With over 150 entrants the evidence is there that blackball pool is alive and well in Scotland as it is elsewhere, and the players are all gearing up ahead of the Compass Cars Scottish Open, Amateur, and Professional Trophy events this coming weekend (13th-15th June), from the Erskine Bridge Hotel, Glasgow.
Country’s represented include South Africa, Malta, Spain, France, Ireland, England, Wales – oh and Scotland of course (and in numbers), as they refuse to let these titles slip through their grasp without a serious fight. Twenty Supreme pool tables in one room provide an atmosphere and noise that is impossible to describe but instantly recognisable, while the rivalry and banter amongst the players is testament to both their friendships and their sportsmanship as it never gets out of hand unlike other tournaments I could mention.
Played on top quality Supreme tables, on Strachan cloth, and using Aramith Pro-Cup balls, the best equipment will be in place for the best players (exactly as you would expect), ensuring no excuses when they go to war in this double eliminator event, that gives all the players plenty of pool for their money – all they need to do now is arrive at the top of their game.
Guessing the winners was never going to be easy (which for many is the beauty of the game), but Clint I’Anson arrives here at the top of his game and has to be one of the Open favourites as is Mr Consistent (Gareth Hibbott), though anyone ruling out local pool legends Pat Holtz or Antz Morrison would do so at their peril, while French superstar Christophe Lambert can never easily be discounted.
Fact is, pool is huge around the world but MASSIVE in Scotland, with tens of thousands of regular players up and down the Country, and with free entry for spectators as well as on line live streaming via the IPA Website (ww.ipapool.com), Twitter feeds (@ipapool) and Facebook updates, everything is hopefully in place for the IPA to put on a pool spectacle that simply cannot be matched.
