February 1, 2017 (Denver, CO): On January 14-17, the World Pool Series (WPS) held its inaugural event at Steinway Billiards in Astoria, NY. The 8-ball event, known as the Molinari Players Championship, brought in a field of pool's top international stars.
Among the 119 total players, thirty-five countries were represented in the battle for over $100,000 in prize funds. At the end of the four-day championship, Russia's Ruslan Chinahov earned the title and the $20,000 first prize after a 16-6 win over Lee Van Cortez of the Philippines.
Along with presenting some of the toughest competition in professional pool today, WPS founder Darren Appleton also made a fundraising initiative for the Billiard Education Foundation (BEF) through a series of raffles at the event. 20% of the raffle proceeds will go toward supporting the BEF's junior programs and events, and a total of $1,000 was raised.
The WPS plans to continue its support of the BEF at each of its forthcoming events in 2017. The next event is scheduled for April 4-7, and will also be held at Steinway Billiards. For more information, visit www.WorldPoolSeries.com.
