We would like to thank everybody for taking part in Event 2 of our first ever 9-Ball Pool Tour. We worked harder for this tournament - we listened to the players, we made some changes, we made some additions, and all in all it was a great tournament deserving of a great final, and we were genuinely happy to see everybody having a great time, not only whilst participating but also spectating matches.

We replaced The Magna Rack with the Shark Rack going forward - it was a better fit for the tables, and provided comfort and familiarity to the players. We also invested in cue holders as we noticed in the last tournament that many players didn’t own one - each table will now have a cue holder nearby for cue placement. We are also utilising all the screens at Rileys surrounding the tables, to display table scores and to open up possibilities for future tournaments. We will continue to do everything we can to improve the look and feel of the tournament.

We had feedback from Event 1 on a bad cushion and a very special mention to Rileys Leicester for taking note and rectifying the issue before Event 2.

We had a full 32-player roster for this event, with many repeat contenders. It's always satisfying to see the vast majority of players returning event after event - ultimately this is the mark of a successful tournament, and only builds the momentum and anticipation towards our grand final. We had some new players register with our tour, notably Tommy Donlon, a Leicester resident and a former Mosconi Cup player.

The group stages were very competitive once again, with a couple of second-place spots being decided on very small rack differences in groups D and E. Despite 2 wins, Connor Anderson missed out on 2nd place by one rack via the rack difference in a very competitive Group D. Group E had Alan Coton decisively getting through with 3 wins, however, the remaining 3 players all had one win each - Adam Lewis missed out on a second place by just 2 racks - reiterating how important it is to win with a strong score-line in group stage games.

6 players emerged from the group stages unbeaten in their respective groups.

The last-16 draw was made with all first-place finishes in the bag, picked out at random to determine the player order. The second-place finishes were picked at random after, to correspond with the first.

Of the 8 groups, 6 players emerged unbeaten – however only 3 of these players - Ashik Nathwani, Richard Saunders, and Ian Welch, made it through to the last 8. Tommy Donlon also progressed via a final-frame decider, along with Daniel Baker also winning a decider. Ryan Wissett progressed in a fairly close match, and both Adam Clarke and Luke Garland also made it through, winning convincingly.

The final 8 had four very close matches - expected at this stage of the tournament. All games were hard-fought. Ashik Nathwani was up against Tommy Donlon, of which Tommy came victorious against our Event 1 winner. Daniel Baker, Richard Saunders, and Adam Lewis came through tough matches also, with Daniel and Richard both winning a final frame decider. At this stage of the day, every rack feels like it’s sapping a lot of energy, and all players know that a final frame deciding rack can take the most toll.

For the semi’s, Tommy Donlon faced Daniel Baker, and Adam Clarke faced Richard Saunders. Both matches were tough, and Daniel Baker was proud to overcome Tommy Donlon 7-4, and Richard Saunders overcame Adam Clarke 7-3. A big part of a one-day tournament, aside from pool skill, is to be able to maintain concentration and focus levels throughout – this will always be tested to its limit – another reason why amateur play has its rewards in toughening up a player’s resolve and why these tournaments are a key part of the growth of any budding pool player.

The final was a war of the south - both players having travelled over 2 hours to get here, and still with the thought of having to travel back home after the tournament, mustered up everything they could to bring the game to a final frame decider. There was momentum, mistakes at critical points, just the type of drama that 9-ball brings. The fatigue could be seen in both players. The tournament stats would dictate Richard Saunders being the favourite as he was unbeaten all day, but in 9-ball, stats can play second fiddle and it can all come down to one ball and one shot. Daniel admirably brought the score to hill-hill being 6-5 down. The final frame was full of drama with Daniel holding his composure to seal the win with a great run of shots. A very sporting final played by two very sporting players - so much so that they decided amongst themselves before the game to negotiate a more favourable split on the purse for the winner and runner-up.

We had a starting pot of £190 for this game (£100 injected by Cueball Promotions to get things going, and the remainder from participating players), after Benji Buckley won the entire pot in Event 1.

Ashik Nathwani was picked out first and almost broke dry until a ball made its way into a pocket. He made his next pot, and admirably went for a tough shot instead of cashing out at £20 (£10 per ball), missing the pot and forfeiting his chance.

A second ticket was picked out, to be Nimesh Patel yet again, prompting calls for a fixed raffle! At this opportunity, we'd like to stress that it is indeed a fair raffle, picked by Matt (the Manager of Rileys Leicester), and Ashik and Nimesh each only had a £10 entry (10 tickets). However, also yet again, Nimesh broke dry as he did in the first event, and after 2 tickets we now move the entire pot over to Event 3. Event 3 will have a sizable £190 pot so why not take a chance! Lots to play for. Just a little bit of fun mid-tournament and brings a little spark to the day.

Shark Rack - Shane Conroy

Tournament Director T-Shirts - PxC Agency

And finally, the biggest thanks to Rileys Leicester, of which this tour wouldn't be possible without - their tables, their hospitality, their staff, and the great venue itself of which had a very nice refurbishment late last year – positively commented on by many players.

Thank you to everybody that entered, and we hope to see you all for Event 3! Entries are open - we are already booked more than three quarters of the way and we will give serious consideration to a 40-player field for this event as demand has increased and we believe will continue to increase. We will still operate a reserve list as this makes it easier to inject players into the event (first-come-first served) if there are cancellations.

We run this for our players and strive to give great value back to them. We hope to see everybody in Event 3 which will be held on the Sunday 10th April, and we will be bringing a few more technical goodies to this Event - stay tuned!