, just two wins away from the title .. so fingers crossed for tmrw its the most consistant ive ever played in a tournament i maybe only missed 5 or 6 balls in my last 6 matches.. so cant ask for much more..i played this way in world series and world 8ball also where i finished 3rd but there things didnt go my way in semi finals .so am determined tmrw to get it done and hope lady luck with me which we all need,my form been great the last few months but havent had the luck at the right times but this time so far so good and hope it all clicks tmrw ..also got to say the crowds this week have been awesome hugh amounts of people and it really gets the blood bioling :-)

thanks for all support appreciate it alot big day tmrw :-)

Dynamite

ups and downs

sorry for late blog it been a while,just been so bust the past month and lots been happening in that time..

before china i watched money match night 4 at wakefield and my brother shane stepped upto the plate and beat matthew lawrenson 21-15 played great.. and witnessed 2 other classic matches afran dad beating craig dixon and andy barnett beating ben finch what a atmosphere that match was..

headed to china in good form maybe made the mistake of only arriving 2 days before my match i played fu jianbo china no 1 and recent world cup of pool winner i didnt feel great in the match but played solid but still lost 11-7 then next match lost to rudolfo luat 11-10 i missed a hanger 8ball at 10-1- dont know why i missed it as it was impossible to miss lol.. and that was me done took early flight to thailand for pattaya 9ball invitational.. i was there to play but also i wanted to take advantage of pattaya and treat it like vacation also..i did win a handicap tournament at megabreak but the main event i just played bad and lost to reece pontus 9-8 was good tournament eventually won by alcano beating corteza in the final..
had a great time in pattaya and like to thank all the lads at megabreak and my friend yannick and tournament organiser for invite alan chau was good times..
come home for one day then headed to sarejvo for the first time this event was great and these guys treated us like stars and the venue and hotel was top class.. around 230 players so was great turnout and we was playing 10ball with triangle rack so coudnt wish for better format and conditions.. i really played well this event winning 50-10 rack score to reach semi final..but then come unstuck against ralf souquet 10-6 started of good then few bad rolls ralf couple of big shots on me turned the game in his favour i tried hard but come up short this time but ralf great player so disgrace losing to him and actually it first time he beat me since 2007 i had won the previous 5 times so i was proud of that record..eventually it was going to end as he one of the best players.and ralf went on to beat raj hundal in final well done to ralf and raj on agreat tournament. so 3rd place finish pretty good and gives me confidence for us open i fly thursday and know i probably need a good
run there if am to make mosconi cup also fingers crossed :-)

away from pool i got my new golf clubs ping and really looking forward to try and get some rounds in during my trips away :-)oh and well done europe in ryder cup what a event that was ..for me the best sporting event there is..loved it

I will try post while am in usa

Dynamite

Sick as a Parrott

Well what can i say that hasnt already been said on my facebook wall..
David peat (Viffer) Dippy pulled out of the match at the death very dissapointed

according to him he was told by people the club wasnt safe lol.which is utter nonsense he also said jamie stewart was behind it to simon dvali regards to the club not been safe and the safe in the club was a trick etc jamie stewart is a young lad from morcombe who as never been in the club so am not sure where he got his information from either way its all lies..

but having said all this i reasured dave his safety we went to extreme lenghs we hired doormen/security guards plus 200 people be there to watch and the money wouldnt be on the premises,the clubs members only its got cameras all over the club its safe as safe can be.myself,lee rigby,simon dvali,george vetters all told dave numerous times everything safe and we made sure of that..

david said ok the match on but if anything happen to him he holds me responsible this was week ago i said fine no problem so then he was arranging how to get to barnsley so match on,then last 2 days he gets cold feet again making out he doesnt feel safe, this is when i thought its got to be something else other than safety, only he really knows why,its annoying as i wastd 2 weeks playing everyday to get ready for the match where i could have been doing other things.


i feel bad for all thise that planned the weekend to come and watch and booked hotels so sorry to all those people and my backers.:-(


so thats that really he said maybe play in the week but i dont hold my breath we will see

onto myself and pool events coming up

its been a strange year for me lots of ups and downs 08/09 was amazing years with so much success and got upto world no 1 and during this time never dropped out of top 2..world rankings consist of 6-7 major championships per year.
currently am world no 5
current top 8 are
1.mika immonen
2.lee van corteza
3.karl boyes
4.ralf souquet
5.darren appleton
6.neils fiejen
7.antonio lining
8.kuo po cheng
this year been a funny one but last night i was on azbilliards site and was looking at money list am no 4 or 5 on money list and no 2 out of all european players so looking at that my year been pretty good actually only events where i not been playing that good is euro tours and gb9 events , Ijust cant seem to get the right mentality for these events as i do for the big ones something i need to work on in the future.

but on the world stage my results been really good
end of last year i put up good defence in world 10ball champs finished 5th losing to david alcaide 9-6 was great match he played awesome.

then start of this year
we won the world team championships the final against philippines we put in a great team performance

in another major championship world 8ball championships i finished 3rd losing to fiejen in semi final 10-6 just the dry breaks cost me.

then i went to america for us bar table championships but got sick for 9ball so pulled out.. but the 8ball i finished 2nd losing to a inspired earl strickland

then in vegas was pretty solid i finished 9th in us open 10 ball championships and 17th in world pool masters.. but then i played bad in the money match with chris bartrum

the world 9ball championships in doha the conditions there were too easy especially for level of players there.

then i went to guiness world series in jakarta this was great event 64 players and i played my best game upto the semi final but squandered a 5-2 lead and lost 8-6 so finished 3rd another high finish in a major but left sick about losing but took lot of positives..

so besides euro tours and gb9 my years been pretty good but at same time i feel dissapointed probably because i achieved so much in 08/09

so all in all not too bad year so far and still lot of exciting tournaments coming up

next week i travel to shanghia for china open then from china i go thailand for pattaya 10ball invitational

then from thailand to sarejevo for 10ball tournament.. then back home for 3 days before going to us open 9ball championships then from usa to portugal for euro tour :-).. all this end of september and the whole of actober so busy busy..
feel great about my game so really looking forward to these events.

also if any of you want to watch some great action next week visit vegas sports bar ,wakefield on stanley road
its money match tv night 4.
they have these events monthly where players match up and the winners stay on and get challenged the following month its great days play starts at 11am 2 matches then 3pm 2 matches and 7pm 2 matches 3 of the matches are streamed on www.cuesporttv.com

next matches saturday 18th
11am lee rigby v phil newman
11am lee brett v mick gibney

3pm dave nelson v kev simpson
3pm craig dixon v arfan dad

7pm shane appleton v matt lawrenson
7pm Ben Finch v Andy Barnett

good luck to everyone especially my brother shane who as been on fire the past month or so smashing everybody up locally and probably most improved player in uk this year.:-)

also i was surprised how bad team england played in world cup of pool in manila they were lucky to beat Qatar in round one 8-7 but i thought after that it would be the break they needed to kick on but by all accounts they played bad against france in round 2 and lost 8-6 very surprised as karl and daryl have prepared well and practised hard for this tournament but thats pool sometimes it just doesnt click..just hope england dont lose there seeding for next year because after missing out this year am determined to make sure am back there next year as its amazing atmosphere and to win in philippines there is no better feeling..

congrats to china who beat philippines b in final super strong pairing and know eachothers game inside out which big advantage in scotch doubles

lastly its my tournament tmrw predator uk 10ball masters £30 entry 11am start doors open 9.30am around £1500 prize fund £600 added still spots open visit pro9.co.uk and register or simply turn up on the day before 10.15am
rileys,barnsley,south yorkshire,peel street

ok time to pick myself up and focus on whats more important Winning :-)

Dynamite

back home for 3weeks and ready to prepare

Hi all got back home late last night shattered

euro tour was ok,i played pretty good and battled through a few matches then last 16 come unstuck against mark gray 6-4up was big turning point when i snookered myself unlucky to do so and after that didnt get chance until 7-6 and snookered myself again but this time bad shot and that was that mark played well also but he eventually lost in semi final to nvb 8-7 ..was little frustrated as i really fancied winning the tournament but hopefully next time.

congrats to karl boyes lost in final and 3rd final on a row great achievement especially on the equipment we playing on he on good run confidence high and everything going in his favour which all helps to provide success he guaranteed his spot in mosconi cup must be great feeling especially with it been in london,rest of us just got to keep plodding and trying to snap of a big tournament win but still plenty of pool left before the full team finalised..

finland was my first time was good place bit expencive but the venue was great just not sure it suited for a pool tournament but would certainly look forward to going back helsinki.

my next big tournament will be china open will fly the 20th before then knuckle down for this money match on the 11th with david peat and few smaller tournaments here in uk..

well done to all the brits once again on the euro tour think we now have 9 players in top 20 not bad to say only around 10-11 brits play on the euro tour :-)

thanks also to predator for all there support towards me and pool in general and thanks for sponsoring the up coming predator uk 10ball masters

last note good luck to england in the world cup of pool karl boyes and daryl peach in manila

check back soon have a good week everyone

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

Busy time ahead :-)

welcome to my other blog lol.
i do have a different blog on my website www.darrenappleton.com but from now on i will paste what i write on both blogs.
thanks to dave knight at www.pro9.co.uk for giving me a vip blog spot on his website its a great idea and gives us the players and the website more exposure.:-)

i got busy period and excited times ahead firstly am happy to eport my game in good shape and feel really strong mentally and feel like am approaching my peak just at the right time of the year and i feel really hungry again for success,recently i been in good form last few tournaments i finished 9th euro tour,2nd gb9 tour split a final of yorkshire 9ball open with chris melling,and finally 3rd place at guniness world series of pool in indonesia beating the likes of dennis orcullo and ralf souquet along the way before losing to eventual champion jundel mazon 8-6.

up and coming events next week my first time to finland for european pool tour helsinki so looking forward to that. then back home and prepare for something really big a minimum 100k bet money match against david "viffer" peat poker player from las vegas,he is coming to england to play poker and agreed to play me on the 11th september at rileys,barnsley in south yorkshire race to 15 am giving 16-4 handicap means i got to make 16balls to his 4 per rack,i did beat him in a few sets in las vegas in may giving him 15-4 handicap so i feel confident about my chances especially playing at home which is very rare i get big games in uk.

on the 12th sept same venue day after am running predator uk 10ball masters like to htank predator for there sponsorship towards the annual event this will its 2nd year running.you can enter by visiting www.pro9.co.uk or contact me through my website www.darrenappleton.com

rest of sept little bit up in the air which is frustrating i want to go manila 13th sept to play predator 10ball international open 15th-19th but its clashes with gstaad swiss open same time and the swiss open is sanctioned by epbf but predator 10ball not sanctioned so epbf tring to stop us playing if so i will probably play in swiss open as its a good tournament too with good prize fund.. then from there go to shanghai for china open 22nd-26th sept then 27th head to thailand pattaya for a tournament there which starts 1st-4th october pattaya invitational 9ball.

then from thailand head home for day or two then head to sarejevo open in bosnia 8-10th oct then to us open 9ball in virginia so really busy schedule ahead.

also i decided i will put a shop up on my website and hoping in near future to design my own cueline and other cool stuff so watch out for that and keep checking my website.

for now i still got jetlag as just got back from manila where i had break from pool its 2.45am and i feel wide awake :-(.but the trip was worth it was great to see my friends dave,steve,gerry, and i got to play efren reyes for around 1k i lost 21-16 but enjoyed the night and will play him again for sure.

also last note i was so saddened to hear the loss of chris mellings mam 2 weeks ago while at the airport in jakarta on my way to manila she was a great person and will be sadly missed and my thoughts and condolances go out to chris and his family stay strong pal and focus on what you do best and do it for your mam.

oh nearly forgot i watched the final of world 8ball championships from blackpool last night english 8ball wow what a performance from mick hill to beat gaz potts 11-8 some awesome finishes in the match was one of the best matches ever on tv congrats to both players.

ok ill try and keep this blog updated much as possible

thanks for reading

Dynamite